Page 25 of What is Lost

“Yeah, and you’re so good at driving, Flowers,” Harris said.

Flowers opened his mouth to reply, but Mac cut him off. “All of you,stop. We have another mission. This isn’t why we’re here.”

“Your mission can wait five minutes.” Driverfollowed Roni who’d already clambered into the Humvee after Meeks. “Let’s go, Marines!”

“Wait.” The smaller Afghan stepped forward. “Musa and I, we will help you.”

At that, John’s jaw almost dropped.Oh my?—

“What is it about a low profile you don’t understand?” Mac snapped. “Youcan’t?—”

“But wecan, if only because the women those men will leave behind end up widows and will starve.” The Afghan looked at John. “If you are so good a shot, come with us.”

“Go, John, go with them!” Shucking her helmet, Roni braced her knees against the back of the driver’s seat and readied her rifle as Driver took up the opposite position. Then Meeks gunned the engine, and they were gone in a screech of tires and spume of dust followed a split second later by Harris and Fellows.

“You men!” Mac shouted. “Damn it,wait!”

No one paid any mind. As John clambered into the back seat behind Musa, the smaller Afghan added, “Be careful where you aim, yes? I not come all this way only to get shot by…erhm…how do you call it?” The Afghan searched for the word then said, “Yes, afriendly.”

And that was the moment the smaller Afghan pulled the shemagh down past his chin—and became a woman.

THE FALLING MEN

AUGUST 2021

Musa hammered the accelerator.Their Humvee leapt onto the tarmac with a screech of tires and spume of dust and then they were screaming down the runway.

The Moose was already a quarter mile ahead but lumbering and going much too slowly, its engines not even close to half-power. Clearly hampered by the crowd, the pilot was probably just as worried about someone getting sucked into an engine. While the person would end up as so much hamburger, the plane would also be crippled. Two armored vehicles filled with Marines still rolled alongside, but they were mostly waving their arms, shouting, and letting a couple of bullets fly into the air. A bad idea since what goes up must come down.

Ahead, John heard pops and saw that Meekshad pulled even with the Moose’s nose on the right. This meant both Roni and Driver were able to place their shots at the crowd’s feet to drive people away from the aircraft. That was working, too. People closest to the plane flinched and skipped back, away from the plane’s wheels.

A rapid-firecrack-crack-crackto his right: the Afghan woman, sending bullets into the tarmac just behind the phalanx of people jogging after the plane.

“Stop! Don’t!” he shouted as those farthest back screamed and broke ranks, zipping right and left in front of the Humvee with Flowers, who steered a hard screaming right, tried to work out of the skid, failed, and spun out. The rear of their vehicle just missed a lanky teenager—and then Flowers and Harris were gone, receding into the distance as Musa steered around them and flashed past.

“What are youdoing?” Furious, John rounded on the woman who was again sighting down the barrel of her AK. “You want to kill people, just shoot them, for God’s sake.Pickyour targets!”

“We need peoples away from plane!” The woman hollered something in Pashto at Musa and then their vehicle seemed to levitate as the man stomped on the accelerator. “Isn’t that what you want?”

“Not if you nearly get our own guys killed, not to mention that kid…No!” He straight-armed thewoman’s rifle, knocking it off true just before she squeezed the trigger. “I saidstop!That’s not the way!”

“You not in charge here!” The woman rounded, fury twisting through her features, and with her came her rifle, swinging his way. Ducking, he pushed himself forward, below the barrel’s arc. Out of the corner of an eye, he saw Musa’s face flash their way and then the vehicle was swerving. But now he was inside her reach, shouting into her face: “Stop,stop!”

For a millisecond—and it was only that because things were movingthatquickly—naked hatred twisted her features, turning them ugly and harsh. Then she gave him a mighty shove and screamed, “Then shoot, if you are so good! Shoot,shoot!”

Not yet.Turning, John leaned down to bellow into Musa’s ear. “Pull ahead of the plane on the other side from Driver! Get to where the pilot can see me!”

“What you doing?” the woman shouted.

He didn’t turn or answer.Too much going on, too much happening too fast, careful, careful...Dead ahead, people were shedding clothes; there were piles heaped here and there on the runway. They closed on a jumble of tunics and abayas and, wait… He squinted. Was that a sandal? Was that a?—?

“Watch it!” he bawled into Musa’s ear a split second before the big Afghan jinked right. Flashingby, John saw an elderly man, his eyes almost comically wide and his mouth open in a slackO—and then they screamed past, missing the old man by less than a foot.

Close.Turning to face front, he braced his knees against the back of Musa’s seat, steadying himself as the Afghan mashed the accelerator. Three seconds later, they were even with Roni’s Humvee and, more importantly, the cockpit. Looking up, he saw the oval of the copilot’s face as the man spared them a quick look…

Please understand. Please.Propping his weapon between his knees, John threw his arms out to either side then brought them up over his head before inscribing a quick circle with his right hand.

“What you do?” The woman demanded.

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