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“You shoot him, and you’ll have me to deal with,” I grunted, and he waited a beat before he stepped back with a curse.
I looked the kid over and noticed his clothes were expensive looking and his satchel had beadwork on the side. It was unusual to see such items on a typical Afghan child.
“Wait here,” I told him and pulled Moore and Brown aside. “I think this kid is someone important.”
“Because of his clothes and the bag?” Moore looked at the kid. “Maybe. But shit, Beckett, that’s extra baggage.”
“He’s a kid.” My gut screamed at me to take him with us.
“He could also make us an even bigger target.” Moore shrugged.
Brown rubbed the back of his head nervously. “He could be carrying drugs or maybe even be a mole. Fuck, this entire thing could have been planned for us to take him. They’re most likely watching us right now.” He looked wildly around.
I shook my head. This wasn’t Brown’s typical thought process, and even Moore gave him an odd look. He was slipping. The three of us had been ridiculously close growing up. I knew Brown better than he knew himself, and right now my brother needed to get the hell out of this place. The signs were all there in his eyes and in the constant movements he made. Yes, those tics were a dead giveaway that he needed help. I knew we had to get him home fast.
I stepped back and turned to face the others.
“Let’s vote. Take the kid, or leave the kid?”
“I think I speak for my team when I say, leave ’im. We aren’t going to get sucked into another of your volunteer fuck-ups.” Flex looked at the guys, and they all nodded in agreement. “We aren’t far from where the truck’s waiting, but I’m not taking a kid.”
I turned to Brown, who shrugged but hit my shoulder to indicate he’d side with me. Moore nodded to imply the same.
“We need to leave before they come.” Brown looked about, worried. “We need to go,” he repeated.
I turned to Moore so only he could hear. “Go with them. I need your ears. Meet me at the last check. We’ll take the horses, and you go in the truck with the others. Get settled at the house but don’t let your guard down. Safe place or not, keep your eyes open.”
“You sure?” His face twisted as his eyes went to Brown. I knew he wasn’t sure it was a wise idea to leave me with just Brown, but Brown needed one on one, and so did the kid.
“Yeah, keep Anderson and Gail close, but yeah, go.” I didn’t trust that the others wouldn’t sell me out and trap me somewhere. I trusted Moore with my life. I knew he’d have my back, especially with the other two guys.
“Be safe.” He fist-bumped me and raced to join the others. I knew they’d get to the rendezvous well before we would, but I wasn’t going to leave the kid here. The horses would help as long as we could keep out of sight of the Taliban.
I crouched back down in front of the kid and rubbed my chin. I knew we didn’t have a lot of time to get out of there. We were too exposed, but I needed a minute.
“Where are your parents?” He shrugged, and I could see his cheeks pink up. “Are you hurt?” He shrugged again, and I looked at his bare feet. I leaned back, untied and wiggled a boot off one of the dead men. I held it to the kid’s foot, but it was way too big. I looked around and spotted a smaller size and tugged them off the guy with a hole in his chest. I handed them to the kid, and he slipped them on without hesitation.
“We need to move, okay?” I patted his head, and he nodded but looked unsure. I peeled back a small Velcro flap on my jacket and pointed to the flag on my arm. “I’m not here to hurt you.” He hopped to his feet then stumbled to find his footing. He’d hung over that horse too long. I scooped him up and sat him on the back of the horse then jumped up behind him on the saddle. Brown mounted up but looked a bit awkward on the horse. I knew we’d make better time on horseback. We just needed to be extra careful. I kicked hard, and we took off toward higher ground. I checked back, and Brown seemed able to follow. I hoped he wouldn’t fall off the damn thing. His face was a picture of concentration, and it almost made me laugh. I was glad I’d ridden a bit as a kid.
Location: Afghanistan
Coordinates: Classified
Ty
Taking the kid caused us a whole heap more trouble than I ever expected. We were spotted soon after we left, and they never let up. We were hunted relentlessly and almost caught several times, each one closer than the last. I wondered just how long our luck would hold. Finally, we found a spot in a ravine that provided enough cover that I felt we could stop for the night.
The kid never said much, but I noticed he watched Brown as closely as I did. Maybe he could sense something was off with him as well. I hated to see one of my buddies suffering, but all I could focus on was getting us the hell out of there.
The second day, trouble found us early. Brown was on lookout while I tried to catch some sleep. I woke to the boy as he tucked himself into my side. He pointed terrified at what was headed our way. The dust cloud from the approaching horses was our saving grace. The three of us jumped on our tired horses, and we pretty much pushed them to their limit scaling yet another mountainside.
We escaped but spotted another group of Taliban not that far away by the edge of the water. I had to make a call to ditch the horses and send them in a different direction because we’d never outrun them. The horses simply didn’t have it in them. Lack of food and exhaustion had them near collapse. I knew Brown would be all for it. He’d cursed his horse often as we rode, and I knew he was as sore as I was from the unaccustomed ride.
We spent the night in some dark, murky water. I only hoped none of us had any kind of open cuts. Sepsis and other nasty thoughts came to mind.
“Here.” I handed the kid a small piece of my jerky. I’d been rationing it out. He took it and chewed slowly to savor the taste. That day, we made great progress, and when we came across a small, abandoned house, I decided we should stop for the night. It had been quiet, and though that meant very little, I knew both Brown and especially the kid needed a break. We were getting low on food, but we only had two more days to make the rendezvous point to be picked up.
“Beckett,” Brown nodded at me to join him a few feet away from the kid, “I know you got some attachment to that kid, but it’s obvious someone wants him bad. We still got two days to get through. Then we gotta navigate through that town to the house. It’s too risky to hang on to him if we wanna live.” He shook his head over and over.
