All they carried were a rifle with a pocketful of shells as well as a handgun apiece and two extra clips. If there were an army coming toward them, Sharab knew she would not be able to overcome them. All she could hope to do now was draw them off and delay them long enough to give the American, Nanda. and the others a chance to get to Pakistan.

Surviving was also increasingly unlikely. If the Indians did not kill them the elements would.

Sharab even had some question now whether they would even find this elusive Indian army. They had heard some kind of artillery fire earlier. She wondered if the elite American unit had landed and engaged the enemy. She hoped not. The last thing she wanted was to send the Indians back to the line of control. That would only cause the military to bring in reinforcements. On the other hand, if any of the Americans had managed to land, that was good. They could certainly use the help fighting the Indians.

Unfortunately, Sharab could not find out what had happened.

The radio she had used to communicate with Washington had become such a burden that she had left it behind.

Panicles of wind-blown ice coated her wool hood and clung there. The cold had already numbed her scalp and frozen her sweat-soaked hair. The weight of the hood was such that it kept her head bent forward. That was good. It protected her eyes and cheeks from the sting of the ice pellets.

Sharab was feeling her way along the cliff and also using it for support. Ali was behind her, holding the hem of her parka. Every now and then she felt a tug as he halted or stumbled. Hassan was behind Ali. Sharab knew he was still there because she could hear him praying.

As the ledge widened, Sharab heard another sound. At first it sounded like a sudden, sharp quickening of the wind. But then she heard it again, louder. It was not the wind. Someone was shouting.

Sharab stopped and raised her eyes. She shielded them with her hand and peered ahead.

The young woman saw a cottage-sized boulder with something large moving behind the right side. Sharab could not make out what it was. She replayed the howl in her mind.

Asian black bears and deer did not live this high. Perhaps it was a wild pig or goat.

It could also be a man.

It howled again. Sharab pulled off her hood and turned her right ear toward the boulder. She also removed her glove, tucked it in her left pocket, and drew the handgun from her right pocket.

'Who are you?' the figure shouted.

Sharab backed away.

'Who wants to know?' she shouted back. The woman was surprised at the effort it took to yell.

It actually caused her heart to race. Her voice sounded flat in the close, cold air.

'We are with the man who joined you before,' the other man said.

'Where is he?'

'Which man?' Sharab asked.

'There were two.' The man was speaking in English with an American-sounding accent.

That was encouraging.

'We only know about one of them,' the speaker said.

'What was his name?'

The man hesitated. Obviously, someone was going to have to make the first move to prove who they were. It was not going to be Sharab.

'Friday,' the man said.

Sharab stepped forward again very tentatively.

'He is not with us!'

'What happened to him?'

'He left,' she replied.

'Let's talk face-to-face.'

'Come closer with your hands raised,' the American said.

The speaker did not step from behind the boulder. It was the woman's turn to trust him.

Sharab protected her eyes again and tried to look past the boulder. She saw a second, smaller boulder off to the right but no sign of any other men. There could not be that many soldiers behind the two rocks. But the two boulders would provide good cover for a crossfire.

Sharab told Hassan and Ali to stay where they were. They nodded. Both men had drawn their weapons and were huddled close to the rock. Ali had moved out slightly to provide her some backup.

'If anything happens to me, fight your way out of this,' she added.

'You must keep the Indian army occupied.'

The men nodded again.

The speaker was a few hundred yards away. Sharab did not put her gun away. She raised her hands shoulder- high and began moving toward the nearest boulder. It was difficult to see because of the blowing ice and she had to turn her face toward the side. Her scarf had fallen away and was whipping behind her. The ice particles lashed her flesh.

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