Page 87 of Into the Gray Zone

The man nodded and Kamal went to the passenger side of the van, waking up Manjit.

When the fog cleared from his head, Kamal said, “It’s your turn to drive. Bathroom break.”

They walked into the shop, finding an outpost for truckers who routinely drove these roads. Full of various automotive accessories and sprinkled with trinkets, it was surprisingly clean, and even had a cooler in the rear filled with sodas and water.

The back of the station held a little fry-grill with a limited menu, an older man sitting on a stool watching a television, looking like he didn’t get too many customers. They walked to the counter, ordering eight bowls of rice and chicken, three with zero spice. Kamal knew that “zero spice” only meant the food wouldn’t burn your intestines, and the last thing they needed was for the hostages to come down with diarrhea in the back of the van.

As they waited, Kamal finally asked what had been bothering him for the last eight hours. “Why didn’t you shoot the woman in the van? Why did you give us this extra complication?”

Manjit remained quiet for a moment, then said, “She was protecting the bride. Willing to give her life for another. It is what we strive to be. I couldn’t kill her.”

Kamal grew aggravated but couldn’t raise his voice in the store. “She’s going to die anyway. We can’t keep all three. It’s too hard to do that logistically. You’ve just made someone else do the dirty work for you.”

Manjit said nothing. Kamal continued, “When that time comes, it’ll beyoupulling the trigger. You need to learn the price of what we’re doing.”

Manjit hissed, “I told you I wouldn’t kill innocents for this. I’m not Hamas.Youmight be, but I’m not. We have Thakkar’s daughter, and that’s enough.”

Kamal looked at him, saw the steel in his face, and changed the subject, saying, “The older guy is an American. He claims he’s famous, which will work to get our word out to the world. This wouldn’t make American news without him, so that’s good.”

Manjit said, “Well, maybe I should have killed him instead, since a death is just a death.”

Kamal saw the anger and said, “Okay, okay, I hear you. I didn’t mean what I said. It’s just that we can’t keep three hostages. It’s exponentially harder.”

“Then let her out on the street. When we get to Mumbai, just let her go. She’s a nobody. We don’t have to kill her.”

“We can’t let her go now. The minute she surfaces, whether it’s here, where they’ll know our path, or later, once we’re in Mumbai, it’s not going to happen. She’s with us for the duration. Or she’s dead.”

Kamal looked to see the reaction of his words, and he saw Manjit staring, his mouth open. He said, “What?”

Manjit hissed, “Look at the TV.”

On the screen was a story about the attack, and in the left corner was a picture of Jaiden.

Kamal said, “Sir, what’s that story on the TV?”

The cook said, “Some attack in Jaipur from a bunch of Muslims. Apparently, the head of security tried to prevent it and was taken. I hope he’s giving them hell.”

Kamal nodded and said, “Yeah, I hope he is too.”

The man returned to the grill, and Manjit said to Kamal, “Muslims? They still think it’s a LeT attack from Pakistan.”

“I know. I’ll initiate the webpage once we have cell service. They won’t believe that for long. The bigger issue is that Jaiden’s face is now on the news.”

He saw Jaiden exit the bathroom and went to him immediately, saying, “You need to get to the vehicle. You’re on the television.”

Jaiden ducked his head and began walking to the door, saying, “So they know I’m involved?”

They exited, and Kamal said, “No. They think you’ve been kidnapped. But your face is on the television. You need to hide.”

***

Inside the back of the van, Nadia waited a beat after the outburst from the American. Sure they were now alone, she said, “Annaka, are you okay?”

Annaka jerked at her name, saying, “Yes, yes, I am. Is that you, Nadia?”

Nadia smiled behind her blindfold, saying, “It is. Thank you so much for inviting me to the wedding celebration.”

The man who’d been taken with them said, in English, “Shut up! You’re going to get us in trouble.”

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