Chapter 10

"Do you not want to return to your husband tonight?" Ben asked as he walked Sophie to the entrance of the tent where her guard was waiting to escort her back to the little hut. It had been a long evening, longer than the previous one, Sophie had made sure to draw it out a bit, they needed the camp to be fairly quiet when they made their escape. Ben could see a look of…was it fear on Sophie's face as he told her they would have breakfast in the morning again. He did not try to persuade her to stay as he had done before, but he was sure her resolve was crumbling.

"Do not worry…we will meet again tomorrow morning, and then I insist you bathe and change your dreadful clothes." His eyes swept over her taking in her figure which the dress he had given her to wear accentuated. "You look so much better when well dressed, and a lady like yourself should always be well dressed." He smiled at her.

"It's…not that." Sophie said softly. "My husband…he…well he doesn't like that you gave me this dress and…and…"

"And you are afraid to go back to the hut." Ben finished for her. He was now sure he could make his move and she would stay. Then he would have Nate killed and she would be his. He had sent the coordinates for the ransom drop and if they wanted proof of life again, well they could speak to Sophie. Nate had outlived his usefulness. He was about to turn and tell the guard to take care of the man when he felt Sophie's hand on his arm.

"No…please…" She whispered. "I didn't mean…I just am a bit afraid, if he…" Sophie nodded toward the pirate and then looked back at Ben "Could he just go in first and make sure Nate is…well…"

"I understand. You wish to return to your husband but you wish that my friend over there makes sure he does not get physical with you." Ben said biting back his disappointment. He could go through with his plans anyway but, a woman like her, she might be less likely to want to stay with him if he killed Nate outright. No he wanted her to give herself to him and that was not far away if he was any judge of a woman's attraction to himself. The problem was how to kill Nate without it looking like murder, he realized that she would never accept him if he killed Nate in cold blood just to get her. And he wanted her, more than he had ever wanted anything. He smiled at Sophie as he led her to stand beside her guard.

"Do not worry…he will make sure your husband understands the situation…" Then seeing the fear in her eyes again but this time for Nate he added quickly. "He will not harm your husband…unnecessarily, but if he resists…well I cannot be held accountable for that now can I my dear." He said patting her hand gently.

"No…" Sophie replied softly and Ben smiled at her.

That is what he had to do, make it look like the man brought it on himself…after all she had just said he would not be responsible for what happened. In his mind she was giving him permission…she wanted to be with him and not that stupid American after all, and this way she could have him without the guilt of her husbands' death on her. Problem solved he thought. He turned to the burly pirate and spoke to him in his native language. The man smiled back at him and Sophie could tell he had been told to beat Nate, probably kill him, just by the look in his eye. Before she or Ben could say any more another one of the pirates joined them and spoke to him softly. Ben nodded and then excused himself telling her that he had business and re-entered the tent. Sophie was then motioned to move back to the hut by the burly pirate.

Walking back Sophie hoped that Nate knew what he was doing. They reached the little hut and the guard, instead of ushering her before him, moved her behind him as he opened the door. Quickly Sophie surveyed the ground around the door and sure enough there was a fair sized rock lying right there. She waited for the guard to move into the door way before picking it up and then followed him ready to strike. She hoped this would knock the man out because if it didn't they were going to be in a lot of trouble.

Nate heard the sound of their footsteps even before the door was pushed open to allow the flood of moonlight in. The figure of the huge pirate stood in doorway. He swept his eyes across the room until they fell on Nate and then he smiled. Nate had moved to the furthest part of the little hut and still it would only be two steps before the big man was on him. He saw the man move forward and braced himself for a blow, ready to try to avoid it if he could. As the big pirate took another step he saw Sophie come up behind him and smack the large rock onto his head. The pirate stopped midstride and grunted loudly. For a split second Nate thought he had not been affected by the blow but then he crumpled noisily to the ground.

"Shut the door quickly." Nate told Sophie who was standing looking at her own handiwork. "We don't have much time. Remember the plan Sophie…you go get us water from the well and then get into the rocks and stay down…no matter what happens you keep going alright." Nate told her. Then he pulled her in for a sudden and passionate kiss. "I'll see you in a bit…now go." He said turning her towards the door and watching as she opened it a crack, peering out first and then slipping into the darkness.

Nate quickly took the guards rifle and emptied it of bullets putting them into his pocket. Then he searched the pirate and found another knife, this one a lot more useful than the table knife Sophie had brought for him. He found nothing else of value and so turned and slipped out into the night closing the door and locking it behind him. He turned to the right and headed towards the building used as their fuel depot.

The camp was quiet and he did not encounter any problems getting to the little building. Quickly he set about his work. He tipped two of the tanks allowing the fuel to run out. One spilling it's liquid toward the mess tent behind which the building stood and one sending a stream of fuel towards the vehicle parked beside the tent. Then he moved the barrels as close together as he could manage before dowsing the little cloth Sophie had provided for him. He was counting on the explosion causing immediate chaos in and around the camp. That, he thought, should buy them enough time to put some distance between themselves and the pirates. He looked around and saw that he had access to another tent which was to the left of the building. It seemed to be sleeping quarters for some of the pirates. Quickly he took a can he found lying beside one of the drums and filled it with petrol. Then he made his way quietly over to the back of the tent. He poured the liquid over a section of the tent and then using the pirates' knife he quickly and efficiently removed the heads of the bullets and laid a path of gunpowder as he retreated. He was about half way back to the building when he ran out of the black powder. Quickly returning to the barrels he made sure that the little cloth was well dowsed and then set the end alight. He put the tip of the cloth into a small opening on one of the barrels and then turned and moved away. As he retreated he also lit his fuse and saw it burn its way towards the tent. He spent no more time admiring his handiwork and started off towards the rocks he had sent Sophie to, when all hell broke loose in the camp.

Nate was nearly out of the camp when the fuel tanks exploded spectacularly, sending fire shooting along the ground following the trail of fuel he had left to the mess tent and then the vehicle which also added to the chaos when it too exploded dramatically. The mess tent was in flames and flames licked at the back of the other tent sending half dressed, half asleep pirates running out in panic. Nate stumbled forward moving as fast as he could. The nights work had taken its toll on him and his movements were now slow and painful. He was also finding hit hard to breath and fought through a wave of dizziness. As he moved passed the first of the bigger rocks he stopped to catch his breath and steady himself, grabbing onto the rock for support. Suddenly out of the darkness Sophie made her appearance.

"Nate...over here…" She said softly moving towards him. "That was quite a show…"

"Yes well let's leave them to enjoy it shall we?" He rasped out trying desperately to catch his breath. "We need to go." He said forcing himself to move forward, he had to get Sophie to a safe place.

"How long do you think before they are after us…?" Sophie asked as she moved slowly alongside him. She could see that he was struggling and knew that he would not be able to move very far off.

"Hopefully a while…It's going to take them some time to figure out what went on and then they are going to have to regroup before setting out." Nate said softly. He was now breathing heavily and each step was a monumental effort for him. He stopped and looked around. He needed to find a place for them to hide, he knew he would not be able to go much further and he also knew Sophie was not going to go on without him. "We need to find a place to hold up Sophie. They are going to be out after us, they will not expect us to stay close to the camp. Hopefully they will pass right by us."

"Ok…well let's go find us a hiding place then."

Nate nodded and using what little strength he had left he led the way. They could hear shouting coming from the camp behind them and then a flurry of gunshots split the night. Nate knew they did not have much time. He spotted three very large rocks a few meters in front of them and led Sophie towards them. Luck was on their side. The rocks were stacked in just such a way that they formed a semi-cave. In the darkness of the night, the pirates should just walk by them in their haste to chase them. Nate figured that Ben was astute enough to know that they would head for the rocks…he would be after them in short time now.

"In there Sophie quickly…" Nate said. Sophie obliged and Nate followed. The space was very small and they had to squeeze in to fit. Sophie wrapped her arms around Nate and they huddled together in their little hidey hole. Nate felt numb, the pain was diming in his extremities and that was never a good sign. He knew he was not going to last much longer, he just hoped he would last long enough to see Sophie through.

"How long do you think this is going to work?" Sophie whispered.

"I don't know…I am sure they will assume that we high-tailed it as far away from here as we could. But, when they find no sign of us, they will figure it out and double back. A couple of hours maybe…This will work now, in the dark, but come morning…I am not so sure. Hopefully Eliot will be here by then."

Ben heard the explosion and ran out of the tent to witness the vehicle also explode and the mess tent and sleeping tent go up in flames. He cursed silently to himself and ran toward the little hut the two prisoners were being held in. Finding the guard missing but the door closed and locked he assumed that the guard had gone to help with the fires. Turning away he was about to leave when he decided that he needed to make sure that Sophie was alright.

"Sophie…" He called out and knocked on the door. No response. He frowned slightly and tried the door again. No it was locked. They could not possibly have escaped…His face grew hard again and he called out to Sophie to stand back from the door, he was going to break the lock. Taking out his pistol he fired a shot into the lock of the door shattering it and the door swung open. Ben immediately saw the big pirate lying prone on the floor and an empty hut.

Ben's anger overtook him and he fired his gun several times into the wall of the hut in utter frustration. "She will pay for this…She will pay dearly her treachery." He promised himself as he left the hut not even bothering to check on the welfare of his man.

Outside his men were scrambling to dowse the fires. The mess tent was totally destroyed as was the building that had served as their fuel storage depot. Ben looked out into the desert beyond the ruined building, the fire lighting up the night sky. No he thought…they will not go that way it would be too easy for us to track them and catch them. He turned and looked at the darkened side of the camp, passed the water and into the rocky landscape beyond. Yes…yes they will try to get away through the rocks.

Ben knew he did not have many men left in the camp; the majority of his them were out on another job. He would leave three men here and take the rest with him. He doubted he would need that many to deal with the two Americans but he was not going to take any chances. Calling one of his men he instructed him to get ten together and to meet at the well. He knew that going out in the dark was a risk but one he was willing to take. He reasoned that the escapees would also have to deal with the rough terrain in the dark and they would not get that far…he would not allow them the rest of the night to put distance between themselves and him. He would catch up to them quickly he was sure, and the sooner he could find them, the faster he could get his revenge. Nate Ford would die a slow and painful death, Sophie…no for her he had other things planed.

I hope you all enjoyed the escape. Do you think that Nate's little plan will work and for how long? Will Eliot, Parker and Hardison find them before Ben figures out he's been duped and doubles back? How much longer do you think Nate will be able to last? Thank you all for taking the time to review, please keep them coming as they are greatly appreciated.