Chapter 9. Extraction

While Bucky and Natalie had breakfast the following morning they discussed how they were going to approach Ebrahim Gaba and convince him to come with them. If he came willingly perhaps it wasn't kidnapping. They also went over what they would ask him. Who killed his sons and why? Did this have anything to do with importing drugs into the United States? Who else from Afghanistan was involved?

"We should get a recording device to record his answers," said Natalie. "Then if he tries to change his tune later we've got him on a recording."

"There's voice activated ones," said Bucky. "You just turn it on and it records whenever someone speaks. They cost a bit extra but it's probably worth it."

"Do you think we'll need a gun to "convince" him to come with us?" asked Natalie.

"We won't be able to get one legally," said Bucky. "Strict gun laws here. We'll just have to convince him using our natural charm."

Bucky checked his watch and said it was time to begin the stakeout and make sure Gaba showed up at work. They paid their bill, got into the car and positioned themselves so they could see the door of the business. Several people arrived and went inside but none were Gaba. Then Natalie touched Bucky's arm and pointed to a man. The picture in the newspaper had a man wearing traditional Afghani clothing but this man was dressed in a suit and tie. They were unsure if that was him but someone called him by name and he stopped and turned to face the other employee. Natalie had her window open and they could hear them talking in Pashto. Bucky remembered enough of the language to translate.

"The other guy is asking if he heard about the warehouse in Baltimore blowing up," he said. "Wasn't that one of their clients? Gaba is not saying anything. The first guy wants to know if they should be concerned but Gaba isn't talking out here. He told the first guy not to say anything more and he'll try to find out what's going on."

"He's still involved," said Natalie. "I wonder if this business is a front. If the other employee knew the nature of the business in Baltimore it stands to reason."

They watched as the two men went into the building and Bucky pulled away. "We need that voice recorder," he said.

They looked up where to buy voice recorders and picked the nearest place. After looking at their choices they decided to get the best one as it would stay in a standby mode that didn't drain the battery until it heard a sound. They went back to the motel to charge it but housekeeping was cleaning their room so they found an internet café that had charging ports. As they waited for it to be fully charged they each had a coffee. On a whim Bucky checked his emails to see if there had been any potential clients. There were three but all had a time sensitive issue and the time had already passed.

"Three potential clients in just over a week," he said, disappointed. "Of course they would call when I'm busy with my biggest case ever."

"Are you going to keep doing this once we get all the evidence?" asked Natalie. "If they reverse your dishonourable discharge it means you can work regular jobs again."

"What else would I do?" he asked. "I only have my high school diploma. I'm kind of old to go to college at this point."

"Film critic," said Natalie firmly.

Bucky laughed and she laughed with him, then put her hand on his. "You are a smart man," she said. "I'm sure whatever you end up doing will be done well. You're never too old to go to college. In my library science class there were two women in their 50's who had never worked until their marriages ended. Both had volunteered in their kid's school libraries and they used that in their application to get in."

"I'll give it some thought," he said. "Maybe psychology or criminology. When I enlisted I thought I would make the military my career. A few years in Afghanistan changed my mind."

"How old are you?" asked Natalie.

"38," he replied. "How old are you?"

"31," she answered. "I married when I got out of college, worked as a librarian, got pregnant a few years later and worked on my Master's degree part time while I did research for others and was a stay-at-home mom. I got it just before the accident."

"You're a good researcher," said Bucky. "I wouldn't have been able to find out what you did. Barton should be recruiting you." He hesitated. "Don't blame yourself."

"For the accident? Hard not to. Worst day of my life until Amber," she said. "I still don't understand what she saw in him."

"Guys like Rumlow are very good at appearing to be good men," said Bucky. "Look how he fooled my dad into believing I killed those boys. He's a psychopath who is the centre of his own universe and believes that gives him domain over others. He probably charmed his way into her life, then once she moved in he made her feel like his faults were because of her."

"Now he's transferred his attention to me," said Natalie. "He wants to break me, doesn't he?"

Bucky nodded and put his hand over hers. "He'll have to go through me to get to you," he said. "I'll always come for you."

She smiled then pulled her hand away and leaned back in her chair, looking out the window. Bucky looked at her, noticing the way her hair framed her face. He felt the urge to put his hand in her hair and pull her face to his to kiss her so he stopped looking and looked out the window as well. Not yet...he couldn't give in yet. He looked back at the voice recorder. It was only half done.

"Do you want another coffee?" he asked. "This thing is only half charged."

She nodded and he ordered two more coffees. While he waited at the counter she looked at him. Part of her understood and admired his reticence to explore the relationship they had begun. He was a very principled man with deep emotions. He had been right that she had put him on a pedestal. That night when he returned drunk had disappointed her so much. His fall from her grace had been hard. That was why she left and went to Pittsburgh. But when he rescued her from the warehouse she realized that the commitment the man had to her safety was part of his own sense of duty. That duty and her safety were paramount while the relationship was secondary and couldn't be allowed to cloud his judgment. Her mind went to the kiss beside the car and how it confirmed that there was something there, something worth waiting for.

She smiled at him when he came back with the fresh coffee and they stayed there nursing their drinks until the voice recorder had fully charged. After using the facilities they returned to the car and drove to an open part of the block where they could see the door of Gaba's business and watch for him to exit and walk their way. After a couple of hours their patience was rewarded when he left and began walking towards the vehicle. Just after he passed by Bucky got out and Natalie moved into the driver's seat. Bucky caught up to Gaba.

"Ebrahim Gaba?" he said, grasping his arm.

Gaba turned around and opened his eyes wide. He tried to pull away but Bucky had his arm firmly.

"You recognize me, don't you?" asked Bucky. "You need to come with me, now."

"You killed my sons," hissed Gaba.

"We both know that's not the truth," said Bucky, then pulled him to the car, opened the back door and pushed Gaba into the back seat.

"This is kidnapping," said Gaba, weakly. "You'll be arrested for this."

"Sure, we just need to talk first," said Bucky. "Drive."

Natalie drove the car and Bucky asked her to see if anyone was following them. She watched for a bit.

"I don't think so," she replied.

"Go to the motel," ordered Bucky.

They arrived there shortly after and she parked in front of their unit. As she unlocked the door Bucky pulled Gaba out of the back seat and pulled him into the room. Checking once again to see if anyone was watching Natalie closed and bolted the door. Bucky pushed Gaba into a chair and looked at him. Then he turned on the voice recorder.

"You murderer," exclaimed Gaba. "First you kill my boys. Do you want to kill me now?"

"Bullshit," said Natalie, leaning down so her face was level with his. "We all know Rumlow killed your sons. What kind of father lets a man like him walk free? Unless you were also involved in killing your sons. Was your wife unfaithful? Is that it? Some cultural bullshit that gives you the right to kill little children if they aren't yours? Yeah, that's what it was. That's the only believable excuse for a miserable piece of shit like you."

Bucky looked at Natalie admiringly and she shrugged. They switched places.

"You want to know why my associate is so upset at you?" asked Bucky. "Because you let Rumlow get away with killing your sons her sister is now dead. That's right...you probably saw it on TV or read it in the newspapers about Rumlow being wanted for the death of his girlfriend. So that's another death you're responsible for. I should just let her kill you, right now. An eye for an eye, right?"

"No, I loved my sons," cried the man, desperate now. "I had no choice. They would have killed all of my children unless I agreed. They needed someone to translate with a warlord, one who controlled the poppy fields in Afghanistan. They wanted him to be the supplier and in return they could guarantee a direct route into the American market for his heroin. I didn't want to but Rumlow put a gun to my youngest son's head and pulled the trigger. Still I resisted, then he took my oldest son and killed him. I loved my children so I finally agreed so he wouldn't kill any more. They said if I ever told anyone they would kill the rest of my children. My children...my poor children."

Bucky stood up and paced a bit. "Who else was involved?" he asked but the man was still crying so Bucky shook him by his collar. "Tell me, which other Americans were involved."

"General Pierce was the man in charge," admitted Gaba. "He asked me to set up a personal meeting with Iqbal Qureshi, the warlord in that region. Pierce brought him a gold bar and told me to tell Qureshi he could give him one gold bar every month for the heroin. Warlords like gold."

"Who else, after Pierce and Rumlow?" asked Bucky harshly. "I want names."

"Sergeant Wilson, and Rollins," said Gaba. "They were brought in when they found out the gold was missing. Pierce offered them bribes to look the other way. Once they did their further cooperation was bought."

"There's another," said Bucky. "Because Rollins was killed in a firefight shortly after your boys were killed. Who else?"

"A lawyer," said Gaba, looking at the floor in shame. "I don't know the name. To make sure you were found guilty. They interfered with the evidence. With Pierce on your tribunal, with his influence he was able to convince the other two officers that you were the killer of my sons. I'm sorry Barnes. I never wanted this."

"Yet you're still in business with them, aren't you?" stated Natalie. "We heard you this morning with your co-worker. You're connected with the warehouse in Baltimore. I'm guessing your business owns the warehouse, owns all of the warehouses where they put the drugs into furniture flat packs disguised as wrapped styrofoam."

Gaba nodded in agreement, saying they still threatened to hurt his family. "Fuckers," said Bucky. "Okay, this is what's going to happen Ebrahim. We're taking you to the Federal Marshals. They're going to protect you until the trial of Pierce, Rumlow, Wilson and Sitwell. You're going to repeat everything you just told us in that trial."

"No, I can't," he pleaded. "They will kill the rest of my children! I have two more since I came to America. They are citizens. Please don't make me put my children into danger."

"You did that the moment you said yes to them," said Bucky. "They weren't ever going to let you live in safety. Don't you get that? Why did they choose me, Gaba. Why me?"

"I do not know," replied the man, tears in his eyes. "Please before I go with you to the Marshals let me phone my wife and have her go to safety with our children."

"I'll go one better," said Bucky. "I'll phone the Marshals right now and tell them to get your family in protection right away before we bring you in."

Bucky phoned the Federal Marshals who confirmed what Barton had told him, that the three of them were expected at the Philadelphia office. When he asked about Gaba's wife and children they confirmed all had been taken into custody. He passed the information on to Gaba and told the person at the office they were on their way.

"Thank you, thank you," babbled the man. "May Allah bless you. I will go with you now."

Together they stepped out to get into the car. Suddenly they were surrounded by a group of very large men and Rumlow stepped forward. He grabbed Natalie and gripped her chin, putting his face into hers.

"Miss me sweetheart?" he asked in that raspy voice of his then he turned to Gaba. "You have some explaining to do. Put him and the woman in Barnes car. Barnes rides with me."

Bucky made eye contact with Natalie. She was afraid but she also briefly looked at one of the men, a tall muscular blonde with a beard. She mouthed the words no one and then she was taken by three of the men to Barnes' car. At first he didn't understand then Rumlow addressed the man.

"Trent, you drive," he said. "Barnes will be in the back with me and Jamison."

For good measure Rumlow punched Bucky in the stomach making him double over. He and Jamison dragged him to their black SUV and tossed him into the back. Jamison got in on the other side forcing Bucky to sit upright while Rumlow sat next to him.

"So, what did the snivelling weasel say?" asked Rumlow.

"Nothing," said Bucky. "He was holding out on us so we were taking him to a professional to beat it out of him."

"You're a liar," said Rumlow, gripping Bucky's neck in his hand and squeezing. Bucky could feel the pressure on his throat and started struggling to breathe.

"Number one wants to talk to him, Brock," said Trent, seeing what was happening from the front seat. "He made that very clear to me, that Barnes, Gaba and the woman were brought to him alive and able to talk."

Rumlow released Barnes throat with a snarl. "He won't always be number one," said Rumlow, out loud to no one in particular.

Bucky made eye contact with Trent through the rear view mirror but the blonde man didn't break character. Rumlow didn't touch him for the remainder of the drive. For the final part of it a black bag was put over his head and when it was removed he was inside another warehouse. Natalie and Gaba were there but they were all taken to separate rooms. Since he was tied to a chair and left alone in his room he assumed the same about them. About ten minutes after he arrived Rumlow came into his room and looked at him then punched him hard in the face. He hit him several times and Bucky could feel his nose start to bleed but he didn't react and finally Rumlow stopped. He heard another man walk in.

"I told you to leave him alone," said a voice that he recognized as belonging to Pierce. "I told you to leave them all alone. Get out."

Rumlow glared at Pierce and left the room. Pierce stepped in front of Bucky and looked at the damage.

"Superficial," he said. "You'll live. You have caused me no end of trouble, Sergeant Barnes."

"Thank you for the compliment?" retorted Barnes. "How did you find us?"

Pierce smirked and retreated to behind the desk. He sat in the chair and looked at Bucky, studying him. Bucky looked back. The man had not aged well. His age hung on him like a shroud.

"We've always kept Gaba under surveillance. When I was the commander of all US forces in Afghanistan our country was deep into the war on drugs," he began. "Everyone was mobilized into doing all we could to keep drugs out of the country and for what? So that criminals had control of the drug trade. Gang wars, people being duped into being drug mules, families ruined. Better we just legalize it and treat it like alcohol and weed. So I decided to prove that with the right people running the show we could bring high quality heroin into the country with military precision. I just needed partners and the first thing was to find the right warlord. That was Qureshi, a surprisingly sophisticated man considering he couldn't read or write. But he did know how to grow opium poppies."

He looked at Bucky as if he wanted validation but he wasn't getting it from him.

"We needed someone to translate for us," explained Pierce, "someone who would understand the stakes of what we trying to do. Ebrahim Gaba fit the bill but he refused us at first, being a good Muslim. So we put some pressure on him. Rumlow and another associate had a little fun with his teenage daughter but these men don't cherish their daughters like Americans do. When they brought her back he handed her off to an uncle and she was ... taken care of, whatever that means. So we stepped up the pressure and took his oldest son and his youngest son, leaving him just one son. He refused us again so Rumlow put a bullet into the head of his youngest son. He still said no so the oldest son met his fate. With only one son left Gaba had no choices left and he agreed to act as a go-between. He set up the meeting, I gave Qureshi a bar of gold in good faith and an agreement was brokered."

"Then why set me up for the murder of the boys?" asked Bucky. "Why me?"

"No particular reason," said Pierce, in a matter of fact way. "Maybe you were the first Sergeant to say yes to Rumlow's request, I don't know. It wasn't going to be Wilson. You see, he and Rollins had the duty to protect those gold bars. They were used to pay farmers not to grow opium poppies. He didn't want to be involved either but his sister sent word that the bank was looking to foreclose on the family business, the one that his parents built from the ground up. So, we made it easy for him, gave him enough to pay back the business loan and he just looked away every time we took a gold bar to pay Qureshi. He's been a most loyal employee. He never lied to you about hearing from Haines and Warren about the evidence that would exonerate you. His hearsay wasn't admissible even though he did bring it up at your court martial but let's face it, the fix was already in. We needed someone to take the blame for the boy's deaths so that the Taliban weren't implicated. It was nothing personal, you were just a means to an end."

"My lawyer, was he one of yours as well?" asked Bucky. "He did damn little to defend me."

"That's true, but he really wasn't the rock star JAG lawyer he made himself out to be," said Pierce. "He was easily influenced, let's put it that way. Now that he's Police Commissioner of New York City he will continue to be influenced by my number two. We are well on our way to taking over the drug distribution networks of that entire city. Any more questions?"

"Why are you telling me all this?" asked Bucky. "In the movies, it usually means you're either going to kill me or recruit me."

Pierce smiled and laughed a hearty laugh. "You are smart," he said. "I really should have recruited you first before I recruited Rumlow. But at that time I was still in a bigger means better mind frame. Strength must be displayed at all times or your enemies will think you are weak. Time has made me see the error of that thinking. Rumlow has become a liability."

He was about to say something more when one of the men knocked on the door and said there was a problem. Standing up he ordered the man to watch Barnes and he left. The man came in and leaned against the wall, watching Bucky intently. Outside, through the open doorway, Bucky could hear yells and shouts.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing you need to know about," replied the man, then he stood away from the wall as another man came to the door.

"You better go help Rumlow," said a voice. "He's caught in the box binding machine. I don't know how to run it. I'll take over here."

As soon as the man left the room the other man came into view and pulled a knife out of an ankle sheath. Kneeling down Bucky saw it was Trent. He had a serious look on his face.

"Extraction time," he said, slicing through the wrist and ankle restraints. "Natalie is next door, Gaba is next to her. Take my knife and free them while I create some more havoc. Your car keys are on the desk where Natalie is. I'll meet you at your car in 5 minutes."

"Trent," said Bucky, "thanks, for watching out for her in Baltimore, especially."

Trent nodded and ran back into the warehouse. Bucky grabbed the voice recorder and went to the next room. Natalie had been roughed up a little but nothing like she had been in Baltimore. He cut her free and grabbed the car keys. Together they went to the next room and cut Gaba free. Putting him in between them both they ran for the door. Just before they left Natalie saw a cell phone and picked it up. It was locked but she used the emergency setting to call 911 and yelled Help. Then she dropped it and they ran out of the building, finding his car in the parking lot. Trent was there and held his hands out for the keys.

"I'm good at this," he said. "Trust me."

Bucky threw the keys at him and got into the front while the other two got into the back. Trent pulled out quickly but once he was on the street he stuck to the speed limit. They could see the police cars racing to the building and he looked at them, wondering who called the police.

Both he and Gaba pointed at Natalie.

"Nice touch. You got what you needed from Pierce?" he asked Bucky.

"Most of it," said Bucky. "Still don't know who number two is but it isn't my crappy lawyer."

"Not Sitwell?" said Trent, surprised. "I would have bet on him. What did Pierce say about his number two?"

"That he or she influenced Sitwell at my trial and would continue to influence him as Police Commissioner of New York," replied Bucky. "Does that make any sense to you?"

"Possibly," he said. "I'll pass that on and let better minds figure it out. Here's the Federal Marshals office. Gaba, you go in with them. Your family are already safe. I'm getting picked up by a colleague. I'll get some time off for a while after that shit show."

"Wait, did they get my daughter, my oldest daughter and her husband?" asked Gaba.

"Yeah, them too," said Trent, leaving the car and handing the keys to Bucky. "Get inside, all of you. They're waiting. Oh, Bucky if you do decide to join us my real name is Thor. I know, weird name, but my parents are Norwegian immigrants. Thor is a big name for Norwegians."

He flashed a smile and ran off into the dusk. They saw him get into a car about a block away. Bucky took Gaba by the arm and led him into the Federal Marshals office. Like Thor said, they were expected and all three were soon processed as witnesses needing protection. They took Bucky's keys and parked his car inside their garage. All three were led to a lounge to await further disposition. Bucky looked at Gaba.

"Your oldest daughter," he said. "Is she the one Rumlow and another guy ...?"

The man coloured and then nodded. "They thought I would kill her to protect my honour but I was an educated man and saw her value as more than a reflection of my honour," he said. "They damaged her to where she can't have children so my brother smuggled her out of the country to my cousin here in America. They took care of her, healed her and she eventually met a good man who loved her for herself. She's a doctor and she delivers babies all the time. I am very proud of her."

Bucky nodded approvingly. He looked at Natalie, kissed her, and interlaced his fingers with hers while she was leaning into him. They were safe, they had the witness and the evidence that could put Pierce, Rumlow and Wilson into prison. Right now he just wanted a shower, a good meal, and some good scotch.