"[No active fire at this time and the location of the place]" "Kandahar province, Southern Afghanistan, the birthplace of the Taliban." "It's 54,000 square kilometres of brutal insurgency, conflicting agendas, tribal rivalry and blood feuds." "This is the Canadian forces area of operation." "We wear it." "And every day, we drive deeper into the furnace of enemy country." "It's one hell of a rough road." "Checking dope, up 15 left one." "Wind gusts 15 to 20." "Left to right." "Hold left hand side of target." "On." "And buddy's got a shovel." " Could be a farmer." " On a road?" " Why not?" " 'Cause it's a road, man." "Could be a really shitty farmer, like, constantly puzzled, you know?" "He's in the village, asking everybody, "why are my crops so lousy?"" "No one has the heart to say, "hey, buddy, you can't grow, like, anything on a road."" "Will you shut the fuck up?" "Bad move." "He's got a shell casing shaped like a 122, orange det cord sticking out of the nose." "Three niner Alpha, 66." "I have pid, positive ID on one times insurgent." "66, this is three niner Alpha." "Over." "Black head dress, holding a 122 mm shell casing with orange det cord emanating from the top... emanating?" "Coming out of the top." "And now he's placing the projectile" " into the hole." " One rude hyena, 650 meters to the north northwest of grid Quebec Quebec 41768134." "Three niner Alpha acknowledge." "When he stands back up, engage." "Stand by." "Send it." "Three niner Alpha, 66." "Three niner Alpha send." "Engaged in center mass." "No motion." "At grid Quebec Quebec 41768134." "Moving to rv extraction at grid Quebec Quebec 41998226." "One times insurgent vsa." "We are pushing higher assets to confirm." "Three niner Alpha, Roger." "Your ride's en route." "One times insurgent kia at grid Quebec Quebec 41768134." "What's up?" "Take a look at that culvert." "Cover the stretch of road 50 meters to... to the left." "Three one Charlie, this is 66." "What's your eta?" "Three one Charlie, this is 66." "Advise you hold your position." "Do not crest the hill." "I say again, do not crest the hill." "We've got something weird on the road." "Gonna have a look." "Wait out." "Hickey, get the coyote on the patch just ten meters left of the culvert." "Put a round in it." " What do you think?" " It's probably nothing." "Hickey, put a round in the patch next to it." " Could be just a bad patch of road." " Yeah, what if you're wrong?" "When have I ever been wrong?" " My sister?" " Yeah, that was bad." "Hickey, just for fun?" "Chamber up a raufoss." "Line up on that patch dead ahead of us." " Stand by." " Send it." " You okay?" " Ah, fuck!" "We're blown." " Ambush!" " Go!" "Go!" "Go!" " Go!" "Get the fuck out of there!" " Covering!" "Covering!" "Covering!" "Moving!" "Three niner Alpha, Roger." "Out." "Hey, we got a tick." "We got troops in contact." "Three one Charlie, three niner Alpha." "Do you acknowledge last from 66?" "66." "Negative." "Do not crest the hill." "The road is filled with leds." "You are the target." "Can you circle the Ridge, get us on the back side?" "Break break." "66, three niner Alpha." "What's the force size?" "66." "Two-zero to two-five hostiles." "Am seeking strong point." "Wait out." "Fuck!" " They're still on us!" "Fuck!" " Fucker!" " They got us cut off!" " We need to find a strong point!" "I got a village!" " Contact!" " Cover!" " Fuck, we're blocked." "We're blocked!" "Go that way!" " Over the wall!" " Cover!" " Go, go, go!" " On my six!" " Go, go, go, go!" " Contact left!" " We got a door!" " Go!" "Go!" " Changing mags!" " Changing mags!" " Changing mags!" " Changing mags!" " Covering!" "Covering!" "Cover me!" " Tank, hickey!" "Go!" " Go, go, go!" "Covering!" "Go!" "We got a door straight ahead!" "Fuck, it's blocked!" " 66..." " Covering!" " We still have contact." "We're moving into village." "We'll strong point from there." "Send grid, over!" " Get lavigne on zero, asap." " You're on with zero, ma'am." "Zero, this is three niner Alpha." "Three niner Alpha, this is zero." "Roger that." "We'll see what we got in the air." "Over." "Tac-p, what lines we flying right now?" " Two ship, but they're not in range, sir." " Get 'em there." "Push 'em hard." " Fires, get me a pss-sof grid." " Roger that." "Convoy is en route and zero is pushing fast air but you're going to have to hang in there." "We gotta find another point of entrance!" "Rpg!" " They blew a hole!" " There's an opening!" " Go through it!" "Go!" "Thank you, mister Taliban!" "Salaam alaikum." "Clear!" " Clear!" " Let's go!" "Someone clear this door." "Alright, Ryan, we got a compound dead up there." " Bear right!" " Roger that!" "Go!" " Moving!" " Contact rear!" " Moving!" " Covering!" " Covering!" " Point?" " Clear!" " Clear!" " Clear!" " Clear!" " Clear!" " Grenade!" " Grenade!" " Grenade!" "They're surrounding us." " are you inviting us in?" " I think he wants to help." "66." "Send sitrep." "Over." " Three niner Alpha, 66." " Three niner Alpha." "Send." "66." "We are holed up inside compound at grid..." "Travis?" "Quebec Quebec 41338921..." "Quebec Quebec 41338921." "We have a section plus of insurgents encircling compound." "We need qrf extraction for 4 pax, Asa-fucking-p." "We got an elder with crazy eyes, he's..." "He's asking us inside." "I'm moving in." "We'll strong point from there." "Over." " Did he say 'crazy eyes'?" " Yeah." " Can I get a description of the elder?" " 66, this is zero." "66." "Did you not hear me?" "We need qrf extraction now!" "It's important." "Describe the friendly." "Over." "66." "Elder is about..." "I don't know, he's Afghan old." "Weird eyes, different colours." "Break break." "Zero, they're jammed here, we gotta get them out!" "Three niner Alpha, we're pushing." "Will advise." "Fuck!" "Let's move in." "Come on." "Let's move in." "I got it." " Clear!" " Clear!" "Everybody take a corner." "Three niner Alpha, 66." "Looking for status on that ride home?" "66, three niner Alpha." "Qrf is two-zero Mikes out and you're danger close for artillery." "You're gonna have to hunker down." "We'll get you out of there asap." "66, Roger." "Out." "We're on our own." " What, they can't get anything to us?" " Not for a while." "Okay, guys, let's arm up." "What the fuck?" " Grenade." "I need a grenade." " I got one." "Here." "Ryan." "What do you think they're doing?" "Same as us, getting ready." " You see anything?" " They got an '82 recoilless." "Oh, great." " Everybody okay?" " Good." " Yeah." " I'm good." "You?" " What's he doing?" "I don't know." "They killed him." " Gents, it's been a privilege." " Likewise." " Kill every fucker that comes through those doors." " Roger that." "Hold your fire!" " Taliban?" " No Taliban." "We're safe?" "You trust him?" "Let's gear up." "Let's go!" " Thank you." " Clear!" "Clear!" "Clear." "Where the hell did they go?" "Three niner Alpha, 66." "We're clearing the village." "Three niner Alpha, acknowledge." "Rv Quebec Quebec 40128883." "Over." "Zero, this is three niner Alpha." "66 coming home." "Over." "Zero acknowledge." "Fuck..." "Kaf." "You might as well be on Mars as in Afghanistan." "We're out in the middle of the desert, surrounded by a forest of razor wire." "It's a coalition force from over forty-five different nations." "Two-thirds of the soldiers deployed here never even see the country, they just see blast walls and defects, Tim horton's." "Nobody even knows how many people are on this base;" "thirty-five, forty-five, sixty thousand." "It's here, inside the wire, that we organize everything that goes on outside the wire, and half the time we got it wrong." "But that means half the time we got it right." "It's a vast organism that consumes 14 metric tons of food a day and shits into a lake that fills the air with 30% fecal matter." "In kaf, you breathe your own shit." "I'm building a road, gentlemen," "I'm building a big fucking road and it's going like a dagger into the heart of the enemy and it is fucking him up." "And every morning he wakes up, and I'm standing there and I'm punching him right in his fucking face." "Now we've never been this deep into the heart of panjaway, but hyena road is in there and she is in there to stay." "And they don't like it, 'cause we're fucking with their freedom of movement." "So they're going after our dump trucks and our gravel trucks and our workers." " What are you saying?" " I'm saying" "I've lost 36 civilians in the last four months and this bullshit's got to stop." " And I'm going to need a little help from you." " General," " I am just one man..." " you're bashir daoud Khan, bdk." "You're one man with a militia." "And I'm your partner in peace." "So I need your eyes and your ears and I need you and your son to be at our little dedication ceremony..." "how many clicks there, shorty?" " Fifteen, sir." " Fifteen clicks of hardtop into the horn." "Your presence there would be very meaningful." "Hyena road is a gift to all Afghans." "It would be an honour for my father and I to attend your ceremony." "Out-fucking-standing." " Thank you, general." " Thank you, sir." "Look at that little prick." "He's like caligula." "It'd be a hell of a lot easier to get hyena built if that prick would stop breathing." "Yeah, right there you're right." "Look, I'm gonna hop a flight." "I wanna get out to sper and run down a lead on an elder." " Tell Armstrong I'll call in from the fob." " You don't wanna hang with me?" "Oh, you know there is nothing I'd rather do, but the future of western civilization depends on my ass getting out to sper." "Alexander the great marched into this graveyard about twenty-five hundred years ago." "Easy to march in;" "Hard to march out." "His words." "He and his mother wrote to each other all the time." "And one day he got a letter from her saying, "what the hell?" ""You conquered most of the known world in like a day and a half, what are you doing bogged down in Afghanistan?"" "He grabbed a bag and shoveled it full of dirt and had it sent back to Greece with a message to his mother:" ""Take this dirt and dump it around the palace, see what happens."" "So Alexander's mother spread the dirt all around the palace." "Later that night a couple of attendants showed up, to make sure she was alright." "One says, go ahead, after you." "And the other one says, no, after you." "And the first one says, no," "I insist." "And the second one says, don't you tell me what to do, and they both pull their swords and they go at it until they kill each other." "Alexander's mother watched all this and wrote a note to him saying, okay, okay, now I get it." "And he wrote back, saying, yeah, even the dirt is hostile." "In Afghanistan, dogs fight dogs, birds fight birds, men kill men." "Fire!" " Mind if I join you?" " Not at all, warrant, please." "Hey, I got an update from the engineer on that stretch of hyena from yesterday." "They cleared 8 leds in all." "Something went wrong with the last one..." "the guy lost his leg above the knee." "They airlifted him to landstuhl." " I think we need to talk." " Hey, uh..." "Hi, jenn, sorry to interrupt here." "Ryan, I'm Pete Mitchell, one of the effects guys at brigade." "Didn't mean to wreck your meal, but you mind if I have a word with you?" "Sure." "Catch up to you later." "I was in the toc when you guys had that engagement in haji baba." "You were fucking lucky." " Come all the way out here to tell me that?" " No." "No, I came out here because..." "And I could be way out of line here but, you know, manifestly you and jenn got a little something going." "On behalf of the entire battle group, I'd just like to express our collective fuckin' jealousy." "You got a girl?" "Yep." "Woman of my dreams back home." " Does she know what you do?" " My wife?" "No, she thinks I work inside the wire and I'm going to leave it that way." "Let her sleep easy at night." "Tell me something." "How much you do you know about pashtunwali?" "Well, whatever's in the handbook." "You know," " it's a tribal code." "It's old." " Oh yeah." "It's so old they look upon islam as a kind of recent add-on." "What are those?" "They're dates." "They're local." "They help you shit." "The code has got a bunch of, well, they call them pillars, and one of them is panah, which means 'protection', more or less." "So when that elder invited you into his home he gave you panah:" "No harm could come to you." " So I owe him, you mean?" " Well, he did it for Allah, he didn't do it for you." "But you are still breathing so that'd be your call." "This elder, did he speak any English?" "No." "Just a couple words." " Any marks about him, any scars?" " No," " but he had weird eyes." " Weird how?" "His left eye was brown." "His right eye was deep blue." "So who is this guy?" "Why'd he... why'd he give me this panah?" "That's what I want to know." "I got a patrol going back into the village in the morning." "I'd really like it if you'd come along with me, help me ID the guy." " Yeah, sure, I'll be there." " O900." " Alright." " Alright." " I'll see you in the morning." " Yeah." "What are you thinking?" "Hmm..." "I'm thinking about our hotel room in Cyprus." "Umm..." "Okay, I'm gonna say something and I'm gonna say it for both of us and it's going to be shitty and it's got to be said." "Fuck me." "You know that I am completely crazy about you." "And Cyprus was..." "Cyprus was perfect." "We're perfect." "But we can't keep doing this." "We both know that." "If we get caught," " I'm gonna get cashiered." "This is my career." " It's mine, too." "I know, this is what I'm saying." "When we rotate home, we'll see." "But right now, while we're here, it's gotta stop." "So this is it?" "I think it has to be." "This is like fucking armageddon." "I know." "You know there is nothing that I would rather do than climb over there and fraternize the shit out of you." "Hmm..." "You can't dump me in one sentence and say something like that in the next." "Ah..." "Now, when you get to the grape fields, if you see wire, you see metal, you see plastic or newly turned dirt?" "Don't step on it." "If you didn't drop it, don't pick it up." "Try to stay at least five body lengths between the next man in the patrol." "When we get in the village, you're going to see women dressed in bags." "Please don't stare at them." "I know you've probably seen that in Toronto or Paris, but you haven't seen it here." "Here, those bags are like magnets for your eyes." "If you get caught staring at them, it's gonna fuck shit up for us." "Quick clot, tourniquet," " bandage." " I don't know how to use any of that." "Ma'am, if it has to be used, it won't be you using it." "Salaam alaikum." "Hey!" "Eyes." " Salaam alaikum." " Alaikum salaam." "This is my ptm." "In my job, it is a great honour to meet elders such as yourself today." "And if you chose so, it is a good day." "But I was hoping to meet another elder in this village?" "He insists that "I'm the only elder and there is no other"." "Strange, because someone told me there was another important man who lived in this village, but I forget his name." "But this person said you couldn't forget him because he had two different coloured eyes." "Hey!" "Hey." "What's in your head?" "You're too high." "You can see the women without their bags." "Get down." "Get down!" " Sorry, sir." " I think you know who I mean." " He says he's a ghost." " Even ghosts have to live somewhere." "He says most of them live in kandahar city." " Haji, what the fuck are you doing?" " The carpets are dusty." "The entire country is dusty." "Come on, let's have some tea." " Step into my office." " How are you doing, Pete?" "How is your family?" "How is your time?" "It's good." "How is yours?" "Have you heard from Kabul?" "When will you see 'em?" "Soon." "Insha Allah." "You're frowning." "I thought you were crazy, but I was wrong and I don't like to be wrong." "My cousin says maybe it is him." " In k-city?" " He thinks so." "Why is he back?" " If it's even him." " But the eyes?" "If it is him, do you think you can get me in to see him?" "My uncle has arranged it for tomorrow." "Tell him I'm gonna bring along another guy," " the master sniper with the battle group." " One other thing." " It's not relational..." " related." " Related, yes." "I'm hearing something about an attack." " In k-city?" " Soon." "That's all I know." "As soon as I find out more, I will tell you." "Okay." "How are you?" "You need anything?" " No, I'm good." " You always say you're good." "I'm Afghan." "Oh listen, I got you..." " I got you some of that shampoo." " What?" "Some of that hand cream you guys are so crazy about." " Thank you, this is great." " You're welcome, my friend." "This is my favourite." "Guys, listen up." "This is straight from the brass." "Guys!" "Listen." "Alright... no more fraternizing with goats!" "You bunch of goat-fuckers." "Okay, listen up." "All four dets are out tonight, all ops are observe and report, except for you, Travis." "You guys are on that bend in hyena where that fucking tree is, so keep your eyes peeled." "I've been seconded to intel for the day so I'm heading into k-city." "Wilf here is going to step up." "Nice." "Wilf!" "Alright, I got some bad news." "They grabbed a couple of guys from 10th mountain dog company." " What?" " Yeah." "I don't know the details but there was an ied of some sort, and the tallies grabbed two of them." " Are they alive?" " Yeah." "Fuck!" "You can blow me up with an ied, shoot me with an ak, fucking run me over with a lav..." "I'm fucking fine with that!" "But do not let me be taken alive by these..." "Fucking medievalists." "You good?" " What exactly do they do to you?" " It's unspeakable." " New comm logs." "Fill them out." " What do you mean... - hey." "Unspeakable means we don't fucking speak about it." "Targets down." "Let's back up." " First time, wilf, how do you feel?" " Good." " Ready to go?" " No, not quite." "I gotta take a shit." " What?" "Why?" " Why, I don't know, maybe 'cause my lower intestine is full of shit?" "Give me your bag." " Alright, fine." " Thanks." "What a beautiful night..." "You know, if they get this place together, I'd come back." " Bring Joey camping." " Camping." " Yeah." " In kandahar?" "Why the fuck not?" "Number two totally offloaded." "Good to go." "Three niner Alpha, this is 66 bravo." "Ready for extraction." "Over." "Let's move." " It's a beautiful morning." " Has been for two hours." " How long until the convoy?" " Should be on the move, five, ten Mikes, maybe." "These aa dudes..." "You trust these guys?" "With my life." "It's their war." "We're just along for the ride." "Hey, walid..." " Huh?" " What's he got going on the tunes?" " Leif Garrett." " You're shitting me." "Come on, put it out for all to hear." "On the move." "Mount up." "Gulf niner whiskey, we're falling in." "Over." "We'll take this right." "This is Gulf niner whiskey, we're breaking off." "Thanks for the tow." "Pete, anywhere here." " Who is that guy?" " He's called the cleaner." "He's the bravest man I've ever known." "My greatest ally here." "He works for us but can't be seen with us, if you know what I mean." "His family's up in Kabul, and he hasn't seen them or slept in the same bed more than three nights running in the last two years." "Why is he doing it?" "Love of country?" "I honestly don't know." "Can't just be for the money we pay him." " Salaam alaikum." " Alaikum salaam." "He says his name is Mohammed." "Yeah, of course it is." "This bread looks very good." "My friend, Ryan." "We have been friends, we have known each other and loved each other for many, many years." "And you helped my friend in the village of haji baba." "And I would like to repay you for that kindness." "Now you must need something?" "Perhaps new prayer rugs for your mosque." "I would like to help with that." " How much is that?" " I have no idea." "This is for your village." "He says, "only a fool accepts a gift without knowing what it's for."" "There was a legendary warrior, a mujahedeen in the jihad against the Soviets." "He was called 'the lion of the desert'." "He says he's heard of this man." "The word is that he's back." "He's once again mujahid." "Have you heard anything about these rumours?" "May I ask where you're from?" " He says his village is called Abdullah jan." " Ah, so you're Pakistani?" ""I've been a Pakistani for many years, a Muslim for fourteen hundred and a pashtun for five thousand."" "I understand." "If you hear anything about the lion," "I would greatly appreciate it." " So he's Pakistani?" " No." "No, that was just a kind of test." "Abdullah jan is just the ruins of some village across the border from spin boldak." "Nobody's really lived there for a couple hundred years, least of all him." " So he's not just some guy from a village." " No, he's not." "He's the lion of the desert." "That's what his people called him." "The Russians, they called him the ghost because they couldn't kill him." "They shot him four times, they blew him up twice." "And each time, his guys would get him up over the mountains and into the red cross tents in Pakistan." "Then they'd get him stitched up and he'd be back out there blowing Russians out of the sky." "We just met a very big gun." "He's like a rommel or a patton." "This guy beat the red army, and he was a kid when he did it." "When the Russians pulled out," "I'm going back to my grape fields," "I don't want any part of your stupid civil war." "Just leave me alone." "Which they did, and it was kinda weird because generally speaking, the tallies went after anybody who stood against them." "But him, for some reason they just left him alone." " But now he's back." " He's back, and I gotta figure out why." "A guy like him, with his influence?" "He could prob... we have multiple bombers, vehicle borne and coordinated." "Reporting civilian casualties, multiple civ-kia, city center... - got a VD-ied southwest kandahar city." " Multiple casualties." " In air reports taking fire at route one and Alpha seven-five." " Must have hit the engine block." " Goddamn." "Peter, where is the convoy?" "We lost the convoy!" " Zero, golf niner whiskey." " I have contact." "Over." "Yeah, golf niner whiskey." "We have contact" "zero, Roger." "Be advised we have reports of multiple sbvied in vicinity of police headquarters." "More to follow." "Golf niner whiskey, send." "I advise you, try and exit city, move to camp Nathan Smith, ride this one out." "Golf niner whiskey." "Wilco out." "There's another explosion." "Let's go." "We're gonna have to move, head north." " Goddamn, I can't get the radio..." " forget the radio!" "We'll use my mbiter." "Let's go." "We got to move." " Fuck." "I'm gonna have to blow it." " Walid?" " Yeah." " Come... come here." "Behind the car." "Frag out." "Mitchell, grab walid." "Punch up to that corner," " cover my 6." " Roger." "Stay with me." "Clear." "Dick." "Let's go." "They're moving on the fucking rooftops." "Clear." "Let's go." "Rpg!" " You good?" " Yeah, good." " Can you shoot?" " Me?" "Fuck no." "I'm intel." "Zero, golf niner whiskey." "I have pid on multiple hostiles, 40 meters east of last position." "Engaging." "Wait out." " Zero, Roger." " Moving." " Covering." "Target, one o'clock!" "Target down!" "Mitchell, come up to me." " Move it." " Go, go, go!" "Hold up!" "I need you to punch left." " Down that alleyway." "I'll cover you." "You good?" " Yeah, good to go." "Standby." "Go!" "Clear!" "Clear." "This is bad." "You piss with the dick you got." "Move it." " Changing mags." "Cover me." " Covering." "Moving." "Rooftop, 9 o'clock." "Clear." " Shoot him." " I don't shoot kids." " Clear." " Clear." "No, no." "It's my guy." "It's my guy." "It's the cleaner." "Go, go, go, go." "Haji, where did you get this truck?" " My uncle!" " Of course." "I hung around, you never know about this city." "I heard the gunfire." "Came looking for you." "We got lucky!" "Zero acknowledge." "Goddamn." "Can you get that in to Armstrong?" "Ho, ho, ho." "That was balls out, flat-out fucking insanity." "Five suicide bombers, a rack of rpgs, 17 dead, 37 wounded." " I gotta get a coffee." " Do we know what they were after?" "Yeah." "Police headquarters." "We just got caught up in it." "And that is kandahar Karma, baby, that's what that is." "And I got to say you handled your rifle like you got ice in your veins." "All those tallies were using aks, which is a great weapon if you're in a phone booth." "You work the city a lot?" " A fair bit, yeah." " You got a weird job." "Oh yeah, and... and you don't?" "Me?" "No." "No, everybody knows the rules:" "You pick up an ak, an rpg, you're gonna hear about it." "There's no grey area." "Well, except back home where they think what you do is a little too..." "I don't know... premeditated." "But my shit?" "Hearts and minds?" "They lap that stuff up." "It's got a moral ring to it, even if it's mostly just PR." "You believe that?" "These people here?" "They got no use for what we have on offer." "They don't want Justin bieber, or tom Jefferson, or our fucking pornography." "They just want our money and a little bit of stability." " So how do we win?" " There is no winning." "There's just an end state and that's gonna get laid down by foreign policy, not by us." "You're a cynical man." "Not about this country, I'm not." " Not about these people." " Me neither." "And I gotta believe that if I put a 6-dollar round, just one bullet in the right place," "I could change everything." "You may be right." "You gonna stick around at sper?" "No, I'm gonna hop a flight." "Should grab my gear." "I'll be in touch." "I'll be around." "Don't say anything, just listen." "I know our situation." "I know it doesn't make sense." "But you need to hear this from me." "I love you." "Right down to the bone, right down to the goddamned fucking marrow." "You need to know that." "Ditto." "All of it." " Haji, what are you doing?" " Cleaning the chairs." " It's not your job." " Well, whose job is it?" " Well, it's nobody's." "This is why you have dirty chairs." "I need some tea." "Come on." "Why would he even agree to a meeting if he has absolutely nothing to say?" "Maybe he just wants the coalition to know that he's back." "Maybe, but for what?" "We need to know who's in that village." "Can you get into the tazkera registry, find out who lives there?" "I have an uncle, he works in the governor's palace." "God, how many uncles do you have?" "Many." "Tell me..." "What do you think of my hair?" "I've been using the shampoo." "It looks silky smooth and very manageable." "And my hands?" "Soft." "Like a baby's bum." "You're the best." "Hey there, chewey." "I need a favour." "I'm looking at a village at this grid marker," " any events in the last, I don't know, say the last six months." " Come on, Pete..." "I know, I should go through Armstrong, but I don't even know what I'm actually looking for." "And I don't feel like doing a whole work-up just on a hunch." " You want a visual, I assume." " Anything with eyes, yeah." " I'll let you know." "Thank you." " Anything useful?" " Maybe." "What do I owe you?" " I'll take your beer allotment at the end of the month." " I only get two, same as you." " And I'll take them both." " Alright, they're yours." "And you can clear all this shit off." "Thanks, chewey." "Oh, yeah, and one of these days," "I'm gonna spool up a fire mission and train my triple seven on your backside." "Okay." "Hey, haji." "What you got for me?" "Oh, it's bad." "It's bashir's." "You're kidding me." "Bdk owns that land?" "You're sure?" "Alright, listen, can you get out to sper tomorrow?" "Yes, no problem." "you're just a contractor working on a school or..." "I don't know, a fucking kite factory or something." " Okay." " Take care, my friend." "Have you had any tenderness in your breasts, or nausea," " or just the spotting?" " No, just the spotting." "I'm really managing my cycle." "I haven't had my period in six months." "I don't know, maybe I missed a pill or..." " Maybe I'm just being paranoid." " Yeah." "If we find something," " what do we do?" "You know I'm supposed to report it." " Well." "I'm asking you not to." "As a friend, okay?" "Oh, my." "Oh, my god." "Okay..." "How's Joey?" "Oh, come on, honestly?" "He really misses me?" "I miss you, too, baby." "A "wide open prairie" miss you." "Oh, Jesus, you have no idea how much I miss them." "Hang on." "I had to go back because this op was pretty early in the roto, but the dets observed between 15 and 20 tallies moving across the field." "Because of the force size, they didn't engage." "Company command requested the grid." "They called it in, artillery beat" " the shit out of them." " There was some fast air in there as well, right?" " Yeah, I believe so." "He had two a10s." " And they destroyed the field?" "That's what wart hogs do." "Well, see, this matters because, as it turns out, the field is "owned" by bashir daoud Khan." " Bdk?" " See, bdk leases the field to the farmer who's basically..." "He's like a slave, right?" "The farmer works the field, and then at the end of the poppy season, he's got to hand over 5,000 usd." "Whatever he gets on top of that he gets to keep, which is probably, like, 800 bucks, somewhere around the national average." "Now, in this particular case, the tallies go running around the field, isaf blows the shit out of it, and the crop is ruined." "And now, well, the farmer, he's got less than Adam before the apple." "Well, bdk shows up and says, "hello, where's my 5,000 usd?"" "And the farmer says, "well, the crop was ruined, you know?" "No fault of my own."" "Bdk says, "I don't give a shit, I'm evil." "I will have my 5,000 dollars." "And you have 'x' amount of time to come up with it."" "Wow, this guy sounds like Tony soprano." " Yeah." "But without the therapist." " We Afghans, we're not very big on therapy." " Alright, so why are we looking at this farmer?" " His name is Abdul Malik." "His father's name is haji Malik." "Lion of the desert." "His father is the ghost?" "Holy shit." "And we think this is why the ghost has returned... to protect the honour of his family." "And there's some bad history between bdk and the ghost." "Now, I don't want things to go haywire because I want the ghost." "I want him to work with us because he could be a powerful ally for what we're trying to achieve down here." " Maybe we'll actually get hyena built." " So, where do I fit in?" "Well, we think the date for payment is close, yeah?" "Two, three days, kinda thing." "So I need eyes on that village." "I need to know about the comings and goings, the who, the what... all that kind of thing." "Alright." "I got my snipers spread all over the area of operation." "But I could re-deploy, rotate the dets... two days on, two days off, sort of thing." "Starting tonight." "Outstanding!" " You ever try a date?" " No, thank you." " Comms check?" " Check." "Check." " Comms check to wilf?" " Check." "Roger you." " Aka training magnate?" " Check." "So you guys are gonna be dropped off somewhere about here..." " Aka smelly shit?" " Check." " You guys make your way up into the mountain here." " Aka douchebag?" "Brr!" " You seeing anything, tank?" " Negative." " Alright, take a break." "Roger that." "Hey, putts?" "Is there something you wanna tell me?" "Perry como?" "In a combat zone?" " It was on shuffle." " Unacceptable." "Completely inappropriate." "You know, I've been thinking about what you said about..." "Changing everything, you know, with one bullet." "You really believe that?" "Yeah, I believe that." " I'm here, aren't I?" " Yeah." "Yeah." "Look at this." "Okay, what the fuck is this?" "I'm a terrible dancer." "You're an unbelievably bad dancer." "But I'm a great shot." "And I've always been." "Ever since I was a kid." "It might have been irresponsible to put a weapon in my hand, but people would get hunting licences - they didn't even have a gun- just so that I could hunt on their behalf." "I used to shoot hard to shoot game." "Put food on people's tables when times were hard... - sir, captain boland wants to see you both." "We're on." "66 bravo, three niner Alpha." "Send." "Over." "66 bravo." "We got a convoy heading our way." "Over." "66 bravo, three white suburbans, coming in fast..." "looks like they're up-armoured." "Over." "Three niner Alpha, what's happening in the village?" "66 bravo, all is quiet." "Over." "They're not ready, they got no... goddamn it." " Okay, what's going on here?" " I don't know yet." " Get everyone up." " Roger." "Holy shit. 66 bravo, we've got two vips exiting the vehicle." "First, 40's, black hair, bad dye job, beady little eyes." "Can he confirm vip is bdk?" "66 bravo, three niner Alpha." "Is vip bdk?" "Can you confirm?" "66 bravo, confirming." "Vip call sign bravo delta kilo." "Second civ, Hamid walid Khan." "Call sign hotel whiskey kilo." "Three niner Alpha, this is 66 bravo." "We've got Taliban, counting four." " He's got tallies with him?" " A guy like bdk plays both sides of the fence." "66 bravo, three niner Alpha, do you have clearance?" "Are they carrying weapons?" "Wednesdays, Fridays, he's with us." "Tuesdays, Thursdays, he's with the tallies, and on days off they're both running narcotics." "Negative." "No weapons." "But they're in costume." "Black turbans, black man jams." "These guys are not even trying to hide who they are." "Over." "66 bravo." "We have hostile action against civilians." "Three niner Alpha." "Clarify hostile action." "They're taking kids, little girls." "Three niner Alpha." "Do you have imminent threat?" "Over." "66 bravo." "Negative." "Authorize to engage?" "I am getting ready to take the shot." "No, I'm stepping in." " 66 bravo, this is golf niner whiskey." "Sit tight." "Over." " What the fuck?" " Take them down!" " Unless they pull out weapons, we can't get involved." "66 bravo." "I can intervene." "Golf niner whiskey." "Negative." "Unless you see a weapon, do not intervene." "66 bravo." "They are taking little kids." "66 bravo." "Clarify." "Are you fucking kidding me?" "Golf niner whiskey." "Unless you see a weapon, do not engage." " We gotta do something!" " Your guys will stand down!" " Jesus Christ!" " Settle down, warrant." "Fuck!" "Fuck!" " Hey, you're out of line here!" " Why didn't you override?" "Because it's an intel op, it's their call." "It's the rules of engagement and you know that!" " It's a fucking crime!" " Hey, we need to talk." "No, you know what, we're good." "We're good." "Hey, Mitchell." "What are those girls, like, 8, 10 years old?" "Huh?" "And we just stand there?" "What's going to happen to them, huh?" "They're gonna be sold, that's what's gonna happen." "Bdk will hand them over to the tallies." "The tallies will put them on the market." "Whatever they get above five they're going to keep, but bdk will get his 5,000 dollars." "And then, I don't know, they're gonna end up in some shitty marriage in Dubai." "Or worse, they're gonna end up sucking dick in some brothel outside of fort mcmurray." "You know this and we don't intervene?" "We didn't intervene because we didn't have imminent threat." "Those are the rules of engagement." "I had to make that call." "And we didn't intervene because bdk is protected by a roof on top of which is a great big fucking sign that reads "CIA." He's their asset." "Now, if you want to bring down our general and fuck up the entire battle group, be my guest, go ahead, shoot him." " What kind of fucking war are we fighting here?" " Oh, come on, it's not one war." "It's a whole bunch of different wars." "And mine, it's like a 3D chess game." "Half the time I don't even know who the fuck I'm playing against." "We're not playing games here!" "No, we're not." "But we're not here so kids can fly kites either." " Then what the fuck are we doing here?" " We are rolling back the clock." "And we are stacking the deck so this time the complete fuckin' crazies don't win." " Haji, did you get all of that?" " Yes, the relay was clear." "He's going to have to react." "He will make badal." "Okay, badal is another one of those tribal pillars." "It's like... come on, sit down." "Sit down." "Badal basically means, like, revenge or... it's like "an eye for an eye" kind of thing." "It's more about honour." "If the leader of the family cannot restore honour to them, then he must leave forever." " So the ghost has no choice." "He must act." " Now, here's the thing:" "Bdk served under the ghost in the war against the Russians." "The story goes that a Russian chopper went down and bdk ass-raped one of the pilots." "And as punishment, the ghost embarrassed him in front of the rest of the muj." " So, you see, badal continues." " Bdk is a bad guy and he needs to be brought down." "Now, we can't do it." "But the ghost can." "To do that, we gotta boost the stature of the ghost." "And we're gonna start by inviting the ghost to the ceremony for hyena road." "Put them together?" "Badal is possible." "I'm also gonna offer up the safe house." "If they meet on hyena road, it's political." "If they meet at the safe house, it's personal." "Either way, there's gonna be fireworks." "Okay, there's a flight heading back to kaf in about 10, 11 Mikes." "I'm gonna hop on it." "Now, I need you to set up a meeting with the ghost." "We'll do it at the safe house." "And I need your team to scope out security at the ceremony site and at the safe house." "Ryan." "Ryan..." "Don't think I don't feel for those girls, 'cause I do." "And we'll do what we can to find them." "But right now, in the bigger picture, we need the ghost." " Travis said you were looking for me." " Yeah." "Alright, look, I'm sorry." "I lost my shit." "But you know me." "And you know that most of the time," "I'm proud about what we do here and I'm proud about how we go about doing it, but... those were kids." "And if we can't help them, what's the point of doing all this?" "I don't have an answer for that, and for what it's worth, I agree with you." "But that's not what I wanted to see you about." "Do you mind just closing the door?" "Here..." "Have a seat, I just have to show you something." "What's this?" "Uh, that's our baby." "It was Cyprus, I guess." "That's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen." "The most beautiful thing." "This kind of changes things, doesn't it?" "Yeah, it changes everything." "I think that in terms of the brass we're going to be okay, because it happened while we were on leave, but we've got to figure out what we're gonna do." "Figure out what we're gonna do?" "We're gonna have a baby." "Is that what you want?" "Yeah, of course it's what I want." "More than anything." "Okay, good." "I'm glad." "You know, you're making me crazy." "Yeah, I know, I'm making myself crazy." " What did you think I'd think?" " I don't know, I just was..." "I was nervous." "We didn't leave things very well." "Come here, come here." "We're gonna have a baby." "You sure it's mine?" "Niner niner, tac on base." "Cocks." "Another led hit out on hyena." "One kia." "A guy out of Kabul, father of how many, shorty?" " Five, sir." " Five." "Fuck." "Fighting these pricks is like nailing jell-o to the wall." "I cannot keep losing civilians if we're gonna get hyena built, and if we're gonna prevail down there, hyena's gotta go through." "I've gotta get out there, get on the ground, gotta get my leopard ii's rolling and I've gotta blow them fuckers out of their beds." "I've gotta find their weapons caches." "I've gotta fuck with their command and control, and I cannot do that bouncing around goddamn helicopters." "Now that's the kinetic imperative, Pete." "So I'm gonna need a little help from you non-kinetic types." "I need you effects guys to go in there and work your magic." "Understood, sir, and we are working on it." "My Afghan guy's telling me that bdk is behind all of this shit." "The more the security situation deteriorates, the more money he's making out of all the gravel trucks and all the other stuff he's into us for." " Fucking horrible little man." " If he was out of the picture, getting hyena through would be a hell of a lot easier." "If he got knocked off his perch, I would not weep." " Understood, sir." " I hear the ghost is back." " Yes, sir." " Is he a threat?" "Just the opposite." "I think he could be a powerful ally." "I don't care how you do it, just make sure my civilians aren't getting hit every time they drive a fucking truck down there." " Understood, sir." " Thanks, Pete." "Haji, what the fuck are you doing?" "What?" "You can't see out of these things." " There's nothing to see." " No, not the way they are, no." "Okay, get in touch with the ghost." "The meeting is on." " You have approval?" " It's always better to ask for forgiveness than permission, you know that." "We'll meet him at the safe house." "This house is a key feature..." "it's our asset, a safe house." "We'll set up our op here at the summit of the saddleback Ridge." "And that'll give us clear line of sight to both sides of the hill." "Here, at the safe house, and here, where the ceremony is going to take place." " What's the range?" " It's comfortable, 1150, 750 meters both sides of the hill." " What about extraction?" " We'll ex-fil down the back side, through the grape fields, and get picked up on route hyena." "How's this house gonna play?" "That's unknown." "There's an offer out to the ghost and bdk to show." "Intel thinks they'll show up either at the safe house or at the ceremony." "So we need eyes on both." "Alright, this is a tricky op, so I'll take lead." "Wilf, you'll stand this one down." "Alright, let's gear up." "I would like to thank you for meeting with me." "He says, "the honour is mine."" "He says, "I'm surprised to be here." "I used to come to this house many times."" " He's asking you, do you know who used to own this house?" " Mullah Omar." "He saved his ears but he lost his eye." " What does that mean?" " Same, same." " Same, same what?" "Same, same, same, same." "If you ever need to use this house, for whatever reason, it's yours." "There was an event in panjaway the other day, the village of haji baba." "Two little girls were taken out of the arms of their father." "And he says, "why have you come to me?"" "Because the little girls were taken by bashir daoud Khan." "My general is a compassionate man." "He's a student of pashtunwali." "And he would like to help you, to help all Afghans, to help the village of haji baba." "And he would be very honoured if you would accept this gift." "Five thousand us dollars." "He would also be honoured if you would attend the ceremony for hyena road." "He's saying, "why me?" "I'm a simple grape farmer."" "He understands this." "But your presence would do him a great honour as an elder of the region." ""Who else will be there?"" "Bashir daoud Khan." ""I have known this man, bashir, since he was a boy."" ""He brought great dishonour to our cause." "And he was punished by my own hands."" ""Thank your general for his kindness." "And it will be my honour to attend."" "He says that chicken hates you." "Yeah, haji, it's me." "Yeah," "I'm watching him walk up the side of a mountain." "Yeah, he says he's gonna show up, but I got the feeling he's got something up his sleeve, so I'm gonna need you to get your eyes and ears out there, see what you can learn, okay?" "Yeah." "Wa alaikum salaam." "Okay, let's get our gear, we'll go." "Whoa." "Local meat?" "Heavenly father, please protect those little girls." "And watch over them and bring them home." "Listen, I'm not sure I was entirely clear about all this, so I want to spell it out." "I'd like it very much if..." "If you'd marry me, captain bowman." "I would also like that very much, warrant officer Sanders." "Okay, I've gotta go." "We're heading out." "I've gotta get up." "Let me help you with that kit." "We're crazy." "Fucking certifiable." "Be careful, okay." "I promise." "You're driving me crazy." " Hey, jenn." " Hey." "So how do you think this is going to play out?" "Hard to say, a lot of variables." "If the plan holds, we're golden." "Anything shifts," " who knows?" " We got niner niner tac en route now." "Okay, everybody, here we go." "General's on his way." "You were down at the ceremony site?" "Yeah, on my way here;" "Usual motley crew." "Goats everywhere." "Shit all over the goddamn place." "You know what I'd like to see?" "I'd like to see this country host the Olympics." "That would be awesome!" "66, three niner Alpha." "Sitrep?" "Three niner Alpha, 66." "Good visual, clear line of sight both sides." "Over." "66." "Niner niner tac in sight, one click out." "I bet you not one vip is gonna be there." " They're not gonna show." " I think they'll be there, sir." " It's important to them." " Twenty-five bucks says they're a no-show." "You're on, sir." "I love your enthusiasm, shorty." "Fuck." "Go, go, go." "Move your ass now!" "66." "Niner niner, attach has landed." "Over." "You're gonna owe me twenty-five bucks, you realize that, don't you?" "I'm an optimist, sir." "You're a fucking idiot, shorty." "Roger that, sir." "Three niner Alpha, 66." "I have convoy in sight on approach road." "Over." "Three niner Alpha, white suvs, confirm?" "66." "Confirming three white suvs, up-armoured." "Over." "66." "Convoy is turned north off approach road heading in direction of safe house." "Over." " Three niner Alpha acknowledge." " Okay, everybody, we're on." "Bdk's going for it." "The ghost and bdk will meet at the safe house, not at the ceremony site." "So this is probably gonna get personal." " You got that relayed at asic?" " You're hooked up now, sir, go ahead." "One one zulu, it's golf niner whiskey." "Requesting cell phone trap at grid Quebec Quebec 36698537." "Over." "Golf niner whiskey, this is one one zulu." "You're in luck." "We got a high asset sitting on top of your grid marker." "Running traps... now." "Three niner Alpha, 66." "Convoy has stopped." "Over." "Three niner Alpha, Roger." "Golf niner whiskey, one one zulu." "We have a trap." "Three signals." "You want them all up?" "One one zulu, golf niner whiskey, negative." "Can you just feed them to us one by one?" "Over." " What are you doing?" " He's turning their cell phones into listening devices." "But don't ask me how." "I have no idea." "One one zulu, first trap coming at you." "One one zulu, golf niner whiskey, negative." "You can drop that trap." "Over." "One one zulu, good copy." "Number two coming at you." "Yeah." "One one zulu, golf niner whiskey, that's our guy." "Call sign bravo delta kilo..." "that's bdk." "Thanks for your help." "Out." "Three niner Alpha, 66." "Front door is opening, call sign ghost is stepping out." "Call sign ghost is alone." "He shouldn't be alone." "He should have guys with him." "So what does that mean?" "The ghost says that bashir has insulted the honour of his family." "For a young man, a former student, this is a great sin." "The ghost says he has just given him five thousand us dollars." "He says this will satisfy the question of the money." "The ghost says yes, but the debt is not yet resolved." "This is so fucked up." "Copy that." "His son?" "How the fuck did I not have this intel?" "He says he wants his son returned to him." "He says that he wants to see his son." "'And so you shall'." "Jesus!" "Three niner Alpha, 66." "I have a head." " A human fucking head, lying on the ground." " Fuck!" "It's the son, call sign hotel whiskey kilo." "Shit, shit, shit." "Bdk is going to react." " Okay, look, they must not engage." " 66, three niner Alpha." "What is bdk doing?" "Do you have hostile intent?" " We got a weapon." " 66." "Call sign bravo delta kilo has a weapon." " Hostile intent toward civ call sign ghost." " Okay, light him up!" "66, golf niner whiskey." "Do not take that shot!" " He has clearance!" " I'm overriding!" "66, golf niner whiskey." "You don't understand..." " 66." "I understand imminent threat..." " hit him, for fuck's sakes!" " Am engaging." "Wait out." " Confirm your dope." "Up 23," " right 2..." " Roger." "66, golf niner whiskey." "Ryan, please, do not take that shot... he has intent!" "He doesn't need your okay!" "Standby." "Send it." "Good hit." "Nine niner tac, on the move." "Niner niner tac, exfilling now." "All birds in escort." "66, golf niner whiskey." "Do you have any idea what you've just done?" "66." "Yeah, I think I do." "I had imminent threat toward a civilian." "I intervened." "Yeah, you did intervene, 66, and you intervened in something you know nothing about!" "Back off, Mitchell. 66, three niner Alpha." "Continue to rendez-vous." " You just fucked him!" " You fight your war, captain, and I'll fight mine." "I saved his life." "It wasn't yours to save!" "Now he's got nothing!" "You understand that?" "He has nothing!" "That's enough, captain!" "This is my cp, you will back off." "Salaam alaikum." " What's he doing?" " I don't know." "Do you think he knows we just saved his bacon?" " I think it might be more complicated than that." " How?" "What could possibly... fuck!" " The fuck did they come from?" " Guys from the safe house must have called for back-up." "Travis!" "Travis?" "Fuck!" "Hickey!" "Strip the classifieds!" "Three niner Alpha, 66." "Contact!" "Multiple insurgents." "We have a tic." "Troops in contact." " I have 15, maybe 20 moving on the left!" " Taking effective fire" " on both flanks!" " Three niner Alpha, Roger." "How many insurgents?" "Over." "What the... 66." "Two-zero, three-zero hostiles." " The fuck did they come from?" " How far away are the birds?" "Ma'am, they are at least 30 minutes out." "They moved back to escort niner niner tac." "Shit!" "Okay, get onto the toc." "Get a qrf rolling out of massum ghar." "We're trying to break contact!" "Moving to grape hut." "Will strong point from there." "Over!" "Three niner Alpha, Roger." "We're pushing for air and qrf, covering!" "66." "Be advised we have a civilian under our protection." " Call sign ghost." " What the fuck?" " We gotta leave him." " Never." "Let's go!" "Covering!" " Go, go!" " Covering!" "Go!" "Go!" "Go!" "Take him." "Covering!" "Covering!" " Changing mags!" " Covering!" " Changing mags!" " Time, hickey!" " Go!" "Get to the door!" " Moving!" "Go, go, go!" "Go, go, go!" "Three niner Alpha, this is 66." "I'm sorry." "We're strong pointing from grape hut." "We're running low on ammo." "We're being surrounded." "What's your qrf status?" "Three niner Alpha." "Qrf is don't let them take us alive, please, Jesus, not alive, they'll fucking skin us..." "Badal?" " We've got a uav now, ma'am." " Okay, put it up." " On three." "Oh my god." " There's dozens of them." " 66, three niner Alpha." "Sitrep, please!" "Three niner Alpha, 66." "Multiple insurgents in force on all points." "Am requesting fire mission at grid Quebec Quebec 33128976." "No." "Ryan, no!" "You are danger close." " Golf four Romeo, this is 66." " No, Ryan!" "It's right on top of you!" "Going to take out everybody including himself." "No!" "Golf four Romeo, three niner Alpha." "Override fire mission!" "66." "Authorize danger close." "Fire for effect at grid Quebec Quebec 33128976." "Three niner Alpha, rescind fire order, cancel fire order grid Quebec Quebec!" "Three niner Alpha, please, Jesus, Ryan, don't do this." "Please don't do this." "66 authorizes." "I'm gonna be a father." "Do you understand?" "Do you even understand what I'm trying to say?" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Three niner Alpha, this is 66." "Three niner Alpha acknowledge." "66." "I'm sorry, baby." "Breach now!" "We got two rooms to our left." "Four man cover..." "So who is it gave you this tip?" " My uncle." " Really?" "Is every single adult male in Afghanistan your uncle?" " Yes." " Amazing." " I'm going to Kabul for a while." " To see your family?" " Kandahar is a bit crazy right now." " Yeah." "Well, be safe." "Call me when you're back." "Fuck." " I'm gonna be late." " This man, Ryan, he was your friend?" "Yeah." "Yeah, he was." "I don't have too many friends here." "You have me." "I'm your friend." "Yeah." "You are." "File to the centre." "Sound march!" "Halt!" "Honour guard!" "Prepare turn!" "Honour guard!" "Prepare to lower." "Lower!" "Honour guard, return!" "Honour guard, inward turn!" "Alexander the great fought a counter-insurgency in Afghanistan that lasted almost three years." "And by the end of those years, he was drinking heavily and completely paranoid." "One night, he got into a row with a guy named cleitus the black, a loyal friend." "Cleitus accused him of certain things and Alexander threw a spear into his heart." "As he watched his friend die, he lost his mind." "Five years later, Alexander was dead." "As the Afghans say..." "You might have the clocks, but we've got the time."