Page 1 of Chasing the Past

Prologue

September 27, 2015 –Kunduz, Afghanistan

Green Beret Eli Warren listened to the noise of the heavy artillery that had been shelling Kunduz for days. Taliban soldiers were right outside the city. Gobbling up more and more territory. The city would fall. It was only a matter of time.

Four months. He’d been embedded inside of Kunduz along with other special forces agents and CIA officers feeding the US intelligence and military information about the deteriorating situation.

In those four months, he’d watched as a little bit more of the countryside around the city came under Taliban rule. Diplomats and American citizens had been evacuated days earlier. His team was scheduled to be airlifted out in one hour. The meet location for the evacuation was as far away from the battle as possible and yet it was still risky. Taliban soldiers were armed with surface-to-air Stinger missiles. Their reach would be deadly for a helicopter.

He checked the time on his phone. Nine-thirty PM. Where was Sashi? She’d promised to meet him here at his apartment. Eli tried her number. Straight to voicemail. His concern for Sashi grew with each missed call. No matter what, he wouldn’t leave without her.

Sashi had been his asset for several years. Before that, Eli had worked with her husband, Tahir, a professor at Kandahar University before he’d been killed in a mugging near where the couple lived. The police hadn’t been able to solve the case despite Sashi giving them a description of the man she’d seen arguing with her husband days before.

Following Tahir’s murder, Sashi had moved around for months before settling in Kunduz, but she and Eli kept in touch and she had alerted him to a developing situation. Sashi had been practicing pediatric medicine at the MSF hospital when she’d been taken at night, blindfolded, and ordered to treat the son of one of the high-ranking members of the Taliban. She’d saved the boy’s life and had managed to ingratiate herself into their terrorist ring. Sashi had been feeding Eli information about the Taliban’s movements. She’d warned of the attack on Kunduz long before it began.

But Sashi was more than an asset to Eli. He’d developed feelings for her. Those feelings had turned into love. There was no way he could leave her behind.

A knock on the door had him jerking toward it. He crossed the two-room apartment quickly, pulling the door open and expecting Sashi. Instead, fellow Green Beret Gavin Biggs stood there and Eli’s heart fell.

“Time to go, brother. I’ve got a car waiting outside. The rest of the team is on their way there now. We won’t have long. Things are escalating.” Gavin searched his face. “What is it?”

“Sashi. I haven’t heard from her and she’s not answering her calls. She was supposed to meet me here ten minutes ago, right after her shift at the hospital.”

Gavin had been a witness to the romance blooming between Eli and Sashi and had warned Eli to guard his heart. Sashi was his asset. Things could get complicated. But by then it was too late. Things were already complicated.

“Let’s swing by the hospital. Maybe she got delayed.” Gavin glanced at his watch.

Eli grabbed his bag by the door and gave the place he’d called home for months a final look before he stepped out beside Gavin and closed the door.

Outside, the night sky lit up with artillery fire grabbing Gavin’s attention. “Our latest intel has the city falling by morning.”

Fear pulsed through every vein in Eli’s body. Where was Sashi? The last time he’d spoken with her, Sashi said she had a normal work schedule. But she’d been troubled. She said she’d spotted someone watching her. She was almost positive it was the same man she’d seen with her husband before his death. He’d given her the creeps.

Eli had wanted to go get her right then, but she said she’d be fine. She’d be at the hospital all evening. The walk to Eli’s flat was a short one. She’d mentioned she was looking forward to leaving the city and being with Eli.

For weeks, there had been heavy evacuations taking place. The city was almost a ghost town littered with the debris left behind from the missile attacks. Destroyed and burned-out vehicles were everywhere in the streets. Gavin had to dodge them as he drove. It was them and a bunch of dead carcasses of vehicles. Something about the scene was beyond surreal and almost like a premonition.

As they crawled past Sashi’s apartment, the place was as dark as the night around them. She wasn’t there. A shudder scurried down his spine. More premonitions?

Gavin reached the hospital and stopped out front. “If we miss the flight, we’re in trouble.”

Eli understood. When the Taliban overran the city, they’d search out their enemies. There wouldn’t be any place safe to hide and no assurances they could be rescued.

Eli got out quickly along with Gavin. They hurried inside. The place was a madhouse. Injured people from the missile strikes were everywhere. There was no one manning the reception area. Eli searched for a familiar face and didn’t find one. He went up to a doctor who was treating a patient in the waiting area.

“Is Doctor Ghulam still working?”

The doctor barely spared him a look. “I haven’t seen her, but the place has been inundated with patients. She could be working on another floor. Try Peds.”

Frustrated, Eli grabbed his phone and tried again. No response. “I’ll check her floor.”

Gavin reluctantly followed.

Eli flew up the stairs and pushed open the door to the pediatrics unit. He saw a nurse he recognized and asked about Sashi.

“I think she left already. Maybe twenty minutes ago, but I’m not sure. It’s been crazy here.”

“Thank you.” Eli headed for the stairs with Gavin.

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