Innovative Online Book Tours Book Excerpt: The Erroneous Talibani

BLURB:

    The Erroneous Talibani showcases all the essential components of the classic espionage novel. Exotic settings, broken hearts, treacherous allies, love, violence, redemption and vengeance spin through the book, which moves at a breakneck pace worthy of the best examples of the genre.

    Greg Damet, an Annapolis graduate with eight years in Naval  Intelligence is recruited by the CIA where he meets and falls in love with Jacquie Dean. Together they are sent to Afghanistan to work with the Special Forces. Greg is sent into the field while Jacquie remains at Bagram Air Base.

    During Greg’s tour of duty, his plane is shot down, eats raw snake to survive and is ultimately captured and beaten nearly to death by the Taliban. He is discovered by Aysha, the daughter of a tribal chieftain and she nurses him back to health. During his recovery, the two develop a romantic attraction for each other. It is also while he is recovering that he is able to obtain information that has dire international consequences, information supplied by a CIA mole. Armed with this information, Greg is forced to kiss a tearful Aysha good-bye and do whatever it takes to get to the American Embassy in Islamabad. Greg’s initial action there is key to unraveling the mystery of the mole’s true identity.

BIO:

    Richard Asner describes himself as having led a “very fruitful life,” and it would be impossible to dispute him. A veteran of the U.S. Marines, which he joined at 17, he went on to graduate from the Naval Academy, like his hero Greg Damet. He then spent eight years as a naval aviator teaching midshipmen at

Northwestern University during the last three years of his flying career.

    Mr.Asner moved his focus to engineering and spent thirty years working in that field in the Chicago area before retiring. His primary enthusiasm is working out in his health club, but the keyboard will continue to compete with the weight room as a focus for his energy.

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Book Excerpt:   Twenty-One

                                             Wednesday – April 4

    “Father, come quickly. Bubba has just discovered a badly wounded Taliban soldier who desperately needs our help”

    “Where is he?”

    “He’s in a cave, not far from here.”

    “How badly is he hurt? Can he walk at all?”

    “No, Father, he can’t. He barely move.”

    “Alright, we’ll take the wood cart we have for hauling wood. It’s about the right size.”

    The cart looks as if it were made 100 years earlier, boxy in shape with side boards, two large wooden wheels in front and two sturdy handles at the rear, looking pretty much like a big old-fashioned wheelbarrow.

    “Hazar and Bannu, grab the wood cart and come with me. Very well, Aysha! Show us the way.”

    They start out heading north. The cart shakes and rattles as it passes over some rather rough rocky ground. Occasionally, one of the wheels becomes wedged between two rocks and it takes some effort to force the cart forward. In about twenty minutes they reach the cave. They find Jamal in great pain. Gazni asks him in Urdu, “Where does it hurt?”

    Jamal responds, “All over.”

    “What happened to you?”

    Jamal struggles and speaks haltingly, “I got separated from my group. The Americans found me, brought me here and beat me to give them information.”

    Aysha says, “You’re in good hands now. We will take care of you and make you well again.”

    The four of them lift Jamal off the ground and carefully lay him down on the surface of the wood cart. Aysha starts to get in next to Jamal to comfort him, but decides against it, thinking it would be too much of a load. Hazar and Bannu each grab a handle and begin the jolting trip back to camp. On the way back, they stop at various times to tend to Jamal and give him a chance to rest a bit before traveling on. After about an hour of this rather arduous journey for Jamal, they reach camp. They carry Jamal into the camp’s only two room cabin, reserved for Gazni, the tribal leader and Aysha his daughter. It is also used on occasion for tribal meetings. Gazni asks Hazar and Bannu to place Jamal on his bed for now. Then Gazni says to Hazar, “You have an extra bed in your place. Bring it over.”

    A few minutes later, Hazar along with Bannu return with the extra bed.

    “Place it in the corner next to the door. This is only temporary until his condition improves enough for him to move in with Bannu.”

    “Move in with me?”

    “Yes. It will only be long enough until he’s ready to travel. Then he will be joining his Taliban friends when they return.”

    Jamal hears this with no small concern. I don’t want to be here when they return. I wonder when that might be. Jamal mumbles something and Aysha bends over Jamal.

    “What is it Jamal? I didn’t hear you.”

    In a voice barely audible, “What day is it?”

    “It’s 16 Rabi one. (April 4 on Gregorian calendar.)

    Jamal studies the situation. Okay! What’s 16Rabi one? That has to be their Islamic calendar. I don’t dare ask her what year it is. Anyway, I know as much now as I did before. I remember it was April 2 the day Joe and I were ambushed in the cave. I don’t know how long I was out before Aysha found me. I’m going to guess a day. Then it was another day or two that I was in the cave with Aysha watching over me. I have to say it’s about the fourth or fifth of April. The Taliban have left their winter haven and have probably started their summer offensive. Chances are they won’t be back for some time, unless they return at some point for a little R and R. I’m going to estimate a couple of weeks to recover.

    Jamal looks around the cabin. There’s an old potbelly wood burning stove in the center with a smoke stack penetrating through the flat wooden and tar paper roof and a rickety wooden table with a kerosene lantern. One leg appears to be a bit shorter than the other three causing the table to wobble. There are two sturdy chairs and one other bed with a rope and canvas base, no mattress, a front door, a back door, a third door leading to another room and a window in each of two side walls. Aysha must have the second room and Gazni must have the one bed in this room.

    That night after everyone had eaten, Jamal could hear the sounds of music and people singing outside the cabin. I kinda wondered what they did for entertainment in the hills here. They sound pretty good. Aysha is gone. I’ll bet she is part of the entertainment.

    Jamal listens for a while and eventually drifts off to sleep. In the morning, he wakes up early to see Aysha sleeping on the floor next to him.

    This isn’t right. I have to make a greater effort to get back on my feet.

    A few minutes later Aysha wakes up. She glances over at Jamal and asks, “How do you feel this morning?”

    “I’m feeling much better. I feel I can talk now without too much effort, but I have to as you, how do you feel after sleeping on the floor all night? Why did you do that?”

    “I wanted to be close by in case you needed anything during the night. Don’t let it bother you.”

    The fire has gone out in the potbelly stove. Aysha looks at Jamal, “I must get some wood for the stove and restart the fire. It is still a little cold in here. It warms up during the day, but you know all that. I know you suffered a lot during those days you spent alone in the cave.

    Gazni is awakened by Aysha stirring about. “Aysha, you must get some wood and restart the fire.”

    “I know father. I was just on my way when you woke up.”

    Aysha leaves to pick up the wood and Gazni looks over at Jamal, “How do you feel this morning?”

    “I feel much better than I did yesterday, thank you. I slept better last night than I have in several days. I am going to try to sit up.”

    Just then Aysha returns with her arms loaded with logs. “Jamal, what are you doing?”

    “I’m going to do my best to sit up.”

    Aysha drops the logs on the floor and rushes over to help Jamal in his effort to sit up.

    “I think I can make it, Aysha.”

    Jamal struggles, but with Aysha’s help, he manages to get up. He sits on the edge of the bed for a brief few minutes and says, “I think I need to lie down again for a while. We can try this again little later.” Aysha helps him back down.

    “That was good, Jamal. You’re making some improvement.”

    For the first time, he takes a long look at Aysha. I know I must be feeling better. I never really noticed before how attractive she is. Even in that babushka I can see she has long black raven hair. I have known some women that would look terrific wearing a gunny sack. Aysha is that kind of woman. She’s not wearing a gunny sack, but that peasant dress isn’t a whole lot better. If I can’t recover quickly by just having her near, then maybe I should crawl back into that cave.

    Meanwhile, Aysha has started the fire in the potbelly stove and it is already giving off heat to begin to warm the room. “The warmth feels good, Aysha. You’ll make some man a good wife one day.”

    “Jamal, you should know I was married once. My husband became ill and died of, ---I don’t know the name. I think it’s a name that sounds like new something.”

    “Are you trying to say pneumonia?”

    “Yes! I think that is the word. He was out with others cutting down trees for firewood two years ago during a very cold winter and became ill with, --- what was that word?”

    “Pneumonia!”

    “Yes! New---Mo---Ne---A.”

    “You are spending so much time with me, I have to assume you have no children. Am I right?”

    “Yes, Jamal.”

    “I was hearing some music being played outside the cabin last night. I have to say it sounded pretty good. Quite professional! I noticed you were gone at the time. Were you playing an instrument?”

    “No! I sing and dance with ghungroos.”

    “With ghungroos? What are ghungroos?”

    “They are ankle bells that I use while dancing. You’ll have to get well fast so you can come and join us.”

    “I know a few Pakistani songs, I ‘m afraid I’m not much of a dancer.”

    “Would you like to learn? I’ll teach you.”

    “Thanks, Aysha, but I think I’ll just stick to singing. Maybe I should say, murdering a few songs.”

    “You’re going to kill some songs? How do you do that?”

    “The first time you hear me sing, you’ll know what I mean.”

    The next two days pass by rather quickly and Jamal has managed to free himself of the bed off and on during the day. Having so much free time during the day has given him an opportunity to talk to Gazni. He has learned from these talks a little bit of what tribal life is like. Basically, the tribe subsists on smuggling and selling stolen goods. And as a Pashtun, they have a special code that they live by, that is to give shelter to anyone who asks for it.

    “I want to thank you, Gazni, for taking me in like this. You didn’t have to.”

    “It’s really Aysha you be thanking. She’s the one who found you.”

    “You’re right, I owe her my life and I’ll never be able to repay her. However, thanks to you, I wouldn’t be here getting my life back without your permission.”

    “Well, you are a Taliban and we are obliged to take care of your people.”

    “You make it sound as if this is something you have to do. Is this something you have to do, Gazni?”

    “I don’t think we should talk anymore about this. You just get well as quickly as you can, so you can return to your people. When do you expect them to return?”

    “I’m not really sure, Gazni.”

    “Don’t you know? They are your people.”

    “I was sent out ahead of my group to scout the area. That’s when I was taken by the Americans. What do you think of Americans, Gazni?”

    “The only people I truly care about are my people, the ones that look to me for guidance and leadership. That’s all I care to say about this right now.”

    With that, Gazni leaves the cabin. All during the conversation with Gazni, Aysha was sitting on one of the two wooden chairs next to the table with one short leg.

    “You heard what I told Gazni. I owe you my life. There will never be anyway that I can repay you. All I can say is, thank you from the bottom of my heart.’

    “From the bottom of your heart? What does that mean?”

    “It means I give you total thanks and I would do anything for you.”

    “Anything?”

    “Anything that’s with my power to give you. I don’t have much to give right now.”

    “Let’s wait until you get better.”

    It is now week from the time Jamal was brought into the camp. During that time, he has had many talks with Gazni and Aysha. Although Gazni has never said it directly, Jamal knows that Gazni has an intense dislike for the Taliban. He’s just very reluctant to express it. On the other hand, Aysha is above any antipathy for anyone.

    “ Aysha, I think I’m well enough to leave the cabin for a little while. I would like very much to join you tonight during the musical gathering.”

    “What a great idea. It’ll be fun. You’ll enjoy it.”

    That evening after every had finished eating, Aysha removes one of the wooden chairs from the cabin to give Jamal something to sit on. She helps Jamal outside as the camp’s musicians begin tuning up. This is the first real opportunity that Jamal has had to see what the tribal area looks like.

    Glancing around, he counts eleven stone and timber one-room dwellings circling an area roughly 100 feet in diameter. Looks like each one would hold eight to ten people. I don’t see a stack of any kind sticking out from any of the roofs. That can only mean no source of heat inside their homes. However, in the center of the camp is what looks like about a five-foot diameter pit holding a blazing fire.

    People begin to gather around the fire. About twenty to thirty feet from the fire are several large boulders that are used by the tribal musicians to sit on as they play. They have a number of different types of instruments.

    “Aysha, can you tell me a little about the instruments they are using?”

    “All the instruments you see are played both in Pakistan and India and to some extent in Afghanistan. Hazro is playing a shanal. It has a reed type sound. Pindi has a swarmandal. It is played with little hammers and strings. That instrument is mainly Indian. Hazar and Bannu  play the sitar and Tani plays the tabla. You know it as a drum. And as I mentioned before, I dance with ghungroos around my ankles. They were tuning up while we were talking. I think they are about ready to start. Sit back and enjoy, Jamal.”

    The musicians begin to play and everyone in the camp begin to sing and clap to the music. Aysha gets up wearing her ghungroos and begins to dance. Then one by one, several others join her.

    I know some of these songs. I won’t be very loud, but who cares? Everyone here seems to accept me as a wounded Taliban. It’s hard to believe I have deceived so many people. I’m not sure about Gazni though. I think he has some suspicions. He is very astute. I may have to own up to him at some point in the future, maybe the near future. He doesn’t seem to care for the Taliban much. I wonder how he feels about Americans, especially one working for the CIA. I know the Pashtuns have a code of granting shelter to anyone who asks for it, but how far can one stretch that? I think I’m a pretty good judge of human character though and I think Gazni would respect me more if I came clean with him. Besides, Aysha may have already told Gazni how she found me. I know how hard it is for some people to keep a secret about anything very long.

    The festivities continue for almost two hours. Gradually people leave little by little and retreat to their shelters.

    Finally, the musicians put down their instruments and begin packing up. Aysha walks over to Jamal and says, “Well, Jamal, what did you think of our music? Did you have a good time?”

    “Of course! I had a great time. I was a little worried about you though, having to tae your shoes off in order to dance with those bells around your ankles. Weren’t your feet cold?”

    “Not really! I’m used to it. Let me help you back into the cabin. Then I have to make sure we have a fire in the stove for the night”

    “Aysha, I hope you are not offended by this question, but have you talked to Gazni about how you found me? By that I mean, have you mentioned that I’m not a Taliban?”

    “No, I haven’t. But I’m going to have to tell him some time. Some way he will find out on his own and I’m not sure what the consequences might be. I have to be honest with him.”

    “I was thinking of discussing it with him tomorrow. Would you rather mention it to him or would you like me to?”

    “I think it would be better if I told him, but with you present.”

    “That’s agreeable with me, Aysha.”

    The next morning, Jamal is awakened to hear Aysha stoking the fire.

    “How do you feel this morning, sleepy head?”

    “What time is it?”

    “It’s midmorning and it looks like you had a good night’s sleep.”

    “Yes, I did and I’m feeling pretty good right now.”

    “Would you like something to eat?”

    “That would be great. Thank you.”

    “I’ll fix you a little flat bread, rice and beans and some goat’s milk.”

    “That sounds delicious, Aysha. Thank you very much.”

    About the time Jamal finishes eating, Gazni storms into the cabin, mad as hell about something.

    “What is it, father? What’s wrong?”

    “The Taliban are returning. I didn’t expect them back this soon.”

    There’s a knock on the door. Gazni opens the door and asks, “Yes, what is it?

    “We have a wounded brother, Mazar, who could use your help.”

    “Bring him in. He can join one of your fellow brothers.”

    “What do you mean by that?”

    “I’m taking care of one of your brothers already, Jamal.”

    “Who’s Jamal?”

    “Well, he claims to be one of your Taliban brothers.”

    Jamal is listening to this and is beginning to feel like a trapped animal.

    Then Gazni says, “On second thought, we don’t have enough room here. Take him over to Hazro’s shelter. I think he may have a little more room there. I’ll show you the way.”

    Gazni departs. Jamal looks at Aysha and says, “What do we do now, punt?”

    Looking rather puzzled, Aysha responds, “I don’t know what you mean, but I think the sooner we confess to Gazni, the better.”

    Moments later, Gazni returns.

    “Father, Jamal and I have something we want you to know.”

    “Yes! What is it?”

    “I found Jamal in a cave.”

    “Yes, I know.”

    “When I found him, he wasn’t wearing what you see him wearing now. He was wearing western clothes, clothes that were very stained with blood.”

    “Who are you?”

    “My real name is Greg Damet and I was working with the U.S. Special Forces when my friend and I were surprised by a large number of the Taliban. We were both beaten to unconsciousness. When Aysha found me, my friend was gone and so were the Taliban. Aysha felt a certain compassion for me for some reason and felt compelled to help.”

    “But why didn’t you both tell me this right away?”

    “We both felt that if you got to know me first, you attitude toward me might be different.”

    “Well, you are right about that. I like you, Jamal. Or should I call you Greg? No, I think I should stick with Jamal. You speak perfect Urdu. How do you explain that?”

    “Although I was born and raised in America, my mother is from Pakistan. She taught me the language and customs as I was growing up.”

    “So you are half Pakistani. You look Pakistani. No one would ever suspect you to be an American, especially in those clothes.” --- “You know, Jamal, you are also liked by the other tribal leader here, Mamoud. I feel I must tell him who you really are and swear him to secrecy. If this really got around to the whole camp, you could be in big trouble with a few members of the Taliban that are here at the moment. As a matter of fact, we could all be in big trouble with the Taliban if they were to find out we were harboring an American.”

    Three days pass by before Gazni hears another knock on his door.

    “We just stopped by to say we are taking our brother back to the fight. His leg wound seems to be healing very well and he is anxious to get back into action.”

    “Allah be praised. Give your leader, Sabawi, my highest regards.”

    After they are gone, Mamoud approaches Gazni and says, “I like Jamal very much, but you know Gazni, having him here is a threat to all of us. How long do you plan to keep him?”

    “No longer than it takes for him to fully recover! He took one hell of a beating.”

    “Well, that may be nothing when you compare it to what this tribe will suffer if the Taliban find out.”

    “But they are not going to find out, are they!”

    “Seems like the Taliban that were here left in a kind of a hurry. Do you suspect they might know something?”

    “Not unless they were told by somebody and there was no way for that to happen, was there!”

    “No. Not that I know of, not unless someone overheard us talking.”

    Mamoud has been looking for an opportunity to become the number one leader of the tribe and sees this as an opportunity to destroy Gazni. If I make a report to the Taliban about Gazni, it will save the tribe from any potential danger and I in turn will be number one.

    That night Mamoud sets out to find the Taliban army. The next day Gazni looks for Mamoud for their daily morning meeting. He checks with Mamoud’s family and a number of others in the tribe. No one seems to be able to account for him.

    Gazni returns to Mamoud’s family and talks to his wife, Shirza. “This is not like Mamoud. Why do you suppose he would disappear like this without telling anyone?”

    “I don’t know, Gazni. This is the first time he has ever done anything like this.”

    Gazni returns to Aysha and Jamal. “Mamoud has left the camp without telling anyone and no one knows where he has gone. The question is, why would he do that? There is only one possible reason that I can think of and it has to do with you, Jamal. I have suspected he has been looking for a reason to take over my responsibility as tribal leader for some time. I think he means to turn you in.”

    “If you could make up a couple of crutches, I’ll try to make it out of here.”

    “You’re still in no shape to travel, even with crutches. At this point we don’t know how long it will take him to find the Taliban. As you already know, this is a big rugged country and can take days to travel just a few kilometers on foot. It could take him a week or two to locate the Taliban. In the meantime, we just sit tight. I’ll post scouts to warn us of any approaching Taliban. I know a place where I can hide you, if need be.”

    Mamoud is four days out of camp wandering through the hills bordering the Khyber Pass. “I’m fairly certain the group that left camp headed this way. This is the easiest way back into Afghanistan and I’m sure they must have been returning to the Taliban main body. The question is which side of the Pass did they head for? I think my best bet is to make my way toward the Tora Bora area.”

    After a little over a day and a half, Mamoud reaches the mountain peak of Tora Bora and there is no sign of the Taliban. “This range covers quite a large area both east and west. I think I’ll have a better chance of finding them by traveling west, deeper into Afghanistan.”

    As Mamoud grapples with the rocky mountain side, a shot rings out. Mamoud doubles over in pain and grasping his staff, slumps on top of a large boulder.

    Maury Albright looks at Bill Bishop and says, “It looks like we have one less Taliban to contend with.”

    “Let’s make sure of that.”

    “Easy Bill, there may be others in the area.”

    Bill and Maury gradually make their way over to Mamoud who is still barely alive. After reaching him, Mamoud struggles to say something. Maury bends over to hear what he is trying to say. At that point, Mamoud reaches up with his right hand, grabs hold of the collar of his fatigues and pulls Maury toward him. Wheezing and gasping for air, he says, “You don’t know what you have done. You have not killed a Taliban, but a Pashtun of Gazni’s tribe. You will pay.” Mamoud then drops his head and dies.

    “Could you make out what he was saying, Bill?”

    “I don’t know the language all that well, but I think he was trying to tell us he wasn’t a Talibani. If he wasn’t a Talibani, what was he doing in this area?”

    “We’ll never know, Bill. It looks like this is another one of the tragedies of war. I think we should give him a proper burial.”

    Jamal, meanwhile, is showing marked improvement in strength and mobility. “How are you feeling this morning, Jamal?”

    “Gazni, I feel like I’m on top of the world.”

    “That’s good, I guess. Rather the top than the bottom, eh?”

    “I think I can travel any day now.”

    “Where do you plan to go when you leave?”

    “I’m not sure. I’m fairly certain that the unit I was working with is not in the same area where they were when I left it. It would be almost impossible to find them again. I think I will try to make my way to the American Embassy in Islamabad. It may be a little closer than Kabul.”

    No sooner had Jamal finished speaking with Gazni, when a member of Gazni’s outlying posts comes running into camp.

    “The Taliban are headed this way, about fifty of them.”

    “Oh, great! We have to find a place for you, Jamal. I know just the spot. There’s a small room underneath the cabin hidden by a few loose floor boards. It isn’t very cozy down there, but you’ll be out of sight for a while until I find out why they have returned.”

    Jamal and Gazni enter the cabin and walk over to Gazni’s bed. “Are you up to giving me a hand moving this bed?”

    “Of course!”

    After moving the bed, Gazni reaches down and removes six rather loose floor boards, revealing a crudely made step ladder into a dark, totally unlit dank hole in the ground that measures about eight feet in each direction.

    “I know this is a little like solitary confinement, Jamal, but it is only temporary until I know it’s safe for you to come out. In you go!”

    Jamal descends the step ladder a rung at a time reluctantly, wondering what is really at the bottom rung. At the bottom, he calls up to Gazni, “What’s down here? I can’t see a thing.”

    “You’ll find a cot and a table with a kerosene lantern. Here, I’ll bring down a lighted candle. You can use it to light the lantern. Hopefully, you won’t have to be down there too long.”

    Gazni hands him the candle and climbs back up, then covers up the entrance with the loose floor boards. Jamal can hear Gazni shoving the bed across the floor as the last step in this cat and mouse game.

    Jamal is thinking, “Yeah, --and I’m the mouse.” Taking the candle, Jamal finds the kerosene lantern and lights it. “Holy smokes! This really is nothing more than a big hole in the ground with a dirt floor and dirt walls. It seems I have my own little private abyss. Now I have just a very slight taste of what some of our Vietnam POW’s went through, only I know I’ll be getting out of here sometime soon. Guess I’ll just lie down on this cot and enjoy it.”

    Gazni, swings open the front door of the cabin and walks onto his own little plaza with its version of an eternal fire in the center pit. Approaching him is Sabawi, the local Taliban leader.

    “Ah, Sabawi! Good to see you again, but I didn’t expect to see you this soon.”

    “We just had a very rough battle with the Americans and thought we would return for a short while to take advantage of your hospitality.”

    “Well, you and your men make yourselves at home.”

    “That’s very kind of you, Gazni. We have a man that needs some medical attention. Do you have any more medical supplies left?”

    “Yes, you’ll find them I Bannu’s shelter. I believe you remember where that is.”

    “Yes, I do!”

    “I’ve had the pleasure of taking care of two of your brothers very recently. Mazar has returned to the fight. The other, Jamal, is still here recovering.”

    “I know Mazar, but I can’t say that I know Jamal. He must be part of a different group.”

    “That could be. I have several groups that like to take advantage of our hospitality. Please! Make yourself at home.”

    “Thank you, Gazni. We’ll only be here three or four days.”

    Sabawi walks off toward Bannu’s shelter and Gazni walks back into his cabin. He moves the bed away from the entrance to the room below and pulls away the loose floor boards. “How are you getting along down there?”

    “Gazni? Yeah, I was just taking a nap in an attempt to escape this place.”

    “Well, you can take a nap up here, if you like. Based on my brief conversation with Sabawi, the Taliban leader, I don’t believe Mamoud managed to make it to his group. He didn’t show any indication that he knew anything about you.” Jamal puts out the kerosene lantern and gleefully climbs out of this very dark dank hole in the ground.

    “I can’t tell you how happy I am to climb out of that, ---what’s your name for the room, Gazni?”

    “I call it a shelter room, but it is better known as The Pit.”

    “I couldn’t have said it better.”

    “I think it is possible, even wise, for you to step outside and mingle with your Taliban brothers. It would give you an air of acceptability. Discuss your capture and the beatings by the Americans causing you to have some memory loss. You speak Urdu very fluently. You should have no trouble.”

    “Gazni, the only thing that concerns me right now, is that I don’t know if some of Sabawi’s men aren’t the ones that damn near killed me.”

    “That’s the chance you’ll have to take and only you can make that choice. I have to say though, that if by chance you are discovered, for the sake of my people, I will have to say that you made your way here claiming to be a Taliban warrior. I won’t be able to help you. I don’t believe you are able to travel yet. You still appear to be rather weak. What do you plan to do?”