“Oh.” Adriana’s hand went to her mouth.
John narrowed his eyes, a feeling of apprehension growing within him.
“And?”
Steve stood and walked over to the French windows opening out onto the garden. He stood for a moment, staring out into the garden, then turned to face John.
“We need to get her out of there.”
John glanced at Adriana, then Maadhavi, both waiting for his response.
“Ah... why now? She’s been there for five years. What’s changed?” He frowned. “Don’t get me wrong, I know this sounds harsh, but she’s an adult, she made a choice to go there and join ISIS or whatever they call themselves there.”
“Yeah, she did.” Steve sighed. “You’re right.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “She has a daughter, John. Not quite two years old. Her name is Malak. She doesn’t want her to grow up over there. She wants her to have a proper life.”
“Hmmm.” John stared down at the carpet, his mind whirring away. What was the right thing to do?
“How do you know about all this, Steve?” Adriana asked.
“Her... husband,” Steve said the word with obvious distaste, “called my brother. He... he... sounded desperate.” Steve looked over at John. “I hate that bastard, John. He took Mia there. He destroyed our family, but...” He shook his head. “It’s a child. My brother’s granddaughter. My grandniece, John.”
John studied him, still not sure what to do.
Again, Adriana came to the rescue. “Do you know where they are?”
Steve nodded. “In Idlib province.”
“Oh.”
John looked at Adriana. “What?”
“Idlib province is one of the last remaining areas under the control of the anti-government forces. There’s a lot of fighting there right now.”
“But they are the good guys, aren’t they?”
Adriana gave a sad smile. “There are no good guys. We’ve been doing stories on the conflict. Nothing is as it seems... or as they lead us to believe.”
John chewed his lip. “Where’s your brother in all of this?”
Steve came back to his seat and sat down.
“He’s in Melbourne, but he can’t do anything. He’s always had poor health, and when Mia left, it broke his heart. He’s not physically capable of helping with anything like this.”
“What about the aid organizations? Red Cross, people like that?”
“He’s tried. There are millions of refugees in Syria. They can’t help, even if they wanted to. They’re overwhelmed, and besides, in their eyes, she and her husband are foreign fighters... terrorists. No country wants them back.”
“So, if we get her out, what will you do then?”
Steve shrugged. “I’ll worry about that then.”
John rubbed his face and looked over at Adriana. She returned his gaze—even with concern etched across her face, she was beautiful. What if they had a daughter? What would they do if she was in the same situation?
John turned back to Steve.
“So, are you suggesting we go into a war zone, a country where we don’t speak the language and rescue a mother and her daughter from under the noses of an army of battle-hardened jihadis, who love to behead westerners?”
“Ah, well, when you put it like that...” Steve winced. “It sounded easier in my head.”
10
John and Adriana strolled along the narrow road that wound its way through the housing estate. The sun was low in the sky and threw long shadows across the street.
“The houses here are enormous, look at that one.” Adriana pointed to a massive white villa behind an eight-foot-high wall.
John didn’t answer, deep in thought.
“John?”
“Huh?”
Adriana tucked her arm in his and moved closer.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“It’s just... I don’t know what to do.” John shrugged and gave her arm a squeeze. “Before... the things I’ve done... the path was always reasonably clear, but now...”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Oman, for example. You were in danger. I had to rescue you. There was no thinking about it.”
John nodded at a neighbor walking their Labrador and paused until they were out of earshot.
“Then I had to go to India, I had to stop Surya Patil. If I hadn’t, he would have continued to put your… our lives in danger.”
“Yes, I agree.” Adriana nodded. “But what about Thailand? I wasn’t in danger, at least at first. You didn’t even really know me.”
“Hmmm.” John thought back to the events when he had first met Adriana and had gone on to rescue Amira from her employer.
“After rescuing me and Amira, you found the Rohingya camp and had it closed down.” She stopped walking and turned to face John. “You did that because it was the right thing to do. Because you are a good man.”
“But Adriana, this girl is in a war zone. In the eyes of the world, maybe in my eyes, too, she is a terrorist. Her husband is a jihadi.” He sighed. “The only reason I’m even thinking about it is I owe Steve my life.”
“Yes, John, but that’s not the only reason.” Adriana reached up and placed her hand on his chest. “In here, you are thinking of the child. A child who doesn’t deserve to suffer because of stupid decisions made by its parents.”
John looked down into her eyes, the light from the setting sun highlighting the flecks of gold in her irises. Despite his misgivings, he knew she was right. He could never live with himself if that child suffered, and he had never even tried to help Steve bring it to safety. He exhaled and looked away. Anyway, only a few days ago, he was feeling sorry for himself because he was bored.
“Yes, you’re right.” He turned back, leaned down, and kissed her on the lips. “It will be bloody dangerous, though.”
“I know,” Adriana sighed and pulled him closer. “But maybe there’s a safe way?”
“Hmmm, let’s see. Come, let’s go back and tell Steve.” They turned around and headed back the way they had come. “Honestly, I’ve absolutely no idea what to do.”
“We’ll work something out.” She squeezed his arm. “If you have doubts, think about what you’ve done before.”
“Huh, I appreciate your faith
