Savage Deadlock

After several hours of stuttering progress, the two rebels found that the women were novices when it came to covering their own tracks and being aware of their surroundings. On several occasions, the two rebels came within a few meters of the women, who didn’t register their presence.

If all the women in the PWLA were like this, then it would be simple for a task force to raid their camp and wipe them out, taking the scientist and her cargo. The men exchanged predatory grins as they followed the two women to the edge of their camp.

As the sun rose, Iftikhar and Ayub withdrew. They were on a plateau above the small valley where the PWLA had pitched camp, and they would be exposed in the light of dawn. They had counted the tents, and based on the number of women who had started to emerge, they estimated the maximum number of PWLA members in camp. When they were at a safe distance, they began to realize the import of what they had stumbled on.

“They are stupid, my friend,” Ayub murmured. “Do they really think they have any chance of success, with such a small number?”

“They’ll count on the backing of the West,” Iftikhar replied, spitting to emphasize his disgust. “They don’t need bodies when they have the scientist woman and her nuclear filth. That will be enough to have the idiots in Lahore groveling at her feet.”

“They’ll have to do more than grovel if we get to it first,” Ayub returned.

“True. They won’t put up much of a fight, but that would be true no matter who attacked them. The women aren’t the problem here. We must act quickly—if we can find them easily enough by accident, then anyone else could stumble on them in such a way. We must ensure that our men strike tonight.”