The Good Sister by Chris Morgan Jones
Author:Chris Morgan Jones
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK
26
Two hours was all it took. The sand turned to dry fields where nothing seemed to be growing and in the haze of the horizon Abraham could begin to see minarets and a pinkish line of buildings.
‘Raqqa,’ said Murat, and grinned again. ‘City of the Damned.’
Two hundred yards short of the city walls was another checkpoint, more permanent: a concrete shelter on one side, draped in black flags, and on the other an armoured jeep, its mounted gun trained on the road. A fighter in a khaki flak jacket with a chain of bullets across his chest and carrying a machine gun leaned against it. Two fighters stood by the shelter, and a fourth was checking the papers of the car in front. With a nod he signalled to the others to check its boot.
Abraham stiffened, wiped his sweating palms on his trousers. None of these men were wearing sunglasses. He wasn’t sure about the sunglasses – he should get rid of them.
‘It’s okay, my friend,’ said Murat, quietly and calmly. ‘This is all normal.’
He took off his own and Abraham did the same, hoping that his eyes wouldn’t betray the fear in them. Wasn’t that what these people looked for? Couldn’t they smell it, like dogs?
‘New guys,’ said Murat.
Ahead of them the fighters had put a suitcase on the floor and were roughly going through it; Abraham could see shirts, pants, T-shirts. One of the fighters lifted up a can of something, showed it to the other, then took off its cap and sprayed it in the air.
‘Perfume,’ said Murat. ‘Stupid.’
Abraham kept watching, though part of him felt he should look away. Don’t catch anyone’s eye. The man checking the papers took the can from his colleague, held it up to the driver’s face and asked him something. Abraham saw the driver shrug; in response the fighter half turned, threw the can hard off into the wasteland by the side of the road, and stood for a moment with one hand on his hip, one hand on his gun, staring at the driver in the car. Abraham didn’t breathe, and even Murat stiffened a little. But all the fighter did was shout at the man, loud enough for Abraham to hear some words – banned, unIslamic, an insult to Allah, the most high, the most glorified – and then with a parting command not to be caught with rubbish like that again he waved the car through.
‘You see? Not so bad.’
Murat eased the car forward and wound his window right down. Abraham kept his eyes straight ahead but sensed the man well enough, the usual: black beard, the top lip shaved, the air of violence imminent.
‘As-salamu alaykum,’ said Murat, relaxed but respectful.
The fighter said nothing. Abraham could feel him looking at him.
‘Here,’ said Murat, and handed him his papers and Abraham’s new passport.
The fighter took his time leafing through them.
‘You live Raqqa?’
‘Sometimes,’ said Murat. ‘I do business. Trade. Food, clothing. I’m known here.’
‘Who is this?’
‘My partner. He has a clothing mill in Egypt.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
What's Done in Darkness by Kayla Perrin(26617)
The Fifty Shades Trilogy & Grey by E L James(19095)
Shot Through the Heart: DI Grace Fisher 2 by Isabelle Grey(19079)
Shot Through the Heart by Mercy Celeste(18952)
Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf, Vol. 10 by Isuna Hasekura and Jyuu Ayakura(17131)
Python GUI Applications using PyQt5 : The hands-on guide to build apps with Python by Verdugo Leire(17019)
Peren F. Statistics for Business and Economics...Essential Formulas 3ed 2025 by Unknown(16894)
Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf, Vol. 03 by Isuna Hasekura and Jyuu Ayakura & Jyuu Ayakura(16840)
Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf, Vol. 01 by Isuna Hasekura and Jyuu Ayakura & Jyuu Ayakura(16467)
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson(14382)
The 3rd Cycle of the Betrayed Series Collection: Extremely Controversial Historical Thrillers (Betrayed Series Boxed set) by McCray Carolyn(14157)
Stepbrother Stories 2 - 21 Taboo Story Collection (Brother Sister Stepbrother Stepsister Taboo Pseudo Incest Family Virgin Creampie Pregnant Forced Pregnancy Breeding) by Roxi Harding(13669)
Scorched Earth by Nick Kyme(12785)
Drei Generationen auf dem Jakobsweg by Stein Pia(10980)
Suna by Ziefle Pia(10902)
Scythe by Neal Shusterman(10366)
The Ultimate Python Exercise Book: 700 Practical Exercises for Beginners with Quiz Questions by Copy(10232)
De Souza H. Master the Age of Artificial Intelligences. The Basic Guide...2024 by Unknown(10192)
D:\Jan\FTP\HOL\Work\Alien Breed - Tower Assault CD32 Alien Breed II - The Horror Continues Manual 1.jpg by PDFCreator(10189)
