Captured 3 by Lorhainne Eckhart Page A

this,” Ayoud said. He slid his arm around Joe’s shoulder and started walking with him out the door. They were in another hallway when he patted Joe’s back and led him outside to the lit compound. There stood a hundred, if not more, boys in their mid to late teens. They were white, black, all wearing some manner of Western clothes—jeans, T-shirts, some with backpacks. Joe didn’t know what to make of it when Ayoud clapped his hands together and yelled, “Yes!” as if he’d won the lottery.
    “This would be the success of social media,” he explained. “Our newest members, who’ve just arrived from their countries: Canada, Great Britain, America, Hungary…They’re all looking for leadership, some meaning in their lives. They’re all here to fight and become part of JILA, to raise a nation. They’ve left disillusionment, depression, hopelessness, poverty behind. We’re growing faster, and JILA will be the new world. Every other nation will cease to exist.” Ayoud raised his hand in the air, instantly holding everyone’s attention.
    How could he explain how all these teens had simply gotten on a plane and flown to the other side of the world, leaving everything behind to join a monster? It was beyond anything Joe could imagine. Ayoud had embraced and used a tool of social media to connect with the most vulnerable, the lone wolves. Of course these kids had no idea what they were in for, and he figured maybe some would only need a few hours before the reality of their situation sank in. Then they’d be begging to go home. Some were probably so naive that they’d go along with anything this man said or did. Joe couldn’t imagine so many lost youths, so many who figured joining a monster was better than staying and fixing their situations in countries that still provided them freedom and will.
    “Welcome, my children, my family,” Ayoud said. “Look around you, for you are now home. Most of you have never experienced what a true family is, what a true nation is. It looks after its young, nurtures them, and provides rules and structure. You will have meaning in your lives for the first time.”
    Joe watched in horror, realizing many of the young men believed what this man was saying.
     

Chapter 15
    Cassidy had been right. For Eric, being forced to admit his weak points had been a hard pill to swallow. He had always prided himself on being able to lead, but he’d realized, as the team walked through their outline of the camp and their plan to find Joe, along with the body of their fallen team member and the women, that this team had skills that far surpassed his. He wondered if Cassidy was able to read his mind, because after every member of the team learned their positions, their moves, their responsibilities, Eric had been ordered to wait at the extraction site.
    Accepting the duty had been humbling, but admitting he was limited in his ability to help this team…well, he’d had no choice. The five special ops personnel could outlive a situation this ugly, this destructive, this hopeless, and have a better chance of coming out the victor. Being a good leader only went so far. Being a great team member meant he had to follow the lead of someone who knew better.
    Although he wouldn’t be going into the insurgents’ camp, Eric knew that if they couldn’t reach the extraction site in time, this mission would be lost. Timing was critical, as this was the last hope Joe had. It wasn’t said out loud, but it was assumed the women were lost. Eric hoped Cassidy was wrong. DeLaurie, too, seemed all too willing to write them off. Maybe it was the memory of what Abby had gone through, being sold and bought and violated in a way that was similar to this, that made Eric pray the two lieutenants would be found. This was the first time he felt as if he was seeing firsthand what his wife had survived. It was humbling.
    “Roadrunner, we’re at the party.”
    Eric listened to Cassidy as his men all announced their