Same Day

They were trapped. Even by daylight their progress would be slow, having to tread a careful path around the mines, whose plastic shells would be coloured to match the orange and red hues of the terrain. Nara said:

—In the morning there’ll be enough light to find a way around them.

The lack of conviction in her voice was damning. Leo muttered:

—We’re only metres from the Soviet border patrols.

—We might have enough time.

—At sunrise this is the first place they’ll search.

Fahad called out, cutting short the discussion:

—We must wait till first light. We have no other choice. Be careful not to shuffle your feet, or fall asleep, the only safe ground is the ground you’re standing on. We will need to move very fast in the morning, as soon as there’s light. Rest now.

Leo crouched down, rotating, careful not to move his feet. He wrapped his arms around Zabi, keeping her warm. On the other side Nara did the same. Their hands met on Zabi’s back, fingers overlapping. The thought occurred to him to move his hand away but he dismissed the idea, instead taking hold of her hand. Huddled together, they waited for the morning.

***

It was difficult to estimate how much time had passed. In the darkness, exhausted, near delirious with cold, time became hard to quantify. The wind picked up, swirling furiously around them, as if trying to force them into the minefield. Even though they were at rest, they were being sapped by the cold. In all likelihood they might be granted a few minutes at dawn before the attack helicopters arrived but it was equally likely that the slim advantage would not be enough. Drained by the savage night, they would struggle to find the energy and pace needed to reach cover.

Something wet hit the back of Leo’s neck. He touched his skin, feeling a trace of ice. He tilted his head up towards the sky. Another lump landed on his eyelashes, another spotted his forehead. Out of the darkness the rhythm of the rain increased: they’d be soaked through in seconds. As he thought upon the now impossible challenge of keeping warm until morning the rain morphed into hail, pellets of ice crashing down with such velocity that they stung his skin. Leo felt Nara’s hands grip tight around his own, an expression of despair. Their journey was over.

Suddenly, to the side, no more than a few paces away, an explosion – it was small, like a flash grenade. Leo called out:

—What was that?

Fahad replied:

—A mine!

A second mine detonated, also close by. Leo smelt smoke and felt the blast of air. Another mine, this time the explosion was several hundred metres away. The hail on the pressure sensors was setting them off. Within moments, the plateau was alive with bursts of light and puffs of smoke. As the hailstorm intensified so did the pace of the explosions, now so numerous it was as if they were coming under mortar fire. Zabi cried out, terrified by the noise.

Remembering the mine directly in front of him, Leo let go of Zabi and Nara, turning hastily, once again forced to keep his feet on the same spot. If the mine exploded at this range the blast would injure the three of them. He reached out, trying to guess where it was, shielding it from the hail. His hands were lashed with falling ice. Within seconds he could no longer feel them, numb from the elbow down. The hail continued, the storm interspersed with detonations ringing across the landscape. Leo’s arms were shaking. He couldn’t remain in this position for long, protecting the very device that had been dropped to kill him.

The hail began to weaken, changing back into icy rain. The rate of explosions slowed down until then finally there no more detonations. Unable to keep his arms out in front of him any longer Leo lowered them. He slaed his hands together, like two slabs of dead meat, trying to restore circulation, his fingers not responding. He was too cold to think about the consequences of the hailstorm, and it was Fahad who called out from the front:

—The path will be clear.

Was it possible that all the mines had been destroyed, or had the detonations merely stopped when the hailstorm passed? Beginning to move his fingers again, Leo called out to Fahad:

—How can we be sure?

Fahad called back:

—This mission is blessed.

Though the notion carried no weight in Leo’s mind the indisputable truth was that they would die if they remained here, freezing cold, waiting for dawn. Leo said:

—We must take the chance.

Nara was more cautious.

—We don’t know that the path is clear. Some mines have been destroyed, surely not all of them, maybe not even the majority of them.

Fahad shouted back angrily:

—You are a non-believer! You wouldn’t understand the significance of this event!

Furious, Nara replied:

—My faith doesn’t make me stupid. I don’t believe I’m invulnerable.

Leo interrupted:

—It is irrelevant what we believe. We cannot stay here! By tomorrow morning we will be too weak to run, too weak to escape. We must press ahead. It is a calculated risk. I will go first.

Fahad replied:

—You are the reason for this mission. You are the person the CIA wants. If you die the mission has failed. The girl should go first.

Nara said:

—I agree. I will go first.

Fahad contradicted her:

—Not you. The girl, the miracle girl, she will find a path. It is no coincidence that she is with us when this happened. We must trust in her.

Aside from the patter of rain, there was silence as Leo tried to unpick Fahad’s suggestion. The man was sincere in his belief that Zabi was divinely protected. It was not cowardice that underpinned his suggestion that a young girl should walk first, leading them through the minefield, but piety. Leo was quite sure Fahad’s acute sense of pride meant that he would rather lose his own life than appear to be hiding behind a girl. To Fahad it was an insult to God for any other decision to be taken. Nara spoke first, her careful response displaying diplomatic sensitivity:

—I will go first. I will lead. If this displeases Allah I will die, if not, then we need not discuss the matter further. But there is no chance, Fahad, no chance at all, that Zabi will walk first. Not while I am alive.

As expected, Fahad was insulted.

—This has nothing to do with bravery. I would gladly walk first—

Nara didnck Fahad&rlet him finish.

—Without you, we’re all dead. Without Leo, the mission has failed. I am the only person who we can risk. This isn’t theology or bravery. It’s common sense. I will walk first. You will follow me.

Leo protested:

—No, Nara, you must carry Zabi. I will walk first. Nara rejected this idea.

—The CIA is not going to be interested in me. Without Fahad as our guide, we’ll be lost. It has to be me. It is absurd to discuss this further. You must carry Zabi.

Without waiting for his reply, Nara manoeuvred around him, hands on his waist, until she was about to step forward. Leo cried out:

—Wait!

He remembered the mine that had landed directly in front. He waited, rain streaming down his face, until lightning flashed in the clouds. The mine was still there, unexploded. Nara had seen it too. She let go of his waist, stepping around the mine and moving to the front, overtaking Fahad.

Leo picked Zabi up:

—Hold on to my neck.

Weakened by the hail, he could feel his muscles struggling even though the girl was light. He stepped around the mine, his legs shaking with fatigue. Nara was out of sight, lost in the darkness, now at the front. He heard her voice.

—Fahad, follow my footsteps exactly. Put your hands on my waist. That is the only way you can do it! That is the only way we’re going to survive.

Leo wondered if he was going to refuse. Fahad called back to Leo:

—You must also do the same.

Leo placed one hand on Fahad’s waist, keeping the other supporting Zabi.

Forming an awkward human train they set off, shuffling forward blindly, guided only by the infrequent flashes of lightning. The storm had passed, moving over the mountains of Pakistan. Leo could hear Fahad’s heavy breathing. He could hear their shoes on the ground. Each footstep that sank into the damp soil brought a sensation of relief. Leo felt Zabi squeeze his neck in fear. It was the closest he had ever come to praying.