Page 21 of What Remains

“I told you. A retrieval. Honestly, when we picked up your distress, I thought the people we were sent to retrieve had somehow gotten out.”

People?“So, these people you were sent to retrieve were or are on a separate mission?” When Driver nodded, he asked, “Are they prisoners?”

“That’s the consensus. They even might be dead by now.”

“How old is your intel?”

“Last contact with their command was in August. Last time they werespottedwas about six weeks ago.”

“Do you know where these people are?”

“Yes and no.” Driver’s sigh rode on a steam cloud. “That’s where things get fuzzy. All Command has is a broad outline, a general idea of a location based upon, well…let’s just say supplies being brought in.”

“That would suggest a fixed operation.”

“Or one with a limited reach, especially now that it’s winter.”

“Drone fly-over to confirm?” When Driver shook his head, he asked, “Why not?”

“Because of the various players involved. We’re not the only people with eyes in the sky.”

Of the countries in the area, he thought Russia and China were safe bets to be those eyes. “And no one wants to provoke an incident?”

“Or alert any of the involved parties who aren’t sympathetic to our interests. In a way, even diverting to you hasn’t changed our mission. There’s no ticking time bomb because no one knows we’re here. Well,” Driver amended, “no one knows thatmyteam’s in-country. We don’t know if you’ve been compromised.”

“Parviz is dead.” The words came out hard and flat. “So are his two buddies.”

“You’re forgetting the Russian.”

“Ustinov?” He thought about that then shook. “I’m not sure that killing us serves Russia’s interests, especially if Ustinov was our point of contact. He’d have been vetted and honestly, I got the impression that his country is just as interested in what’s in them thar hills.”

“What about the kid?”

“Matvey? He’s been with us the whole time.”

“You search him?” When John nodded, Driver said, “Find anything?”

“If you’re asking whether he had a secret decoder ring, the answer’s no. This is the only thing he was carrying.” He dug out the thin knife he’d found dangling around the boy’s neck. “Trigger is on the side. That little nub there.”

“Whoa,” Driver said as the blade leapt from one end of the handle. He squinted at the knife. “Nice OTF. Couple of knicks on the cutting edge. That point is pretty wicked, too.”

“Seen some action for sure.” Carefully butting the business end back into its housing, he slipped the knife into his pocket. “Given who he is…well,was, I’m not surprised. But if you’re asking if I went through his clothes, the answer would be no. On the other hand, it’s not as if people have storming up here to either kill or help us.”

“So, you figure him to be uninvolved?”

“Oh, Matvey was involved but only in a low-level kind of con. He picked Davila’s pocket, but that was about it. I think he was forced into the whole ambush thing. It wasn’t as if he was particularly skilled with a rifle.” He paused. “We both know boys like him, Driver.”

“Okay. Cool.” Driver’s head moved in a brisk nod as if he’d just ticked off another item on his to-do list. “I only worried that he might be a problem. Saves us both some trouble.”

Trouble?Because of the cold and the wind, they were standing close enough to one another for John to see how utterly void of emotion Driver’s eyes were and realized in that same instant that he just now might have saved Matvey’s life. Perhaps Driver wouldn’t have killed the boy, but if he suspected the boy was a plant, Driver would have searched and then probably given the boy a few supplies and left Matvey somewhere along the road to make it back to whatever home he had.

“What’s your next move then?” John asked.

“Get you guys to Khorog, then take the van. Davila needs better quality care than either you or Harvey can give in the field. Then…you know, fair winds and following seas, man. Have a safe journey back to the States.”

He shook his head. “But I haven’t finished what I started.”

“And? You’re saying you want to go on with your mission?” Driver’s tone held a note of amusement as if he were a tolerant parent watching the antics of a child. “And how do you figure on doing that? Just for grins and giggles, let’s imagine how you might accomplish this if you are both alone and absolutely ignorant ofwhereto start looking or what to do when you get there.”

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