Chapters (78)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Acknowledgments
- Discover More
- About the Author
- Also by Owen Laukkanen
The rest of the patrol had spread out behind low walls for cover, only the barrels of their M4s and the tops of their helmets visible, the glint off of their sunglasses as they watched the women. Somewhere on the western wall of the valley, high above the patrol, Jess knew there were more eyes watching her, friendly eyes with .50-caliber machine guns and mortars. But she knew that if she followed Panra up those stairs, all the rifles and .50 cals and Apache helicopters in the world wouldn’t do her much good, not if Haji was planning an ambush, not there.
Jess thought of the young child, Selab, at the village entrance, how he’d ducked away when she’d waved to him. She wondered why Panra couldn’t bring the elders somewhere out in the open if they wanted to talk.
She wondered if she was climbing to her own death.
You’re a marine, aren’t you? Sack up.
Panra gestured again to the stairs, Come.
Get it done, Winslow.
Hoo-rah.
Afia went first, following Panra up the narrow stairway. Later Jess would wonder why she’d let her friend take the lead, why she hadn’t cut in ahead with her rifle. But Afia always led; the locals responded better when they saw one of their own before the marine with the big gun. It worked just fine when the locals were inclined to be friendly. In this instance, though, it left Jess neutralized at the back of the line, that rifle of hers worth exactly shit.
Panra climbed. Afia climbed after her, and Jess after Afia. The sun bore down. Jess felt hot and dirty, her skin gritty. Her heart pounded. The stairs were steep and uneven, and she couldn’t see much but the walls beside her, and Afia’s backside. She couldn’t see where they were going. Even turning around would have been precarious.
Panra said nothing as she climbed. Nor did Afia. Jess couldn’t see where the stairs ended, couldn’t see what waited for them. Couldn’t see how much farther to the top.
They reached the end, maybe twenty feet from ground level, and the houses backed away into a small courtyard. Panra waited at the top for Afia and Jess to join her. She gestured across the courtyard to an open doorway. Said something to Afia and gestured again.
“She wants us to go in there,” Afia said. “That’s where the elders are, she says.”
Jess looked at Afia, then back at the doorway. Nothing moved inside. “Why isn’t she going first?” she asked. “Tell her lead the way, make the introductions.”
Afia relayed this. Panra shook her head.
“She says there’s no need. The elders are in there,” Afia said.
The doorway was dark. Still nothing moving. Jess looked at Panra, who met her eyes and nodded quickly. Gestured again and spoke Pashto to Jess, rapid, urgent.