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“Why don’t you have anything? Wasn’t that the whole point of me taking you to the village?”

“That’s not the story I’m really working on…”

We stared at each other from across the front cab of the Humvee. I shook my head and turned the key in the ignition. The engine fired to life. “You are really something else.”

“Don’t you want to know what story I’m working on?” she asked after a moment.

“I can only imagine. Something about the military being corrupt, or…”

“The smuggling. I know about it.”

I turned the vehicle off and looked over at her.

“Are you involved?” she pressed.

“Is this off the record?”

“Sure.”

“You don’t want to be digging in this, okay?” I said, not sure I could trust her. “It goes high up the food chain. There are billions of dollars at stake. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”

“Billions of dollars? That’s a lot of drugs.”

I shook my head. “Don’t you get it? It’s not drugs. They’re smuggling rare earth minerals back to America and China. Both countries are making a bundle. Why do you think the Afghanistan war has dragged on for so long? Do you see an army anywhere near capable of defeating us if we put our mind to it?”

“There are a lot of caves in the mountains,” she said.

“Fuck those caves. The only reason we’re still here is to protect the Chinese and American civilians who are pillaging the mountains like there’s no tomorrow.”

“You need to tell me more,” she said, her hungry eyes staring into mine.

“I’ve said too much already.”

“Are you involved?”

I fired up the engine and put the Humvee in gear. “Not anymore.”

We rode back to the base in silence.

CHAPTER 9

Rose

When we arrived back to the Savage Soldiers base, everything looked a bit different somehow. The knowledge of a huge conspiracy just out of my reach drove me crazy.

“You’re going to cut it out with the investigating, right?” Warren asked after parking.

“Yeah, yeah,” I lied. “It’s too dangerous for me.”

“Good. I’d hate to see someone like you get wrapped up in this. It’s been hell for me trying to get out.”

“Why is that?”

He smirked and shook his head. “There you go again. Nice try. You almost got me.”

Out the window, Negan Rusell rushed toward us.

“Fuck,” I said.