'College boy', Justin cringed. Shit, Brian must have reviewed his file again, and found out that he had graduated from college a year ahead of time. Just one more thing for the lieutenant to taunt him about. However, even though he was incited by Brian's remarks, he knew that he would bode well to adhere to his advice. The terrain was rough at times, and the desert heat was scathing. Justin and Brian occasionally communicated with each other by radio. They had to advance by foot since their path lead them to tread through marshlands. With the sweat now soaking through their uniforms, mindful of the lieutenant's orders, Justin prodded his men to keep moving forward. At the end of their first arduous day, the entire weary platoon reassembled at a suitable resting area for the night. Brian wouldn't dare tell Justin, but he was impressed with the young man's self confidence, and ability to carry out his orders. The men seemed to respect and obey him, even though he was younger than many of them. Brian motioned for him to come over. "How's it going Taylor?" "Fine", was all Justin cared to say. Brian shared, "We have to travel near the main roads tomorrow. I want you to act as point with me in the morning, so I can show you how to scout for the enemy. After that, you're on your own. Now get some sleep." Brian couldn't help but bite his lower lip, as he admired the sergeant's perfectly shaped ass, as he walked away. Brian resented having to teach the kid everything. But if he didn't, he knew Taylor and his squad wouldn't have a chance of surviving. The following day, they awoke at the crack of dawn, and scarfed down breakfast which consisted of some water and beef jerky. Brian was fantasizing about having a double latte, when Justin rudely interrupted his thoughts. "Shouldn't we get going?" he scoffed. Brian frowned at the kid's brashness, but rose to his feet anyway. He gave parting instructions to Pvt. Jimenez, who was the next in line to be in charge. If anything happened to him and Justin, he would be more than capable of completing the mission. Brian knew he was a competent, experienced man, with good instincts. Brian and Justin traversed the mountainous terrain overlooking the paved roads. He forewarned Justin about how easy it would be for an ambush to take place here. The mountains provided good coverage for a surprise attack. During their journey, Brian never missed the opportunity to chastise Justin for stumbling, or lagging behind. Truth be told, he wasn't sure why he was being so hard on the kid. At one point, Brian abruptly halted, causing Justin to crash into him. He turned and glared at the sergeant, who seemed to be blushing. Although Brian had an uneasy feeling, he didn't want to alarm Justin. However, when they happened upon definite signs of recent enemy activity in the area, Brian strongly advised Justin to proceed with caution. It became increasingly obvious to Brian that someone had been there, and could still be lurking around. Brian was creeping forward when an insurgent suddenly swooped down on him from above. Justin rushed to yank the man off of him, but was soon faced with defending himself against his own attackers. During the ensuing struggle, Brian was stabbed in the arm. Justin instinctively reacted to Lt. Kinney's yell, enabling one of his attackers to bash him on the side of the head with the end of a rifle. Everything went black. Justin regained consciousness, only to find out that his worst fears had come true. He was imprisoned in a makeshift cell, and his head was pounding. The blazing sun was beating down on him, and his throat and lips were parched. As he sat up, he remembered hearing Brian crying out in pain. Where the fuck was he? Justin's heart was racing, as his eyes darted around looking for any sign of the lieutenant. Had the bastards killed him? About 30 yards away he spotted something. Lying limp on the ground he detected a human form. Squinting his eyes and pressing his face against the bars, he could distinguish that it was the lieutenant. Thank God, he was still alive! He was in a similar cell to Justin's. As Justin was peering through the bars trying to get a better look, a soldier hit his hands with a stick, causing him to release his grip, and fall on his back with a thud. Shit! The Iraqi guard laughed, and then angrily scolded him in Arabic. Before Justin had departed the United States, he had of course seen and heard the horror stories of what the Iraqi soldiers would do to their prisoners. He closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply, trying to prevent the anxiety attack he felt coming on, and the monstrous images currently flashing through his mind. So far he had been fortunate, and they hadn't seemed all that interested in him. After what felt like hours later, Justin became cognizant of Brian's stirring, and wondered about the extent of Brian's wounds. He himself had a splitting headache stemming from the huge gash on the side of his head. Justin thought that by now the platoon had deduced that they were either dead, or had been captured. Recalling the instructions they were given, he knew that Pvt. Jimenez would have no choice, but to obey his orders, and continue the mission without them. Justin's face blanched, when he saw what looked like their Commanding Officer staring at him, and apparently giving a command. A few moments later, two guards scurried over to him, opened the cell door, and dragged him out. Hands on either side of Justin forcibly pushed him down into a kneeling position. He flinched, when their leader suddenly jerked his dog tags from his neck, and examined them. He handed them over to an ugly looking man with a big nose and crooked teeth. To Justin's dismay, the man began speaking to him in fluent English. "Sergeant Taylor" he said as he read the dog tags. "I'm Ashraf Haddad. Commander Khafife here wants me to review your options. So you would be wise to listen carefully to what I have to say."