"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." "Three Niner Alpha, this is 66." "66, this is Three Niner Alpha." "Send." "Over." "66." "I have contact." "Over." "Three Niner Alpha, roger." "About 15 left to one." "Wind gusts 15 to 20." "Left to right." "Old left-hand-sided target." "On." "The buddy's got a shovel." " Could be a farmer." " On a road?" "Why not?" "'Cause it's a road, man." "Could be a real shitty farmer who's, like, constantly puzzled, you know?" "He's in the village asking, "Why are my crops so lousy?"" "And 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, this is 66." "I have PID, positive ID on one times insurgent." "Time of contact 10:28 local." "66, this is Three Niner Alpha." "Over." "Three Niner Alpha, 66." "Sitrep." "One times insurgent, grey man jams, 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 Road Hyena. 650 meters to the north-north-west of grid Quebec Quebec 4176-8134." "Three Niner Alpha, acknowledged." "When he stands back up, engage." "Standby." "Send it." "Three Niner Alpha, 66." "Three Niner Alpha, send." "One times insurgent engaged in centre mass." "No motion." "At grid Quebec Quebec 4176-8134." "Moving to RV extraction at grid Quebec Quebec 4199-8226." "Three Niner Alpha, roger that, 66." "One times insurgent VSA." "We are pushing higher assets to confirm." "66, roger." "Εxfiling now." "Three Niner Alpha, roger." "Your ride's en route." "Three One Charlie, this is Three Niner." "Move now." "Three One Charlie." "We're on the move." "Pick them up in 10 Mikes." "Higher assets confirmation:" "one times insurgent KIA at grid Quebec Quebec 4176-8134." "What's up?" "Take a look at that culvert." "Covers a stretch of road out 50 metres to the left." "Three One Charlie, this is 66." "What's your ETA?" "66, Three One Charlie." "We're 3-4 Mikes the other side of the hill." "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." "66, Three One Charlie." "Good copy." "Hickey, get the Coyote on the patch just 10 meters left of that culvert, put a round in it." "What do you think?" "It's probably nothing." "Hickey, put a round in that patch next to it." "Could be just a bad patch of road." " What if you're wrong?" " When have I ever been wrong?" " My sister." " Yeah, that was bad." "Hickey, just for fun, chamber up a Raufuss." "Line up on that patch dead ahead of us." "Let's see what an incendiary does." "Standby." "Send it." "You okay?" "Yeah." "Fuck!" "We're blown." " Ambush!" " Go, go, go!" " Go!" "Get the fuck outta there!" " Covering!" " Move it!" " Covering!" "Covering!" " Leaving!" " Leaving!" "Three Niner Alpha, this is 66." "Sitrep." "We are being effectively engaged." "Εxfiling now." "Over." " Three Niner Alpha, roger." "Out." " We got a TIC, we got troops in contact." "Three One Charlie, Three Niner Alpha." "Did you acknowledge last from 66?" "Three One Charlie, roger that." "Moving out now." "66." "Negative." "Do not crest the hill." "The road is filled with IEDs." "You're the target." "Can you circle the ridge, get us on the back side?" "Three one Charlie, roger." "But it's two zero, two five Mikes at best." "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!" " Motherfucker!" " They got us cut off!" "We need to find a strong point!" "I got a village!" "66, we're moving at the grape field." "We'll strong-point from there." "Wait out." "Moving!" "Covering!" "Fuck!" "We're blocked, we're blocked!" "Go that way!" "Over the wall!" "Come on!" " Cover!" " Go, Tank!" " Let's go!" " Go, go, go!" " On my 6!" " Go, go, go!" " We got a door!" " Move, move!" "Changing mags!" " Check your back!" " Check your back!" "Covering!" " Covering!" " Covering!" "Tank, Hickey, go!" "Go, go, go!" " Go, go!" "Argh!" " Covering!" "Go!" " We got a door straight ahead!" " Go!" "Fuck!" "It's blocked!" "66, Three Niner Alpha." "Send sitrep." "Over." " 66." " Covering!" "We still have contact." "We're moving into village, will strong-point from there, Send grid, over." " Get Lavigne on Zero, ASAP." " You're with Zero, ma'am." "Zero, this is Three Niner Alpha." "I've got troops in contact." "Force size: two five insurgents." "Request fast air." "Over." "Three Niner Alpha, this is Zero." "Roger that." "We'll see what we got in the air." "TAC-P, what lines are we flying right now?" " A 2-ship, not in range." " Get 'em there." "Push 'em hard." "Fires, get me a PSS-SOF grid." "Roger that." "66, this is Three Niner Alpha." "Convoy's en route and Zero's pushing fast air, but you're gonna have to hang in there." "66, acknowledged, over." "We gotta find another point of entrance!" "RPG!" "There's an opening!" "Thank you, Mister Taliban!" "Clear!" "Hank, Hick!" "Clear!" "Clear!" " Clear!" " Let's go!" "It's all clear!" "Alright, Ryan, we got a compound, dead up there." "Roger that." "Go!" "Moving!" "Contact grid!" " Moving!" " Covering!" "Covering!" " Covering!" " Moving!" " Clear!" " Clear!" "Clear!" " Clear!" " Clear!" "Grenade!" " They're surrounding us!" " Three Niner Alpha." "Send sitrep." "Over." " Inviting us in?" " I think he wants to help." "66." "Three Niner Alpha." "Sitrep, please." "66, send sitrep." "Over." "Three Niner Alpha, 66." "Three Niner Alpha, send." "66, we're hold up inside compound at grid..." "Travis!" "Quebec, Quebec, 4133..." "Quebec, Quebec, 4133-8921." "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 uh... he's asking us inside." "I'm moving in." "We'll strong-point from here." "Over." " Did he say crazy eyes?" " Yeah." "Can I get a description of the elder?" "66, this is Zero." "Describe the friendly." "66, did you not hear me?" "We need QRF extraction now!" "It's important." "66, I say again, describe the friendly.Over." "66, elder is about, uh..." "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!" " Clear!" " Clear!" "Everybody take a quarter." "Three Niner Alpha, 66 looking for status on that ride home." "66, Three Niner Alpha, QRF is two zero Mikes out and you are danger close for artillery." "You'll have to hunker down." "We'll get you out of there ASAP." "66, roger, out." "We're on our own." " They can't get anything to us?" " Not for a while." "Okay, guys, let's arm up." "What the fuck?" "Grenade." "We need a grenade." "I got one." "Here." "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!" " 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!" "Clear!" "Where the hell'd they go?" "Three Niner Alpha, 66, we're clear in the village." "Moving to rendezvous point at grid 4012-8883." "Three Niner Alpha, acknowledged." "RV Quebec Quebec 4012-8883." "Over." "Zero, this is Three Niner Alpha." "66 coming home." "Over." "Zero, acknowledged." "Fuck!" "KAF." "You might as well be on Mars as in Afghanistan." "We're out in the middle of the desert, surrounded by a force of razor wire." "It's a coalition force from over 45 different nations." "Two thirds of the soldiers deployed here never even see the country." "They just see blast walls, DFACs, Tim Hortons." "Nobody even knows how many people are on this base." "35, 45, 60,000?" "It's here, inside the wire, that we organize everything that goes on outside the wire." "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." "Every morning he wakes up, I'm standing there and I'm punching him in his fucking face." "Now, we've never been this deep into the Horn of Panjwai, but Hyena Road is in there and she's 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 4 months and this bullshit has got to stop." "And I'm gonna 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 am your partner in peace." "So I need your eyes and ears and I need you and your son to be at our little dedication ceremony, how many clicks, there, Shorty?" " 15, sir." " 15 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 the little prick." "He's like Caligula." "It'd be a fuck of a lot easier to get Hyena built if that prick would stop breathing." "Right there, you're right." "I'm gonna hop a flight." "I wanna get to Sper, run down a lead on an elder." "Tell Armstrong I'll call in from the FOB." "You don't want to hang out 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 2,500 years ago." "Εasy to march in, hard to march out." "His words." "He and his mother wrote to each other all the time." "One day, he got a letter from her saying," ""What the hell?" "You conquered most of the known world in 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."" "6-1, taking fire, left, 10 o'clock." "300 metres, breaking right." "Clear to engage." "Target is neutralized." "Roger." "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 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."" "They pull their swords and go at it till 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, "Even the dirt is hostile."" "In Afghanistan, dogs fight dogs, birds fight birds, men kill men." "Fire!" "Oh, man, come on, show me their picture." " 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 IEDs 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, Jen." "Sorry to interrupt here." "Ryan, I'm Pete Mitchell, one of the effects guys with Brigade." "I don'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 where you guys had that engagement in Haji Baba." "You were fucking lucky." "You come all the way out here to tell me that?" "Nope." "No, I came out here because - and I could be way out of line here but... - you know, manifestly, you and Jen got a little something going." "On behalf of the entire battle group," "I'd just like to express our collective fucking jealousy!" "You got a girl?" "Yeah." "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 gonna leave it that way." "Let her sleep easy at night." "Tell me something." "How much you do you know about Pashtunwali?" "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, uh..." "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." "Uh... so I owe him, you mean?" "Well, he did it for Allah, didn't do it for you." "But you're still breathing, so that'd be your call." "This elder..." "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 and his right eye was deep blue." "Hmm." "So who is this guy?" "Why do you..." "Why did he give me this Panah?" "That's what I wanna know." "I got a patrol going back into the village in the morning." "I'd really like if you'd come along with me, help me ID the guy." " Yeah, sure, I'll be there." " 0900." " Alright." " Alright." " I'll see you in the morning." " Yeah." " What are you thinking?" " Hmm..." "I'm thinking about our hotel room in Cyprus." "Um..." "Okay, I'm gonna say something, and I say it for both of us and it's going to be shitty." "It's gotta 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 got to stop." "So this is it?" "I think it has to be." "This is like fucking Armageddon." "I know." "You know there's nothing that I would rather do right now than climb over there and fraternize the shit out of you." "Hmm..." "You can't dump me in one sentence then say something like that in the next." "Ah...!" "Now, when we get to the grape fields, if you see wire, you see metal, you see plastic, newly turned dirt, don't step on 'em." "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 gonna 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'll 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." "Hey!" "Eyes!" "In my job, it is a great honour to meet elders such as yourself." "Today, I meet you, so it's a good day." "But I was hoping to meet another elder in this village." "He says that, "I'm the only elder, and there is no other."" "Strange." "Someone told me there was another important man that 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, 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, they are dusty!" "The entire country is dusty." "Come on, let's have some tea." "Step into my office." "How are you doing, Pete?" "How's your family?" "How's your time?" "It's good." "And how's yours?" "You heard from Kabul?" "When will you see 'em?" "Soon." "You're frowning." "I thought you were crazy, but I was wrong, and I don't like to be wrong." "My cousin says maybe he is here." " 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 to see him?" "My uncle has arranged it for tomorrow." "Tell them 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?" "Do 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, some of that... hand cream you guys are so crazy about." " Thank you." "This is great." " You're welcome, my friend." "It's 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." "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 Talis 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..." "I'm fucking fine with that." "But do not let me get 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, well..." "how do you feel?" "Good." " Ready to go?" " No, not quite." "I gotta take a shit." "What?" "!" "Why?" "Why?" "I don't know." "Maybe because my... long intestine's full of shit?" "Give me the bag." "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 2's fully offloaded." "Good to go." "Three Niner Alpha." "This is 66 Bravo ready for extraction." "Over." "Let's go, Wilf." " It's a beautiful morning." " Yeah, it's been for two hours." "How long until the convoy?" "Should be on the move, five to 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." " Yeah." "Come on, put it out, for all to hear!" "♪ I never had no problems yeah ♪" "♪ Burnin' down one night stands ♪" "♪ And everything around me yeah ♪" "♪ Got to stop to feelin' so low ♪" "♪ And I decided quickly yes I did ♪" "♪ To disco down and check out the show ♪" "♪ Yeah they was dancin' and singin' ♪" "♪ And movin' to the groovin' ♪" "♪ And just when it hit me ♪" "♪ Somebody turned around and shouted ♪" "♪ Play that funky music white boy ♪" "♪ Play that funky music right ♪" "Okay, convoy's on the move." "Mount up!" "♪ Till you die till you die ♪" "Golf Niner Whisky, we're pulling in." "Over." "Roger that, Golf Niner Whisky." "Join in." "Take this right." "This is Golf Niner Whisky." "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 and my greatest ally." "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 for more than three nights running in the last two years." "Why's he doing it?" "Love of country?" "I honestly don't know." "Can't just be for the money we pay him." "He says his name is Mohammed." "Yeah, of course it is." "This bread looks very good." "My friend Ryan, we've been friends, we've 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." "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 is a legendary warrior, a mujahideen 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 have been Pakistani for many years, a Muslim for 1,400 and a Pashtun for 5,000." "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 call him." "But the Russians, they called him the Ghost 'cause 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." "And 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, 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, he cut a deal with the Talibans," ""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, which was kind of weird, 'cause generally speaking, the Talis 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 got multiple bombers, vehicle-borne and coordinated." "Reporting civilian casualties, multiple civ KIA, city centre..." "Got a VBIED southwest Kandahar City." "Multiple casualties." "AA reports taking fire, I-route 1 and Alpha 7-5." "Must have hit the engine block." " Goddamnit." " Peter, where's the convoy?" " We lost the convoy." " Alright..." "Zero, Golf Niner Whisky, uh..." "I have contact." "Over." "Zero, acknowledged." "Yeah, Golf Niner Whisky, we have contact at grid Quebec Romeo 232-129." "We have no mil casualties." "I have mobility kill." "Over." "Zero, roger." "Be advised we have reports of multiple SBVIED in vicinity of police headquarters." "More to follow." " Golf Niner Whisky, send." " Yeah, it looks like the Talis are at it again." "It's a shit storm out there." "I advise you try and exit city, move to Camp Nathan Smith, ride this one out." "Golf Niner Whisky." "Wilco." "Out." "There's another explosion!" "Let's go!" "We're gonna have to move." "Heading north." "Goddamnit, can't get the radio." "Forget the radio, we'll use my MBITR." "Let's go!" "We gotta move!" " I'm gonna have to blow it." " Walid?" " Yeah." " Come!" "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 Whisky." "I have PID on multiple hostiles, 40 metres east of last position." "Engaging." "Wait out." "Zero, roger." " Moving!" " Covering." "Tali at one o'clock!" " Ah!" " 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." "Moving." " Changing mags, cover me." " Alright." "Moving." "Rooftop, 9 o'clock!" "Clear." " Shoot him." " I don't shoot kids." "Clear." "Clear." "Bomber!" "Ah!" "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 in this city!" "I heard the gunfire, came looking for you!" "We got lucky!" "Fuck, yeah!" "Zero, this is Golf Niner Whisky, we're heading out." "Zero, acknowledged." "Goddamn!" "That was balls out, flat out, fucking insanity!" "Five suicide bombers, a rack of RPGs, 17 dead and 37 wounded." "I gotta get a coffee." "Do we know what they were after?" "Yeah." "Police headquarters." "We just got caught up in it." "That is Kandahar karma, baby, that's what that is." "But I gotta say, you handle your rifle like you got ice in your veins." "Well, those Talis were using AKs, which is great weapons 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 you... 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 gray 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 'cause 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 and Tom Jefferson and 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 round, just one bullet in the right place," "I could change everything." "You may be right." " You gonna stick around 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." " 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 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?" "Pff." "Many." "Tell me..." "What do you think of my hair?" "I've been using the shampoo." "It looks silky smooth and very manageable." " Ah!" "And my hands?" " Hmm..." "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 know what I'm looking for." "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, uh..." "one of these days," "I'm gonna split up a fire mission, turn my chair on the backside." "Okay..." "Hey, Haji, what do you got for me?" "Oh, it's bad." "It's Bashir's." "You're kidding me." "BDK owns that land?" "You're sure?" "It's in the record." "Alright, listen, can you get out to Sper tomorrow?" " Yes, no problem." " When you're at the gate, if anyone asks, you're just a contractor, you're 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, but..." "I don't know, maybe I missed a pill or... maybe I'm just being paranoid!" "No..." "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..." "Ugh..." "Oh, my God." "Okay..." " How's Joey?" " He's good, you know." "Report card's off the charts." "But he misses the shit out of you." "Oh, come on, honestly." "He really misses me?" "Of course he misses you!" "Fuck, I miss you." " I miss you too, baby." " How much do you miss me?" "Wide-open prairie miss you." "What about these?" "You miss them?" "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 yeah, the DETs observed between 15 and 20 Talis 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." "Two A10s." " And they destroyed the field?" " That's what Warthogs 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, then at the end of the poppy season, he's gotta 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 Talis 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 goes, "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." "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!" "We think this is why the Ghost has returned, to protect the honour of his family." "There's some bad history between BDK and the Ghost." "I don't want things to go haywire 'cause I want the Ghost," "I want him to work with us, 'cause he can 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." "I got my snipers spread all over the area of operation, but I can redeploy, rotate the DETs, two days on, two days off sort of thing, starting tonight." "Outstanding!" " You ever try a date?" " No, thank you." "♪ Baby please don't go ♪" "♪ Oh oh oh ♪" "♪ Baby please don't go ♪" "♪ Oh oh oh ♪" "♪ You got dimples in your jaw ♪" "♪ Oh oh oh ♪" "♪ You got dimples in your jaw ♪" "♪ Oh oh oh ♪" "♪ You got dimples in your jaw ♪" "♪ And that ain't all baby please don't go ♪" " Comm check." " Check." "Right." "Comm check to Wilf." "Check!" "Roger you." " AKA training magnet?" " Check." " AKA I smell a shit." " Check." "AKA douchebag." "♪ Hey hey little girl ♪" "♪ Hey little girl ♪" "♪ Hey hey little girl ♪" "♪ Hey little girl ♪" "♪ Ooh ♪" "♪ Hey hey little girl ♪" "♪ Hey hey little girl ♪" "♪ Hey little girl ♪" "♪ Hey hey little girl ♪" "♪ Hey little girl ♪" "♪ Baby please don't go ♪" "♪ Don't go baby ♪" "♪ Baby please don't go baby please don't go ♪" "♪ Baby please don't go baby please don't go ♪" "♪ Baby please don't go baby please don't go... ♪" "Brr!" "You seen anything, Tank?" " Negative." " Alright, take a break." "Roger that." "Hey, buds." "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 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've 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 Bowman wants to see you both." "We're on." "Three Niner Alpha, this is 66 Bravo." "66 Bravo, Three Niner Alpha send, over." "66 Bravo." "We got a convoy heading our way, over." "Three Niner Alpha, describe the convoy." "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 got two VIPs exiting the vehicle." "First 40s, 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 Whisky Kilo." "Three Niner Alpha, this is 66 Bravo." "We've got Taliban, counting four." "He's got Talis 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 Talis, and on days off, they're both running narcotics." "66 Bravo, 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, but they are grabbing little girls and dragging them to their trucks." "Authorized to engage?" "I am getting ready to take the shot." "No, I'm stepping in." "66 Bravo, this is Golf Niner Whisky." "Sit tight, over." "The fuck?" "!" "Take them down!" "Unless they pull out weapons, we can't get involved." " 66 Bravo, I can intervene." " Golf Niner Whisky, negative." "Unless you see a weapon, do not intervene." "66 Bravo, they are taking little kids." "Golf Niner Whisky, sit tight." "66 Bravo, clarify." "Are you fucking kidding me?" "Golf Niner Whisky, unless you see a weapon, do not engage." " We gotta do something!" " Your guys will stand down." " Jesus Christ!" " Settle down, Warrant!" "Fuck." "F...uck." " You're out of line, here!" " Why didn't you override?" "'Cause it's an intel op, it's their call!" "Rules of engagement." "You know that!" " It's a fucking crime!" " We need to talk." "No, you know what?" "We're good, we're good." "Hey, Mitchell!" "Mitchell, what are those girls, like 8, 10 years old, huh?" "And we just stand there?" "What's gonna happen to them, huh?" "They're gonna be sold, that's what's gonna happen." "BDK will hand them over to the Talis, the Talis will put them on the market." "Whatever they get above 5, they're gonna keep, but BDK will get his $5,000." "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!" "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, you wanna 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 fucking 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." "Come on, sit down." "Sit down." "Badal basically means, like..." "revenge, or..." "It's like an eye for an eye kinda 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." "Here's the thing." "BDK served under the Ghost in the war against the Russians." "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." "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." "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, um... what I wanted to see you about." "Uh, do you mind just..." "closing the door?" "Uh..." "Have a seat, I just have to show you something." "What's this?" "Uh, that's our baby." "It was..." "Cyprus, I guess." "It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen." "The most beautiful thing." "This kind of changes things..." "doesn't it?" "Yeah, yeah, it changes everything." "I think that... you know, in terms of the brass, we're gonna be okay because it happened while we were on leave, but we gotta 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." "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, come here." "Hey..." "We're gonna have a baby." "Oh!" "Oh!" "You sure it's mine?" "Niner Niner Tac on base." "Cocks!" "Another IED hit out on Hyena." "One KIA." "A guy out of Kabul, father of how many, Shorty?" " Five, sir." " Five." "Fuck." "Finding 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 gotta get out there, on the ground, gotta get my Leopard 2s rolling, and blow them fuckers out of their beds." "I gotta find their weapons caches," "I gotta fuck with their command and control and I cannot do that bouncing around in goddamn helicopters." "That's a kinetic imperative, Pete." "I'm gonna need a little help from you non-kinetic types." "I need you effects guys going there and work your magic." "Understood, sir." "We are working on it." "My Afghan guys tell me that BDK's behind all of this shit." "The more the security situation deteriorates, the more money he's making out of all the gravel trucks, 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." "He gets knocked of his perch, I would not weep." "Understood, sir." "I hear the Ghost's back." " Yes, sir." " See 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's 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 has a key feature." "It's our asset, a safe house." "We'll set up our OP here, at the summit of the saddle back ridge." "That'll give us clear line of sight to both sides of the hill:" "here, at the safe house, and here, where the ceremony's gonna take place." " What's the range?" " It's comfortable, 1, 150, 750 metres both sides of the hill." "And what about extraction?" "We'll exfil down the back side, through the grape fields and get picked up en 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." "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, "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 taking out of the arms or their father." "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:" "5,000 US dollars." "He will 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, "The 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..." "Okay, let's get our gear, we're going." "Whoa!" "Local meat?" "Heavenly Father..." "Please protect those little girls." "Watch over them and bring them home." "Hi..." "Hi, 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, um... you'd marry me, Captain Bowman." "I would also like that very much, Warrant Officer Sanders." "Okay, I gotta go." "We're heading out." "I gotta kit up." "Oh, why don't I..." "help you with that kit." "Oh... we're crazy." "Fucking certifiable." "Be careful." "I promise." "You're driving me crazy!" "My God..." "Oh, fucking..." "Hey, Jen." "Hey, hey." "So how do you think this is gonna play out?" "Oh, 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, ma'am." "Okay, buddy." "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." "Three Niner Alpha, roger." "66, Niner Niner Tac in sight, 1 click out." "I confirm Niner Niner Tac in sight." "I bet you not one VIP's gonna be there." "They're not gonna show." "Oh, I think they'll be there, sir." "It's important to them." "25 bucks says they're a no show." "You're on, sir." "I love your enthusiasm, Shorty." "Fuck!" "Go, go, go, go!" "Move your ass out!" " Come on gentlemen, let's go!" " Move!" "66, Niner Niner Tac has landed, over." "You're gonna owe me 25 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 has turned north off approach road, heading in direction of safe house, over." "Three Niner Alpha, acknowledged." "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 relay for me at ASIC?" "You're hooked up now, sir, go ahead." "Ah, One One Zulu, this is Golf Niner Whisky requesting cellphone trap at grid Quebec Quebec 3669-8537, over." "Golf Niner Whisky, 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 Whisky, One One Zulu." "We have a trap." "Three signals." "You want them all up?" "One One Zulu, Golf Niner Whisky, negative." "Can you just feed them to us one by one, over?" "What are you doing?" "He's turning their cellphones into listening devices, but don't ask me how, I have no idea." "One One Zulu, first trap coming at ya." "One One Zulu, Golf Niner Whisky, negative, you can drop that trap, over." "One One Zulu, good copy." "Number two coming at ya." "Yeah." "One One Zulu, Golf Niner Whisky, 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." "Bashir says that his son Abdul owed him 5,000 US dollars." "The Ghost says he has just given him 5,000 US dollars." "Bashir thanks him and says this will satisfy the question of the money." "The Ghost says yes, but the debt is not yet resolved." "He wants his grandchildren, the little girls that were taken." "He wants them returned." "Bashir says this is impossible." "The girls are gone, and the Ghost should know this." " This is so fucked up." " Copy that." "Bashir says that his son Hamid is missing." ""His son"?" "How the fuck did I not have this intel?" "Alright, Bashir is angry." "He says he wants his son returned to him." "He says that he wants to see his son." "The Ghost says, "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 Whisky Kilo." "Shit, shit, shit, BDK is gonna 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 towards civ call sign Ghost." "Fucking light him up." "66, Golf Niner Whisky, do not take that shot." " He has clearance." " I'm overriding." "66, Gold Niner Whisky, you don't understand." "66, I understand imminent threat." " Hit him, for fuck's sakes." " Am engaging." "Wait out." "Confirm." "Up 23." "Right 2." "Roger." "66, Golf Niner Whisky, Ryan, please, do not take that shot!" "He has intent." "He doesn't need your okay." "Standby." "Ryan, please don't do this." "This is how badal works." "This is what the Ghost wants." "Send it." "Ryan, please!" "Good hit." "Alright, guys, let's pack up." "General, we have to go." "Niner Niner Tac, this is Zero advising exfil." "Niner Niner Tac on the move." "Niner Niner Tac exfiling now, all birds in escort." "66, Golf Niner Whisky." "You have any idea what you just done?" "!" "66, yeah, I think I do." "I had imminent threat towards a civilian, I intervened." "Yeah, you did intervene, 66, in something you know nothing about!" "Back off, Mitchell." "66, Three Niner Alpha, continue to rendezvous." "You just fucked up!" "You fight your war, Captain, I'll fight mine." "66, Golf Niner Whisky, call sign Ghost was seeking an honourable death, and you just... you took it away from him!" " We 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." "Think he knows we just saved his bacon?" "I think it might be more complicated than that." "How?" "What can possibly" " Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" " Down, down!" "Where the fuck did they come from?" "The guys from the safe house must've called for backup." "I got five to ten on the right!" "Covering!" "Oh, Travis, fuck!" "Hickey, strip the classifieds!" "Three Niner Alpha, 66, contact, multiple insurgents." "One times VSA, vital signs absent." "Troop's in contact." "We're taking effective fire both flanks!" "Three Niner Alpha, roger." "How many insurgents, over?" "Fuck... 66, two zero to three zero hostiles." "The fuck they come from?" "How far away are the birds?" "They're at least 30 minutes out." "Moved back to exfil Niner Niner Tac." "Shit." "Okay, get on to the TOC, get a QRF rolling out of Massum Ghar." "They're trying to break contact!" "Move in the grape hunt, we'll strong-point from there, over!" "Three Niner Alpha, roger." "We're pushing for air and QRF, but you're gonna have to hang in there." " Covering!" " Covering!" "Changing mags!" "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, go!" "Covering!" "Covering!" " Drop him, drop him." " Covering!" "Go, go, go!" "Take him!" "Covering!" "Covering!" "Changing mags!" "Covering!" "Changing mags!" "Take Hickey!" "Go!" "Get to the door!" "Go, go, go!" "Come on!" "Go, go!" "Ah!" " Three Niner Alpha, this is 66." " I'm sorry..." "We're strong-pointing from a grape hut." "We're running low on ammo." "We're being surrounded." "What's your QRF status?" "Uh..." "Three Niner Alpha, QRF is one five Mikes out, you gotta hang in there." "Don't let them take us, Lord, please, Jesus, not alive, they're gonna fucking skin us." "Badal?" "We've got a UAV above them now, ma'am." " Okay, put it up." " On screen." "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 3312-8976." "No, Ryan, no, you are danger close." "Golf Four Romeo, this is 66." "No, Ryan, it's right on top of you." "Gonna take out everybody including himself." "66, Golf Four Romeo, send." "Golf Four Romeo, Three Niner Alpha, override fire mission." "66, authorize, danger close." "Fire for effect at grid Quebec Quebec 3312-8976." "Golf Four Romeo, acknowledged." "Fire mission up." "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... 66 authorizes." "Fire for effect at grid Quebec Quebec 3312-8976." "I'm gonna be a father." "You understand?" "You understand what I'm trying to say?" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "66, Golf Four Romeo." "Shot over." "You got 9 seconds." "Three Niner Alpha, this is 66." "Three Niner Alpha, acknowledged." "66, I'm sorry, baby." "Go!" "Go, go!" "I got two to my left!" "So who is it that 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." "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." "Turn!" "Prepare to lower..." "Lower!" "Recover!" "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." "CNST, Montreal"