A/N this should have been part of chapter one but it was too long so I split them. Chapter one got a bit of a re-write since it was pretty shaky so hopefully it reads a bit better now.
It started to rain -the first she had seen since she boarded the outbound aeroplane at Heathrow-she found the sound of it pattering against the roof soothing.
Altair turned the wipers on but nothing happened, "Does anything in this car work?"
"Yes the radio does but you turned that off ages ago. Apparently you don't share Ahmed's love of Hani Shaker."
She chuckled when he snorted but the rise and fall of her chest disturbed Malik and for the first time in almost 2 hours he spoke.
"What's funny?"
"Nothing, your friend here doesn't appreciate my guides car or his taste in music."
He mumbled "oh" and rolled onto his side, "You must be uncomfortable with my weight crushing you."
She was in fact horribly uncomfortable but she tried to make light of it. "Uncomfortable was half an hour ago I'm just numb now."
He tried to sit up but she stopped him, "Just lie still Malik. I think we are getting close to where we can find some help."
Altair spoke to him in Arabic which Maria thought was a bit off but since she already thought of him as a bit of wanker she decided to leave him to it. She fished around in her bag until she found her iPod and listened to music.
Altair smirked when he saw her put in her earphones, "I assume that's the polite English way of telling me I'm rude."
"This must be a new record for you Altair; it normally takes you at least twice this long to make a woman hate you."
"She is only helping us because she thinks we assassinated al Assad and she wants the inside story."
Malik shrugged, "That's as maybe but we would likely be dead if not for her assistance. We were wrong to trust Abbas with such an important task; it seems he owes us an explanation."
"He owes us more than an explanation! He had one simple job, to wait for us at the souk and he failed. He left us stranded in a city no longer friendly to our order."
"And he will have to explain why that happened, unless he has gone into hiding."
Altair's face darkened, "There won't be anywhere for him to hide Malik, if he doesn't show up in Masyaf I will leave and hunt him down."
"One problem at a time brother, we need to get there first."
"Her friend, the guide she referred to said we can find friends of his north of Mesraba, people who would be willing to help us. She doesn't know anything about them but we know that area supports the FSA which means we can probably trust them not to ask too many questions."
"It should be fairly safe to stop there but there are never any guarantees."
Altair inclined his head towards Maria, "She has been given a name which will identify us as friends."
"We owe her another debt and we repay her by omitting her from our conversation. If we don't want to trust her then we should leave her somewhere safe because she will never trust us if we continue to exclude her from our plans."
Malik's voice was even weaker than before and Altair found himself again wishing ill fortune on Abbas, he could have at least left them the car! The man was at worst a traitor and at best a coward, it didn't matter which because Altair would not suffer either of those things to exist in the order he served.
They were about 2 miles outside of Mesraba and he had spent the past 30 or so miles alone with his thoughts. His eyes kept flicking to the mirror, or more precisely to the people on the back seat. Malik was either sleeping or unconscious and Maria was probably asleep.
Malik was right, they owed her a great debt and he was making a poor job of repaying it but he never found it easy to make small talk and he didn't want to talk about anything important with someone who would probably only use it to boost her career. Now at last he had something to say to her.
He reached one arm behind him and tapped her leg. She twitched and the corner of his mouth turned up, 'She was sleeping.' He tapped her a little harder and this time she lifted her head to look at him.
"Is something wrong?"
He shook his head. "We are almost at the village and I wanted to ask you if you will stay in the car with Malik while I go in and look around."
"Of course I will."
"I need to know your intentions Maria; do you want to separate yourself from us here?"
She pursed her lips not really sure how to respond to the question, "Uh I haven't given it a great deal of thought, well coherent thought at least. I was focused on your friend here."
"I understand we can cross that bridge when we come to it."
He pulled the car over and parked it behind a semi-collapsed building. She looked out the window but there was really not much to see, the village was sheltered by a thick grove of trees. She craned her neck to see out the back window, the nearest light was about 100 yards behind them.
"So tell me do you plan to use the force to find the guy we are looking for?"
He was half way out the door so she never saw the small smile which now graced his face. "I have talents Maria, finding people is a speciality of mine."
"So what we just wait here and hope you come back?"
He leaned back into the car, "I will be back soon I have to get him to a doctor so time is of the essence. Trust me and don't worry."
He closed the door and within seconds had disappeared into the trees and the darkness. Maria sat there for what felt like an age waiting, her head turning, reacting to every sound she heard. Malik lay motionless the whole time, she was sure he was in shock from the blood loss now had not the first idea how to help him.
Then she heard voices and they were coming in their direction. For the first time she truly felt afraid, it was entirely possible Altair had approached the wrong person and now they were coming to get his accomplishes. But he was the first figure she could make out and behind him she saw other men emerge from the grove.
They pulled the door open and two of the men took hold of Malik's legs pulling him gently towards him until they got him over one of their shoulders. Altair had come around to her side and held her door open for her but she had barely moved her body in hours and it took a huge effort to get things going now.
He helped her out but once on her feet everything started tingling, "Oh crap pins and needles." She felt like her legs were on fire and her bum was numb so she decided to sit down and let it pass but Altair had other ideas. He scooped her up and carried her to the village.
"Put me down, this is absurd. They will go away in a few minutes."
"We don't have time to wait Maria he needs treatment now and I won't let him out of my sight. Please just cooperate."
She felt daft being carried like this but saw his point. "What are the men in the village like, did they greet you with hostility and do you think it will be safe here?"
"Like many others, initially yes and probably."
The burning in her legs was beginning to subside but the tingling reached its peak; she tried scrunching her toes to ease the sensation. "He must weigh a ton!"
"I'll be sure to be pass that message on to him it will no doubt cheer him in his recovery."
Maria chuckled softly, "You know what I mean."
"I do yes."
They were in the village now and there were a scattering of lights on around the place. At least enough for her to see it was a typical rustic farming community, with flat square houses and the occasional and in her opinion utterly charming bee hived shaped building. She would have to ask what those were later he had other things on his mind right now.
"Are you alright to walk now?"
She looked around and saw there were chairs outside the house most of them were going into. "Just plonk me down over there and go take care of your friend."
He did as asked but before he left he leaned close to her and whispered, "Whether they are our friends or not remains to be seen, do not wander away. As soon as you are able come inside and join us."
She looked up at him about to speak but in the end she settled for nodding her agreement. When he left she blew out a long sigh and thought 'Maria Thorpe you are well and truly screwed'
As it turned out she spent a good deal longer than she had planned to on the chair outside, she was considering going inside when she heard a gut wrenching howl of pain and that made her decision a whole lot easier. "Just you sit here old girl they are coping fine without you."
She had smoked the last of her cigarettes but knew there was another sleeve in her case. Remembering Altair's warning she tried to ignore her craving but she had gone so long without a smoke in the car that the couple she had smoked here made her want more. Not to mention the stress of the situation, it wasn't long before she convinced herself that he probably didn't mean don't go to the car, that hardly counted as wandering since she knew where it was.
She looked around and saw nobody not even a stray dog and so gingerly got to her feet and made off in the direction of the car. She made it as far as the trees before she felt a hand wrapping around her arm forcing her to turn around. It was Altair.
"I thought I told you not to wander!"
"You did and I'm not I'm just going to the car to get my cigarettes."
"That is exactly what I call wandering away; you have no idea of the risks out here Maria. I don't say things for the sake of talking. I am accustomed to having my instructions followed to the letter."
She arched her eyebrows and met him face on. "Well just look at you Mister Large and in charge! However, you have no authority over me and you will not raise your voice at me again."
He glared at her and she almost backed down, "Do you think your being a journalist will protect you here? Do you think these men will stop to admire your fancy clothes and your nice hair? This is not a village where families live with children and pets; this is the base for a group of guerilla fighters who might not have seen their wives for months."
"You never told me that. All you said was don't wander, how the fuck am I supposed to get that I'm surrounded by dangerous men from that piece of advice?"
"You are supposed to pay attention Maria. I am trying to keep you safe and you must listen to what I say." He watched her as she looked around at anything but him, she was still angry but she had got the message. "We'll go and get your cigarettes together."
She made a petulant face and walked on but he caught up in a few strides. "How is Malik?"
"We won't know for sure until tomorrow or the day after but for now he is sedated and his wound has been treated. You were right the bullet went right through his arm which made it easier but it did a lot of damage."
She stopped walking and looked at him, "Will he lose his arm?"
His chest heaved as he sighed "It is out of our hands. They have done all they can for him but there is a hospital in Masyaf that should be able to do more. I will take him there as soon as he is clear to travel."
"Is Masyaf your home?"
"More like our spiritual home but we maintain strong ties with the area and many of the houses in the town belong to us. It is the one place on earth we are truly welcome."
"Are you Free Syrian Army?"
He gave her a knowing smile, "No we are not a part of that faction although our interests currently match many of their own."
She pushed a little harder, "So your faction is what then?"
"Currently wondering where we are I would imagine. Will you be travelling with us to Masyaf or would you prefer to return to Dimashq?"
She grinned and without a pause said "I'll be coming with you I'm intrigued."