John frowned. “Maybe all these guys have one?”
“Maybe.” Mansur shrugged. “But I don’t think like this. It’s signed by a senior commander. Remember Karam mentioned an Emir had come when they rescued us? It doesn’t make sense. We are the enemy to them. We are kufaar, unbelievers. Even me.”
John handed the paper back and turned to look at Naeem.
“I don’t trust him either, but maybe we’re overthinking it? He’s got us this far.”
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t feel right.”
“No,” John exhaled loudly. “To be honest, though, there’s not much he can do right now with that injury.” John looked toward the sun, which was noticeably lower in the sky. “Anyway, it will be dark soon. The sooner we are out of here, the better.”
88
Steve bent down, cleared a patch of ground, and sat down beside Mia.
“How’s she doing?”
Mia didn’t look up, just continued gazing at her daughter asleep in her arms.
“The same. She’s still warm.”
Steve reached out and felt the child’s forehead with the back of his hand.
“Yeah, she still has a temperature.” He sighed. “It won’t be long now. Don’t worry, we’ll get her to a doctor, get her some nutritious food, and she will be fine.”
Mia nodded.
“Are you okay?”
“I keep thinking of Karam. He was just a kid.”
“I know. Brave but just a kid. A sad waste of life.” Steve looked away, his gaze going out past the edge of the trees, across the fields. “Remember that time we went out to Ballarat for the weekend.” He looked back at Mia. “We panned for gold in the river, do you remember?”
Mia looked up at Steve, then past him at the fields beyond. “I remember.”
“You were so excited when you saw those tiny flecks of gold in the bottom of the pan.”
Mia nodded, a distant look in her eyes.
Steve looked down at the ground, picked up a pebble, and played with it between his fingers.
“That was the last trip we did together before you left.”
“It seems so long ago.”
“It does.” Steve looked up, “Why, Mia? Why did you come here? We were heartbroken.”
Mia turned to look at Steve.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Steve. I never meant to hurt anyone.” She shrugged. “I thought I loved him.” She looked away again. “No, I did love him. He was so nice to me. No boy had ever been nice to me before. I just... I got swept away.”
Steve nodded and looked over at Naeem.
“I wanted to kill him... I think I still do.”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “I know. It wasn’t all his fault, though. He was naïve, too. He was brainwashed, sold a dream, but it was nothing like they said it would be.”
“But he still believes.”
“Yes.” Mia glanced over at Naeem, remembering their discussion about the Yazidi women. “He does. I thought maybe now, with Malak, he would go back to how he was before.” She shook her head. “But he’s too far gone.”
“Do you still love him?”
Mia sighed heavily.
“I’ve searched my heart for any trace of the love I once had, but it’s gone.” She looked down at Malak, her face softening briefly, but when she looked up, her eyes were hard. “He gave me the most beautiful thing in my life, but he also destroyed my life. I’ve tried hard to find forgiveness, but I feel nothing for him now.”
89
Craig was just about to file his report on the overcrowding crisis at the refugee camps in Northern Syria when the phone vibrated on his desk. He clicked send on the laptop, then reached for the phone, glancing at the screen as he picked it up.
“Sergei, any news?”
“You owe me a bottle of Glenlivet.”
“Tell me more.”
“Your friends were spotted going through a checkpoint at Ain Issa.”
“Fantastic.” Craig breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, some news. “When was this?”
“Three days ago.”
“Three days? Shit. Nothing more recent?”
“No, my friend. That was all I heard. They were in a taxi heading west on the M4.”
Craig sighed and rubbed his face. He’d hoped to share some good news with Adriana but was back to square one.
“Okay, thank you, Sergei. I appreciate the update.”
“You are welcome, my Scottish friend. When are you coming to this side again?”
Craig screwed up his face as he tried to remember his schedule. “Next week, I think, Wednesday or Thursday. I’ll let you know.”
“Good. Bring the whisky. We’ll have a drink.”
“I will. Thank you, Sergei.”
Craig ended the call and stared down at his desk. Where the hell were they now?
He looked at the phone screen again. He’d better call Adriana. Some news was better than none at all.
90
They set out as soon as the sun dropped below the horizon, John leading the way with Naeem, Mansur in the middle of the column of women, and Steve taking up the rear.
Naeem had weakened over the afternoon, and John was supporting more and more of his weight as they crossed the field and rejoined the dirt road. John waited until everyone was on the road, then led them, walking southeast. The temperature had dropped considerably, and a cool breeze blew across the fields. The sky had clouded over as the afternoon wore on, and now the sun had set, the darkness was almost complete, the moon and stars conspicuously absent. Fortunately, the road was clear, and despite the darkness, they could follow it, the only sound coming from the scuffing of feet on loose pebbles and Naeem’s labored breathing. It was slow going though and it was over thirty minutes before John could see what looked to be the path Naeem had mentioned.
“Naeem,” he whispered, “Is this it?”
Naeem panted heavily and peered into the darkness. “I think so, I... don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“It’s dark, I... I’ve only been here once before.”
The rest of the group caught up, and Steve moved to the front.
“What’s the matter?”
“He thinks this is it, but he’s not sure.”
“He thinks?” John could see Steve shaking his head. “For fuck’s sake, Naeem.”
“It’s dark.”
“Yeah, and
