Page 56 of Viral Justice

Max watched as the child came over to take her hand.

He patted it as if she needed someone to calm her. “Come, my father will help you.”

Ali opened her mouth, but Max interrupted whatever she was about to say by stepping forward and crouching next to the boy. “This is my friend, and I’m a doctor. Where is your father?”

“We have a house in the village. Come. Father said to bring him.” The boy looked at Ali.

“Can we come too?” Max asked him.

The boy shrugged and took Ali’s hand. He pulled her along with him while Max and Tom followed.

“Where are we going?” Tom asked, his voice pitched so it wouldn’t carry.

Max grunted. “Down the yellow brick road.”

“Not funny, Max.” Tom kept up a constant visual sweep all around. “Bull is late, which means he’s in trouble.”

“I’m well aware.” Losing one of the men under his command was an open wound that seemed to tear wider and wider with every passing moment. “The moment we’re secure for more than five minutes, you’re going to find him.”

“Thank God.”

“Did you think I was going to let him rot wherever he was?”

“No, I thought you’d want to send for reinforcements first.”

“Why would you think that?”

“You’re an officer.”

“I think I’ve just been insulted, but I’ll let it pass this once.”

“No insult intended. Most officers don’t know their right foot from their left.”

“I feel so much...smarter now.”

The boy took them around the crowd still watching the house burn and back into the village. The house he brought them to was small in comparison to some others, but it was clean on the inside. It had two rooms, one kitchen/living area and one bedroom.

A man stood in the kitchen with the smaller boy, who was hanging on to the man’s pants.

Tom came in last and shut the door.

The man looked them all over, then stared at Ali. “You saved my sons’ lives.”

Ali glanced at Max, so he stepped forward and smiled. “Children should always be cherished and protected.” He gave the man a little bow. “We shouldn’t stay.” He gave Tom and Ali a nod and they all turned back to the door.

The man’s voice stopped them. “You’re hurt.”

Max said quietly, “We don’t want to bring trouble to your home. We are going.”

“You’re the Americans those pigs are looking for,” the man said. “They will find you if you don’t stay out of sight.”

Out of the corner of his eye Max could see Tom slowly reaching for his rifle under his poncho.

“I have a place to hide you.” The man turned and walked to the large fireplace dominating one end of the room. The chimney looked like it was part of the wall, but there was a narrow gap between the stone and bricks of the fireplace. The opening was dark and there were some rough stairs leading down into the darkness.

“Thank you my friend,” Max said, then bowed and said, “My name is Max.”

“Ferhat, and these are my sons, Berez—” he put his hand on the head of the youngest boy “—and Coban.” He gestured at the older boy.

---