Captured 3 by Lorhainne Eckhart

There’s something about living in America, where everyone believes they’re untouchable—the arrogance, the lack of patience.”
    “What part of the country did you grow up in?” Could there be many more like him, living as Americans but loyal to this ideology?
    “Trying to figure out what method there is to my madness, or maybe trying to figure out where America went wrong with me?” Ayoud said. “I can assure you neither hold true. My father made sure my guardians educated me by the Quran, and I understood the word of Allah.” The man appeared so civilized as he ate. The sterling silver, the crystal, the china—none of it was lost on Joe. It was unusual.
    “So how many of your fighters are prepared to sacrifice themselves in your name?” he said. Maybe he had gone too far, but he needed to get inside this man’s head and figure out what he expected of his followers.
    Ayoud didn’t look up as a hint of a smile touched his lips. “Don’t mistake us for zealots who convince young, foolish boys to be martyrs. We’re not martyrs. Those fools, that’s their mistake, and it’ll be their downfall. We will fight in the name of Allah. We will destroy to build a brand new nation. Make no mistake, our numbers are far greater than yours.”
    “But you still need women to build a nation.”
    “Women are only wives, and they’re married to the fighters and provide many children, more boys to build and conquer,” he said, as if they were an item of little value, as if one could easily replace another.
    Should he ask what happened to the daughters? No, he couldn’t know the details, because he suspected it was worse than he could imagine. Girls meant nothing. They had no value except to be passed off to the other men or married off. “And what happens to the wives when you’re done with them and they’ve done their duty?”
    Ayoud shoved a piece of meat in his mouth and chewed. For a moment, Joe wondered if he was irritated. Maybe he thought Joe was challenging him. “They’re women, Joe. You Americans hand over power to a gender who were never meant to have a voice. Allah has spoken.”
    Seriously? Joe wondered if Ayoud really understood what the Quran was about.
    “Your downfall, Joe, is your women. Understand their place, and you will be a great soldier.”
    “What about Grieger and Dunlop, the women you took from my camp? They were mine,” he said. Was it smart, trying to state things in a way this man would understand?
    Ayoud wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin and pointed. “Joe, Joe, your true colors are starting to show through. Well, forget the blonde. She was sold and is the property of another man. But the dark one…I may be able to gift her to you. However, I have given her to my guards, and she’s one of their favorites right now. They may not be willing to give her up.”
    The bite he’d taken soured as he pictured what Ayoud meant, what Grieger would be enduring—gang rape? He wanted to vomit but forced himself to swallow. “I would consider it a personal favor if you returned Grieger to me.”
    Ayoud leaned back in his chair, watching Joe as if trying to figure him out. Before he could say anything, one of his men—wearing a scarf around his head, the same black pants and light green shirt—strode in and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Ayoud gestured with his hand and wiped his face with a napkin, and the man left. Joe wondered what that was about, but these men were good at what they did, letting nothing slip.
    “Come, I have a surprise for you,” Ayoud said. He pushed back his chair, and Joe needed a second, as his legs had started trembling. It made him furious, this seed of fear Ayoud had planted in him. He didn’t know what to expect, and he started to wonder if his heart was going to give out on him. Maybe he’d pushed too hard, asked for too much. He could very well be walking to his execution.
    “Joe, wipe that worried look off your face. You have to see