I became vaguely aware of a presence in my cell. I sensed Guest kneeling down beside me, shortly before his overpowering cologne reached me. He roughly took my left arm, not even bothering to try and raise a vein with a strap. The procedure would not be necessary for the injection he had planned for me.

Training and instinct seized me.

My eyes snapped open. In an instant, I grabbed Guest by his thick throat with my left hand, immobilizing him. I swiftly brought up the metal slat which was in my right hand, goring him deeply in the side. The make-shift weapon disappeared into soft flesh and muscle until struck bone. I twisted sharply to incur more damage, pushing the metal up past his ribs, and finally sinking it deep into his heart.

Surprised shock at the attack clearly showed on Guest's face. His eyes locked with mine and his grasp tightened on my arm like a vice. And then, it was over. As the life drained from his body, his hold on my arm relaxed. The syringe Guest had been holding and it rolled safely away.

"I promised you I was a man of my word," I whispered to him, wanting him to register my words as the final ones that he would ever hear. I saw a flicker of understanding before the remaining life ebbed from his body and his eyes went completely dead.

I shoved Guest's heavy body aside, not wanting it to touch me. I slowly climbed to my feet, breathing heavily, Guest's cologne and perspiration stench thick in my nostrils. I was cleaning the weapon that I had removed from Guest's side, when I noticed Cheri was present. I immediately turned my attention to her.

I assumed that she had seen the entire thing, but that the quickness with which I had dispatched Guest hadn't given her a chance to cry out. Cheri stood motionless in shock.

In a moment, I was on my feet. I put my hand across her mouth, preventing her from screaming for Tristan and Nasir. I let her feel the kiss of the metal against her throat. "Not a sound," I warned her, "if you want to live."

Cheri nodded mutely.

I remembered what Perkins had casually mentioned about leaving through the back door. Briefly, I wondered if they had actually visited me, or if the vision had been generated by the heroin. I told myself that it hardly mattered now.

I dragged her over to Guest's body. Pulling her to the floor with me, I kneeled down and quickly went through Guest's pockets. I found a set of keys along with Lyon's lighter. I swept up both of them, instantly feeling the lighter's power. I silently cursed Guest again for taking the lighter from me and I was thankful to have recovered it. I vowed that I would not have it taken from me again.

I remembered what Perkins had casually mentioned about leaving through the back door. Briefly, I wondered if they had actually visited me, or if the vision had been generated by the heroin. I told myself that it hardly mattered now.

I got to my feet and yanked Cheri up by her bony arm. "I will be existing through the back door within one minute," I said in a low and menacing voice. "I have already recovered Lyon's lighter. I want three additional items before I leave: My cover, my boots and Sergeant Troy. I will not leave without the three of them. Take me to them immediately."

Cheri didn't move.

"What part of immediately do you not understand? I am quickly running out of patience and time."

Still, Cheri did nothing but look terrified.

I contemplated leaving her but put the thought aside. I had no time to tie her up and I did not want to take the chance she would be able to call out. I brought the bloodied slat up to face. "You are an attractive woman, Madame. When I'm finished with your face, it will look worse than my back. Do I need to ask you a second time?"

She stood there, still staring at me.

"Now!" I told her fiercely, shoving her to get her moving. I quickly finished cleaned the weapon on Guest's shirt before slipping it into my pocket. It might be prove useful again.

Cheri led me to a nearby alcove. I spotted the items I had demanded, laid out as if they were waiting for me. I pulled my boots on quickly and replaced my cover. I noticed Troy's bush hat and on impulse, I took it also.

I saw a bolted door nearby and I instantly knew that Troy was being held behind it. I quickly entered the cell, pulling Cheri along with me. Troy was lying motionless in the corner. He was in horrible shape, even worse than my own. If I hadn't recognized his uniform, I never would have known it was he.

Troy's eyes swollen shut, and his face was a mass of bruises. But it was the sight of Troy's feet that truly turned my stomach. Guest had mentioned he would use bastinado to make Troy talk, but his torture was far worse than anything I had seen before. I had seen the disgusting results of the Gestapo's bastinado work, but that paled in comparison to what Guest had done to Troy. There was clearly no need to drug or bind Troy; it would have been impossible for him to crawl even a short distance.

"Has he already been injected with an overdose?" I asked Cheri.

Cheri merely blinked at me.

"Tell me!" I said shaking her roughly. I found myself increasingly edgy and irritable. I was in no mood for her to defy me.

She stood there staring at me blindly, before slowly shaking her head.

I believed Troy must be dead, but I went to him anyway. I placed my hand to his neck. I was relieved when I was able to detect a faint, very weak pulse under my fingers.

Registering the touch of my hand, Troy stirred and pulled away, curling into a ball.

"Sergeant Troy, it is Captain Dietrich," I quietly reassured him. "I am taking you away from here."

"No, Captain, leave me. Save yourself. I can't make it."

"You're leaving with me, Sergeant. I'm giving you an order."

"I do not recognize you as an officer in my chain of command. You have no authorization to issue me orders.

I sighed. What little that remained of Troy was still presenting a fight against me. I was hardly surprised. "I have the authorization given the circumstances. Now, look to it, Sergeant. We've leaving immediately," I ordered him in a sharp voice.

I quickly pulled Troy up to his feet and heaved him over my shoulder, my back screaming in protest.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

"Where is the box?" I asked her.

"What box?" Cheri blinked at me as if dazed.

"The box containing the opiates, you stupid bitch! Is it nearby?" I nearly slapped her. I restrained myself, concerned that Tristan or Nasir might hear the sound and come to investigate.

She shook her head. "No, Stuart or Tristan keeps it with them upstairs. They don't trust me to be around it," she mumbled.

I cursed my bad luck. I told myself that the box and its contents might have proven useful, even though I knew that to be a lie. But regardless of why I needed it, there was no time to retrieve it. We now had little, if any, time remaining to escape. We must leave without it. As much as it frustrated me, I knew that it was for the best.

"Take me to the stairs leading to the back door," I hissed at Cheri. She looked anxious and was trembling. At first, I took it for fear, but then I thought that it might be her need for the drug. She was probably beginning to exhibit withdrawal symptoms. I knew that the further she regressed, the less useful she would be to me.

I shoved her roughly. That seemed to bring her to her senses and Cheri led me to a small side door, which when opened, revealed a narrow flight of stairs leading upwards.

Troy was becoming very heavy and in my weakened state and it was difficult climbing the stairs in the tight quarters. With effort, I managed to make it to the top. I tried the door, only to find it locked. I took the keys from my pocket. Trembling slightly from withdrawals myself, I feared I would drop the keys unto the landing below. I forced my hands to steady themselves and inserted a likely key into the lock. I sighed with relief when the tumblers easily turned.

I began to open the door. I saw Cheri remove something from her pocket. It was the syringe Guest had dropped when I killed him. She must have retrieved it while I was searching him for the keys. For a moment I thought she was going to use it on me as a weapon, but then I recognized her true intent.

"No!" I told her fiercely. "Don't do it, please," I nearly begged her. I moved to stop her, but slowed by carrying my burden of Troy, I could not reach her in time.

Cheri quickly injected herself, a moment of quiet bliss quickly crossing her face as she gradually slumped down, her breathing already shallow and beginning to slow. I quickly put Troy down on the landing and went to her. Even before I looked at her, I already knew that there was nothing I could do for her. Her eyes were fluttering and she was nodding off. It would not be long before she was gone.

"I pray you find the peace you are seeking. Dance beautifully in the hereafter," I said to Cheri softly, and I made the sign of the cross over her. I heaved Troy unto my shoulder again and opened the door to freedom, not looking back at what remained of her.

I squinted out into the golden sunshine. The door opened to a narrow, crooked alley deserted except for a lone automobile parked half-way down the street. There was a driver in the vehicle with his back towards us. I could see him gathering his belongings, preparing to exit.

There was no one else in the vicinity. I quickly stepped outside. Silently, I closed the door behind me and quickly locked it, pocketing the key. It would gain us a few precious seconds if Tristan or Nasir should discover us missing.

I staggered down the alley towards the automobile. We would be unable to escape without it. When we neared it, I gently laid Troy down, partially hiding him in an enclave. I was perspiring heavily and it felt good to unburden myself of his weight.

As the driver was leaving the automobile, I came up silently behind him, placing one hand over his mouth to prevent him from screaming. I quickly brought my makeshift knife to his throat. Then, I pushed him to the wall, ensuring he could not see me. I could feel his body become rigid with fear.

"I need your automobile," I told him softly in Arabic. "Give me the key and I will not harm you. I am a desperate man with little time to spare. It will take me only a second to slash your throat. You decide if your life is worth defying and angering me."

He reached into his pocket and instantly produced the key. I quickly pocketed it before continuing my orders to the man.

"Now remove your jacket and shirt." I could sense his puzzlement as to why I would steal his clothing. I only had to slightly apply pressure with the weapon to remind him of my demand. I desperately needed his shirt. I had only been outside for a few minutes and the flies were already beginning to eat me alive.

I donned his shirt, not bothering to button it. I reached up and removed his headscarf. I then rapidly tied his hands behind his back and used his belt to secure him tightly to a protruding pipe. I pulled his handkerchief from the jacket's breast pocket and stuffed it into his mouth. I then placed his jacket over his head to prevent him from witnessing our escape. Not giving the man a second thought, I left him. He would be discovered soon enough by a passerby.

I retrieved Troy and placed him in the back seat. I looked up and down the alley, but there was still no indication that our escape had been discovered. So far so good, but it was not the time to become complacent, I warned myself. We needed to leave the town immediately before we attracted any attention.

The automobile easily turned over on the first attempt. I quickly checked the fuel gauge and thanked God for the full petrol tank. The vehicle was a fairly late model and appeared to be in good running order. It should be able to handle the terrain if I remained on firmer ground.

Satisfied, I pulled smoothly away as if stealing an automobile was an everyday occurrence for me.

I drove slowly through the town, taking care not to be noticed. There were no soldiers, Allied nor Axis, to be seen on the streets. They still must be recovering from the prior night's debauchery, I thought.

I remotely contemplated handing over Troy to an Allied soldier if I saw one, but quickly decided against it. One look at Troy and the soldier would shoot me on the spot without bothering to ask for any details. Inversely, approaching a Wehrmacht soldier was also out of the question. I would have been signing Troy's death warrant. No, I needed to find a cooler head which would give me the opportunity to detail the events over the last several days.

I departed in the direction of the German lines. Any pursuers would naturally expect me to head in that direction, to return to what little remained of Axis held territory. After I had traveled a few kilometers, I circled back to head north east towards the Allied lines. Our bearing was now toward the last known position I had of the Rat Patrol.

I gave myself a one in a hundred chance of succeeding. Troy and I would either live or die together in the desert.