The White Feather- A story of infinite worlds

Code Of Honor

“I think we made a mistake, boss. We could have easily run away.” Emma whispered, trying to look around the pitch black stone room in the darkness.

“And go where? The terrorists control this city and no matter how much we tried, we couldn’t get to the other side unnoticed.” Olivia whispered harshly.

Olivia was visibly sick of the complaining and of course, the killing. The boys were silent as the girls continued to argue. Ultimately, the room was silent.

“I killed him…” a slow voice broke the eerie silence among the cold walls.

“Tony, is that you?” Emma whispered.

“He said he wanted to show the photo to his kids. Now they will never see him again. And all of that for what? He wasn’t even related to the mission. I could have said that the camera was broken or something. It’s all my fault.” Tony continued speaking softly.

Four deep breaths were taken in the next moment.

“You couldn’t have said that. It would only raise suspicion among them. And as for his death, it IS your fault. But that’s the weight people like us have to carry throughout our lives so that countless hearts continue beating and continue their lives without even knowing that we had to sacrifice our soul and our beautiful past in order for them to be alive.

You're a leader, and being a leader dosen't mean you can’t break or be weak. It means that in spite of being weak and crush, you keep the fire alive and move on so that the others draw inspiration from you. You have to stand tall even if your very foundation is breaking. I know you're smart and all, but always remember, smartest men are always the saddest. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as you don’t let it gain on you.

So quit the weeping and get your move on because if you don’t, you're not only risking the life of those hostages, you're risking the life of all the people who’ll be killed if the terrorists get our technology.” Olivia said, as she finally found Anthony’s shoulder in the blackness and pressed it to encourage him.

“Exactly, you don’t have to act like you're all alone on this mission and we are just add ons. We are not only here to assist you, hermano. We’re also here to share the burden so that you don’t have to carry it all alone.” Gabriel spoke.

“I also killed a man for the first time today. He was smiling at me as I pulled the camera’s shutter. I am never going to get that smile out of my head. But as far as I have a higher goal to fight for, I will keep on fighting, no matter how many smiles I have to fade away in these remnants of time. And so will you Tony, because this is not a f*****g choice, this is our f*****g destiny. And you can’t run away from destiny. It catches up with you at some point.” Emma said. Her furious whispering was frequently obstructed by the soft sobs.

“Let’s find those kidnappers and kill them. I will not let the lives of those soldiers go in vain.” Tony said after some time. The determination in his voice fueled the hearts of his teammates.

At this time, they heard a banging on the door of the house. The time travelers were alarmed as the front gate was opened and they heard multiple footsteps across the house. A man was yelling something furiously in Arabic while the others seemed to be searching the house.

“What are they saying, Olivia?” Tony whispered to their spy.

“The man seems to be a general of a terrorist battalion. He is threatening the woman that he will skin her husband and chop him into pieces while he’s alive and then he would start with their virgin daughter.” Olivia whispered as she tried to get more and more sound through the thick wall.

“Wait, what’s the general of an entire battalion doing searching small houses like this one?” Gabriel asked in confusion.

“Shh….let me listen. Now he’s saying something about dark magic. I think he means to say that the city has been invaded by four black magicians who intend to decay this part of the city to get more power.” Olivia continued.

“What a load of crap, I don’t believe that these people actually fall for that crap. These sons of putas should come up with a better story.” Gabriel said, sighing in disappointment.

“Wait! He is saying that they caught someone like that before. A team of four, who used their magic to transport them from one place to another……and to kill ‘innocent’ soldiers. I am a hundred percent sure that he’s talking about our guys.” Olivia said as her voice became stronger with excitement.

“I say we go get him while we still have the chance. After this night, we might never be able to get past his security.” Gabriel said.

“No! Can’t you hear the footsteps all over the house? There are at least a dozen soldiers in this house alone, let alone the ones in the neighboring ones. To get past all of them, we’ll HAVE to use our powers. And we have been strictly ordered not to ever use the agency’s resources in front of civilians. And even if we do that, there's almost no chance that the general will let us get to him alive. He’ll probably kill himself before we even get the chance to face him.” Anthony said coldly, burning Gabriel’s aspirations to the ground.

“So what do we do? Just let the opportunity god has placed in our hands slip so easily?” Gabriel said, evidently not too happy with Tony’s decision.

“Yes, that is exactly what we are going to do. Let me make you see it through your glasses. God gave us this opportunity because he wanted to test our patience. If we run out there like fools and get killed or blow our cover in the process, then we fail god’s test. On the other hand, if we don’t go out there and kidnap the general afterwards in a more planned way, god will be happy and might just bless us. In my glasses, the rewards are not worth the risks, that is, if there are any rewards.” Tony said.

“Come on hermano, you're just talking bullshit.” Gabriel said, irritated.

“And so are you! So sit tight and let this pass.” Tony said and silence occupied the room once again.

The officer and his soldiers ravaged through the house to find the agents, but as expected, it was futile. So they ultimately, left, murmuring something loudly, which was not probably good.

“Amerikaans! Come out now, it safe here.” The half grey haired man said, removing the cupboard from in front of the secret room.

He was obviously surprised to see the victims holding their cameras tightly in their hands. But this wasn’t the only strange thing he had seen in his life, so he labeled it as a natural American instinct to threat and let them be.

“Not go near the shades, bad men can watch. Not talk very loud, bad men kill all us. Understanding?” the man tried to speak in english as best as he could, but it turns out that war zones don’t provide much quality education. By the way, are you guys are getting the sarcasm I’m using in sentences or am I too smart for you (teasing smile)?

“Why are you doing this for us? After all, we are your enemies…” Tony said, trying to smell an ambush around him.

“We are Pashto people. And here we have a code of honor called Pashtunwali. We have mercy and give shelter to all those who are in need, no matter the intentions. It’s one of the things which keeps our humanity alive in this battlefield.” The man said simply. Oddly enough, he didn’t misplace words even once. He was proud of his culture, and followed their rules even if the world was burning right in front of him. And THAT made him gain Anthony’s respect.

“Come amerikaans, eat on table with us?” the woman said from the dining room and broke the Mesmer in the air.