Chapter 105 - Rescue and Escape (3)

29 December, Terrorist Camp, South of City K

Having had three blankets and keys thrown into the room when the Imam was pushed in, Matthew quietly said "As-salamu alaykum," knowing this was the appropriate greeting.

The Imam responded "Wa alaykumu al-salaam."

Matthew seeing a sense of relief pass over the Imam's face, decided that he now would press his luck and asked "Imam, could I trouble you to pass me two of the blankets over there and the keys?"

Despite hearing the greeting, the Imam was still concerned. Would these two be problematic. Ever since those men, in the name of their religion had dragged him from his mosque and home, forcing him to abide by their rules and regulations he was wary of any person who seemed to have any level of commitment to them.

However, knowing that any Muslim would be concerned about their modesty being kept n.a.k.e.d, his sense of religions duty overcame any concern that he had, and picked up the blankets and keys before heading over to them.

As her approached the Imam observed around the neck of the woman a delicate cross on a chain which he was certain was a woman's piece of jewellery and a talisman on a chain which looked like a man's piece of jewellery. That was concerning. As a young man at university, despite his deep commitment to his faith, he undertook various religious studies to understand all people of faith, not just those of his faith. Taking a closer looks at the talisman, he recognised it as a representation of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

"You are a Roman Catholic?" came the question directed to Matthew.

"No, but my wife was christened as a Roman Catholic. She gave me the original talisman when I joined the military. When it was damaged on maneuverers I had it remade into the current tailsman. And before you ask I was christened Anglican."

The words immediately sunk in for the Imam. He utterly detested being involved in forced conversions, particularly when those being forced to convert were Christians or Jews. His educational background meant he had a deeper understanding of their beliefs, but at their heart, they were people of the same line of faith, all they had not done was accept the Prophet's true role. He turned to Matthew, and had to ask the question "So this was not …"

"Imam, please do not ask that question, as I do not believe you want to hear the answer. The reality of the situation was we complied with their demands, or they would kill us. Personally, if it was just me I would not have cared but, I had someone else that had to be protected."

"But I know the law, the marriage …"

Quietly Matthew said to the Imam, "Please do not raise that. I know what the law is, but that is not a reality I want my wife to have to deal with now. She has been through enough. I will do what I can to protect you and her, Imam. For them to put you in here, I suspect that there is something going on or about to go down, and they want to protect you as best they can."

Still shaking from what had been happening, Lexi carefully wrapped herself in a blanket, not only feeling cold but shamed in being n.a.k.e.d. Tuning into the conversation, she wondered what was happening. There was no way that she was married to Matthew. It simply was a sham that he had agreed to to protect her from harm. She was certain that when they finally got out of here she would be able to return to her normal life, and keep Dominic protected. Letting the truth be known would cause significant harm to Dominic but dealing with the legal consequence due to Richard's will would be a nightmare for the family.

Matthew took the key, hoping that it would unlock Lexi's shackles, but as soon as he inserted it in, he realised it did not. It either meant that it unlocked his shackles or alternatively was a distraction. He knew that he would have to find something to unpick Lexi's shackles so he could get her out of here as soon as possible.

He paused and tried the keys in his shackles, and as soon as he turned the key they opened. The Devil was clever. He realised that Matthew would not risk Lexi's safety by trying to follow him but would tell Lexi to flee as soon as she could if she was free. He gave him movement, but trapped him at the same time, given his realisation of what he would do.

Matthew moved over to the door and found that it was unlocked. As he opened the door, while he could hear screams and voices attached to the captives kept in the rooms near where they were, there was an eerie underlying silence, not the general noises that he would expect. Plus, there was the very faint smell of tear gas.

That confirmed two things, The Devil, his minions and some of the ideologs with ISX had fled, leaving lower level people there, and a rescue mission was underway.

Returning into the room, he looked around to see what he could find to use to pick the locks on Lexi's shackles. Eventually almost hidden in a corner was a long enough piece of wire for him to use. He moved over, picking it up and set to work on freeing Lexi.

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