Acquiring Trouble

to h ike ba ck into the mountains and cross the border back into Tajikistan. Although we have troops on the ground in Afghanistan, this mountainous part of the country is still ruled by rebel factions. Farkhor Air Force Base is the closest to us . The trouble is there’s only one road into Darvaz and there’s a large bridge we’d have to cross.”  
    “What’s the problem with that?” Mariah asked.
    “The problem is when your kidnappers discover you’re gone, they’ll be looking for us on that road and that bridge is the first place they’ll set up.”
    Miles stepped away from Mariah and pulled out his satellite phone. “Major, it’s Alpha One. I have the package, but we need a new exit. Alpha T wo is injured and no longer mobile. What are my new orders?”
    Miles nodded as he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. He gave a quick summary o f the surrounding area, the man power he had seen , and the fact that he ha d a car. “Yes, sir. We’ll meet Bravo team in eight hours. Alpha One out.”
    Miles found Mariah star ing at him when he turned around. “We’re going deeper into the mountains. There’s a goat trail that ’s big enough for the car, but not much else. There’s a good chance we won’t be able to make it the whole way, but we can get horses the re .”
    “Why can’t they pick us up here?”
    “The area is way too hot . The drone picked up rebels coming this w ay. They’re about 30 minutes away . T here isn’ t enough time for our guys to get here and the rebels are known to have ground to air missiles in the mountains. We have to move now . ”
    Mariah nodded and hurried to the passenger door. Miles checked on Cade and was relieved to see that he was still breathing strong and stead il y even t hough he remained unconscious.
    “Where are we going?” Mariah asked as she looked nervously around.
    “We’re trying to make it to a small mountain village call ed Vanj . We’ll follow this small road, if you can even call it th at, through the mountains and then turn north on t he road traveling along the bo rder until we can go f a rther west into Tajikistan . It should take seven to eight hours for an exit g roup to meet us with a medevac chopper.”
    “Then let’s get going. I can’t tell you how badly I want to be home.” Mariah shivered and rubbed her arms to warm herself. She hopped into the car and gave Miles a couple of minutes to use his field kit to clean the wound and pour some quick clotting granules on the gunshot wound. He gritted his teeth as the granules burned in the wound .
    Miles lowered his shirt and took all evidence of blood and bandages and tossed them in the trunk. Mariah was quiet as he drove away from the rescue scene . He drove for five minutes as fast as he could before turning around and driving the other direction. He drove in a large circle covering a couple of miles hoping the tire marks would be too confusing to follow before heading in their true direction.
     
    They were almost to the border when he r ealized Mariah hadn’t said a word. He had been concentrating on handling the car. It was made for off-road racing and it ate up the dirt roads as it went into the mountains. However, the roads turned to rock as they wound through th e mountains toward the border.
    “Are you sure you’re alright? ” Miles asked as he took a tight corner. “ I know we’re on a tight schedule ma’am, but let me know if you need anything.”
    “Thank you, Captain. I’m alright besides being banged around some. I dare say my face and ribs will heal. Now, if I’ll ever be able to forget about this, I don’t know, but I pray I do. Do you want me to check on your brother? He was injured saving me, wasn’t he?”
    “Yes, ma’am, he was. I’d appreciate it if you checked his pulse and breathin g. I’m pretty sure he has slipped into a coma. I just hope the swelling in his brain goes down soon and he wakes up. I’ll get you both to a hospital by tomorrow morning.”
    Miles slowed the car as he took a sharp turn. H e was only thirty minutes from the border by his calculations , however it would be another two hours until he reached their evacuation point. He was ahead of schedule now, but he wasn’t about to slow down and give the rebels a chance to catch up to them.
    “Do you know why they took you?”
    “ Yes. As you know, my father is Secretary of State. We’re really close and he tells m e probably more than he should , ” Mariah paused