In the peaceful backyard of a little building along St. Cross Street was a moving manhole cover. It was shifted from its resting place and out came Xia Lei, Tsukino Kyoko and the man with the cobra tattoo. Xia Lei made a hasty kick to return the cover to its original state and left for the gate. There were only two minutes left until their promised extraction time.
Just as they left the building towards the beginning of St. Cross Street, a blaring alarm pierced through the air from the ancient building all of a sudden. Xia Lei whipped his head around and caught sight of the two Special Force members stationed at the entrance running into the base.
It was obvious that someone must’ve noticed that the prisoner had escaped and the blood trails that littered the ground. Unfortunately for them, Kerns had brought away most of their field agents. There were very few field agents in there. Even the Special Force members guarding the door needed to be utilized.
However, Xia Lei was certain that this situation would only last for another few more minutes. Five minutes later, the Rapid Response Force based in Jerusalem would arrive. When that moment arrived, it wouldn’t merely be a small chase around the area. The entire city would be locked down for the operation!
“Quick! Quick!” Xia Lei urged.
Tsukino Kyoko and the tattooed man picked up their pace. The tattooed man was now wearing the overalls Xia Lei had donned earlier to avoid suspicion.
They had just reached the beginning of the street when a Ford Raptor pickup truck stopped urgently in front of them. The car door was opened and the three of them quickly scrambled in. Anjum Khan ignited the engine and drove into the road calmly before gradually increasing their speed.
With six passengers inside the Ford Raptor, space was limited.
Tsukino Kyoko moved to make space for Xia Lei, squatting in the gap between the seats. Her full behind was squashed against Xia Lei’s knees. It wasn’t that she didn’t wish to sit but it was just too much of a hassle for everyone else in the vehicle to do so.
Xia Lei offered, “It’s going to be very tiring for you. It’ll be a problem if the traffic police notice you. How about you sit on my lap instead?”
Xia Lei had offered a proposition Tsukino Kyoko was more than happy to accept. She wordlessly plopped her ass down on his thigh.
The sensation of a soft mass of flesh against the top of his thigh and the pressure from her slim toned waist against his lower abdomen was infectious. So infectious that his sensitive groin was affected. Despite the dire situation they were in, his feelings were in turmoil. All of his boundaries were blurred in all of a sudden. As if she was aware of it, Tsukino Kyoko’s pale ass was restless. It backed into his body closer, squishing their parts together momentarily before pulling apart. The movement was discreet. Tsukino Kyoko was not doing that deliberately. Anjum Khan’s choice of a route that involved ancient bricks instead of asphalt or cement roads. The vehicle and its passengers shook like a leaf with every distance taken. Before the Ford Raptor could even get out of the alley, Xia Lei was already spotting an erection. A very angry erection, in fact.
Tsukino Kyoko could feel the changes of Xia Lei’s body obviously, a smirk sneakily manifesting on her lips. But she quickly regained her composure, hiding the tiny satisfaction she felt from the knowledge. This was her secret and she would rather not have anyone learn it.
The Ford Raptor finally got out of the alley. Ahead of them was an eight-lane road that circled the city. At the moment, the road was bustling with passing vehicles.
Anjum Khan had just driven the Ford Raptor onto the road when a long convoy of military off-road vehicles and armoured vehicles zoomed by from the opposite direction. In the skies were a handful of helicopters that were headed for St. Cross Street. The Rapid Response Team based in Jerusalem was dispatched at a moment’s notice, just as Xia Lei had expected.
“Sa’im, are the arrangements for our retreat complete?” Xia Lei questioned, disrupting the silence in the car.
Sa’im answered, “Everything’s in place, boss. The Rapid Response Team would only need ten minutes to lock the entire Jerusalem up. Before that, we’ll be a distance away from this city. There will be people picking us up outside at the Gaza strip.”
“Do they know who we are?” Xia Lei questioned.
Sa’im replied, “Rest assured, boss. They only know money. They do not care about their identities. Didn’t you mention that an enemy of an enemy is a friend? In their eyes, we are friends.”
“That’s good to hear.” Xia Lei curtly answered. He could see Sa’im watching Tsukino Kyoko from the corner of his eyes. There was no mistake that the man was actually sad and dejected from the sight of the female ninja atop Xia Lei’s lap. Xia Lei could only sigh and think of ways to talk this through with Sa’im after everything was over.
Sa’im had feelings for Tsukino Kyoko but the latter did not reciprocate his sentiments. Xia Lei, on the other hand, was a husband to four wives and a father to four children. Their dynamics were more than a simple triangle relationship. The root of the cause was the odd debt between him and Tsukino Kyoko. Xia Lei was certain he did not feel anything remotely romantic towards the ninja. The affection he felt towards her was at most familial.
A few minutes later, Anjum Khan drove out of the ring road and exited the interchange and then drove towards the suburbs. Merely a minute after the Ford Raptor had left the road, the Jerusalem police set up a roadblock for inspection. Xia Lei’s plan had to be executed to the second. A minute’s delay would’ve placed everyone in a difficult situation.
Everyone could finally ease the tension as soon as they entered the outskirts.
Sa’im made a call and turned around to announce, “They’re already waiting for us in the village ahead. We have ten minutes to get there.”
Xia Lei nodded. “Everyone, eyes wide and alert later. If they try any funny business, you know what to do.”
Anjum Khan cackled. “We could just get rid of them and save the sum!”
Sa’im said nothing. It was obvious that the Iraqi did not wish for anything to go wrong. These were his contacts. If they had any ulterior motives, Sa’im had no idea how to make it up to Xia Lei for the mishap.
Xia Lei seemed to sense his insecurity. He said, “Sa’im, there’s no need to overthink this. Even if something were to happen, know that it isn’t your fault. And uh, we should have a good talk when this is done with.”
Sa’im flashed Xia Lei a smile, seemingly aware of what the topic would be.
Xia Lei’s worries resurfaced. He was now Tsukino Kyoko’s human couch. The bumpier the journey, the more Tsukino Kyoko’s ass was grinding against his crotch. And worse of all, his erection was only getting worse and worse.
The man with the cobra tattoo, on the other hand, had been silent ever since he climbed onboard. He observed everyone in the vehicle, mind seemingly occupied with deep thoughts.
There were so many things that Xia Lei wanted to ask him. But this was not the right time for questions and Xia Lei couldn’t bring himself to talk to the tattooed man for some reason as well.
A few moments later, the vehicle entered an Arabian village. The inhabitants of Jerusalem were purely Jews, a small portion of their population were Arabians too. They lived in the crevices of the country.
With Sa’im direction, Anjum Khan pulled up into the yard of a farmhouse. Before the vehicle engine had even gone silent, four Arabians emerged from the building. The thickly bearded men were all armed with AK-47s.
Tsukino Kyoko reached for her gun on reflex.
Xia Lei grabbed her wrist. “Calm down, observe before doing so.”
Tsukino Kyoko nodded obediently and returned her Viper pistol to its holster.
Sa’im left the car to talk to the four armed men.
At this moment, the man with the cobra tattoo spoke. “These guys are armed members that lurk around the Gaza Strip. They can be a threat, you need to be careful.”
Xia Lei responded, “You were locked away for years. You could still recognize them?”
The tattooed man turned to meet his eyes. “I don’t know them specifically but the emblem on their weapons tell me much. I recognize it.”
Xia Lei quickly averted his eyes over onto their weapons and there it was. An emblem that consisted of stars and a moon. Xia Lei had gained a new perspective on the man with the cobra tattoo. While he was locked away in the underground dungeon, he had never once given up on himself. His determination was so firm that his capabilities had not weakened the slightest bit through time. What was certain was that if Xia Lei were to provide him with a gun, the man would turn into a vicious coldblooded murderer immediately.
Sa’im’s exchange with the four Arabians ended shortly. The Iraqi turned around and called to them, “Come down, everything is in place.”
Everyone left the vehicle.
One of the Arabians waved an arm and exclaimed in his native language. “Come with me, keep silent and do not question anything or there’ll be consequences!”
Xia Lei and his team followed the four Arabian men into a house. It was a simple one-bedroom property. The man who barked out the warning earlier lifted a Persian style carpet to reveal a wooden trap door. He opened it and beneath it was a tunnel.
Palestine had been completely blocked off by Israel and the Gaza Strip had severely lacked medical care and supplies. This was also why people who inhabited the Gaza Strip possessed the ability to dig tunnels. It was not surprising that they were able to dig a path from Gaza into Egypt. But to have one that led into the Israeli territory was unheard of. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Xia Lei would certainly find a hard time believing it.
“Put the sack over your head!” The armed Arabian man tossed a few black sacks on the ground. His tone was incredibly hostile and his expression was fierce. “And surrender all of your weapons!”
The unfriendly instructions had Xia Lei frowning. He replied in Arabic, “What do you mean? We paid you forty million USD and this is the service we get? I can use the money to employ four thousand of you.”
“Bastard!” The Arabian raised the rifle in his arm and swung it downwards.
Xia Lei remained rooted but Tsukino Kyoko had already dashed to his front. While she had no guns, there was a shuriken in her grip.
“Stop!” Things were getting heated until their leader quickly grabbed ahold of his subordinate’s rifle. “They’re not enemies!”
The Middle Easterners had hated the Americans and the Native Americans were caught in the middle of the chaos. Those who knew the history of America well would know that the whites were ruthless when it came to the massacre of the Native Americans. They were so close to causing their extinction.
The leader apologized, “Sirs, I’m terribly sorry. This tunnel is part of our warfare strategy and we have our own rules. I hope you can cooperate. It’s fine to keep your weapons, but you must put on the sack.”
Sa’im locked eyes with Xia Lei. This was completely out of his control. Truthfully, he was already regretting everything. Xia Lei had allocated forty million USD to get the job done but his boss was clearly not getting the treatment he wished for.
Xia Lei relented, “Sure, we’ll put on the sacks.”
Xia Lei covered his head and pretended to be blind, inching his way into the tunnel. Following that, Tsukino Kyoko and the rest did the same and entered through the trap door.