Chapter Five: Fire Beneath the Sand
875 Words
The explosion outside the abandoned gas station was so violent that the ground shook beneath their feet.
Glass shattered, and the walls were reduced to a cloud of dust and smoke.
Ali fell to the ground, trying to protect his head, while Omar rushed to Adham and quickly untied him.
"They're here!" Ali shouted amidst the chaos.
Then, a volley of bullets erupted from outside, slashing through the metal walls, turning the old station into a death trap.
Omar struggled to lift Adham. The man could barely stand, his face pale from torture and exhaustion.
Adham was a man in his fifties, dark-skinned, overweight, and of average height.
"Don't... leave me here..." Adham said in a broken voice. Omar held him tightly.
"It won't happen."
Then he turned to Ali.
"Find a back exit!"
Ali ran down the narrow passageway as the shooting continued outside, and suddenly the last light inside the station went out. The place was plunged into oppressive darkness. The three of them slipped out the back door into the desert as flames rose from the front of the station.
A black car was parked far away near the dunes, and armed men were moving around it.
"They've got us surrounded," Ali whispered.
But Omar noticed something else. One of the attackers was speaking Arabic on a walkie-talkie, not Russian.
This confirmed his suspicions. The gang wasn't just Russian; there were local accomplices.
Omar took Adham behind a rusty truck and fired several shots to cover their retreat. The attackers returned fire.
The bullets tore through the sand around them, then a loud engine roared, and an old truck emerged from behind the dunes and sped toward them.
The side door was flung open, and a masked man yelled, "Get in if you want to survive!"
Ali looked shocked, while Omar hesitated for just a second… then he shoved Adham into the truck and jumped in after him. The car sped through the sandstorm, a hail of bullets in pursuit.
After a frantic ten-minute chase across the desert, the truck stopped inside a hidden, rocky ravine.
The masked man got out slowly, then removed his hood. Omar's eyes widened instantly.
"Othman?!"
The old smuggler smiled wearily.
"I told you this war is bigger than you can imagine."
Othman lit a small torch inside the rocky cavern where they were hiding. Adham sat down near the wall, breathing heavily, while Omar stood watching him with sharp eyes.
Finally, he said,
"Start talking."
Adham slowly raised his head. Fear was evident in his eyes.
"Vladimir isn't the real leader."
Silence fell.
Then he continued,
"He's just an executor."
Omar felt as if everything was turning upside down again.
"Then who is the leader?"
Adham swallowed.
"A man inside the state."
Ali's eyes narrowed.
"Who?" But Adham hesitated, as if afraid even to utter the name.
Finally, he said,
"A high-ranking officer is opening up routes for them… leaking the army's movements…" Omar took a step closer.
"Is it Colonel Yasser?"
Adham quickly raised his head.
Then he said,
"No."
Omar froze…for the first time since the beginning of the case…he looked genuinely confused…if it wasn't Yasser…then who?
Adham pulled a small memory card from inside the lining of his torn jacket and handed it to Omar with a trembling hand.
"Everything is here…names…shipments…locations."
Omar took it quickly.
Then he asked,
"Why didn't you hand it over to the police?"
Adham laughed bitterly.
"Because the police themselves are compromised."
A heavy silence fell inside the cave.
Then Adham added,
"When I discovered the truth, they tried to kill me."
Ali said,
"Who tried?" But before he could answer… a sudden burst of gunfire rang out from outside the cave, bullets slamming violently against the rocks.
"They've tracked us down!" Osman shouted.
The lamp went out instantly, plunging the cave back into darkness. The gunfire grew closer, and the men's voices echoed among the rocks.
There were many of them…more than Omar had anticipated.
"How did they find us?" Ali whispered.
Omar felt a chill run through him, then looked directly at Adham.
The man was trembling violently, as if he were hiding something.
Omar approached him slowly.
"Did they follow you…or did you lead them to us?"
Adham's eyes widened.
"What?!"
Omar raised his pistol toward him.
"Answer me."
"Omar!" Ali shouted.
But Omar didn't lower his weapon. There were so many details that didn't match…the ease with which they had been found.
The timing of the attack, Adham's strange fear.
"Maybe you were running from them…or maybe you were working with them," Omar said coldly. Adham breathed rapidly, then uttered a sentence that silenced everyone:
"If I had been with them… I would have surrendered you from the start."
Suddenly…another explosion rocked the cave entrance, rocks tumbled down, and dust filled the air.
Then, a blinding flashlight appeared outside, and a cold Russian voice shouted:
"Hand over the memory card…and we'll keep you alive."
Omar clutched the card tightly, then heard Adham whisper beside him:
"If they take it…it's all over."
But Omar wasn't looking outside; he was looking at something far more dangerous…a small logo engraved on the back of the memory card.
An official logo belonging to a secret government security agency.
- Writer
