Paragon ✓

XVI. The Blood-dimmed Tide

"My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators." –D.C. March 16, 2003

The following morning was a flurry of packing and preparing. By the time they were ready to head out, the Epsilons had already driven off with their team, leaving sixteen mercenaries waiting outside of four wide, tan-coloured vehicles. Martin and Kellen were waiting outside of one, and she followed Holden towards it. Without waiting, the teams seven and eight were off, leaving the Kappas's team three and Katia's team four. Frankie and Colton stopped about twenty meters away from the cars and turned to face them. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure they were out of earshot from their other team members, Frankie handed a small black box to Holden, who turned it over in his hands, checking it for possible damage. Then he placed the box on the hood of the vehicle, and Katia noticed that a red laser, swinging like a pendulum, shone through the front of the box.

"What's that?" she asked.

"The infrared shines at a distance of two hundred meters. The idea is that if there's any ordnance along the road, the change in wavelength should be able to blow them up before we run over them," he explained.

Katia looked up at him. "Is the road really that dangerous?"

Holden nodded. "More so since the start of the war. There have been mines- unexploded ordnance- since the Russian war, but Taliban also lay out IEDs, and thieves wait to ambush convoys. It's always been bad, but it's gotten worse in recent years."

"So basically, we might not even make it to Gardez," she deduced.

"The chances are good that we will, but there's always the possibility of attack. This just helps us reduce those chances. Anyway, it doesn't matter," Holden said, tilting his head towards the two teams of mercenaries already driving away, not bothering to wait. "If there are any IED's on the road, they'll hit them first."

He said it objectively, without remorse or bitterness. Colton put a hand on his shoulder.

"No matter what, we're still a team," Colton said. It was the first time she'd ever seen him look serious. Then he winked. "Which means you've got our backs, right?"

Holden smiled and punched him in the shoulder. "Don't make it hard for me to keep you alive."

Frankie turned to Katia, and put a hand on her shoulder, just as Colton had with Holden. "Look, you're good at this. Just follow Holden's lead, and you'll be fine. He won't let you get killed."

Katia couldn't explain that it wasn't getting killed she was worried about, so she just nodded and tried to smile. Then he did something completely unexpected. He hugged her. It was brief, but he lifted her off her feet and almost knocked the wind out of her. Then he and his brother were gone, leaving Holden and Katia to stare after them in shock.

Holden laughed. "I'm going to have to keep Frankie away from you."

Katia looked up at him in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean he's taking too much of a liking to you."

Now it was Katia's turn to laugh. "Since when do you get to decide who gets to come near me?"

Holden shrugged and walked out towards the waiting car. He approached the two men on their team with professional confidence.

"Who's driving?"

Martin pointed his thumb towards Kellen, who was leaning with nervous excitement against the enormous tan vehicle. "The kid seems to think he's a great driver."

"Good, then," Holden replied, looking seriously at Kellen. "Have you driven in Afghanistan before?"

Kellen shook his head.