Payback - John Hayes Series 06 (2020), стр. 22

Naeem hadn’t returned, and apart from the one guard stationed at the door on the ground floor, neither had the other men. The women were relieved. They explained to Mia that when the fighting was heavy, it had two benefits. It kept the men away, and there was always the possibility they would be killed and wouldn’t return. For Mia, it was different. Although Naeem was no longer the man she had fallen in love with, she still feared for his safety and was always relieved when he returned. Apart from Malak, she had no-one else here, and she benefited from his protection, as these women’s stories had proven.

The women had talked for most of the previous day and into the night, recounting their brutal experiences since being kidnapped from their villages, some of them from Iraq, some from Yazidi settlements in Northern Syria. None of the women cried or seemed to feel sorry for themselves. They told their stories without emotion, distancing themselves from their feelings. Perhaps it was their way of protecting themselves, but Mia was horrified.

The last few years for her had been tough, but nothing compared to what these women had gone through. As much as she’d grown to resent Naeem for bringing her to Syria and destroying any chance of happiness, she had to respect that he had kept her protected from most of the harm that could have come her way.

Later in the evening, when their stories were over, Mia told them of her childhood in Australia, and the women, in turn, talked about happier times before the war. The women shared what little food they had among themselves, although most of it seemed to go to Malak, who, although still running a fever, was more active than she had been in days.

When the sun set, Mia had become restless. She had to speak to Uncle Steve but was reluctant to let the other women see she had a phone. She still wasn’t sure how much she could trust them, and the phone was her only link to the outside world. She couldn’t afford to lose it, especially when Uncle Steve was so close to saving her and Malak.

Mia looked at Malak, curled up in the blanket. Her breath was still irregular, and her sunken cheeks betrayed the lack of food they had endured over the past couple of months. Her little angel deserved so much more. She needed to let her uncle know where she was. He was her only chance of giving Malak the life she deserved.

She slowly slid her feet toward her and got to her feet. Carefully and quietly, she stepped over the sleeping women and made her way to the door. Pausing in the doorway, she looked back, but no-one showed signs of stirring. She started down the stairs, paused on the first-floor landing, and listened—nothing. She continued down, then stopped as she heard a noise from below. Dropping to a crouch, she peered around the stairs. The guard was awake. Damn.

She stood and slowly went back up the stairs to the first floor, keeping close to the wall, careful not to kick or stumble on any rubble. On the first floor, she entered the room the women had been using as a toilet, wrinkling her nose at the smell, and moved cautiously to the far side of the room, away from the door and the window. She wanted to avoid any chance of sound carrying to the sleeping women above or the guard below.

Lifting her abaya, she reached inside and removed the phone from where she had tucked it inside the waistband of her knickers. Powering it on, she waited while the phone searched for a signal, hoping the network had been restored. The battery was low, and she hoped there was still enough credit on the phone to make a call. Naeem usually charged the battery and added money at one of the few shops remaining open in the district, but she didn’t know when she would see him again. Two bars, good. She pressed redial and waited for the phone to connect.