‘Let me guess,’ Matt piped up. ‘That’s where we come in.’
The ops sergeant nodded. ‘The American special forces are spread thin on the ground. We’re sending you in to help gather information. You need to get as close to the Taliban commanders as you can. By whatever means necessary, gentlemen. Whatever it is the enemy have got planned, they’re excited about it. That’s enough to make our own commanders very nervous indeed. As things stand, we’ve got the enemy on the back foot. If they manage to do anything to upset that, it would be a disaster for the war effort and for the people of Afghanistan.’
He looked at them all with a serious expression, and this time there were no jokey comments.
‘All right, gentlemen. You’ll receive more instructions when you’re in country. You can check out your weapons and spend the rest of the day putting your packs together. RV back here at oh-five-hundred tomorrow.’
The four men in the unit nodded, then stood up, left the briefing room and went to make their preparations.
The minibus of exchange students hadn’t driven far before the outskirts of Quetta started to melt away and the scenery changed dramatically. As Carl had promised, the road was bad — stony and bumpy. It took them alongside a vast lake, in the middle of which was a small island only ten or twenty metres wide. Perched in the centre of that island was some kind of shrine. It looked ancient and very beautiful. And in the distance, the ever-present mountains. Even though the van rumbled and chugged, there was a sense of peace about this place. The others in the back seemed to notice it too. They were quiet and a few of them had even nodded off.
‘I’ve heard that some of the Taliban in Afghanistan come over the border from Pakistan,’ Ben said suddenly. ‘Is that true? And are the Taliban really that dangerous?’ The question had been rather on his mind.
Carl glanced at him as he drove. ‘There’s Taliban,’ he said, ‘and then there’s Taliban.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Ben,’ his mum admonished.
‘It’s OK,’ Carl said. ‘It’s an important question.’ He paused for thought before speaking again. ‘Have you heard of the Ku Klux Klan, Ben?’
He nodded. ‘Yeah.’
‘Well, the Taliban are to Muslims what the Ku Klux Klan are to Christians — a horrible perversion of the way things are supposed to be. Islam is a very peaceful religion, but the Taliban give it a bad name. They used to be in charge of Afghanistan and they were very brutal, especially to women. They were deposed in two thousand and one by the British and Americans because they allowed the terrorist leader Osama bin Laden to hide in Afghanistan after nine/eleven. There are still some Taliban who want to take back the country. Most of them are very vicious fighters who don’t mind if they die, because they think they are fighting a holy war.’
Ben glanced at his mum, who was looking straight ahead.
‘You said “most of them”…’
‘That’s right, Ben.’ Carl nodded. ‘You see, some people join the Taliban for other reasons. Because they don’t like the government; because they’re poor; because they’re misguided. They’re not radical or evil. It’s just possible, Ben, that you will hear people claim to be Taliban sympathizers. Avoid them, but don’t fall into the trap of assuming that they’re all bad. They’re not. They’re just poor. The Taliban commanders take advantage of them. But not in Kampur, Ben. These things are very localized.’
They passed an old man by the side of the road. He wore ragged robes and carried a staff which he was using to direct two rather thin-looking sheep. The old man stared at them as they passed. His face was leathery and wrinkled, his eyes piercing.
‘What about the ones in Helmand Province?’ Ben asked. ‘Are they all bad?’
‘Stop asking Carl so many questions, Ben,’ his mum said a bit peevishly.
Ben opened his mouth to argue, but one look from her told him that probably wasn’t a good idea. He shut it again and went back to looking out of the window and watching the strange, unfamiliar, beautiful landscape slip slowly past.
The day was almost done by the time they trundled into Kampur. Ben was sweaty, dirty and tired from the long journey.
It was called a village, but to Ben’s eyes it was bigger than that. A small town, ramshackle and sprawling. Some of the buildings were made of brick, others of mud baked hard by the fierce sun. The grander places had tiles on the roofs, but most of the dwellings were covered with sheets of corrugated iron. They reminded Ben of the huts he had seen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and were none the more welcoming for that.
Even though the sun was sinking in the sky, there were still food stalls by the side of the road and plenty of children playing in the dusty streets. As Carl drove the minibus slowly through the town, the vehicle attracted a lot of attention from these kids. Some of them waved; others chased along behind. Ben thought he knew why: it wasn’t much of a vehicle, but it was a lot classier than the few rusty, beaten-up cars he saw parked around the place.
‘Here we are,’ Carl announced suddenly with a smile. They came to a halt.
It was a subdued group that dismounted from the bus. Ben sensed that everyone was feeling a bit nervous. He certainly felt like they were a million miles from home. It was good to stretch his legs, though, and he did a couple of circuits of the minibus before looking around properly. They had parked on the edge of a square. Surrounding it were what Ben could only describe as shacks — rickety stalls with iron grilles in front of them. He supposed they were shops, but they were closed at the moment.
In the middle of the square was a large group of people — young and old. They watched the new arrivals expectantly. Mr Knight and Mr Sawyer, who knew Kampur from exchange programmes in previous years, saw a couple of faces they recognized and strode towards them, smiling and with hands outstretched.
‘Come on, everyone,’ Carl boomed, clipboard in hand. ‘I’ll introduce you to your families. There’ll be some group activities organized later in the week — spectacular countryside nearby, spectacular — but for now it’s important that you get to know your exchange partners and settle into your families. Come along! Don’t be shy!’
Ben and the rest of them followed. There was a moment of awkwardness as the two groups refused to mingle, but as Carl started reading off names and introducing Ben’s school mates to their new families, the awkwardness disappeared. For all of them, that is, except Ed, who looked at the small Pakistani boy who was to be his exchange partner with his usual sneer. Ben wondered why he had even wanted to come in the first place.
‘Ben Tracey? Ah, Ben. Come with me and meet Saleem and Harata.’ A man and a woman approached. Their clothes were western in style, but old; they each had a big smile on their face as they shook Ben’s hand. ‘And this,’ Carl continued, ‘is Aarya.’
Aarya was standing quietly behind her parents. She had long, shining black hair, clear brown skin and deep-brown eyes. She looked shyly at the ground.
Ben held out his hand. ‘Hi,’ he said. ‘I’m Ben.’ Her fingers felt very small in his.
And then his mum was there, introducing herself. Before he knew it they had picked up their bags and were walking away from the square: Saleem, Bel and Harata chatting freely, Ben and Aarya in silence.
They had only been walking a couple of minutes before they stopped by a low wall in which there was a wooden gate. Behind it there was a compound, the walls built from pale, sandy bricks. In the front was a courtyard with two fruit trees — Ben couldn’t tell what kind. And beyond the fruit trees was a simple, red-painted door which glowed in the reflection of the setting sun. It did not look especially lavish, but it wasn’t the poorest place Ben had seen since arriving in Kampur.