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As she waited for Bahram, she tapped the gun in the pocket of her tunic. Pressed her fingers against the knife strapped to her leg. She needed the reassurance of her weapons and the knowledge she was prepared for whatever she’d face.
Including treachery from Bahram and his friend.
She’d stay alert. Watchful. Listen carefully to what the two boys said.
During her time in Al Kamen, she’d pretended to be a hesitant Pashto speaker, especially when she was around the men. She made mistakes. Mixed up tenses. Spoke slowly, as if she searched for the right words.
In reality, Laila understood everything they said. But as long as people thought she struggled with the language, they wouldn’t guard their tongues around her.
She’d gotten a lot of information by playing dumb.
Far in the distance, she heard the rumble of a car starting up. Bahram’s friend? Sneaking off with his father’s car?
She had no idea if the boy’s father was part of the plot. But whoever had persuaded Bahram to betray her had arranged for his friend to drive them to the caves. The teenager hadn’t come up with this plan by himself.
If he hadn’t mentioned Baghlan and taking a plane from that city to Kabul, she might have wondered if Bahram was merely a boy who wanted to feel important. A young man who was fond of his sister and wanted to make her happy.
But when he’d talked about marrying Amira to a member of the Taliban, she’d known he couldn’t be trusted. So as she waited, she tried to run through all possible scenarios. Tried to plan how she’d respond to each of them.
Finally, she heard a quiet tap on her door. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and slung the backpack over her arms. Shrugged it into place and slid two more water bottles into the mesh holders on either side of the backpack. Then she opened her door. Bahram stood off to the side. In his dark clothes, he blended with the night. Just as she’d blend into the night in her dark clothes.
He studied her for a long moment. Finally nodded sharply. Without speaking, he turned and began walking.
Hoping he wasn’t leading her into a trap but fearing that he was, Laila followed the boy.
