The colonel dragged another man by his hair over in front of Zarazi. “You. What is this man’s name?” He did not reply. The colonel drew his pistol, placed the muzzle on the back of the second man’s head, and pulled the trigger. A mass of bone, hair, blood, and brains spattered across Zarazi’s body. Thankfully, the bullet lodged in the ground and did not ricochet around the small building. “I will continue to execute your men one by one in front of you until you talk.”
“Aslayop!” Zarazi shouted in Russian, blinking to try to get the gory mess out of his eyes. “You murderous donkeyfucker!”
“Do I have your attention now? Are you Zarazi?”
“Yes, God damn you!”
The base commander ordered the others taken out to the detention facility, and soon he and the captain of security were alone with Zarazi.
“You are one bold man, Zarazi — stupid, but bold,” the colonel said. “You’ve killed scores of loyal Turkmen soldiers, shanghaied dozens more, destroyed several pieces of military equipment, and stolen hundreds of millions of manats’ worth of equipment. What is the point of this rampage you’re on? What is your objective?”
“After putting a bullet into your head, just as you did to poor Ahmed there? Destruction of your pissant cowardly country.”
“Destruction? Why? What did we ever do to you?”
“You and your corrupt government sat back and did nothing while the United States, the infidels, and the Zionists raped my country,” Zarazi said. “The infidels drove all my people out of our homeland, and you did nothing. My people tried to seek shelter and help in your country, and you did worse than nothing — you caged them up like rabid animals. You deserve to die, slowly and painfully, and God has chosen me to carry out this task.”
“Unfortunately, my insane friend, you have failed,” the base commander said. “You shall be brought to military headquarters at Ashkhabad, interrogated, then executed. Take him away.”
“Don’t you want to hear what will happen if I am taken away, Colonel?”
“Your men will attack my base? Let them try.”
“No — I mean, what will happen to your family if I am taken away.”
The base commander’s face turned to stone, and he gulped involuntarily. It took just an instant, but the steel returned to his face, and he raised his pistol and pointed it at Zarazi’s right temple. “If you thought that would buy you more time, you were wrong, asshole,” he growled. “You just bought yourself a visit to a firing squad, right here at Kerki.”
“I have already surrendered my life to Allah. I am confident he will receive me into heaven,” Zarazi said. “I will meet your four sons, your wife, your two sisters, and your min’etka—Kaliali, I believe her name is — there. Soon afterward you will join them.”
“You fucking bastard!” the base commander shouted, grabbing Zarazi by the hair and pulling him to his feet. “What in hell have you done?”
“While your men were searching the desert for me, my men were moving into Kerki, Khatab, and Kizyl-arvat, capturing your family members,” Zarazi said. “Your men are not very happy with you, Colonel, especially the enlisted men. They were more than happy to tell me all about your families in great detail, after they swore loyalty to me and joined my brigade.”
The base commander threw Zarazi back down on the ground, then went over to a wall phone and dialed. After a few moments his men could see their commander’s eyes bulging in terror. He replaced the receiver on its cradle with a shaking hand. A nod from him, and Zarazi was lifted up to his feet.
“You’ll never get away with this, criminal,” the commander spoke. “The police and the military will hunt your men down and slaughter them.”
“Then they will find your family members dead beside them,” Zarazi said. “I told you, Colonel, we are all prepared to die to complete our mission and fulfill our destiny. You cannot threaten us with pain or death, because we know at the end of it comes everlasting peace and happiness with God. But your children — surely they are too young to die? The oldest has just turned twenty-two, and the youngest is still in his teens — why, his whole life is still ahead of him. And your girlfriend could very well be your daughter—”
The commander punched Zarazi in the face as hard as his shaking, spasmodic muscles could manage. Zarazi only smiled. He knew by the force of the blow that the Turkmen officer was done fighting.
“You fucking bastard…” the commander murmured.
“The same fate awaits your officers’ families as well,” Zarazi said. “We targeted at least two dozen of your officers’ and senior enlisted men’s households. We will butcher them all if you do not do as I say.”
“What in hell do you want?”
“Simple: for you and your men to walk off this base, unarmed,” Zarazi said. “When I am satisfied that you and your men are far enough away and no threat to me, I will order my men to release your families.”
“How do I know that you’ll do as you say?”
“You do not know,” Zarazi said. “That is my insurance. I promise you, I will slaughter them if you do not obey me — of that you can be certain.”
“Do you seriously expect me and my men simply to walk off this base and leave it to you and your scavengers? Are you delusional?”
“I expect you to act like men,” Zarazi said. “Either execute me for daring to touch your families, and then prepare to mourn the loss of your loved ones, or obey me, evacuate this base, and save your families. Asking stupid questions is a waste of my time. You decide. You have until dawn. If my men do not hear from me by then, they will assume I have been killed and will proceed with my last instructions: kill the captives and escape.”
“You… sick… bastard. I hope you rot in hell for this.” But the commander nodded to the guard, who hauled Zarazi to his feet and removed the handcuffs.
“Do not worry about my place in the afterlife, Colonel. I believe it has been reserved for me by God,” Zarazi said. “But now I have one more request.”
“We are leaving this place so we can save our families. What more do you want?”
Zarazi looked at the guards surrounding him. As if with a silent command, one of the guards handed over his AK-74 assault rifle to Zarazi.
“What do you think you’re doing, Corporal?” the security chief asked.
“He is doing what I think most of your men assigned here will choose to do — join my regiment, rather than slink away with you,” Zarazi said. “Now, as for my one last request, Colonel, I ask that you sacrifice yourself in forgiveness for the murder of my comrade.”
“What?” The commander’s eyes were round with fear, and he looked at the others, hoping for some sign of support. He got none — not even from his security chief and certainly not from the conscripts. They seemed to be very, very pleased to watch their commanding officer die. “You fucking bastard. Kill me if you want. But if you even so much as approach any member of my family, I swear, I will arise from the grave and haunt you through eternity.” And at that, the base commander grabbed the muzzle of the rifle and steered it under his chin. “Let’s get it over with, bastard,” he growled, looking at Zarazi with quivering lips but also with pure hatred in his eyes.
“This is the first brave thing you have done, Colonel — unfortunately, it is the last, too,” Zarazi said as he pulled the trigger. Then he slung the weapon over his shoulder while the ringing of the shot, the acrid smell of gunpowder, and the sickening sound of the body hitting the floor, minus most of its head, settled. He turned to the security chief and said, “It appears you are in charge now, Major. I suggest you call the company commanders, have them assemble their troops outside the front gate, and prepare to move out.”