Page 256 of 5+Us Makes Seven
He nodded somberly.
“Let’s get out of here before something else hits.”
I grabbed his arm and followed as he led us back to the Humvee convoy on the edge of the market.
TWO
Jade
I sat in back of the Humvee as it roared down the dirt road toward FOB Cobra, one of the few forward operating bases still open in Afghanistan. Cooper sat in the passenger seat up front.
“You snuck out without your escort,” he said, bending his torso to look back at me. “You’re damn lucky. Those guys were about to take you to the desert and turn you into a sex slave.”
I took a deep breath and stared out the side window. My stomach churned.
Why the hell did I come to Afghanistan in the first place? Oh yeah…
“Are you even listening?” he asked, his voice escalated.
“I am, but…”
“No damn buts about it. You made a bad situation worse. If Logan and I hadn’t arrived at just the right time, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”
“Thanks, Logan,” I said to the driver.
“Not a problem,” he said, calm as ever.
“It’s foolish for you to even be here,” Cooper added.
“It’s not foolishness, “I responded quickly.
People had such a distorted view of the war. It wasn’t foolish to want to shed light on such a dark situation.
“Whatever,” he said coolly, his assault rifle nestled in his arms as he scanned the horizon.
Ugh. He’s so infuriating!
“Thanks for saving me. I appreciate it.”
“Just doing my job,” he said, shaking his helmet covered head.
I sat back, wishing my head would stop hurting so damn much.
“Were they Taliban?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Damn straight they were,” Logan said.
The Humvee bounced and jostled all of us as he sped down a dirt road toward FOB Cobra. I’d only been embedded with the forward operating base for two days. I wondered if they would send me back.
By embedding with the U.S. military, I had cut the costs for my Afghanistan trip down considerably. In exchange, I agreed to let the Army approve anything before I published it online. They could not stop me from reporting the truth though.
The regulations and restrictions had turned out to be harsher than I ever imagined once I’d arrived, which is why I had snuck into Samangan on my own. Several sources had given me information about a huge smuggling operation out of Afghanistan that involved members of the U.S. Army.
I suspected everyone at FOB Cobra, including Cooper and Logan. The two were best buddies from what I’d been able to gather. All the military types were usually close-knit groups, but I thought I could get to the bottom of the story. That meant finding out if my sources were lying or not.
“Why do you have to be so damn secretive, anyway?” Cooper asked.
“I’m a journalist. It’s part of my job.”