They must be exposed and brought to justice.' Nanda continued to stand where she was, her arms bundled around her.
But there was a change in her posture, in her expression. She had drawn her shoulders back slightly and her eyes and mouth had hardened.
Now she was defiant.
Why? Sharab wondered. Because a Pakistani had dared to suggest that Indians could be enemies to Indians? Nanda could not be so naive. And if she did not agree, she did not want to defend her countrymen either.
'Samouel?' Sharab said.
The young bearded man stood.
'Yes?'
'Please take care of dinner, including our guest,' Sharab said.
'She'll need her strength.'
Samouel opened a frost-covered cardboard box that contained military rations. He began passing out the pop- top tins.
Each of the shallow, red, six-by-four-inch containers was packed with basmati rice, strips of precooked goat meat, and two cinnamon sticks. A second cardboard box contained cartons of powdered milk. While Samouel handed those to the men All got a jug of water from the back of the cave. He added it to the powdered milk, pouring in skillful little bursts that kept the ice that had formed in the jugs from clogging the neck.
Sharab continued to regard Nanda.
'You're coming with us to Pakistan,' Sharab informed her.
'Once you're there you will tell my colleagues what you refuse to tell me.'
Nanda still did not respond. That seemed strange to Sharab. The dark-eyed woman had been talkative enough during the months at the farm. She had complained about the intrusion, the restrictions that had been placed on her, the militaristic leaders of Pakistan, and the terrorist activities of the FKM. It seemed odd that she would not say anything now.
Perhaps the woman was just tired from the climb. Yet she had not said anything in the truck either. It could be that she was afraid for her life. But she had not tried to get away on the mountain path or to reach any of the weapons that were plainly in view.
And then it hit her. The reason Nanda did not want to talk to them.
Sharab stopped a few feet in front of the Kashmiri woman.
'You're working with them,' Sharab said suddenly.
'Either you want us to take you to Pakistan or--' She stopped and called Hassan over. Standing nearly six-foot- five, the thirty-six-year-old former quarry worker was the largest man on her team. He had to duck just to stand in the cave.
'Hold her,' Sharab ordered.
Now Nanda moved. She tried to get around Sharab. She was apparently trying to reach one of the guns in the box.
But Hassan moved behind Nanda. He grabbed her arms right below the shoulders and pinned them together with his massive hands. The Kashmiri woman moaned and tried to wriggle away. But the big man pushed harder. She arched her back and then stopped moving.
Hassan wrestled Nanda over to Sharab. The Pakistani woman felt the pockets of Nanda's jeans and then reached under Nanda's bulky wool sweater. She patted Nanda's sides and back.
She found what she was looking for at once. It was on Nanda's left side, just above her hip. As Nanda renewed her struggles, Sharab pulled up the sweater and exposed the woman's waist.
There was a small leather pouch attached to a narrow elastic band.
Inside the pouch was a cellular phone. Sharab removed it and walked closer to one of the hanging lanterns.
She examined the palm-sized black phone closely. The liquid crystal display was blank. Though that function had been disengaged the phone itself was working. It vibrated faintly, pulsing for a second and then shutting down for a second. It did that repeatedly. There was also a dark, concave plastic bubble on the top edge. It looked like the eye of a television remote control.
'Ali, Samouel, gather up weapons and supplies,' Sharab ordered.
'Do it quickly.'
The men put down their meals and did as they were told.
Hassan continued to hold Nanda. Ishaq watched from the side of the cave. He was waiting for Sharab to tell him what to do.
Sharab regarded Nanda.
'This is more than just a cell phone, isn't it? It's a tracking device.'
Nanda said nothing. Sharab nodded at Hassan and he squeezed her arms together. She gasped but did not answer.
After a moment Sharab motioned for him to relax his grip.
'You could not have spoken to your collaborators without us hearing,' Sharab went on.
