Page 181 - Leadership in the Indian Army

"I don't like it," she said. "Guns scare me."

Tariq turned the magazine over in his hand

"They found three bodies in a house in Karteh-Seh last week," he said.

"Did you hear? Sisters. All three raped Their throats slashed. Someone
had bitten the rings off their fingers. You could tell, they had teeth

marks-"

"I don't want to hear this."

"I don't mean to upset you," Tariq said "But I just…Ifeel better carrying

this."

He was her lifeline to the streets now. He heard the word of mouth and

passed it on to her. Tariq was the one who told her, for instance, that
militiamen stationed in the mountains sharpened their

marksmanship-and settled wagers over said marksmanship-by shooting

civilians down below, men, women, children, chosen at random. He told
her that they fired rockets at cars but, for some reason, left taxis

alone-which explained to Laila the recent rash of people spraying their

cars yellow.

Tariq explained to her the treacherous, shifting boundaries within
Kabul. Laila learned from him, for instance, that this road, up to the

second acacia tree on the left, belonged to one warlord; that the next

four blocks, ending with the bakery shop next to the demolished
pharmacy, was another warlord's sector; and that if she crossed that

street and walked half a mile west, she would find herself in the territory