Border crossing went without a hitch and the team set up their first medical station near a village in Kandahar province, where their main source of income came from growing opium poppies. At first Qader Hotaki had gone into the village posting information about free medical aid for children by the international team of Doctors Without Borders. The first few days there were no takers and life around camp was boring. Eyal taking this time to bone up on his medical training, after all it had been years since he was in medical school. Reclining on his bunk reading 'Field Surgery and Critical Care' when Butter came to his tent.
"Busy?"
"Oh yes, I have so many patients waiting I don't know if I can find the time to see them all." Eyal with his smart quip.
"Feel like taking a walk, see what we can see."
"Sure, why not." Eyal standing, slipping on his coat and both walking out to greet a frosty afternoon. The area was rather flat with few rolling hills and snow capped mountains in the distance, a barren, harsh looking landscape. Walking down the path leading to the village and through fields being readied for planting they noticed most of the laborers were children and a few women and men standing guard, reminisced of a prison work camp.
"The poppy is more powerful than any medical needs." Butter with a disgusting gibe.
"You still practicing your nursing?"
"Pretty much, most of my assignments have to do with something medical. And you, how about you?"
"Not in years. Glad Dr. Julien is with us on anything crucial."
"We may have a problem finding him and Klara at times." Butter wasn't all too thrilled being part of a team with the two love-birds are more interested in hanky-panky. "Flavia has worked with them once before and was not a happy camper when she arrived to find Dr. Christen and his humping bunny part of the team."
"Humping bunny?" Eyal chucking, "Never heard that expression before."
"The rabbit habit." Now Butter laughing at the expression.
"Well that could be good for us. Keep him busy while we do our thing." Eyal reaching for his walkie-talkie, "Go ahead."
Flavia voice was clear and deliberate in enunciating her words in English, "We have a woman and child that need attention."
"Shall be there shortly." Eyal responded.
"See what I'm talking about, the love birds are the ones on duty now." Butter with irritation, "This is going be the norm, damn it. Medical help should have been there for them, by waiting our patients might leave."
Eyal had muse with a little delight at him being the calm one. Something so trivial had upset Butter reminded him of Annie. Both of them with compassion for the little guy.
Arriving at the medical tent, Eyal and Butter found a woman who clearly had been beaten, swollen eye, cut and bleeding lip and bruise on her cheek with a dislocated shoulder. The young lad with the woman also showed signs of being beaten, large welt marks on his back and many scars of past beatings. There was a cut from a something sharp on his arm like a defensive wound. Eyal could only guess that boy was trying to protect the women when he received the cut. Attending to the boy first, Eyal stitched the cut with absorbable sutures, tetanus shot along with the other immunizations.
Butter had place an ice pack on the woman's eye and cleaned the cut lip. With the help of Butter and Flavia the shoulder was repaired and the nurses had to bind it as a man couldn't look upon a disrobed woman. She refused any shots for fear of being put to sleep and with bowing gratefully to her care providers she quickly left.
"Nice job on the sutures, shouldn't leave much of a scar." Flavia remarked as she was cleaning up the equipment.
"Never worked in the ER so I didn't pick up these habits of patch-em up fast and move on to the next."
'How about some coffee and a game of cards?" Butter suggested.
That's how they spent the rest of the day and evening, in a fast game of poker and Flavia was a master or the biggest bluffer going. The next day several more patients arrived and soon business picked up. Two days later it was time to break camp and move on to the next remote village.
The following week was a repeat of the previous week, patching up abused women and children, giving immunization shots and playing poker. One afternoon Eyal and Butter made a visit to the nearby village, part of their mission. In the center was located a very popular place, an opium den.
"You know we may never find him." Butter looking around the dirty underprivileged village. The poppy harvest was their cash crop but little found its way back to these remote villages.
"We'll find him for sure and the production facility. It may take a while but we'll get it done. Our guide knows a little more than what he is telling us."
"Why's that."
"Overheard a conversation he was having with one of our drivers." Eyal now looking at an elderly woman or maybe a middle-aged woman that her environment advanced her well beyond her years.
"You speak their language?" Butter seemed a bit shocked.
"Not necessarily speak it but understand it. It's form of Aimaq dialect of Persian. I speak Persian."
"So what did you hear?"
"They were talking about our supply trucks and how the Taliban led insurgency would pay good money for the delivery of the two trucks. Meaning our guide is inching us closer to their stronghold."
"Sounds like we are on a death walk."
"Not me Butter, I got people waiting for me to come home."
"Married?"
"No but attached. How about you?" Eyal's mind turning to Annie and her warming smile.
"Yes and happily so." Butter looking up at the sky, "Guess I will miss Christmas at home."
"Yeah, guess so but we'll celebrate it here. Celebrating kind of runs in my family." Eyal not having much of an idea of how to celebrate but he could maybe find enough trinkets and some type of bush for a Christmas tree.
Hanging up her office phone Annie looked toward Joan's office to see who was there, good no one. She had been command her presence in Joan's office. On her way she joined Auggie making his way also to the boss' office.
"Know what is going on?" Annie asked.
"Something urgent and quick is all I know." Auggie taking Annie's elbow and pocketing his laser cane.
"Close the door please." Joan taking something from an envelope, a flash drive. "Auggie I need this decoded ASAP and CIA protected. Some sensitive and vital information on the whereabouts of one of Osama bin Laden's right hand people is in Afghanistan building a network of Taliban insurgents into turning to the lucrative poppy growing, manufacturing of narcotics and exporting for the benefit of funding the Taliban and other terrorist actions. We need to get this hand delivered by yesterday, it is that important. Annie you are on standby to make the delivery. Go home, pack an overnight and return here."
"I'm headed to Afghanistan?"
"No, to a drop point in Pakistan. I have you go package ready when you get back." Joan picking up a folder, "Get to work and I shouldn't have to say this but this is Top Secret classification.
"Getting right on it." Auggie taking the flash drive and heading back to his office.
"I'll be back within the hour." Annie out the door and home to pack.
Upon return to Langley, Auggie still working on the decoding and Annie entertained herself with a crossword puzzle. Now let's see, what is an eleven letter word for charming starting with the letter M, hmmm... MAGNETIZING. Next word, three across, an eight letter word for rapturous, easy EUPHORIC. What's going on here? Charming, magnetizing, rapturous and now euphoric all can relate to Eyal. He was playing in her sub-consciousness. One more try, oh great, ten letter word for fascinating with the letters 'N' and 'G'... INTRIGUING. That's it, this puzzle must have been designed by the master spy himself. Auggie's voice was a welcome interference.
"Got it. We should have this baby ready in thirty minutes. Tell Joan to make her calls." Auggie walking back into his office.
She had a special fight waiting for her, military direct to Spain; refuel on to Turkey with a transfer to a long-range helicopter. All during her flight she couldn't get her mind off Eyal. Why had it taken so long for her to see the man was more than a friend and all his playful advances were real on his part. She tried to close her eyes and catch forty winks but his face, his marvelous eyes, those intriguing eyes and his smile wouldn't fade from her thoughts. If only she could reach out and talk to him but that was impossible.
Once reaching her final destination, an abandon air strip in the middle of nowhere, Annie got out and waited with an armed soldier at her side. Soon a jeep with two men dress in camouflage and wearing keffiyeh on their heads. All the proper password and codes were exchanged and the pass of the flash drive made. Little did Annie know that flash drive is going to a Dr. George Scopello - so close yet so far away.