—You think us cruel? How do the Communists deal with their enemies? They torture them. They shoot them. Many thousands of Afghans have died. Many thousands will die. Your soldiers kill innocent families in the hope of killing one fighter. There is nothing you can say in her defence. There is no defence. She is a traitor. There is no deal to be made. You have no proposal that will interest us.

One of the elders slapped the pony and it began to move. Nara was pulled off her feet, falling to the ground, her face cut open on the cave floor, unable to scream, her mouth gagged. Leo cried out, as loud as he could manage:

—How many guns would buy her life?

The pony was walking faster, whipped on by the others. Nara was dragged out of the cave, pulled down the rough grit path, her nose filling with dirt. No one had heard Leo, or paid him any attention. He cried out again:

—How many guns would buy her life?

The council leader laughed at Leo.

—For ten thousand machine guns and one thousand mortars you can have the woman.

The elders laughed. Leo replied:

—We have a deal. If you call an end to this!

The elders stopped ghing, looking at Leo, trying to figure out if he was serious. Leo added:

—Ten thousand guns, more perhaps.

The leader raised his arm.

—I wish to hear what he has to say.

With the command from the council, the pony was stopped. Nara had been dragged at least twenty metres. She was not moving. Zabi had squeezed both hands into fists, positioned over her eyes. The leader walked up to Leo. He smelt of tobacco. Up close, Leo realized he was much younger than he appeared, his skin cracked, his beard grey, but he was younger than Leo.

—You are only delaying her death by a matter of seconds if what you say has no interest to us.

It was Leo’s last chance.

—You have said that the Soviet Union wants me dead. That is true. You admit I’m a valuable hostage. I agree. Ask yourself what would be the worst thing that could happen in their eyes?

The leader of the council shrugged.

—The worst has already happened. We have captured you alive. You will tell us the things you know.

—I could tell you the specifications of the machine guns on the Hind helicopters. I could mark troop movements on maps. I could give you most of this information in a matter of hours. But that will not give you weapons or mortars, or the ammunition you need. However, consider this. What would happen if the Soviet Union’s pre-eminent adviser defected to the United States, if you took me across the border to Pakistan?

The man shook his head.

—This is a trick.

—No, it is a genuine proposal. Imagine what would happen if I convinced the Americans to support your fight.