Reason Enough ~ The Entrance

(One of the earlier stories I wrote in high school... it's fun to go back to the beginning!)

'Do not be overcome by evil..." ~ Romans 12:21

          Women were not permitted in the synagogue, but she had taken care of that. Justin was no doubt back at the hotel right now, staring dumbfounded at the snipped silks of Reese's brown hair. She'd left it draped over the wash basin, the remaining shaved follicles floating in the murky water. She'd left her clothes too, substituting the traditional Arab man's tunic, pants, and sandals.

          The sand-brick walls loomed several feet over Reese's height, making her feel small. Small, numb, and immobile somehow, even while her feet continued their sure steps. As though she had drifted out of her body on the way over here and now her spirit watched someone else control her limbs.

          It's certainly not who you normally give control to.

          A scowl twisted in Reese's mouth at the little voice that had becoming increasingly harder to ignore. Even so, she didn't stop, didn't slow or waver from the path she walked. The voice changed nothing. She was fully aware of what she had come here to do... and she fully intended to do it. 

         She had time on her side. Prayer went like clockwork in the sand-built cities of the Middle East. Shahvar, a straddled guardian between Iran and Iraq, was no exception. The morning prayers were ten minutes over, leaving the building silent and empty. Minus Rashid. Reese's stomach tightened, spotting Rashid extinguishing a row of candles... facing Mecca, like they all did. Holding her eyes to the floor, Reese waited for him to take notice of her.

          "Ah, I'm sorry my friend," Rashid finally acknowledged, his soft slippers making their way toward her. Reese kept moving forward, offering no response.

          "You must be aware that prayer has ended." Rashid continued curiously. Reese didn't look up, still didn't answer. She only stopped when less then three feet separated them. Rashid coughed to fill the silence. "What may I help you with..."

          "I prefer you didn't." Reese growled, head lifting and arm moving from the back of her belt to begin forth her gun. Fingers clutched tightly around the cool handle, Reese lingered the nozzle only a centimeter from Rashid's forehead. She held it level on the space between his slithery eyes. "But I don't have much choice."

          Rashid's eyebrows shot up, tongue halted in its lacy web. "Miss Elderbrock! What is the meaning of this?"

          "You tell me." Reese suggested coldly. "Where's Spencer?"

          "I can assure you..."

          "Don't try pussy-footing around me!" Reese cut him off harshly. "I came here to get my brother and I'm not leaving until I do; so where is he?"

         "Miss Elderbrock," Rashid repeated, hands held forward in a sign of peace; a vain one in this territory. "We both know you're brother disappeared during the raids."

         "He couldn't have because he didn't leave for Iran until noon that day." Reese told him. "His plans changed last minute because he was the one carrying the charts. You knew all of this of course, since Spencer told you. Because he trusted you!"

          "He trusted many." Rashid said. Reese shook her head, eyes blurring in anger. But she held the gun steady. "No. He just trusted you. And now he's missing after a raid on a convoy that wasn't supposed to exist."

          Rashid inhaled sharply. "I can see how this might look, then. Miss Elderbrock, even if it were true, do you believe this is the best way to reveal it?"

          "WHERE'S SPENCER?!" Reese's maddened echo bounced rapidly off the walls. At its vibration, Rashid's eyes changed. They darkened, they narrowed... and they confirmed everything. That and his scoff. "All you Americans. So self-righteous, yet the biggest hypocrites. You spit in the face of your own religion."

           Reese wasn't sure how she was able to keep the gun trained on him without firing. "You know nothing of my religion."

          "I know," Rashid gestured to her firearm with malice. "That there is no justification you can give God for the bullet you wish to plant in me."

          "And you think that Allah justifies Osama's destruction on 9/11?" Reese challenged.

          "Is that to always be held against my people?" Rashid lifted an unfazed eyebrow.

          "You willing killed thousands of Americans. Then and in every car bomb after it."

          "Osama's troops took a rash stand. I won't personally condone it, but one must see how they had no other choice..."

          "No other choice!" Reese exploded, driving the exit of her gun up against Rashid's sun-browned skin. "What of the children on those planes? The people in the towers..."

          "One of whom was your mother..." Rashid's eyebrows drew themselves up confidently. "Am I right?"

*To Be Continued*