Midnight Sun (137 page)

“
Why?
”
Mike
asked
.

“
Why?
”
Kharzai
said
,
exasperation
crackling
around
the
word.
He looked down at Deano, whose mouth opened with a
n innocently loving
pant at the eye contact
.
“
Why
,
he
says.
” H
e
grabbed
handfuls
of
his
hair in frustration,
“
Why?
Because
they
killed
my
wife!
That's
why!
”

He
turned
toward
the
ravine
behind
him.
Hands
on
his
hips,
he
took
a
deep
breath,
like
an
Olympic
diver
about
to
take
a
plunge.
He
abruptly
swiveled
back
around
,
gesticulating
with
his
arms.

“
They
could
have
waited
ten
more
minutes.
It
would
not
have
made
a
difference
for
the
target.
I
told
them
to
wait,
but
no
—they
sent
in
the
drone
while
my
wife
was
in
the
line
of
fire
and
they
blew
my
beautiful
young
Leila
to
pieces
in
front
of
my
eyes
!
”
H
is
voice
cracked
at
the
last
words.
He
wiped
clumsily
at
tears
and
continued,
“
That's
why
I
am
done
.
”
H
e pounded the air with each individual syllable.

Neither
man
had
anything
to
say.
Both
Marcus
and
Mike
suddenly
pictured
themselves
in
the
same
situation.
They
pictured
their
own
wives
in jeopardy because of their jobs, their life choices
.
Marcus
felt
a
pang
of
guilt
for
leaving
his
pregnant
wife
on
the
sidewalk
to
chase
this
man
who
had
lost
his
own
beloved.

“
She
was
the
only
good
thing
in
my
life,
”
Kharzai
continued
, his voice breaking against waves of emotion
.
“
The
only
person
who
loved
me
for
real,
and
neither
feared
me
nor
wanted
to
use
me.
She
was
the
only
thing
that
kept
me
sane
,
and
they
took
her
from
me.
They're
lucky
I
did
not
let
Farrah
and
his
goons
go
through
with
everything.
”
He
paused,
his
voice
dropping
just
above
a
whisper
.
“
I
came
close,
though,
I'll
tell
you
that
little
tidbit
of
truth.
It
was
tempting
.
I
almost
lost
control
there
at
the
end.
”

Kharzai
half
turned
to
the
ravine,
looking
across
to
the
endless
expanse
of
wilderness
beyond.
He
glanced
down
to
Ship
Creek,
a
fifteen
-
hundred
-
foot
drop
to
the
boulder
-
strewn
water,
a
sparse
handful
of
gnarly
spruce
trees
twisted
out
of
the
rock,
grasping
the
air
. T
en
feet
below
the
top
,
a
single
narrow
ledge
jutted
less
than
two
feet
from
the
wall
—beyond
that
,
only
the
barely
sloping
rock
face
to
slow
the
descent.
He
turned
back
to
Marcus,
his
face
now
calm.

“
I
didn't
want
to
kill
any
innocent
people
. I…I just wanted to
let
them
know
that
I
can
get
as
close
as
I
want
to
whatever
they
think
is
important.
Just
to
let
them
know
not
to
come
after
me.
”