Mike followed Farid into the house, the others behind him. Once inside, they turned right and walked down a long set of stone stairs. A lone light bulb in the center of the stairway reflected off the dark rock walls. Farid led them into a long, narrow room with two electric lights that cast shadows into the dungeon-like room. Mike wasn’t worried about the room's appearance. He’d been here before. The rock and cement room was well underground and cool all year round. It was a welcome relief from the outside. On the near and far side were wooden benches and tables. A small bridge separated the two sides of the room. In the center was a ten-foot-wide, slow-moving underground river. Years before, when Captain Amadulah’s grandfather owned this land, he rerouted the river to run into one end of the room and out the other.

Farid left them with towels and bars of soap on a table. The two men who had been in the bath before didn’t hesitate and striped. Mike took off his button-down shirt, revealing the tomahawk in a harness on his back. It was the last thing to come off before he grabbed a soap bar and sat on the edge.

Tom saw the Tomahawk and smiled. “I thought that piece of junk got burned up in the truck?”

“It’s uncomfortable as hell, but I’ve been wearing it the whole time.” He sat, letting his feet and lower legs hang in the water. Inching in would prolong the pain. The water was cold. “I’m going in.” Mike blew out several loud breaths and fell in.

Tom jumped in, trying to splash the others. He stayed submerged for a full twenty seconds, then jumped straight up. “Holy freaking balls, it’s freezing.”

Mike was wet and cold, and the massive splash soaked him again, but it was glorious. “It’s way colder than I remember.” He sank under and scrubbed his head.”

Unsure what to do, Julia watched them strip and enter the water. Their two heads were the only body parts exposed to the air.

Mike looked at Al and Julia. “No time like the present.”

She looked back, giving him a half-hearted smile.

With a series of deep breaths, Al jumped up and down like a boxer might do before the first round. “I hate the cold.” He stripped and jumped in, same as Tom.

“You know,” Julia said. “I’m not all that comfortable with this.”

“Suit yourself,” Mike smiled at her discomfort. “But you won’t see Captain Amadulah looking and smelling like that.”

Julia raised her chin, eyes on the dark, damp ceiling. “Great.” She looked back at the bench, sat down, and untied her boots. She stood and began to unbutton her shirt. A feeling came over her, and she glanced up. The men were doing an excellent job of appearing not to look. “Hey, this isn’t a striptease show. Turn around till I get in.”

Chuckles reverberated off the walls, but they turned their backs to her.

“You know.” Tom couldn’t help himself. “We’re all probably going to die tomorrow. The least you could do is grant a man a last wish and let me watch.”

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“Pff. Not no, but hell no. And as a woman who may die herself soon, my last wish isn’t to provide entertainment to a bunch of guys I barely know. Especially guys prancing around in their birthday suits.”

They laughed, their eyes focused on the back wall.

“Prance?” Al said. “Sashay, yes, but never prance.”

“By the way, I have a boyfriend back home, so I’d just assume we never bring this up again.” She dropped to neck level in the water, her breath seizing in her throat. “Okay, I’m in.” She raised her hand, the clear water running through her fingers. “It looks pretty clean.”

“It is, but,” Mike said, “I wouldn’t drink it.”

They faced each other, only their heads exposed. While they scrubbed, Mike took the lead. “We know the Captain’s family pretty well.” He inclined his head toward Tom. “Farid wasn’t as surprised at our arrival as I would have expected when we showed up.”

“Agreed,” Tom said. “He’s a good kid, and we do have a relationship. And in this world, strange stuff happens, but the two of us show up as we did, bringing in Al and Julia. Four Americans don’t pop up out of nowhere, and all we get is, oh, it’s you guys. It doesn’t feel right.”

“Maybe he heard about the ambush,” Julia said. “He knew some Americans were ambushed, then we showed up.”

“He’s a quick kid,” Tom added. “He’s smart and adaptable, and he might have made the connection of some ambushed Americans. But not these two Americans.” He pointed at himself and Mike. He knew it was us when we showed up.”

“Maybe.” Mike splashed water on his face, thinking. “The last time we were here. I got this funny feeling that something wasn’t quite right.”

Tom was washing his beard and hair with the bar of soap. “How so?”

“The Op in the Tal Bez was what, about two or three weeks later?”

“About two weeks, yeah?”

“What happened first? The marriage proposal before anything else. He has it all planned out. The Team would stay around his compound while guests come from all over, and the big day would happen about two weeks later. He was adamant about us staying close by. The festivities could bring potential danger from the Taliban.”

“I do remember that it was strange. The vibe was different than any other time we came by. I chalked it up to your impending marriage and refusal.”

“Right, later during that visit, I sat down with him for tea. I asked him if he had any intel on the Tal Bez Valley. He said no. I asked if he’d heard about any meeting of HVTs, and again, he said no. He quickly brought the conversation back to the wedding. He pretty much ignored all my questions about the valley or anything else. He said he knew nothing and had no info on anything.”

“Now that you mention it, I remember you coming out of that meeting looking confused or… something.”

“He… just acted wrong. I thought it was because of his daughter and me. After we left, the whole thing never did sit well with me. Then Tal Bez happened. Later, I thought he may have had something to do with it. At the very minimum, he knew enough to warn us. I'm sure of that. What happened in the Valley, he knew what was coming, and he could have warned us but didn’t.”

Tom shook his head, inhaling through his teeth. “I don’t know, boss. He was always on the up and up with us. Everything he ever gave us was gold.”

“I know. I don’t know if I believe it, either. All I’m saying for now is we’ll have to watch ourselves while we’re here.”

“Agreed,” Tom said.

Julia and Al nodded in agreement.

They all looked up at the stairwell.

The slippers, pants, shirt, vest, and then the face of Farid entered the chamber. Farid held a stack of towels, clothing, and sandals. He set them down on the bench next to him. “All is well, I see, good.” He grinned down at them, his eyes lingering on Julia. “My father knows you’re here and looks forward to seeing you. Come up as soon as you're done, and I’ll take you there. Don’t worry about your clothing; I’ll have them laundered.”

He half-turned and stopped. “My father isn’t well. We suffered some losses, and he has yet to recover fully.”

Before Mike could question him, Farid hurried up the stairs, closing the door behind him.