Joshua's Hammer (Kirk McGarvey 8) by Hagberg David

Author:Hagberg, David [Hagberg, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780765357434
Amazon: 0765357437
Publisher: Forge Books
Published: 2006-11-28T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Afghanistan-Pakistan Border

The four men and five horses carrying the bomb had drifted through the mountains seemingly on the wind. Traveling day and night, their leader, Mustafa Binzagar, had allowed them to stop only briefly to eat and rest. They had worked their way a hundred sixty miles down the Panjshir Valley in less than four days, and Mustafa knew that when they delivered the package their journey would be ended in more than one sense of the word. The task that bin Laden had set them to do would be over, but so would their lives in Al Qaeda be finished. There were other training camps scattered around Afghanistan, but with bin Laden gone, and no new leader to replace him, their very existence would be meaningless. During the trek they had not seen another living soul, which gave Mustafa plenty of time to think about his predicament. But he had not come up with a solution. He was nothing but a mujahed, a lowly foot soldier with nowhere to go. No family who would accept him, no friends, and now no base or purpose.

He stood at the edge of the last glacier before the border and looked down the sweeping valley into Pakistan. There was nothing to be seen in the pitch-black of the night except for an airport beacon, which because of the clear, thin mountain air reflected green and white off the glacial ice even at a distance of thirty kilometers. They had been instructed not to cross the border because they did not know the schedule of the Pakistani patrols. But he'd been given no orders beyond this point, except that they were to be met by two men who would use the words, Sarah lives in Allah's mansion.

He felt a sense of bitterness and even betrayal that in the excitement he'd forgotten to ask what came next.

Hussein al-Rajhi came up the hill from where they'd tethered the horses and made a rough camp. "There's enough wood for a small fire if you want some tea. Or should we save it until morning? It would help if we knew when they were coming."

"I don't know," Mustafa said dreamily. He had become mesmerized by the airport beacon on the horizon, and what the light represented.

"Are you sure that we have come to the correct place?"

Mustafa turned to him. "This is the tongue of the glacier, and that's the airport at Chitral." He took out one of his last cigarettes and lit it, cupping it in his hand so that the glowing tip would be invisible to anyone who might be watching from the valley.

"Start the fire. I'm cold and I could use some tea." He passed the cigarette to Hussein.

"It won't be long now, and we'll be starting back."

167

"Where will we go--"

"I don't know, maybe Khost!" Mustafa said angrily. Hussein took a couple of drags and handed the cigarette back. He shot a glance toward the horses. "She was a woman beyond understanding."

Mustafa had to smile despite his morose mood.

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