Walid came back in, and knelt beside Frank, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Rafiq is bound, in his tent. When do you wish to execute him?"

Frank was silent, staring at his cousin. Looking at his mother, he saw her tears and his expression hardened. "Right now," he said, attempting to stand.

Walid pulled him up, keeping a supportive arm around him as they left the tent.

"Oh no!" Monica exclaimed, looking at her fellow teammates.

"We gotta do something!" said Cody, as he ran out, everyone following.

"Walid!" said Alanur.

Walid and Frank stopped, waiting for them to catch up.

Alanur took Frank's hands. "Son, you…you aren't the kind of person who would do something like this!"

Frank blinked, looking confused. "I was born into this tribe. This is how the Med-jai punish murderers."

Alanur shook her head. "Yes, you were born here. But you abide by the laws of the United States, who would consider this an act of revenge, and consider you a murderer!"

"Frank," said Monica. "When you get your memory back, it'll destroy you to know you'd killed a man in cold blood, whether he deserved it or not!"

Frank seemed to consider their words. "I'll abide by US laws when I'm in the US, but while here I'll abide by the laws I was born under."

"Are you sure, cousin?" Walid asked, seeing their point.

"Yes," Frank said.

Walid shrugged, as if saying, 'he's making his own decision' as they walked on, leaving Alanur and the team standing there, as Ardeth and Safti caught up.

"Oh, father…" Alanur said, as he put an arm around her.

"He is not in his right mind," Ardeth said, sadly. "We can not blame him for anything that he does."

"When he gets his memory back, he'll wonder why we didn't stop him!" Alex said. "Come on!"

Everyone followed her, to where Walid and Frank were outside Rafiq's tent.

"Use a gun," Walid was saying, handing it to Frank. "You have not the strength to kill him with a sword."

Frank nodded carefully, wondering what the noise of the shot would do to his aching head.

Walid ducked into the tent, to take the prisoner out.

"Frank!" said Alanur, as they reached him. "Please, don't do this!"

"I have the right!" Frank answered, angrily. "He killed my father! He killed your husband! Don't you want to see him dead?"

Tears slid down her cheeks. "Whether I do or not, not by your hand!"

Walid came out of the tent with Rafiq. "Come, we will do this deed away from camp, so as not to disgrace our people further."

Jake lent Frank a hand as they walked away from the camp, Rafiq constantly trying to get away. They didn't go too far, not wanting Frank, Ardeth, and Safti to wear themselves out.

Walid stopped and let go of Rafiq, drawing his sword. "Try to get away, and you will die by my hand, slowly."

Rafiq stood there, shaking in fear.

"Now you know how my father felt," Frank said, aiming the gun at him.

"Frank!" Alanur said. "Please, don't!"

"Come on, boss!" said Cody. "This isn't like you!"

"You're gonna hate yourself!" said Alex.

"Frank, give me the gun," said Jake, hoping the phrase would sound familiar and make him stop.

Frank stood there, pointing the gun at Rafiq, his finger tightening on the trigger. Suddenly the look on his face changed, and the gun fell from his hand.

Everyone ran over to him when he swayed weakly, nearly falling to the sand.

"Frank!" said Alanur, grabbing his arm.

Frank's strength seemed to drain out of him, and he slowly sank to the sandy ground, with the team's help.

Alex kicked the gun away, wondering if his arm had gone numb. Great timing! she thought.

"Frank?" Monica said, getting nervous at the look on his face.

Frank snapped out of it, and looked around at everyone. He seemed speechless.

Walid reached them, pulling Rafiq with him, so he couldn't get away.

Frank looked up at his cousin, and then at Rafiq. His face showed more shock now then it did a moment earlier.

"What is it, Frank!" Alanur exclaimed, scared.

"It's back," Frank finally said.

"What is?" Cody asked.

Frank's shocked looked changed into a shocked smile. "My memory."

Everyone gasped.

"All of it? For real?" Cody said.

Frank nodded slightly. "Yeah…most of it." He looked up at Rafiq. "Along with one that was missing for fifteen years."

"Was it really true, what you said, Frank?" Alanur asked.

Frank sighed, with a nod. "Rafiq killed him."

Alanur sniffed, and wrapped her arms around her son, resting her head on his shoulder.

Frank looked up at Walid. "I can't do it."

Walid nodded. "I understand, Frank." He looked at Ardeth, who shook his head, not wanting the job either.

Without warning, Rafiq suddenly grabbed a dagger sheathed at Walid's side, and with his tied hands, lunged towards Frank.

Alex pulled out the gun to shoot him, but Rafiq was already so close to Frank that she didn't have enough time.

A shot rang out, and Rafiq jerked, the dagger falling from his hands and landing in Frank's lap.

Jake tried to throw himself between Frank and Rafiq's falling body, but everything happened so fast that the three of them ended up crashing in a heap.

Frank saw stars when he hit the sand, and closed his eyes. He didn't hear the frightened voices, or feel the hands that tried to quickly extricate him from the pile.

Finally the weight of the two bodies was off him, and he opened his eyes to see a crowd of faces looking down at him while a million hands searched him for a knife wound.

"Frank!" Alanur said, tearfully. "Are you all right!"

Frank sighed, trying not to groan. "I'm fine," he said, wondering who'd shot Rafiq until he saw Walid holster a smoking gun.

"Do you still have your memory?" Cody asked, nervously, hoping the jolt hadn't sent it back into la-la land.

Frank tried to sit up, and they helped him, Walid taking his dagger back.

Rafiq's lifeless body was lying nearby, in the blood-splattered sand. Looking down at himself, Frank saw that most of Rafiq's blood was all over him. He felt slightly nauseated, surprisingly. It's the head injury, he told himself.

"Frank?" Monica said, when he never answered Cody.

Frank realized they were all staring at him, and he tried to remember the question. "Yeah," he finally answered.

Everyone sighed in relief.

Frank looked at Rafiq again, now finally able to remember him. The nauseated feeling returned, and he realized it was because he'd practically grown up with the man—when living in Egypt—only to find out years later that Rafiq had murdered his father!

"Get me out of here," he said, surprising everyone with the sudden request.

Wordlessly, they pulled him to his feet, and made their way back to camp.

Hi Liza! A new reader! Yay! :) You asked me why Frank isn't the leader of the Med-jai. The reason is this; leadership is passed down father to son. Ardeth's son became leader after him, and then HIS son, Walid, became leader. Frank is the son of Ardeth's daughter. The only way Frank could inherit the title of leader would be if there was no Walid, who is the son of Ardeth's son. (I know I didn't write Ardeth's son into this story, LOL there were too many characters in it already!) Plus, Walid is 3 years older then Frank. Remember in Frank's flashback, he was 5 and Walid was 8!  ;)