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Should he let her sleep, or wake her and tell her what he was doing?
Kinder to let her sleep. Except for the short nap she’d taken when she found this cave, she’d been awake for almost forty-eight hours straight. She’d probably been too juiced on adrenaline to feel sleepy, but he’d bet she’d sleep until he woke her up when it was time to go.
But if she woke while he was gone, she might be disoriented. Panicked.
So he looked around the cave. Spotted his M4A1. He set it close to her, so she’d see the carbine if she woke up. Then he backed away.
Placing the C4 and the detonators in his backpack, he slipped into the outer cave and crawled toward the opening. Flopping onto his belly, he chanced a look out.
Saw nothing except the starry sky and the black of the desert at night.
Listened carefully and heard only the snort of horses not too far away. No voices. No metallic sounds of guns being loaded or cleaned. The Taliban must all be asleep.
Instead of walking to the cave, he crawled. No reason to take any chances. When he reached the opening, he slithered inside and stood up. Several crates stood in the center of the cave, with more boxes against the walls. He sized up the situation and placed his C4 where he knew it would destroy everything in those crates and boxes. Then he retraced his path until he was back in their cave.
It took only moments for him to make his way to the inner cave. Laila hadn’t moved since he’d left, and he wished he could let her sleep. But they needed to go. Especially if they were going back to Al Kamen. They needed to get there a few hours before dawn, so they could gather the families, load them into the truck and take off.
Dread twisted in his gut, but he ignored it as he crouched beside Laila. “Hey, bae, wake up,” he murmured.
She didn’t budge. Not even her eyelashes fluttered. “Laila,” he repeated, his voice a little louder. “The bus to Al Kamen is waiting. Time to catch it.”
She stirred and rolled onto her back. Her mouth moved, as if she was still dreaming. Finally, realizing that only a touch would wake her, he brushed his fingers over her hand.
Her eyes shot open, and she looked around wildly at the darkened cave. Finally she spotted him. She went still. Stared at him for a long moment. Was she still half-asleep? Was she having a hard time identifying him in the dark?
“It’s me, Laila. Jase. Time to wake up and get moving,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
She stared at him for an unnervingly long time, then nodded. Sat up and reached for the water bottle in her pack. Gulped the rest of the water, then switched out the empty bottle for a new one from her pack.
Finally she looked directly at him. “What’s the plan?”
“The Taliban are camping not too far away,” he said. “We’re going down the rocks on the slope. The moon’s very bright, and so are the stars. The trick is going to be getting the Humvee past the Taliban.” He didn’t mention the possibility of rockets, or the deterrence system in the Humvee.
She studied him for a moment. “You have some tricks up your sleeve?” she finally asked.
“One or two,” he said, holding out his hand. “Let’s get ready to leave.”
She curled her fingers around his and pulled herself to her feet, holding his hand for an extra moment. Then she let him go and headed for the outer cave, but before she could slide through, he said, “Wait!”
* * *
Laila froze, then slowly turned to face Jase. “What? I thought you’d already checked to make sure the outer cave is clear.”
He swallowed and shoved his fingers through his short hair. His glance skittered away from her. “Yeah, I did,” he finally said. “But that was a while ago, and things might have changed. Remember the number one rule on this op? I always go first. I’m not letting you walk into a space I haven’t already cleared.”
“Sorry,” she said quietly. “Go ahead.”
Jase swept past her and disappeared into the outer cave. She waited a moment, until he finally said, “Clear.”
Sliding through the narrow opening, she stepped into the larger space and gasped at the huge band of stars spread across the sky. She’d seen the Milky Way most nights in Al Kamen, but here in the mountains, it somehow seemed closer.
Jase motioned her over and she approached the edge of the cave. Stayed back to keep out of view of anyone watching.
“We’re good,” Jase said, apparently reading her mind. He jerked his head at her, urging her forward. Then he lay on his belly at the entrance to the cave, and she followed suit.
“Part of the Taliban went left, and they’re camping down there,” he said, pointing to the left.
Far in the distance, Laila saw a number of people on the ground. Sleeping, she assumed. They were too far away to identify. “They don’t look like a problem,” she whispered.
