“Kundi’s hiding something out there,” I said.
“So what if he is?” Harruck asked. “If we instigate him, the agreement goes south.”
“We need to have a look.”
“We’re telling him we don’t trust him if we got guys sweeping the ground out there.”
“Tell him I lost my watch.”
“Don’t be an ass, Scott. Who knows why he doesn’t want a well over there? Maybe he plans to grow cannabis there, plant cherry trees, who knows? So we move the well to the other side of the field. No big deal. Drill a little deeper. If he’s got a bone buried — or an opium stash — out there, I don’t want to know about it. Not right now, anyway.”
“So you’ll look the other way on that, too.”
“I’m just taking my time. So should you…”
“That a threat? Because we both know where this will go.”
“Scott, this whole damned country is full of thugs and gangsters. You’ll run out of fingers to point. So let’s move on.”
Harruck took his tray to another table to join the rest of his officers. Anderson was at a nearby table, and she came over to me and said, “Have you seen the site yet? We’re breaking ground for the school.”
I shook my head.
“You look finished here. Why don’t you come out and take a look?”
I shrugged and followed her outside. She had a civilian car, a Pathfinder, and she drove me over to the construction site, where at least fifty workers were placing broad wooden footers in the ground. Several concrete trucks were parked behind us, and piles of rebar and pallets of concrete blocks were stacked in long rows.
“All these guys that you hired… they’re from the village?”
“Some from this one… some from the others… but we’ve had a little problem, which is really why I brought you out here…”
“You weren’t trying to soften me up? Turn me into a humanitarian or something?”
“No. I need you to be a killer.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, I figure you’re intel or spec ops or something…”
“I’m just an adviser.”
“Right…”
“How many classrooms in this building?”
“Six. It’s going to be beautiful when we’re done. And the police station will be right out there. See the stakes?”
I shielded my eyes from the glare and noted the wooden stakes that outlined the L-shaped building.
“Yeah, we’re going to build it, and they’ll come and blow it back up.”
“You mean Zahed?”
I shrugged.
“Maybe not. I think Zahed is forcing the workers to give some of their pay to the Taliban. And I think when the school and the police station open, he’ll try to control the police. He’ll close down the school, too, but not right away — if he thinks he can make a buck.”
“What makes you think he’s blackmailing the workers?”
“At the end of the week when they’re paid, three men come around, and they form a line. I’ve seen them giving some of their money to those guys.”
“You pay them in afghanis?”
“It’s the only way.”
“Tell you what? The next time that happens, come find me. I’ll have a talk with them.”
“Thanks.”
“Why didn’t you bring this to Captain Harruck?”
“I did. He told me that it wasn’t any of my business what the workers did with their money.”
“Maybe it isn’t.”
“I just… I don’t like it. Feels like we’re in bed with the Taliban.”
I grinned crookedly and told her I needed to get back.
Three things happened at once when I reached my quarters:
Nolan was telling me I had an urgent call from Lieutenant Colonel Gordon…
Bronco had come onto the base and was screaming at me to have my two bulldogs chained up and to stop following him…
And a young captain I’d trained myself at Robin Sage, Fred Warris, was standing at my door, waiting to speak to me.
In fact, he was in the same training class that Harruck and I had taught, which I initially thought was a coincidence. I’d heard that Warris had gone on to become a Ghost leader, so his presence outside my billet was suspicious… and strange.
I lifted a palm as all three men vied for my attention, but Nolan shouted:
“Sir, like I said… it’s urgent. Something about your father back home.”
ELEVEN
Nolan told me the call had come from the comm center, so I ran across the base, leaving the shouters behind. I reached the center and discovered that Gordon was on a webcam and seated at his desk back at Fort Bragg. He wanted to talk to me “face to face.”
I shuddered as I sat before the monitor and tried to catch my breath. “Sir…”
His voice echoed off the steel walls of the Quonset hut. “Scott, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news about your dad. He’s in the hospital, intensive care. He’s had a heart attack.”
“Who called you?”
“We got word from your sister.”
“Wait a second…” I cocked my thumb over my shoulder. “Warris is back at my… how long ago did this happen?”
“I’m not sure. Last night? Yesterday afternoon, she didn’t say.”
“And so you’ve sent Warris to relieve me?”
“Actually, I didn’t. I sent him to serve as a liaison officer between you and Harruck.”
“A what?”
“Well, we wanted to limit your contact with Captain Harruck. The general’s deeply concerned about the situation there. The idea was that all communications with Captain Harruck would go through Captain Warris. But now I’d understand if you want to take an emergency leave and go home.”
A vein began throbbing in my temple. “Sir, I’d like to talk to my sister before I make that decision.”
“I understand. And I’m sorry about your dad.”
“Sir, I’m sorry about Captain Warris being here. He’s too valuable to be a liaison officer.”
“Mincing words with the old man?” Gordon smiled. “I know you think this is bullshit, but I gotta do something to defuse what’s going on out there. Harruck’s pounding hard, so we’ll let Warris act as the go-between.”
“I don’t need a go-between.”
“Apparently, you do.”
I glanced around, groping for a response, anything, but then I just sighed in disgust. “Yes, sir.”
“Why don’t you take the leave right now, Scott?”
“Because…”
He sat there, waiting for me to finish.
“Because I still want to believe that my mission means something, that capturing the target will make a difference, and that the United States Army hasn’t sold its soul to the devil. Sir.”
He averted his gaze. “If there’s anything I can do on my end to help, just let me know — and I’m not just talking about the mission.”
I couldn’t hide the disgust in my voice. “All right, sir. I’ll be sending some coordinates about a field. I want some satellite imagery on it.”
“No problem. Scott, I got your back.”
“I know that, sir.”
That was a lie to make me feel better. It wasn’t his fault, really. As everyone had said — the situation was complicated.
I remained in the comm center and finally got in touch with my sister, who told me Dad was stable, but the heart attack was a bad one and now they thought he had pneumonia. He’d slipped into a coma and was on a ventilator.
“I haven’t even seen him yet,” Jenn said. “Gerry and I will be flying in from Napa tomorrow. Did you try to call Nick or Tommy?”
“Not yet.”
“They should know more. How’re you doing? You don’t sound too good.”
“Just having one of those days.”
“Where are you now? Classified?”