The Edge Read Online Free Page B

crepes. I wandered to the back of the jet like I was going to use the lavatory, pausing when I got to Tony’s seat. He looked up from his laptop and smiled.
    â€œIs everything well, Peak?” he said with a British accent.
    â€œEverything is fine, thanks. Relaxing flight. But probably not for you. You look busy.”
    Tony laughed. “Don’t tell anyone,” his whispered, “but I’m playing
League of Legends.
”
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    He laughed again. “I take it you are not a gamer.”
    â€œNot even a little.”
    â€œSmart boy.
League of Legends
is an online game that is very addictive and a bloody waste of time, but flying around like this, I have nothing but time to waste.”
    â€œWell, I’ll let you get back to—”
    â€œI was just bludgeoned to death. Take a seat.”
    I took a seat across from him.
    â€œI hear you’re responsible for making sure we get into Afghanistan without any hassles.”
    â€œYes I am. You are all set. The only small glitch we are going to have is that it appears we will be landing just before afternoon prayers, which could certainly delay things, but only slightly.”
    I’d just read about these prayers in one of Mom’s books. Devout Muslims pray five times a day.
Fajr,
just before dawn.
Zuhr,
noon.
Asr,
afternoon.
Maghrib,
sunset.
Isha,
evening.
    â€œI also understand you were raised in the Stans.”
    â€œIndeed I was, but I spent most of my childhood in Afghanistan. My parents worked for the British government.”
    â€œDiplomats.”
    â€œNot exactly. Mother and Father—long retired, so it is safe to tell you now—were spies.”
    â€œYou’re kidding.”
    â€œI am not. And don’t be deceived. A spy is nothing like how it is portrayed in novels and films. Their job was to make friends and gather information from them. I’m afraid there wasn’t much cloak and dagger to it. They threw dinners and parties, and went to dinners and parties, and I usually accompanied them, along with my sister and brothers. It was a wonderful life. Most of my best friends live in the Stans.”
    â€œDo you work full-time for Sebastian Plank?”
    â€œGood lord, no. I’m an independent consultant. I’ve worked for him six or seven times. Most of my work is for governmental agencies, especially the Stan governments, which have a very short shelf life in that many of them are overthrown on a regular basis. Business has been booming, as you would say in the States, for the last decade.”
    â€œI don’t know anything about Afghanistan.”
    â€œThat is nothing to feel bad about. Most of the so-called experts, and I include myself in this small group, know very little about Afghanistan. All you need to know is that the country has been in a state of war for thousands of years. Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, the British, the Soviet Union, Al-Qaeda, the Americans, the Taliban, and several others, have all attempted to take over Afghanistan.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œGenghis Khan and Alexander the Great wanted the country because of the trade route through the Khyber Pass. The Soviet Union and the British wanted the country as a geographical buffer zone against the Chinese. Al-Qaeda wanted the country as a hideout and training ground for terrorists. The Americans wanted to punish Al-Qaeda for what happened on 9/11. The Taliban wanted, and still want, to turn Afghanistan into a religious state.”
    â€œWhat do the Afghan people want?”
    â€œMost of them want to be left alone, especially in the tribal areas, or frontier, which I assume is where you will be. The frontier is not much different from your Wild West, except that your Wild West lasted only a few decades. The Afghan frontier has been in place several millennia, and I doubt any group, or any country, is ever going to tame it. They have their own ways of doing things, and the