Capítulo 39: RED SCORPIONS

Buluhani Ashraf was massaging the back of a pretty young woman in his house, her uncovered upper body was on his lap. On her round face, was a smile of contentment from all the hard work he was putting in.

Her name was Maliamu, the ex-wife of Zamilu. One of the deceased bandits in Buluhani's group. Life without her husband was hard on her in many ways. When Buluhani commanded her to be his second wife after the period of mourning, she accepted readily. She reasoned, that it was better to accept willingly and gain his favor other than him throwing her away from the camp to fend for herself, or having him force himself on her before selling her off. She had seen it happen before, to several women whose husbands had passed on in ill-fated raids.

The life of a woman without the protection of a male family member or husband was very dangerous. She was an orphan, having lost both parents in the war between the Crusaders and Saladin's army in 1190 AD.

Unlike the other widows in the camp, Maliamu had not produced any children with her late husband. She was still having her girlish figure, soft and tender blooming body.

Life was beginning to be rosy for Buluhani Ashraf and his dependents, and the families of the deceased. Several days after the ill-fated raid in which he lost all his men. A former colleague in the army introduced him to a mercenary group composed mostly of former soldiers some of whom he once served with. They paid well, and they had not failed in any mission since he joined them.

The mercenary group was nicknamed 'Red Scorpions'. They were fast, efficient, and brutal in their undertakings. And also, well equipped with the latest weapons which money can buy. Ever since Buluhani Ashraf joined, they had undertaken five missions and all of them were very successful. None of the 22 men serving under the leadership of boss Omar Talib had died, except for a few with injuries that were not life-threatening.

From the proceeds of his mercenary work. Buluhani Ashraf was able to lavish gifts on his newest, youngest, and most beautiful wife Maliamu but also provide the most basic needs for the families of his deceased bandits.

Knock, Knock. The sound of someone at the door was heard.

"Who is it, disturbing me at such a late hour?" Buluhani shouted.

"It is I, Omar Talib." The man at door responded.

Buluhani felt guilty, hearing that it was the boss of Red Scorpions at his door.

"Maliamu, cover yourself and hid in the bedroom." Buluhani Ashraf told her as she moved off his lap. He did not want Omar Talib to see her at all. He may develop feelings for her, and steal her from him, after all, he was his boss.

"Coming, just a moment." Buluhani Ashraf shouted to let him know that he was not being ignored.

'I wonder what makes him come looking for me at such a late hour?' He asked himself as he walked to the door.

Buluhani Ashraf took time to open the door. He had two locks inside his door so that in case someone wanted to break it down, it was not an easy job. Being a bandit, he had learned not to trust easily.

"Boss, it is so nice to see you." Buluhani Ashraf said in his most cheerful voice when he opened the door.

"It is good to see you too Buluhani Ashraf," Omar Talib responded.

Omar Talib, was a large-bodied and tall man, standing at six feet and two inches. With wavy black hair coming up to his shoulders and a prominent bow-shaped ugly scar on his left cheek which made him look fierce. However, he had soft brown eyes and a gentle yet commanding voice.

He looked behind Buluhani Ashraf to see who was inside, seeing no one there, he asked. "Where's your new bride whom I have heard so much from your friends?"

'Shit! This is what I feared, he is beginning to pick interest in my young wife. Will have to keep her so far away from him.'

"She is sleeping now, maybe another day is when you will be able to see her." Replied Buluhani Ashraf.

"Alright. I will be very much looking forward to it. You know we are family, am happy to see the people who make you happy." Omar Talib said as he rubbed his cleanly shaved chin. It looked so smooth like for a boy.

"In our line of work, we see and experience many bad things. So, it is important to have some happiness at home to uplift our emotions and give us some joy." Omar Talib added.

"I understand boss. Please do come in." Said Buluhani Ashraf.

"Sorry am in rush, I won't come in tonight. I just wanted to inform you that we have got a new client who is paying us handsomely on a mission to Jerusalem and back. We are leaving very early in the morning, so be prepared to meet us at the usual place." Omar Talib informed him.

He added while smiling, "Let me go and inform the others before they go to bed or start their manly duties!"

"Haha, see you boss in the morning." Buluhani Ashraf bid farewell to him before closing the door.

***

It was a chilly night, the clouds were covering a big portion of the night sky.

Abu Bin Zayyid was exhausted from moving up and down in Bayt Dajan the whole day. It has been a while since he last exerted himself to such an extent, and he got tired easily. He was panting and sweating even though it was chilly.

"I need to be active so that I come back to my normal level of fitness." He told himself.

He was walking to the meeting point agreed upon with the leader of the Red Scorpions mercenary group.

He had approached three mercenary groups in the day, and two of them had rejected his mission to travel to Jerusalem and back while planning to rob and kill some armed Knight Templars. They said the level of risk was too high and they normally don't conduct operations outside their areas of work.

Finally, when he approached the Red Scorpion boss, Omar Talib. He revised his strategy. He started by mentioning his high price with a down payment of half the sum to get him worked up before mentioning that it was outside Bayt Dajan and was going to involve attacking Knight Templars.

Unlike the other mercenary bosses, Omar Talib did not reject the mission. He put forth a condition and the conversation they had was still vivid in his mind.

"Mr. Abu, I accept to undertake this mission with you and my team but on one condition." Omar Talib had said. This was unusual, always it was the client who put forth conditions and not the mercenary group.

"State your condition boss Omar. As long as it is within my power, I will honor it." Abu Bin Zayyid replied.

"Attacking Knight Templars is a very risky venture, more so for us mercenaries. I can count on all my fingers twice, the groups which have perished from attacking Knight Templar." Omar Talib showed him his ten fingers, to highlight the close to twenty mercenary groups that have perished.

Omar Talib continued, "this is a very high-risk mission but also a very high reward mission for you."

"That is very much true." Abu Bin Zayyid agreed with him.

"Besides the money you are paying us for this mission. I want us to share equally the loot we shall get from the Knight Templars." Omar Talib stated his condition.

Everyone knew how traveling Knight Templar groups were loaded with gold, silver, and other exotic treasures from across the Christian world.

"That is unacceptable boss Omar!" Abu Bin Zayyid sternly said.

"Why do you say so?" Omar Talib asked him.

"First and foremost, I am paying you for this mission. And unlike the practice where the money is paid after the mission. Am giving you half before setting off tomorrow morning and the other half when we return from Jerusalem..." Abu Bin Zayyid paused in his speech.

"Secondly, am the one who needs everything the Knights Templars are carrying. Sharing could make us partners which we are not. Our relationship is not of equals, I pay you and you give me your services." Abu Bin Zayyid explained this to Omar Talib.

"You are very eloquent Mr. Abu, but like I stated earlier. This is a very high-risk mission and very many mercenary groups have perished trying to do what you have proposed." Omar Talib told him.

"Do you know why the other two groups rejected you despite the good payment you are laying forward?" He asked.

"Don't look at me like that, I know everything that takes place in this area and outside concerning my area of work otherwise the Red Scorpions could not have survived for this long." Omar Talib added.

"Why? Tell me." Abu Bin Zayyid asked, intrigued by his question.

"The level of risk is not equal to the reward. No amount of silver deniers you will offer can adequately measure up to the risk we shall face if we undertake this mission." Omar Talib answered while mincing words.

"I thought you were professionals, every mission you undertake is riddled with risks. I believe my payment addresses these risks very well." Abu Bin Zayyid stood his ground.

Omar Talib kept silent for a while before saying, "Your payment is ok, but is not enough for this mission and the many dangers I foresee in it. That's why I insist on an equal distribution of the loot. "

Abu Bin Zayyid thought about it for a while. This was the last mercenary group in Bayt Dajan. They had accepted to team up with him for this mission except for the condition of sharing the loot fifty over fifty.

He alone, the chances of defeating the squad of Commander Gallo Francis was not easy even if he knew some of their capabilities. As for the Knight Yosef, Abu Bin Zayyid was in the dark about his skills or the caliber of a warrior he is.

That is why he needed numbers to neutralize the quality advantage of the Blood squad. They were a team of 13 men. The Red Scorpion was a team of 22 men, plus himself it could come to 23. Enough to neutralize and defeat the Blood squad of Commander Gallo Francis.

Besides this, elder Saddam may have already sent a team to his operative in Jerusalem. He desperately needed this team to counter them by meeting the Knights Templars first but also defeating them should the need to fight to arise.

At the end of the day, the Brotherhood could benefit but Abu Bin Zayyid could stand to lose everything if he failed in this endeavor.

"Omar Talib, I agree to your condition of sharing the loot but not the way you want it." Abu Bin Zayyid said while staring at him with killing intent.

'Oh! This client is very dangerous. Let me curb my greed or else he will harm me and my men. The way he speaks and conducts himself, he must have a very powerful Organisation backing him up. No pauper or struggling organization can afford to pay half of the fee upfront.' Omar Talib reasoned with himself.

"Ok, am willing to listen to your condition regarding the distribution of the loot." Omar Talib said.

"Let us share the loot ten percent for you and your men, and ninety percent for me. This is already very generous of me." Abu Bin Zayyid stated. Starting from the lowest figure so that there's room for bargaining.

"Ten percent is too little for the Red Scorpion. The least we can accept is twenty percent." Omar Talib saw a room to bargain.

"You should understand, that ten percent of the loot from Knight Templars. More so this team is not little. What you shall get is enough to sustain you and your men for over ten years without working." Abu Bin Zayyid tried convincing Omar Talib.

"Okay, our last stand is fifteen percent. If you are not willing, we cancel this mission. There are many other missions that we can take up in the coming days." Omar Talib offered his last quota while threatening to leave the contract.

Abu Bin Zayyid thought about it deeply. "I accept giving the Red Scorpion fifteen percent. If we set off tomorrow morning."

"We have a deal, Mr. Abu. See you tomorrow morning!" Omar Talib was excited to have secured this lucrative deal.