An hour had passed and Sonny brought over a large pot of cooked rice and beans that smelled really good to the hungry men and children. Pulling out the tin plates and metal spoons they had found in the hidey hole, he scooped out generous portions for each man and child. Packages of flour tortillas were collected from the stash of opened MRE components and passed around. Once everyone had something to eat and drink, the group was quiet as they busily ate their dinner. Cerberus crunched a full pan of kibble just outside the circle.
After the children finished eating, Jason asked, "Children, how long have you been staying in the desert?" "We have been out here for 3 days." Sarai, age 6, said in a dramatic voice. "I want to go home." she continued, in a plaintive tone. "Papa promised that we would only be here overnight." Lisan, age 9, chimed in, "Ali did not leave us any prepared food, except for a few rounds of bread and a pot of hummus and we ate all of it the first day." Clay asked, "Why did Ali bring you out to the desert?" Teha and Meha, the twins, quiet until now, used their fingers to make gun shapes and made pow pow noises and fell over on one another. This made Abi cry. Crawling over to Ray, Abi climbed into his lap and put his thumb in his mouth. Leaning back into Ray's embrace, the child calmed.
Ray asked gently, "Did you see any of the men fall down?" "Yes, yes the children chorused, there was so much blood." "Where were you when the gun fire began?" asked Jason. "We were out playing with the goats." Sarai said. "Mama lets us feed them the green tops from the vegetables." Jason asked, "What did you do when you heard the shooting? Nia took up the story. "Papa said, if there was trouble, to get the children into the back of the big truck. It has a cover over wooden seats and there is room for us, to hide under the seats." she explained. "We pulled the tarps over ourselves, so that we could not be seen. "I begged the children not to cry," she said, "sniffling a bit, but I was so scared. I did not know how I was going to save them all." Cerberus went over to the child and lay his head on her knee.
"Did you see any of the bad men?" Jason asked the group. "I did." "I did." admitted Lisan and Mohammad. "We were closest to the courtyard and a car and a Jeep pulled up. Lots of men climbed out and began shouting and shooting guns." said Lisan. Mohammad continued, "At first I thought it was a game, and then I saw Saj and Matahb fall." "Matahb has been our Nan for ages and I am so scared she is dead." Lisan said. "Matahb brushes our hair and makes sure we make proper Wudu before praying and also helps us say our prayers." "She sings to us too," said Sarai and began singing in a sweet voice, "Goodnight child, Goodnight child, did you have a good day today. Goodnight child, did you have a good day today? Time to say your dua. Goodnight child, read your Quran before you sleep..." "Then she would tell us a story out of the Book." added Lisan, (Lyrics by Subhi Alshaik)
Jason, intent on obtaining as much information was possible, was stopped in his tracks, by the girl's sweet voice. He remembered that he was not interrogating hostiles, but small children and softened his tone. "Nia said carefully, "I am not sure how much I am permitted to say. Papa says to never talk to GIs or strangers at the marketplace. If we do, we get a swat and have to stay home on the next market day." Jason said, "I promise Nia, that your Papa wants you to be safe and right now we can keep you safe, since he is not here to do so himself." Jason responded. Thinking about his words, Nia nodded to herself and began. "Well as you know, we were playing with the goats in the enclosure just outside the courtyard. The men drove up and the yelling and shooting began. I heard the kitchen women screaming and the gate to the woman's section clanged loudly, as it was shut. The chains jiggle and make a noise."
"We ran and hid in the truck, like Papa had instructed us to do. Soon, he and Ali came running to the truck and got in. When they began to drive us away, we swerved on the road and the harsh movements made it hard not to bump our heads and knees." Trent nodded and spoke quietly, "Boss, all the children have bumps, bruises and abrasions. I cleaned and disinfected them and removed a splinters from two elbows and five different fingers." Abi held up his bandaged finger for inspection. "I have a bandage." he said proudly. "Trent says I am tough." Ray dropped a kiss on the top of the sweet boy's head. "Then what happened?" Ray asked.
"We drove for what seemed like a long time, maybe two hours at a fast speed." Nia said. "Vroom, vroom." Teha and Meha chorused. "We kept making those sounds, to keep the little ones from crying too much." Nia said. "I thought it was silly, but Mohammad said it would help." "Did your Papa give you any instructions, as your drove?" asked Ray. Mohammad replied, "Papa said that we should hide and that we should throw rocks if anyone came near." Seeing a rock near Ray's thigh, Abi picked it up and hurled it, nearly hitting Clay. "Hey, kid, no rock throwing," Clay said, rubbing his shoulder like he had been hit. "Tomorrow I will play soccer with you in the cool of the morning, ok." Giggling. Abi said "yes!" and pumped his fist, and all the children looked interested.
Noticing that Nia, Lisan, and the twins looked stressed, Trent suggested that it was time for dessert. Brock pulled out a stack of halal butterscotch pudding packets and more chocolaty chip cookies. For the men, he pulled out packets of nut blends and trail mix. The SEALS helped the children manage the pudding packs. After everyone had finished, Trent asked if anyone needed to visit the latrine. He took the children over to where he and Brock had dug trench latrines. It was far enough away from the shelter they had erected earlier in the day, but not too far that the children could run into trouble. Trent gave each child a sani-cloth to wipe their hands and then gave them a second wet cloth to wash their faces and necks.
Noticing, it was time to check in with TOC, Jason asked Clay and Brock to keep an eye on the children while they played out of earshot.
The conversation with TOC went a bit like Jason expected. "The children are high value kidnapping targets." Mandy explained. "Both Fathers have men willing to challenge them for dominance in the area. Tribal tensions have been running high over the fertile delta that runs to the East. That land brings in crops of food along with poppies, marijuana, and regular hemp used to make fabric and rope. You may run into large numbers of goats and a small number of lambs, since the economy is still surprisingly agrarian." "We could use a lactating goat," said Brock, "for milk." Trent agreed, "The children are thin, but healthy. However, being out here in the desert means they are burning twice as many calories from the stress of separation and rough living and the wide swing in air and ground temps."
Lisa Davis entered the conversation, "I have been checking and I can send a drone in with supplies, since the airspace has been perfectly quiet. What do you need most?" Trent and Brock looked at each other and rejoiced silently. "Kid shoes, they said together." Trent continued, "I have been concerned about moving the children, because they are all barefoot. When they left the camp, they had been playing with the goats in the side yard and did not have any time to grab anything." "How would I know what sizes to buy?" Lisa asked. "I took prints of their feet, when I gave them the physicals. I'll note names, ages, sex, and foot measurements on each and send you photos. It might be better if they are adjustable sandals, so that the food bed is thick. That way they will fit for a good while." Lisa mused, "I just have to figure out how to have nine pairs of kid shoes constructed, without raising any red flags for the locals. I am on it!" she declared. Satisfied with the conversation, Eric suggested they set the next call in for 0800 hours.
"Let's see what we have in this barrel." The men peered into the barrel of foodstuffs Clay and Sonny had brought back from their last recon mission. To get it up the steep incline of the ridge, Jason and Ray had used ropes to draw it up to the top, rolling it slowly.
Sonny and Brock pried the lid off and started to go through the cask. As each item was revealed, one of the children identified it the woman who likely prepared it, naming Aisha, Safiya, and Lana. Ray was again writing down names and any details he could get from the child about the women. A large bag of flour came out first. It was well wrapped in a waxed bag inside of a canvas bag. Then came a quart of clarified butter, a bladder of what appeared to be vegetable oil, a jug of honey, tins of yeast, salt, pistachios, and vanilla sugar. A box of powdered eggs, the directions to reconstitute in Arabic. A bag of semolina flour rounded out the foodstuffs in the top section. A round metal disk separated the barrel into two sections. Holding it up, Brock asked if it was a cooking surface. Teha and Meha nodded vigorously. "It gets very hot and if we touch it, we get a burn and a smack." confirmed Raha. "Ok then, lets save the rest for looking at later," sad Sonny, remembering his own experiences with touching hot things and getting a smack.
Glancing over at Sonny and raising an eyebrow, Brock decided to change the subject. "Children, what does your Nan usually give you for breakfast?" Brock asked. "M'Sen little voices piped up and tea." "M'Sen is a honey bread, right?" asked Brock. "Yes," Raha said dreamily, "it has butter and honey and sometimes nuts." Looking at Trent, Brock said, "I think we can do that, with some planning."
Clay had also brought the roll of canvas back. Grinning, he said, "I don't like the idea of the kids sleeping on the ground." Laying out the roll, he measured it to fit the interior of the small, low shelter erected earlier in the day. Clay and Perry stretched the fabric to make a floor and used spikes to secure it in the hard packed dirt. "I found a few fabric coverings and brought them back to use as bedclothes." Clay finished. "They are woven and should add some warmth and comfort for the kids."
Satisfied that he had improved the sleeping area the best he could, Clay wondered over to where Brock was stirring a pot of what looked like dough. "Whatcha doing?" Raha exclaimed, "Brock is making us M'Sen honey bread to eat for breakfast." "Well, I am trying." Brock murmured. "The directions are being cobbled together by the children, who have watched the camp women make it." "Looks like dough to me." Clay whispered, and the children laughed.
Darkness came early in the desert and Trent and Clay began getting the children ready for bed. Trips to latrine were made and hands, faces and feet washed. The children went down easily enough, the stress and out of the ordinariness of the day, tiring them out. Jason could hear Sarai singing to herself and to the others. "Children, I hope you had a good day today, we had a good day today..." Then silence as the children slumbered.
Jason's low whistle brought the team together. "We need set a watch schedule and sleep schedule. Since Sonny and Clay have been the most active, visiting the hooch and patrolling a two click circle around the ridge, you get the first rest period. You two, set your timers for four hours. Then, you both will be on watch for two more hours, then two more hours of rest. Trent and Ray, you will take the first watch for the next four hours. If you doze a bit, it will probably be fine. Seems pretty quiet out here. Brock, you will be up first with the food, so rest next to the children, but be ready to go at the slightest noise or movement." "Roger that." Brock agreed. "Seep with one eye open." Cerberus pushed his head under Brock's arm an looking up at him, silently promising that he would also be on duty.
"What are you going to do Boss?" asked Ray. "I am going to make the two-click circuit. I'll find a rock and rest against it, when I need to." The camp quieted as the men moved to their assignments.