FOUR
Cooper
The next day, I convinced Jeffries to let me take her to a nearby village so small it wasn’t on the maps. I told him it would keep her under control and happy. He agreed, to my surprise. After I had permission, I went to tell Jade the good news.
Part of my attraction to her was the fact she was the only American woman for miles around, but more than that, I found her interesting. For one, she had traveled thousands of miles from her home to one of the most dangerous places in the world. That took guts.
As I walked toward her sleeping quarters, I wondered where she lived back in the States. Did she leave a boyfriend behind? The closer I got, the more questions floated through my brain. Getting answers would not be a bad way to spend the day with her.
I stopped in front of her CHU and knocked on the door. It opened right away. She stood in the doorway, dressed in camouflage pants with another ill-fitting and revealing tee-shirt.
“Yeah?” she asked. “I’m busy right now.”
“You don’t want to go to the village?”
“Oh, you were being serious?”
I nodded.
“Yeah. I got permission from the CO. He doesn’t want me in civilian garb, but I know the village elders here. They’ll talk to you.”
She stared into my eyes. I swore I saw the gears turning in her head.
“Okay,” she said after a few tense and silent moments.
“Great. You ready now or you got something else to do?”
“Max wanted me to come see him about something. I was on my way there.”
“Screw Max,” I said. “You should be careful around him.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
“I don’t want to go into specifics. You know we’re on a tight deadline. If we’re doing this, we need to go now.”
“Sure.” She patted her black messenger bag. “I have everything I need in here.”
“You’re lucky. I wish my equipment was that light.” I smiled. “Let’s get out of here. Logan is driving us.”
“You two friends?” she asked as we walked toward where the Humvees and trucks were parked.
“You could say Army buddies I guess. We met in the military. I’m not sure if we’ll meet up after we get out. Why?”
“Just curious. I want my piece on FOB Cobra to be human.”
“You been at this journalism thing long?”
“Ever since high school.”
“And how many years is that?”
“Are you asking my age, Cooper?”
I grinned.
“Not at all. Just curious.”
We reached the parking area. Logan raised a hand into the air.
“Let’s go, people!”
“You’re in the back,” I said, opening the door.
“As long as you don’t expect me to shoot the gun or anything.”
“Only in the case of an emergency.”
She smiled then climbed into the back. I got into the passenger seat, the butt of my M16A4 on the floorboard between my legs.
“Let’s rock-and-roll,” Logan said.
“Is he always this full of energy?” Jade asked, one hand on each of the two front seats.
“You don’t know the half of it.”
The Humvee slipped into gear and lurched forward, pushing her back.
“Careful,” Logan yelled over the roar of the engine.
I glanced back at her, impressed at her determination.
“We’ll hand out medical supplies and water while we’re there,” I shouted.
She stayed silent, looking out at the barren landscape. I turned forward and stared out the windshield, looking for anything out of the ordinary in the distance. In Afghanistan, anything could happen at any moment. The only ones who survived were the ones who stayed on their toes.
Logan stepped on the gas pedal. The giant vehicle rushed forward. It would be a hell of a day.
* * *
Ten minutes later, we rolled up to the entrance of the village. An old man sat on a huge tire on the side of the road. I kept my eyes on him as we passed, not sure if I recognized him or not.
“We’re here,” I said. “Be sure not to wander off.”
“Trust me. I learned my lesson yesterday.”
I turned to Logan.
“Park by Aamir's house.”
“Already on it.”
“He’s the village elder,” I explained.
“Have you known him long?”
“Always with the questions, huh?”
“It’s my job.”
The Humvee stopped. Logan killed the engine. I opened the door and hopped out, waiting for Jade to climb down. At least a dozen village children swarmed around the vehicle, all excitedly raising their hands and yelling at the same time.
“Enough!” Aamir said as he emerged from the house, stroking his long, white beard.
At the sound of his voice, the children scattered.
“Welcome, my friend Cooper,” he said, ignoring Jade’s presence.
“Thank you, Aamir. I brought someone to talk with you. This is Jade.”
She offered her hand. The old man stared at it as if she were offering him a pile of dung.
“How are things?” I asked him, hoping to avoid a confrontation.
Jade dropped her arm, not getting upset.
“They are peaceful now,” he said. “Have you come for the samples?”
I glanced over at Jade then back to him.
“We’ll talk about that later,” I said. “We brought gifts. Maybe Jade can speak to your wife and daughters?”
“Fine,” he said then raised his hand into the air.
A half-dozen men all dressed in similar attire stepped out from behind two of the mud-brick houses and made their way over to us.
“Help with the gifts,” Aamir told them.
They walked to the back of the Humvee as Logan opened it then set cases of water onto the dry, dusty ground.
It’s gonna be a long day.
“I’ll take you to the other families who want to talk,” I said to Jade.
“I’d like to talk to Aamir too,” she said, looking at him. “Is that okay?”
“Maybe later.” I took her hand. “Let’s go.”
She pulled her hand from mine as we walked away.
“I’m trying to keep the friends I have here,” I said. “You have to understand the culture is different.”
“I don’t care about the way they treat women. There’s something he’s hiding. What did he mean by samples?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said then pointed. “Look, there’s Malilah. She’s a terrific person to interview.”
“I’ll sort this out,” Jade said as we continued walking toward the Afghan woman.
“I don’t doubt it. You stay here with Malilah. I need to talk to Aamir alone.”
“Is it safe?”
“You’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“I haven’t lost a reporter in my charge yet.”
“No? How many reporters have you helped before?”
“Well, since you ask, you’re my first.”
I grinned. She rolled her eyes then quickened her pace.
After stopping, I stared at her a moment, loving the way her body moved. The women of the village would treat her nice and keep her safe. My conversation with Aamir couldn’t wait.
* * *
“You can’t let anyone know what we’re doing,” I said to Aamir as we sat on cushions on the floor in his living room. “Do you understand? It’s important.”
He waved my concerns away with his hand.
“Are you ready to see the samples?”
“Yes,” I said nervously.
Max had gotten me involved with some crazy shit.
Aamir pulled out a wooden box and opened the lid. Inside, I saw what appeared to be a metallic rock of some sort.
“This is one of the smaller pieces we have mined.”
“How much can you get?” I asked, reaching for it.
He pulled the box away.
“We can get as much as you want for the right price. I do not want to sell poppies like the others. You must give us a fair price. Two men have died so far getting this material.”
I nodded my head.
“I’ll need to bring the sample to Max.”
He stared at me with his ancient eyes, wrinkles running like rivers from them.
“I will trust you, but do not cross me.”
“You have nothing to worry about,” I said. “We need to keep this quiet, though. As I told you before, we’re not supposed to be transporting this stuff.”
“I will sell to the Chinese if you do not want. Rare Earth minerals are booming business.”
Logan stepped into the room.
“You ready to leave?” he asked, holding his rifle at the ready.
I glanced up at him.
“Give me a minute, okay?”
“I’ll be outside,” he said.
I turned back to Aamir.
“Thank you again,” I said, holding out a hand.
He gave me the box. I got to my feet.
“I will return soon with money and an order,” I said.
“Fine. Safe travels.”
As I walked out of the room and his simple house, I thought about my apartment back in New York City and how much I missed it. It may have been small and overpriced, but year in Afghanistan made me realize how much I had loved the space.
Outside, I saw Jade standing nearby. She walked over.
“How’d your meeting with Aamir go?”
“Fine,” I said, hating that she was so damn curious. “You get to talk to the villagers?”
“Some of them, yeah.”
“Great. We should get back.”
“This wasn’t very romantic,” she said.
“Excuse me?”
I tilted my head as I stared at her.
“You called this a date yesterday, but it wasn’t very romantic.”
“I guess not,” I said, grinning. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“No worries. I was just observing.”
I motioned toward the Humvee with my hand.
“After you.”
She walked away. I watched her ass sway back and forth.
Why does this damn woman captivate me so much?
On the ride back to the base, I failed to come up with any logical answers.