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Laila leaned closer to the soldier, as if afraid of being overheard. She braced her other hand on Jase’s thigh, and his muscle burned beneath her fingers. “The truck is empty,” she said in a low voice to the soldier. “We stole it from a village up north. We’re taking it to Kabul, where we hope to make good use of it. There are many old, beaten-up trucks in Kabul. No one will look twice at another one.”
The soldier’s eyes lit up. “A truck bomb?” he whispered.
“Inshallah,” Laila whispered back. God willing. “We want to make the Americans pay for what they did to my husband. We’re hoping to find some help in Kabul.”
“Allah rewards the resourceful,” the soldier said as he leaned closer. “Would you like an address where there are men who can help you?”
“Yes!” Laila said. “I was afraid it would take several days to find help.”
The soldier rattled off an address, and Jase memorized it. He knew Laila did the same.”
“Allah be with you,” the soldier said.
“And with you,” Laila answered.
The soldier waved them forward. He watched for a long moment, then turned to the next car in the line of traffic.
When they were a block away from the checkpoint, Jase said, “Damn it, bae, that was brilliant.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Text Mel that address. Tell her to get ready to strike, but to wait until we get to the embassy to carry it out.”
“Already on it,” Laila said, texting madly on the SAT phone.
* * *
Dev and Cody’s Humvee was waiting for them when they turned off the road with the checkpoint. They slid in front of the box truck smoothly, and Laila was finally able to relax. With Dev and Cody openly leading the way, she knew there’d be no more checkpoints.
They turned a corner onto a large street. A market was set up in a square on the other side and people milled around it, two and three deep at the various vendors.
Jase frowned. “I don’t like seeing all those people at that market. Prime target for a car bomb.”
Laila nodded slowly, her stomach twisting. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “And based on what that Taliban said at the checkpoint, that’s a strategy.”
The street was a cacophony of noise. Cars honked. Brakes squealed. Pedestrians shouted over the rumble of the cars and busses. After living in the quiet village for several months, the sounds made her ears hurt. She glanced at Jase and realized he was used to the noise. Which made sense, since Kabul was his base.
He glanced over at her. “You doing okay?”
She frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be? We’re almost at the embassy. Just have to get through the gates now.”
One side of his mouth curled up. “I was talking about the noise. This must be overwhelming, after the small village, the caves, and that drive. I’m used to it, but you were in that village for several months.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah, it’s a lot, but I’ll get used to it again. Madison is a pretty big city. And all the cars trying to get out of town on Friday afternoons? Not so different from this.”
“Glad you’re not freaking out.” He looked around again and Laila watched him cataloging everything. His head swiveled on his neck as he surveyed the area. “Ten minutes away. Maybe fifteen, depending on the traffic.”
For the first time, Laila thought about Mel’s reaction to thirteen Afghani refugees showing up at the embassy. She swallowed. “Is Mel going to be all right with this? With me bringing these people to the embassy?”
“Nothing she can do about it now, is there?” he shot back.
Laila drew in a sharp breath. No, there wasn’t. But she wasn’t looking forward to her boss’s anger.
“They won’t be allowed inside the embassy itself,” Jase added. “But there are barracks for Afghans on the grounds. For translators and other people who worked with the U.S. forces. They’ll stay there until they can be flown to the U.S.”
“Okay. Good to know.” She swallowed. “Will there be translators to help talk to them? None of them speak English.”
“They’ll have everything they need, including familiar food,” he assured her. “Your job is done, Laila. You got them out of Al Kamen and safely into Kabul. The embassy staff will take it from here.”
“I’m guessing Mel will want to know everything that happened that led up to me being extracted,” Laila asked.
“She’ll have lots of questions. She’ll dig out more information than you realize you have.” He smiled at her. “But she does it in the nicest possible way for agents like you. For Dev and Cody and me? She’ll take off the kid gloves.”
