Stolen Innocence
Chapter 7
"Where's Mutara?" Temujin's urgent question came from the doorway of the hut.
Bane turned from the cowering girl who was pressed back against the wall of the shelter, as far from him as she could get, but no longer screaming.
"He and Diako were gone by the time I got here."
"Diako?"
"Yes, he disobeyed orders and came here instead of holding his position."
"Find them."
Bane looked back to the girl. There was something odd about her face, some distortion that he was unsure of because of his night vision.
Temujin asked her in English, "Where is Joseph Mutara?"
The girl said nothing, continued to stare at Bane.
"You have your orders, Bane. I'll see to this and be right behind you. Zakuani is attending to the children."
Glad to be free of the teenager's horrified gaze, Bane rushed out of the hut and to the edge of the village. There he paused, rifle now in hand, crouched as he scanned the thick foliage for movement, tried to listen for telltale sounds of flight and pursuit, but all he could hear were the agitated, frightened voices of the children as they ventured out of the huts behind him. Zakuani spoke to them in a language Bane did not understand, authoritative, calm, and reassuring.
Heading into the forest, Bane advanced only a few meters before a gunshot rang out to the west, some ways into the tangled cover. Now he noticed signs of hurried passage—snapped branches, torn vines. Shouts echoed, angry male voices, but Bane could not interpret the words. He rushed forward, working his way to the north so he would come at his quarry from the flank. The shouting stopped. As Bane drew closer to where he suspected Mutara had been when the shot was fired, he saw only one man, down on the ground, cursing and clutching his leg. Diako.
As much as Bane wanted to berate the African, he knew now was not the time. Instead he spoke into his com to alert Diako to his presence before he broke cover and came to him. Blood darkened the man's right pant leg.
"Diako's been shot," Bane informed his team over the com. "Nothing life-threatening. I'm going after Mutara." To his wounded comrade, "Which direction?"
Diako, teeth clenched against the pain, pointed to the west.
Bane departed, as silent as his moderated speed allowed. How much of a head start did Mutara have? Inwardly he cursed Diako's insubordination. Why had the man taken matters into his own hands? Had he not understood his orders? No, those had been plain, plain and simple. Well, this was no time to ponder such things, not Diako's actions…and not that traumatized girl back in Mutara's hut. Later he would have answers to all of this.
He wanted to rush, afraid Mutara would escape, but he cautioned himself, knowing his target could very well be waiting to ambush any pursuer. The sounds of the forest seemed even louder than normal, animals disturbed by the gunfire, rustling in the branches high above him, calls of fear and warning, reminding Bane of the children's outcries back in the village.
"I'm coming up behind you, Bane," Temujin's voice over the com, soft, controlled. "I'll be moving off to your right."
The nearby presence of his SO soothed Bane, calmed his racing heart and quelled his rage over Diako's stupidity. Though he was unable to see Temujin, he could feel him through the heavy night, slipping forward like some wild cat.
They traveled for nearly a kilometer but saw nothing of Mutara. His early trail had vanished after Bane had left Diako, the man obviously taking more care of his passage through the wilderness once he had rid himself of the threat posed by Diako. How well did Mutara know this area? According to the dossier Bane had studied, Mutara had delivered at least two other groups of kidnapped children and adults to those willing to pay for them. Had Mutara used this same route? Did he know of places to hide in case of pursuers?
At last Temujin gave the order to abort the search and return to the village, concerned that Mutara might circle back to surprise Zukuani and retake his valuable victims. Easily Bane heard the bitterness in his SO's voice. They had been so close to success, to ending this mission swiftly. Bane had hoped for just such a result, not simply to help the children and please Rā's al Ghūl, but because he could then return to Talia. She would be very happy and proud to hear of their swift achievement. He could sit by the fire with her and tell her about all that he had seen of this amazing wilderness. She would be fascinated.
As Bane retraced his steps, Temujin moving on a parallel course, his thoughts of Talia made him consider the girl in Mutara's hut. He knew that her fear had not been strictly because of his strange visage. Diako's sudden nocturnal, armed appearance had surely traumatized her first, not to mention whatever Mutara had done to her during her captivity. While not naked, she wore little more than a ragged dress, something akin to a grain sack. Bane's memories of Melisande's rape and murder fired his blood when he considered Mutara's probable purpose for having the girl in that hut. It was that flaring rage that burned through him as he came upon Diako, still on the ground, muttering over his wound.
Before Diako could react, Bane had his hands around the man's throat, lifting him up and off his feet, saying, "You stupid fool! You jeopardized this entire operation with your blatant disobedience."
Diako's eyes revealed no fear, only outrage, as he struggled to break Bane's hold, gasping and gagging. "Put…me…down, damn you!"
"Your orders were to cover their escape route, not engage the target."
"Bane!" Temujin emerged from the foliage to Bane's right, immediately reaching for his arm. "Put him down! What the hell are you doing?"
Bane's anger, however, would not allow him to free Diako until Temujin snapped at him again. Then he gave the African a shove as he released him, causing the injured mercenary to sprawl across the ground, crying out in pain. Bane stormed past him, would have spat on him if not for the mask.
"Stop, Bane!" Temujin's command rang out. "Bane, that's an order!"
He halted, fists clenched, fought to control his emotions, keeping his back to his friend.
"Help Diako to the village."
After a moment's hesitation, Bane returned, stood above Diako, felt the African's glare from behind his night-vision goggles. Temujin waited, his displeasure tactile. Then Bane held out his hand, and Diako grabbed his forearm to be hauled to his feet, grimacing. With the mercenary's arm draped around his shoulder, Bane started back to the village, Temujin behind, rifle at the ready.
When they reached the village, all eyes turned their way from near the fire, which was burning brightly with fresh fuel. The two dozen children clustered close together, some sitting, some standing as if ready to flee. Zakuani stood in their midst, rifle in hand, vigilant. The bodies of the slain men had been dragged somewhere out of sight.
"These are my friends," Zakuani said to the youngsters. "Don't be afraid."
To Temujin, Bane said, "Why don't you take Diako? I'll stay back so I don't frighten them."
"Very well. Guard the perimeter. I'll have Zakuani relieve you after we see to the children and Diako's wound."
"I don't see the girl," Bane observed. "The one that was in Mutara's hut."
"I'm sure she's still in there. I spoke briefly to her and told her she could remain there if she felt safer. I'm going to speak with her alone. I have a feeling she's not one of these." He gestured to the group of children. "I'm thinking she's been with Mutara a while."
"You mean she wasn't kidnapped?"
"No doubt she was, but I don't think with this lot. She has suffered far more trauma than they."
Bane's jaw clenched as he suppressed a curse.
Many of the children stared at the blood on Diako's leg as Temujin helped him toward the fire, and a couple of them fell back from the man. Some looked curiously toward Bane, but he quickly turned away into the shadows.
###
When Zakuani relieved him some time later, Bane avoided the revealing glow of the fire. The night was still too warm for him to desire sitting near the flames. The children had all returned to the huts, allowed to spread out now and not sleep so crowded. He settled near the door of one of the shelters. Someone had retrieved his pack from where they had left them in the forest, and he used his now to recline, resting his rifle across him.
Diako lay near the fire, sleeping now, perhaps with the help of a sedative, his leg bandaged. Temujin stepped away from the man and drew near Bane, looked down upon him, his expression unreadable.
"Sleep, Bane. Two hours. Take advantage of it."
"How are they?"
"Still afraid but less so. Morning will help them recover."
"Until they see me."
"You must not concern yourself with that. There is nothing for it. We have assured them that none of us are to be feared."
"Did Diako tell you what happened? That he disobeyed your orders and went after Mutara himself?"
"I questioned him, yes."
"What did he say?"
Temujin sighed and stared off into the forest for a moment. "Our friend Diako has more than one employer, it turns out. One who will pay him more than we are paying him…if Mutara is dead."
"I knew he was a treacherous snake. How was this overlooked?"
"Zakuani takes full responsibility."
"So what are we going to do with him?"
Temujin raised a rebuking finger. "You're not going to snap his neck, if that's what you're thinking."
"Then what? We can't trust him."
"He can still hold a gun, so that makes him useful. Now, get some sleep, Bane. Leave Diako to me."
"Meanwhile Mutara's getting farther away."
"He won't get far in the jungle in the middle of the night without night vision. Don't worry; we will find him again."
"How can we do that with two dozen children attached to us? Did you speak to the girl?"
"I said sleep, Bane. We'll discuss all this in the morning." With that, Temujin turned back to the fire.
###
Bane had not expected to fall asleep so easily, but he did. Equally surprising, nothing disturbed him until a boot nudged him. He found Zakuani standing above him, eyes drooping from fatigue. Quickly Bane struggled up to relieve him of guard duty.
Morning light came slowly to the village, here beneath the towering trees. The bizarre sounds of night gave way to morning's variety of bird calls and the cries of unseen animals, those that preferred day to darkness. Though still tired from his exertions, Bane welcomed the dawn, eager to hear Temujin's plan and begin the pursuit.
His stint on watch passed uneventfully. Of course Mutara was wise enough to know he alone could not take on three armed, well-trained men in order to reacquire his human commodity. No, the criminal would now be focused only on his own safety and survival. As Bane thought again of the frightened girl in Mutara's hut, his fingers twitched with the desire to locate and crush the man.
Temujin found Bane at first light. "Come. Eat. We must talk."
To Bane's relief, none of the children had yet emerged from the huts, for he did not want them to see him without his mask while he ate. Quickly he injected himself with the usual dose of morphine to allow time for his brief breakfast. He and Temujin sat away from Zakuani and Diako, who both still slept.
"Finding Mutara in this wilderness will be challenging, to say the least," Temujin began. "Diako is unsure in what direction the man might be fleeing."
"He should have thought of that before he disobeyed orders and went after Mutara himself."
Ignoring the remark, Temujin directed his brown gaze toward the hut where Mutara had slept. "There is someone, however, who might be able to tell us."
Bane followed his stare. "The girl? What has she said to you?"
"Not much, but I'm hoping today will bring different results. Last night she was understandably shaken by what happened. All I learned was that she was indeed not abducted with the other children. She has been with Mutara for many months now, though in her current state, no doubt she has very little true sense of time, so it's difficult to know for sure how long she indeed has been a prisoner. Eventually…"
"We don't have time to wait around for her to recover enough to share intel."
"True enough, my impatient friend. That is why I want you to speak with her as soon as you are done eating. You will take breakfast to her."
"Me? Jin, you saw how she reacted to me last night. If you really want her to remain silent, then by all means send me to her, but that's not going to help us."
Temujin's small smile was indulgent. "Listen to me, brother. There is something about her that you overlooked last night. An understandable oversight, considering the limitations of night vision and the brevity of your encounter."
Bane berated himself for his lack of observation as his thoughts raced backward to last night. To what could Temujin be referring? Images flashed back to him from Mutara's hut. Wait…yes, there had been something…something about the girl's face…a distortion of some sort.
"Her scars," Temujin said at last, patient as usual. "On her face and hands."
Bane's memories were frustratingly unclear, and Temujin's revelation increased his curiosity. "Scars from what?"
"I didn't ask her, for obvious reasons such as relevance and sensitivity, but they appear to be from an acid attack."
Bane reared back. "Attack? You mean someone intentionally exposed her?"
"Yes. Though horrific, it is not uncommon in this part of the world. The attackers will splash it on their victims to purposefully disfigure their faces."
"But she is just a child. Why would anyone want to do such a thing to a mere child?"
That tolerant look again from Temujin. Bane sighed at the foolishness of his own question. Cruelty needed no logic to exist. He knew this better than most.
"I think," Temujin said, "if you allow her to see your face, you may be able to form a line of communication through empathy, enough to allow her to open up a bit and share what she knows of Mutara. I'm hoping she can tell us what direction he may have taken, if he has any allies or safe places in this region."
"But if my face traumatizes her a second time, she may never tell us anything. Why don't you speak with her again? You're easy to talk to."
"I am still a man, a stranger with a gun."
"So am I."
"Yes, but a stranger who has a better idea than most of the pain and suffering she has endured because of her disfigurement, as well as her captivity. If you share a bit about your own history that too could win her trust."
Bane frowned at the thought of revisiting such things, especially in front of a stranger. He wanted no one outside of the League to know about his past.
Temujin's expression hardened a bit. "Must I make this a direct order, Bane?"
Bane finished the last of his breakfast and downed a protein drink. Then he muttered, "No. But I don't think it's a good idea."
"Leave such concerns to me. Now," he handed Bane a banana leaf that held beans, rice, and dried pork on it, like a plate, "take this to her."
"I'm going to put my mask back on…to start with. I will see if she's receptive to your ideas, Jin."
Temujin allowed a small nod of consent. "I will trust your judgment."
"Thank you. What language does she understand?"
"She knows English, among others, I'm guessing, but I didn't ask her."
"Did she tell you her name?"
"Yes. Acayo."