“Okay, Shahid,” Cole said, and the camera zoomed back to show Cole with a foam-wrapped microphone tilted toward General Ospanov. “General Ospanov, we appreciate you taking the time to speak to Al Jazeera about the dire situation here in Talas, where it seems that the chaos continues to spread uncontroll—”

“No,” the general interrupted loudly. “It is not spreading,” he said in thickly accented English. “We have contained the problems here, and have taken firm control. There is still difficulties in Talas, yes, but spreading? No. That we will not allow. Nothing passes here.”

Barbara heard Klaus’s audible scoff at that statement. “So ’ne Scheisse!” Babel shook her head at the vulgarity, glancing over at Jayewardene, who continued to calmly watch the video.

In the camera, Cole’s attention had shifted past the general, continuing to talk about how things were under control, to the road beyond the barrier. The camera operator noticed, and the picture went briefly out of focus as the lens swiveled and zoomed in again. Blurry figures resolved into uniformed, armed men moving among the bodies. They were stooping down as they moved among the bodies.

“What are those soldiers doing?” Barbara asked aloud, a moment before the camera zoomed in yet closer and they all realized the answer. At the same moment, Cole’s shocked voice overrode the general’s commentary. “My God, General, your men … Are they … are they eating those bodies?”

The camera pulled back again, displaying the naked shock on Cole’s face and the smile that pulled at General Ospanov’s lips as he unholstered the pistol on his belt, pointed it directly in Cole’s face, and pulled the trigger.

The report of the gun was accompanied by a spray of blood, brain matter, and bits of skull from the back of Cole’s head. The reporter seemed to stand for a breath, then collapsed. They saw the general look toward the camera, and the video spun crazily as the operator evidently began running. There was another sharp report, then another, followed by a sickening thud and darkness. The camera feed went abruptly to static.

The three sat for a moment in stunned silence. Then Klaus stood, his face flushed red and angry. “I don’t care what anyone says. We are going there. We are going there now.”

“The Kazakh government hasn’t—” Jayewardene began, and Klaus cut off his objection with a wave of his hand. His single eye glared at both of them.

“Barbara was right all along.” Klaus nodded to her, and she managed a thin smile in return. “This is where we are needed, and after seeing this, I don’t give a fucking damn about waiting for permission from the government. We are going.”

Jayewardene was shaking his head, but said nothing. “Babs,” Klaus continued, “you make sure the Concorde’s fueled and loaded with the satellite phones, provisions, and other equipment we’re going to need. I want it ready to leave in an hour. We’ll also need Earth Witch and Michelle, if we can get her; I’ll call them. Maybe Tinker and Brave Hawk, too, and anyone else you think would be useful; have Ink get hold of them. In the meantime, I’ll go to the apartment and pack our things.”