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“We’ll need to borrow that truck.” He jerked his head at Bahram, warning him to stay where he was, then Jase whistled.
Dev and Cody appeared in under a minute.
“This kid says there’s a box truck in the village. Make him show you where it is, hot wire it and get back here with the kid. Keep an eye on him. I don’t trust him.”
“Got it,” Dev said. He turned to Bahram and said in Pashto, “Take us to the truck.”
Bahram nodded. But before he moved, he said, “I need to apologize to my mother and sister first.”
“Now you’re sounding like a grown-up,” Jase said. He shook his head. “Go get that truck, then get back here and pack your belongings. You’ll have plenty of time to apologize during the drive to Kabul.”
Bahram nodded, then Jase signaled for Dev and Cody to follow the teen. All of them disappeared into the darkness.
Jase turned back to Laila. “What’s the status?” he asked.
“Three girls and their families are coming with us. The other two families refused, but one of the girls just showed up with her belongings. She wants to come, too.”
“Jesus, what a clusterfuck.” Jase ran his fingers through his short hair. “Are we going to be accused of kidnapping?”
“Nahid said she’ll claim that Farah is her daughter.” Laila took a shuddering breath. “None of them have any forms of ID, so it doesn’t matter. Farah will go along with it.”
“You need to hurry them up,” he said to Laila. “We’ve been in this village for too long.”
Laila nodded and hurried toward the house. A few minutes later, she came outside with a group of... he counted quickly. Twelve people. Two men, the rest women and children. They’d have a hell of a time getting the men and Bahram past the screeners at the embassy, but they could sort it out in Kabul.
“I’m going to wait out here. Make sure there’s no trouble. Have them all sit down so they’re not so obvious. As soon as the truck is here, we’ll load them up and go.”
Jase watched as Bahram walked slowly toward his mother. He crouched down beside her, and Jase heard him talking. He sounded sufficiently cowed, and Jase retreated behind the cucumber trellis again.
It was a miracle that he and Bahram hadn’t been spotted while they loaded Feroz into the Humvee. He didn’t want to take any more chances. His neck itched, and every instinct screamed at him to get moving. They’d been incredibly lucky, but luck always eventually ran out.
