He heard the bigger of the two men refer to the other as ‘Spider’, presumably a nickname. Spider looked at Khan’s weapon, and then nudged his colleague. ‘Clock that, Geordie?’ he said beneath his breath. The AK-74’s orange plastic stock and magazine made it very distinctive, and Khan could tell from their expressions that they knew that this newer, improved version of the AK-47 was rare enough in the Taliban’s armoury for it only to be issued to its commanders and its most elite troops.
Todd was still arguing with the guards. ‘I’ll have you on a charge for this, I’m warning you!’ he said.
‘What’s the problem, Captain?’ the one called Geordie said.
‘This guard is refusing to let us into the compound,’ Todd said, brushing his hair back from his eyes.
Geordie’s face broke into a grin. ‘That’s probably because you’ve got an armed and unknown Afghan with you,’ he said. Khan noticed that he didn’t call the officer ‘Sir’, even though Todd was a captain and the other man was obviously from the ranks.
‘This man is Ahmad Khan, a Surrendered Enemy Personnel,’ Todd said.
‘Well, that doesn’t carry too much weight in these parts,’ Geordie said. ‘I can tell you from my own experience that SEPs are like junkies – they’re only with you long enough to get their next fix – cash, weapons, whatever – and then they’re gone again. With respect, Captain, no experienced guy would trust an SEP as far as he could throw him.’
Todd glared at him. ‘This man has vital intelligence I need to put before the boss and I am not going to exclude him from the compound just because of your prejudice against SEPs and perhaps Afghans in general.’
The soldier called Spider glanced from one to the other and then made a calming gesture to both of them with his hands. ‘It’s not about prejudice,’ he said. ‘It’s based on bitter experience. We’ve had more than our fair share of green on blue attacks out here.’ He pointed at Khan’s rifle. ‘One: He’s carrying a loaded AK-74. Only the top guys in the Taliban carry them. So he’s not some tribesman picking up a few extra dollars for fighting the faranji invaders, he’s one of their leaders. Two: This is a secure compound. Not even a Brit would get in here without being vetted or vouched for, and yet you’re trying to bring an armed Taliban fighter in here.’
‘The thing is, Captain,’ Geordie said, emphasising his point by jabbing his finger towards him, ‘you’re not only jeopardising the safety of everyone here, but you’d better watch your own back, because I’d take odds that he’d rub you out if he thought he could get away with it.’
‘Your comments are noted,’ Todd said, struggling to keep his anger under control. ‘Now step aside, the OC needs to hear what he has to say.’
The two guards – both paratroopers – stood their ground, with their weapons ready to fire.
‘With the greatest of respect, Captain, they’re not going to let you in while your SEP has a loaded weapon,’ Spider said. ‘But if he unloads his weapon and leaves the magazine and his ammunition belt with the guards, he can probably be allowed into the compound. He can pick them up again on his way out.’
Khan glanced at Todd, then shrugged and began unloading his rifle, but no Afghan man, let alone a warrior, would willingly be deprived of his weapon and he glared at the two SAS men as he did so.
‘Do you speak English?’ Geordie asked Khan as he handed his ammunition belt and magazine to one of the guards.
‘Enough,’ Khan said.
‘What’s your name?’
‘Ahmad Khan.’
‘Well, Ahmad Khan, you’d better be on your best behaviour while you’re here, because we’ll be watching you.’
Khan smiled. He was on their ground, not his, but he was not going to be bullied or intimidated by them. ‘Do I scare you, soldier?’ he said. ‘Is that it? Yes, I can see the fear in your eyes.’ He smiled again as Geordie’s fists clenched despite himself.
‘You don’t scare me, mate,’ he said. ‘I’ve slotted more than my fair share of guys like you.’
Khan’s smile did not waver. ‘Tread carefully, my friend. We Afghans are a proud people. We don’t give in to threats, nor tolerate insults to our honour.’
‘Leave it, Geordie,’ Spider said at last, breaking the growing silence and putting a hand on Geordie’s shoulder. ‘He can’t hurt anyone now.’ He nodded to Todd. ‘Morning prayers are about to start,’ he said, puzzling Khan, for he had seen no sign that any of the troops he had met were religious men.
‘He means our morning briefing,’ Todd said, seeing his baffled expression. ‘I’m afraid you won’t be able to accompany me – security, need to know, and all that stuff – but make yourself as comfortable as you can,’ he said with a rueful smile, gesturing at a makeshift waiting area near the gates consisting of tattered deckchairs and upturned ammunition boxes, ‘and I’ll be back as soon as possible.’
Todd whistled to a soldier who’d been doing his morning run. ‘Corporal, look after our Afghan friend for a few minutes, would you?’ He caught Khan’s look and gave a sheepish grin. ‘Sorry, camp regulations: no unescorted visitors.’ He turned and hurried after Spider and Geordie into the mud-brick building.
Ignoring the soldier, Khan squatted down in the dust in the pool of shade cast by a shipping container, and settled himself for a long wait. About an hour later he saw Todd emerge from the building with a face like thunder and stride off across the compound to a group of soldiers clustering around a tent as they prepared themselves for a patrol. Khan watched as Todd moved from group to group and had a long conversation with two of their sergeants, but when he at last turned and walked back towards Khan, he was accompanied by three of the soldiers and had a smile back on his face.
‘OK,’ he said to Khan. ‘It’s on, though I’ve had a hell of a job convincing them. I’m afraid that some of my colleagues just don’t trust you – I can’t entirely blame them, because there have been some unfortunate incidents in the past – but if this all goes smoothly, that should not be an issue in the future.’ He paused, checking Khan’s expression before he continued. ‘These three men will be your escort,’ he said, gesturing to the soldiers.
‘You are not coming with me?’ Khan said. He kept his voice even but Todd read the message in his eyes and flushed with embarrassment. ‘I’m afraid the boss has vetoed me going with you, but these Paras are good guys and can handle themselves if there’s any trouble. Though obviously I’m not expecting there to be any,’ he added hastily as he saw Khan’s expression. ‘The RV with your fighters is in an area that has been pacified by us and is peaceful, at least during daylight hours. So one vehicle and three men should be all we’ll need.’
Khan looked at the faces of the Paras that Todd had assembled and was immediately struck by how young and fresh faced they looked, compared to his own battle-hardened men. ‘Insh’allah there will not be,’ he said. He wondered again whether the trust and loyalty his men felt for him personally and the dislike they felt for their other commanders would be enough to outweigh their tribal loyalty to the Taliban. He glanced at his wristwatch. Russian-made and taken from the wrist of a dead Soviet soldier many years before. It still kept perfect time. ‘The rendezvous is in four hours,’ he said. ‘And it is always wise to be the first to arrive, so we need to leave as soon as your men are ready.’