Page 39 of Over the Edge

“Do I need to wear traditional clothes, too?” he asked quickly.

“Nah. You’re a foreigner. You’ll get a pass on dressing western.”

“You say that as if foreigners aren’t well-liked in your family.”

“It’s more of a general cultural thing. Zagistan has been overrun by foreigners on and off for a thousand years. They tend to dislike all outsiders equally.”

“I’ll brace myself for slurs and insults.”

“You won’t be the only target. I won’t be immune from attack, either. The elders will be terrified that I’ll corrupt my young, single cousins.”

“Would you try?”

“I might make a run at convincing some of my female cousins to go to America. But--” she broke off.

“But what?”

“But I can’t rock the boat with you here, otherwise I could screw up your goals.”

He drew her close for a quick, surreptitious hug. Hania insisted that Anna’s door had to remain open any time he was inside her room, so even a hug was dangerous. Still. He loved how Anna’s body melted against his any time they embraced. It was as if she found comfort and solace in him. He knew the feeling.

The next night,they were due to attend the first of three major wedding feasts, this one hosted by her father. She spent all day fretting over what she was going to wear, and he finally made his way to her room in the mid-afternoon, using the ledge outside their windows.

Her door was closed, so he gathered her in his arms. “Minnow, you have to relax about what you’re going to wear. You’re working yourself into a tizzy.”

She grumbled, “I’ll have you know, I don’t do tizzies. I’m a hardened Special Forces operative.”

He grinned down at her hectic expression. “You and I both know you’re not exactly hardened, but I will concede that you are a more-or-less fully trained Special Forces operator.”

“What am I going to talk about with my relatives?” she grumbled. “I have nothing in common with them. I might as well be from another planet.”

“Thanks for doing this for me.”

She shrugged. “We have a job to do.”

“Speaking of which, I need to hit up the local arms dealer. Can you direct me to where I can get my hands on the equipment I’ll need, or should I find my own contacts?”

She answered, “I was chatting with one of the male cousins this morning, and I found out where the weapons dealers congregate.”

“Brilliant.” He had to give her credit. She was turning out to be a big help to his mission. Not that he was about to change his mind and take her along.

She continued, “I’ll have to guide you. No way could you find it yourself. Not to mention, if one of the cousins took you, they’d tell everyone in the family what you bought.”

“Not ideal.”

“We’ll need to sneak out.”

“I’m ready to go when you are,” he replied.

“I tried climbing down the rain gutter last night, and it held my weight. If you’re quick about it, you should be able to shimmy down it without tearing it off the house.”

He moved over to the window to peer out. “The courtyard’s empty.”

“Everyone’s taking a nap before tonight,” she replied. “Now’s as good a time as any to go. Do you have cash on you?”

“I do.”

She scooped up a black, shapeless garment and nodded her readiness. He climbed out the window and eased along the ledge to the rainspout. Gripping the steel pipe with hands and feet, he slid quickly to the ground. Anna tossed down the wad of cloth, which he caught as she slid down.

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