Apostle Read Free Page B

for your work.”
    The redheaded American was about to respond when they came around a bend and she noticed three green Afghan National Army pickup trucks blocking the road ahead.
    “Roadblock,” said Sayed.
    Julia retrieved her bag from the backseat with her ID. “Why would they have a roadblock out here? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
    “I don’t know,” he replied, eyeing the soldiers manning the 7.62mm machine guns mounted atop the vehicles’ roll bars. “We’ll have to stop.”
    Julia nodded. Running the roadblock was out of the question. ANA soldiers were poorly disciplined and would open fire with the slightest provocation—stopping only when they had exhausted their ammo.
    “Don’t worry,” he said as he rolled down his window. “I’m sure it’s just routine.”
    Julia looked at the soldiers. They seemed keyed up, tense. “Keep the car running,” she said quietly.
    The interpreter nodded and fished his ID out of his pocket. As their vehicle slowed to a stop, they were surrounded by the heavily armed soldiers.
    Sayed placed his hand over his heart, nodded, and bade the men, “Salaam alaikum.”
    No one returned the greeting.
    A captain appeared at Sayed’s window and snapped his fingers for his ID. The young Afghan complied and handed over his papers.
    Without even looking at the documents, the captain ordered him out of the SUV. Julia put her hand upon his arm. Something definitely wasn’t right.
    Sayed smiled at her and gently pulled his arm away. When he had trouble opening his door, the captain got angry and wrenched it open from the outside.
    Sayed tried to explain that the door was unreliable, but the captain wasn’t listening. He grabbed the young man by the back of the neck and threw him to the ground.
    Inside the truck, Julia gasped and covered her mouth. What was going on?
    Sayed tried to rise to his feet, but the captain kicked him in the ribs. Wheezing, the Afghan fell back to the ground.
    Julia had seen enough. She began to open her door, but it was kicked shut by one of the soldiers, who then seated his rifle in his shoulder and pointed the muzzle right at her head.
    Gallo turned her attention back to Sayed. She could see him through the open driver’s side door, lying on the ground with his arms wrapped around his sides.
    He tried to speak, but the captain ignored him and brought his boot back for another kick. This one landed under the interpreter’s chin and snapped his head backward.
    Julia screamed as Sayed fell unconscious and a stream of blood began to trickle from his mouth.
    The captain barked orders at the soldiers, and Julia knew it was about to be her turn. With her elbow, she drove the door lock home and leaped for the driver’s seat.
    One of the soldiers standing near the captain saw what she was doing and rushed to stop her. But instead of shooting her, he reached inside the vehicle and grabbed hold of her clothing.
    Julia had removed a scalpel from her bag and slashed at him wildly. The man roared in pain and fell backward.
    With his hold broken, Julia forced the car into gear, revved the engine, and released the brake.
    Immediately, there was a deafening chorus of gunfire as the Nissan’s tires were flattened and the chassis dropped onto the rims. Now, Julia was in real trouble.
    She let go of the scalpel and held up both of her hands. With two soldiers covering him, the captain extricated her from the vehicle and slammed her up against its side.
    She saw a flash of skin as the back of his hand came forward and cracked into the bone of her cheek just beneath her left eye.
    The force of the blow caused Julia’s vision to dim. Her knees shook and she felt she was about to lose consciousness.
    The captain stepped away while his men kept her pinned against the SUV.
    As Julia’s senses returned, she had the distinct impression that they were about to do something very bad. She felt certain that she was going to be raped. But these men had something much worse