Page 27 of Duty Bound

“I thought you said the villagers would be Taliban sympathizers?”

“Most are, and those who aren’t may be too scared to help us.”

Her lip trembled. “They could betray us, and we’d be captured again.”

He gave a small nod. “It will be risky. We might find someone brave enough to let us use their telephone, but I wouldn’t count on it. If they’re seen cooperating with us, it could be dangerous for them.”

“You mean they’d be killed for helping us?” Her shoulders slumped. She'd been in the country long enough to know how these things worked.

“Yeah.”

“Pity we don’t have access to Hawkeye.”

“Your software system?

“Yeah, my predictive threat software.”

“How would that help us?” Pat hadn’t told him exactly what it did.

“It’s an AI-based system that utilizes machine learning and big data to analyze vast quantities of intelligence to predict enemy movements and tactics. It helps in preempting attacks, identifies vulnerabilities in defenses, and optimizes resource allocation on the battlefield.”

She’d lost him at AI.

He hadn’t gotten on board with all of that yet, although it was working its way into military operations, logistics and training exercises, particularly drone management and cybercrime. If it was half as impressive as it sounded, he could see why the Taliban were so keen to destroy it. “How long have they had this?”

“Before the coup, the Afghan government was using it to locate Taliban strongholds and assess threat levels. They saw this coming, but without international support, were powerless to defend themselves.”

“Why is it such a threat?”

“Because we can use it too. The United States has access and can see the same data.”

“But they need you to do that?”

“They need me and the codes to do that.” She shuddered and wrapped her arms around her body like she was giving herself a hug. The fear was back, flickering in the depths of those deep, brown eyes.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said quietly.

“You can’t make that promise.”

“Trust me, Lily. I’ll get you out of here, one way or another.”

“I hope you’re right.” Her voice was a whisper.

Blade turned back to the map. “I think we should go for Plan A, and if that doesn’t work, we switch to Plan B.”

“Isn’t there a Plan C?”

“There is.” He hesitated. “But that involves trekking over four hundred miles through the mountains to Pakistan.”

“You mean the Khyber Pass?”

He nodded.

She blinked at him. “Let’s go with Plan A.”

CHAPTER 11

Lily watched the sun sink over the mountains, dragging the light with it. A short while later, the valley was plunged into a deep, unforgiving darkness.

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