Same Day

There was no discussion. The judgements had been given and before Leo had a chance to protShe the council was on its feet. Soldiers dragged Nara away. Leo tried to move after them but a young man, his face almost completely concealed, stepped in front of him, blocking the path. Nara and Zabi were taken out of the cave. Helpless, Leo watched as the members of the council climbed the steps. He called after them:

—Wait!

They ignored him, one by one leaving the chamber. Leo cried out again:

—She could be valuable to you!

The last member of the council paused.

—She is of value to us. She is of value dead, as a symbol of what happens to Afghans who betray their country.

The council member gestured at the guard.

—Bring him. He can watch.

The soldier waited until everyone else had left the chamber before allowing Leo to the steps. Trapped at the back of the group, he tried to hurry forward but the men in front of him would not be rushed.

The last to arrive at the mouth of the cave, Leo caught sight of the final preparations. Nara’s hands and feet were lashed together. A rope was tied to her wrists, harnessed to the back of the ragged pony he’d seen earlier. The pony hadn’t been delivering supplies, as he had presumed, it had been sent as a means of execution. It stood at the mouth of the cave, unsettled by the commotion, kicking at the dusty path and snorting. Nara would be dragged to her death.

Zabi was at the front of the crowd, either by accident or design. She would be made to watch, along with the other soldiers, some fifty or so, gathered for this spectacle. Leo pushed forward. A gun was pointed at him, cautioning him to remain back. He called out in the direction of the council members.

—I have a proposal!

The leader shook his head.

—You think us cruel? How do the Communists deal with their enemies? They torture them. They shoot them. Many thousands of Afghans have died. Many thousands will die. Your soldiers kill innocent families in the hope of killing one fighter. There is nothing you can say in her defence. There is no defence. She is a traitor. There is no deal to be made. You have no proposal that will interest us.

One of the elders slapped the pony and it began to move. Nara was pulled off her feet, falling to the ground, her face cut open on the cave floor, unable to scream, her mouth gagged. Leo cried out, as loud as he could manage:

—How many guns would buy her life?

The pony was walking faster, whipped on by the others. Nara was dragged out of the cave, pulled down the rough grit path, her nose filling with dirt. No one had heard Leo, or paid him any attention. He cried out again:

—How many guns would buy her life?

The council leader laughed at Leo.

—For ten thousand machine guns and one thousand mortars you can have the woman.

The elders laughed. Leo replied:

—We have a deal. If you call an end to this!

The elders stopped ghing, looking at Leo, trying to figure out if he was serious. Leo added:

—Ten thousand guns, more perhaps.

The leader raised his arm.

—I wish to hear what he has to say.

With the command from the council, the pony was stopped. Nara had been dragged at least twenty metres. She was not moving. Zabi had squeezed both hands into fists, positioned over her eyes. The leader walked up to Leo. He smelt of tobacco. Up close, Leo realized he was much younger than he appeared, his skin cracked, his beard grey, but he was younger than Leo.

—You are only delaying her death by a matter of seconds if what you say has no interest to us.

It was Leo’s last chance.

—You have said that the Soviet Union wants me dead. That is true. You admit I’m a valuable hostage. I agree. Ask yourself what would be the worst thing that could happen in their eyes?

The leader of the council shrugged.

—The worst has already happened. We have captured you alive. You will tell us the things you know.

—I could tell you the specifications of the machine guns on the Hind helicopters. I could mark troop movements on maps. I could give you most of this information in a matter of hours. But that will not give you weapons or mortars, or the ammunition you need. However, consider this. What would happen if the Soviet Union’s pre-eminent adviser defected to the United States, if you took me across the border to Pakistan?

The man shook his head.

—This is a trick.

—No, it is a genuine proposal. Imagine what would happen if I convinced the Americans to support your fight.

—How would you do that?

—By telling them the truth about the war. By explaining what is at stake for the Soviet Union, their main adversary.

—What is at stake?

—They have a chance here, in Afghanistan, to deal a blow to the Soviet military machine without provoking a nuclear war. The Soviet military authorities know this to be true. Nothing scares them more. They are counting on American indifference to a country so far away from them. They are hoping that the experience of Vietnam will make them too cautious to realize the potential of this conflict. I will make the Americans understand that this is an opportunity they cannot afford to miss.

Leo had been a war hero, risking his life countless times to defend the Soviet Union against the advance of Fascist troops. Now he was betraying that homeland, putting Soviet troops in danger, but he had not fought in order that his country might bomb villages and burn farmland.

The council members came together, discussing the idea, murmurs of their conversation echoing around the cave. The other young soldiers remained silent, neutral, as they had been throughout the process, never expressing an opinion. Leo could not look at Nara. She was face down, her clothes ripped. There were cuts on her legs. He was not sure if she was conscious. Finally the council returned their attention to Leo, trying to understandefection ideologically.

—We find the idea hard to understand. Why would you bring shame upon yourself? You would be a traitor.

—My motivation is no concern to you.

—We must believe that you are sincere.

—Ask Fahad Mohammad. He saw me attack my superior officer with a knife. I wounded him. I am already a traitor.

—That could be a trick.

—To what end? Ask the man who saw what happened if he thinks my actions were trickery.

The council turned to Fahad Mohammad.

—What do you think?

—If it is a trick, I do not understand it.

A careful reply, but not an endorsement, and Leo needed to work harder to convince his audience.

—I will do what I promise. I will defect. Tell me what you think of my proposal.

—It interests us.

Leo pressed his case.

—You need American support. You need their weapons, new guns, not the ancient rifles that can’t fire straight. Not the rusty pistols you carry on your belts. You need missiles. You need a way of damaging the helicopters and jets.

The elder nodded, musing on the idea.

—How would you achieve this? The Americans will not trust you.

—Take us across the border, into Pakistan. I know that you are receiving support from the Pakistani secret police. They must have contacts within the CIA.

—They might.

—Then you have the means to contact the CIA. You can use the Pakistanis to set up a meeting.

—And then what? How can we trust the word of a traitor?

—You don’t have to trust me. The CIA would not protect me unless I was valuable to them. I will tell them everything, or they will turn me loose.

The elder asked:

—What is it you want in return?

—Nara Mir and the girl would come with me.

The suggestion caused outrage. Before they could argue, Leo continued:

—My suggestion offends your sense of what is right and wrong. Yet I know that your decision will be pragmatic. Many of you abhor drugs, yet you trade them for weapons. You abhor the notion of American support to defeat your enemies, yet you know without their support this war will be far harder to win. Not only will my defection to the United States be a psychological blow to the Soviet Union, a propaganda coup for you, I will tell the United States what they need to hear. This is their only opportunity to fight without sending a single soldier. They can cause great problems for the Soviet Union while appearing to be neutral. Would they believe you if you said the same thing? They know you want money and weapons. Would they believe me? I want nothing.

—Everyone wants something. And you want her. Foreigners come here and collect our women, that is how it works, is it not? You wish her as your wife?

—My wife is dead.

—Then you wish to take another? You want her?

—She is my friend.

—A friend?

The council laughed at this.

—We all need friends.

The leader stopped laughing, sinking into serious consideration.

—We will vote.