2OO3 :House Of Ashes:

』And Then There Were Four『

{[T-T My poor Salim]}

"How did you get here?" Nick asked Salim.

Salim seemed almost puzzled, it was clear that whichever way the three Americans came from was a lot more tough. However, the thought of this made the Iraqi smile playfully at Nick.

"Oh, you didn't know? There was an easy way up." Salim answered almost snorting as he did, but he was more so answering everyone.

Jason rolled his eyes hard followed with pinning his gaze on Eric, who had a dumbfounded look to him as he heard what Salim just told them. As the uptight blonde went to object to such a bold claim, he didn't get the chance before Salim spoke again.

"I shouldn't say easy," Salim raised his eyebrows, nodding a bit. He could sense the tension between the three of them. "Just... Less time consuming."

With that, Salim turned to lead them down the way he had come up. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't expecting them to be up here as he had only come this way to scout. After his captain Basri didn't make it out, a new leader for the Republican Guard stepped up and things were much different the day he returned home to his son. While his son had already opened the gift he left for him, there was a written letter that adorned Salim's attention about Dar being forced out and replaced.

The Iraqi Lieutenant, while now under a new captain of the RG was in charge of patrol teams under this new captain Cairo and only saw Zain one night a week. The patrol units were sometimes made up of one or two men, including himself. Why were they patrolling? Well, in case the Americans decide to invade again. At least, that was the best answer he could get.

[(The name Cairo is an Egyptian Arabic origin name meaning "Victorious")]

Salim suddenly stopped walking when he noticed that he was walking alone. He turned around to look at the three other men and he saw what looked like a small argument between the Colonel and the First Lieutenant. With a sigh, he waited for them to hash it out before Nick came over to join him.

"What are they bickering about?" Salim curiously asked, looking at the Sergeant.

"They had a scuffle just before you showed up, no biggie," Nick answered with a low sigh, not surprised but also not being exactly truthful.

Without saying anything else, Salim turned his gaze back over to the other two. That explains the bruise he saw forming on Jason's face. When both of them finally followed with Jason in front and Eric behind, a bit of uneasiness hit Salim now knowing that it was the broad stick-up man who hit him. This may be worse than he thought.

"It's okay man, we just have some things to figure out. All of us," Nick said as a half assed attempt to assure Salim.

Before the two got to them, Salim nodded at the Sergeant's words, but deep down, he wasn't buying any of it. He again turned to lead them and this time, they all followed.

It was surprisingly silent as Salim took them down the path he came up from and though he wanted to humble them with how things have changed and how it's been since everything happened, he thought it best to wait. More so for Jason. Since parting ways, there was not a day that went by where the flat out intolerant, racist wasn't on Salim's mind. That incredibly built up brick wall of a man saved his life and the bond they had formed was clouding his better judgment 24/7.