trying to catch his breath. “Why do you need to do that?”
“Because I swore an oath. Because you swore an oath.”
“If you go to them, they’ll make me talk. They’ll
make me tell everything. You refused to be relieved.
That’ll come out. And we’ll both be burned.”
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177
“I know.”
“Then what the hell, Scott?”
“Joey, I just can’t believe any of this . . .”
“How about I make it easier for you to stay quiet. You
can blame it all on me. I’m telling you right now, that if
you turn me in, you’ll be hanging from the rope next to
me. I’ll make sure of that, not because I want revenge, but
because you’re too damned good of a leader for the Ghosts
to lose. Don’t you get it, Scott? I killed a guy for you! You
can’t just throw your life away now! I killed a guy!”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I really don’t. I
thought I had enough going on already. I didn’t expect
this. Not from you, Joey. Not from you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Tell that to the kid’s family.”
SEVENTEEN
We returned to the road and reached the construction
site about ten minutes later. A tent village had been
erected behind the half-built school, and there I noted
about twenty or thirty children seated in neat rows on
blankets and listening as two teachers took turns read-
ing to them. The kids were surprisingly attentive, still
wiping their noses and scratching themselves, but their
gazes were fixed on the storytellers. Many of them had
no shoes or simply thick socks. The boys wore short hair
and the girls had scarves draped over their heads. Chalk-
boards stood on easels, and several small tables held
other props like balls, water pitchers, and clay pots. Plas-
tic crates brimmed with dusty, weather-beaten books.
In truth I’d gone to the site in part because I thought I
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179
might run into Anderson again. I needed a pretty face to
help temper all the ugliness around me. She was watching
a group of laborers erect the walls of the school on the
broad concrete foundation. Just behind her stood the
sandbagged machine gun nests my team had helped build.
“I’m glad you’re getting a chance to see them,” said
Anderson, turning toward me and gesturing to the tent
full of children.
“I assume they’ll have desks, once they move inside . . .”
“Yes, they will. These kids need a sense of dignity.
And we’ll give that to them. We’ve made a great deal
here. We train the teachers and provide the educational
materials if the community provides us with those teach-
ers. And we’re trying to recruit more girls to the classes,
at least thirty percent for us to receive full funding from
some of my sources.”
“The Taliban doesn’t want girls educated,” I said.
“It doesn’t matter what they want. It’s what the peo-
ple want. And if the Taliban know what’s good for them,
they’ll follow the example of some of the other villages
up north. This works. I’ve seen it.”
“It works until we leave. And hey, you haven’t called
me about these guys turning over their paychecks to the
Taliban.”
“I know. I think they know I’m watching them, and
they’ve become more discreet. But it’s going on, I know it.”
“All part of the great legacy we’re building here.”
She hoisted a brow and looked me dead in the eye.
“When Harruck told me about trying to build a legacy,
do you know what I told him?”
180 GH OS T RE CON
“That he’s dreaming?” I guessed.
“No, that it’s obvious: This school is the legacy. But
we need to protect it. We need to train the police and
whatever National Army troops we can get here.”
“We’ve already done what we can,” I said, gesturing to
the sandbagged nests and the observation posts beyond. I
lifted the binoculars hanging around my neck and panned
the horizon, coming to a stop on a cluster of Taliban
fighters, at least ten of them, perched on the mountain-
side, watching us. Our machine gunners were watching
them, too.
“No, that’s not enough. We need more police, more
Afghan Army troops. We need a garrison here. We need
police to patrol the town.”
“Talk to Harruck.”
“I already did. I’m talking to you.”
“Why do you think that’ll make a difference? You
don’t even know who I am . . .”
She smiled as if she did. She couldn’t. Unless, there
was much more to her than met the eye.
“I know who heis,” she said, gesturing toward an old
white sedan that was rumbling toward us, its hood caked
in dust, its windshield wipers still working to clear away
more dust. Bronco was behind the wheel. She contin-
ued: “I know you guys talk.”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss this any further.”
“I’m just telling you, please . . . help us.” She gave me
a curt nod, and Ramirez and I stepped away as Bronco
parked near the school tent and climbed out.
“You’re not looking for me, are you?” I asked.
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181
“I figured you’d be looking for me. Buy me flowers.
Something for saving your ass,” he said.
I wished I could tell him my ass was far from saved.
“What’re you doing out here?” I asked.
“Saw you. Figured I’d let you know about your
buddy.”
“What’re you talking about?”
“They captured one of your men. I heard about it. I
talked to a few of my contacts in Sangsar. They’ve got
him. I’m sure you’ll hear from them soon.”
I glanced over at Ramirez, who just shook his head
and sighed.
Though I hate to admit it now, when Bronco said he
had news concerning “our buddy,” I’d hoped that Warris
had been killed. That’s a terrible thing to wish on the
man, but that was how I felt.
And I just knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that
Keating would want me to rescue Warris, the very man
who would burn me at the stake when we got back.
“All right, thanks for the info,” I told Bronco. “Always
nice doing business with the friendly neighborhood
spook. And now, what is it you want from us, because I
know you want something.”
He smiled—an unfortunate grin that revealed his
aversion to modern dentistry. “I want HER F guns. You
came back with two of them, didn’t you?”
“Classified,” I said.
“I need one.”
“Too late. Already turned them over to Army intel.”
He looked away. “Damn it.”
182 GH OS T RE CON
“So that’s why you’re here?”
“Among other things. We’ve got some Chinese agents
in Sangsar. They’re supplying the HERF guns.”
“You got proof?”
“I got it. But hard evidence is always better. It allows
me to more definitively make a move. It allows me to
have my three-letter agency call your agency and get the