Weak and feverish, Masud could not walk far unaided. For three days his men took it in turns to carry him and it slowed their progress.
Kate tried to walk as slowly as possible too, frequently demanding they stop to rest. She thought that the longer it took them to reach the training camp, the better the chances were that a rescue attempt would be made. As she walked she studied the ridges and valleys, and listened out, hoping to see or hear her saviours come. But they didn’t, and she began to wonder whether the tracking device around her neck actually worked.
“I still think we should let her go,” Hassan said to Amin.
“If it were up to me, I’d let her go, Hassan. Just to shut you up! But, I have spoken to Masud and it’s out of the question. He is grateful, of course, but insists it changes nothing.”
Hassan caught Kate staring at him and supposed she was relying on him to mastermind their escape. Any idea of sneaking off in the middle of the night was hopeless — Kate was closely guarded at all times. “Can I ask you something?” Hassan said as they paused to rest on a high ridge between two valleys. Amin nodded wearily. “What made you join the Taliban?”
“My home town of Kalat was bombed. All my family killed. The Americans initially denied it, but eventually said that it was a mistake. Their intelligence was wrong. So, you see, Hassan, we share much in common. Both our families, both our innocent fathers and mothers are dead.”
Hassan despaired. What Amin said was only half true. The big difference was that it had been the Taliban who’d killed Hassan’s family, not the Americans. He suddenly felt the gulf between them widen to that of a great ocean, but he still wanted to think of Amin as a friend.
“So, I chose jihad,” Amin added. Shielding his eyes he scanned the valley below and then reached out and pointed with delight. “Allah be praised. There is the camp, Hassan. See it? With good fortune we shall reach it by dusk. Go and pass on the good news to the others.”
Hassan could just make out the mud-brick walls that formed the perimeter of the camp. There were buildings too, including flat-roofed towers at each corner. He got up and wandered back to where Kate was sitting. “We shall be there by nightfall,” he said, noticing the growing fear in Kate’s eyes.