Page 89 of Dirty

I opened my eyes.

Through the smoke, I saw soldiers. They were all crouched down no differently that I’d seen them in movies. Methodically, they advanced toward me, each armed with a rifle.

Tattoo fell at my feet. Then, one of the two sick bastards who’d tortured me fell. Then, the other. The soldiers grew closer, and closer...

I was dreaming.

In my passage to wherever God was sending me, I was being saved. At least in my mind.

I felt a tug on my arm. Then, through my ringing ears, I heard a voice.

“Don’t touch him, Tree Top!” I heard someone yell. “I’ll get him.”

I looked up. A tall soldier towered over me. His helmet and goggles came off and dropped to the floor at my feet.

I blinked.

The angel was Pee Bee.

He shouldered his rifle, and then parted his quivering lips. “What…what’s shakin’…mother…fucker?”

Upon hearing those words, I exhaled a light laugh and smiled for the first time in two days.

God had a sense of humor.

I felt myself being lifted from the chair. I looked around. Another soldier took off his helmet.

“Where’s your pants, Brother?” he coughed.

Crip?

“Building’s clear!” I heard someone shout. “Three tangos, KIA.”

The ringing in my ears had lessened, and was now down to a low roar. The door at the end of the building was getting closer, and closer. It felt as if I was being carried toward it.

Confused, my eyes darted around the building. Then, I looked to my right, at the man carrying me. A tear rolled down his cheek.

“Am I…” I blinked a few times, and then stared. “Is it you, Peeb?”

“It’s me, Brother,” he said.

“Am I…Am I…alive?”

“You’re one tough motherfucker,” he said. “You look like fuckin’ hell, but, yeah. You’re alive.”

I looked to the left, and then the right. A van with two soldiers standing beside it was waiting in front of us.

I realized I was, in fact, alive. My brothers had saved me. A feeling of euphoria filled me, and along with it came a pulse of energy. As the two soldiers took me from Pee Bee’s arms and lowered me onto a gurney, I raised my hand.

“Where’s…where’s Alexandra? Is she…” I pressed my tongue to the roof of my swollen mouth. “Is she okay?”

He nodded. “She’s with Tegan.”

“Call…her,” I said. “And hand me the phone.”

THIRTY

Lex