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Back Line of Control Save as PDF
Chapters (73)
  1. LINE Of CONTROL
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. PROLOGUE.
  4. CHAPTER ONE.
  5. CHAPTER TWO.
  6. CHAPTER THREE.
  7. CHAPTER FOUR.
  8. CHAPTER FIVE.
  9. CHAPTER SIX.
  10. CHAPTER SEVEN.
  11. CHAPTER EIGHT.
  12. CHAPTER NINE.
  13. CHAPTER TEN.
  14. CHAPTER ELEVEN.
  15. CHAPTER TWELVE.
  16. CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
  17. CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
  18. CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
  19. CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
  20. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
  21. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
  22. CHAPTER NINETEEN.
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY.
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO.
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE.
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR.
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE.
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX.
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN.
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT.
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE.
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY.
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE.
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO.
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE.
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR.
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE.
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX.
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN.
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT.
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE.
  43. CHAPTER FORTY.
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE.
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO.
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE.
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR.
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE.
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX.
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN.
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT.
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE.
  53. CHAPTER FIFTY.
  54. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE.
  55. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO.
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE.
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR.
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE.
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX.
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN.
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT.
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE.
  63. CHAPTER SIXTY.
  64. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE.
  65. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO.
  66. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE.
  67. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR.
  68. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE.
  69. CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX.
  70. CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN.
  71. CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT.
  72. CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE.
  73. CHAPTER SEVENTY.

She continued to look into Ishaq's eyes.

"Then they won't leave," he promised her.

"But you had better."

"Thank you," Sharab replied.

The woman turned to help the other men, not because they needed help but because she did not want Ishaq to see her weep. She wanted him to hold on to the image of her being strong. He would need that in order to get through this. Yet the tears came. They had been together every day for two years, both in Pakistan and in Kashmir. He was devoted to her and to the cause. But he did not have the climbing or survival skills the other men had. Without them they would not get across the mountains and the line of control and back to Pakistan.

The remaining members of the team pulled on the heavy coats they kept for extended stays in the cave. They threw automatic weapons over their right shoulders and ropes over their left. They put flashlights and matches in their pockets.

Ali took the backpack he had loaded with food. Hassan grabbed Nanda after Samouel gave him the backpack with pitons, a hammer, extra flashlights, and maps.

Then, in turn, each member of the party hugged Ishaq. He smiled at them with tears in his eyes. Sharab was the last to embrace him.

"I pray that Allah will send to your aid five thousand angels," Sharab whispered to him.

"I would sooner He send them to help you reach home," Ishaq replied.

"Then I would be sure that this has not been in vain."

She hugged him even tighter then patted his back, turned, and stepped through the tarp.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

Srinagar, Kashmir Wednesday, 10:00 p. m.

Ron Friday was in his small room when the phone on the rickety night table rang. He opened his eyes and looked at his watch.

Right on time.

The phone was from the 1950s, a heavy black anvil of a thing with a thick brown cord. And it really rang rather than beeped. Friday was sitting on the bed; after sending the encoded message to Hank Lewis he had turned on the black and-white TV. An old movie was on. Even with English subtitles Friday had trouble following the plot. The fact that he kept dozing off did not help.

Friday did not answer the phone on the first ring. Or the second. He did not pick up until the tenth ring. That was how he knew the caller was his Black Cat contact. Tenth ring at the tenth hour.

The caller. Captain Prem Nazir, said he would meet Friday outside in fifteen minutes.

Friday pulled on his shoes, grabbed his windbreaker, and headed down the single flight of stairs. There were only twelve rooms at Binoo's Palace, most of them occupied by market workers, women of questionable provenance, and men who rarely emerged from their rooms. Obviously, the police turned a blind eye to more than just the gaming parlor.