Long Shot | 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Chapter 3

Looking at myself in the rear view mirror from the backseat, I sighed as I stared back at the only part of my body that showed from behind the burqa I was wearing; my eyes. "I certainly feel very oppressed." I commented as Oz and Tig shrugged from the front seat.

All three of us were wearing traditional clothing for this part of town and were set to camp out nearby the meeting, blend in, and keep an eye on Jack and the two CIA members he was escorting. Of course, we had hidden weapons on us, because like Tig had said earlier, always stay strapped.

I bounced violently with the vehicle as we followed Rone's jeep through the sandy streets of Benghazi toward the small local gathering spot where the job was located. "Just remember," Oz began and he turned right to stay behind the jeep, "if anyone asks you anything, you stay silent and stick by Tig's side. For the next hour or so, you are his wife. You don't speak, you don't interact with anyone, and you do whatever he says."

"Very equal relationship we have here." I patted Tig's shoulder. "Don't worry, I've got it. I've done plenty of jobs like this before."

As we arrived at the location, we parked close—but not too close as to be suspicious—to the jeep and slowly made our way into the crowds of people to blend in. Like instructed, I stuck close to Tig's side and eventually we sat down at a small table at a coffee shop and kept our eyes focused on our surroundings.

Seconds later, Oz's phone buzzed and he picked it up. "Hey. What's up?" he answered before listening to whatever Rone (I assumed it was Rone on the other end) had to say.

After Oz had hung up, I watched as the blonde woman Jack was with handed the man she sat across from a phone. They spoke a little more but by then I had to turn my attention to something else for a little while, although I hardly believed anyone around there was paying any attention to me. In this country, women were next to nothing.

Once again, Oz's phone rang and he picked up it after setting his coffee cup down. "Hey." he answered again. Giving us a worried look after a few seconds of silence, Oz hung up the phone and began to stand up. "He's on the move."

"Stick close to me." Tig reminded me and the three of us moved to get a better possible eye on Rone.

Quickly and carefully, the three of us rushed through the market setting where different vendors sold a multitude of weapons. Oz lead the way by pushing people to the side to clear a path and Tig lead me through behind them with his hand gripping my forearm tightly. Just like always, just like every other man I had gone on jobs like this with, even though they won't say it out loud, they worry about my safety just a little bit more. They doubt my skills just a little bit more—and when they are worrying about me just that extra little bit, they aren't worrying about themselves just that extra little bit.

After making it back to the main road and watching Rone pick up Jack and the two other CIA members, they drove off with a green van close on their tail. "Let's go." I looked both ways for oncoming traffic before crossing the road and hopping back into the vehicle.

Pulling out from the curb, Oz fell into line behind Boon and Tanto's vehicle and we hightailed it in the direction of Rone and the green van. Before long we caught up with them and now it was just a matter of keeping up and staying safe. Letting go of the door handle, I quickly pulled the burqa over my body so I was dressed in clothes I could actually move around in should I need to.

Up ahead we watched in slight horror as Rone swerved the jeep, nearly missing the front end of a large, yellow tractor. Where our luck rose however, the van's luck fell and they drove directly into the tractor, smashing their windshield and crushing the front of their vehicle.