Ward
A day off was long overdue, and I finally had enough money to buy something other than dog food. Once I realized Heidi enjoyed the water, I vowed to bring her there frequently. Paying more attention to her leash in my grip, I took her back to the park early in the misty morning. Though I wanted to sleep in, sunrise was as far as I got before the nightmares wrested me from my bed. I thought I’d beaten them, but something about this fucking town brought them screaming back.
QPOV
It’s been a while since I’ve worn a suit, but I make the effort to relax, to appear as though it’s my everyday attire. The Hotel Intercontinental in Kabul is five-star and perfectly suited to my undercover persona. Every day, I get dressed in a three-piece suit, straighten my hair—now dyed blond—and exit the hotel. My day consists of breakfast in an expensive cafe, pretending to work on my laptop, and meetings with other agents planted as businessmen. The effort is to look busy, important, and wealthy. As though my company is doing so well, they’d be fools to pass up the opportunity to work with me. Wilhelm is my translator, and he accompanies me everywhere I go. Our information gathering is the true reason for our stay in Afghanistan, and though I learned Farsi, Pashto is more difficult to master. Wilhelm's primary job is to eavesdrop on our surroundings so I can focus on what’s in front of me.
Bella
Obviously, I didn't know when I woke up that this was the direction my path would take me today. Customers of all kinds floated in and out of our town on a regular basis. Townies, tourists, those who left and found themselves drifting back. I’d seen it all. Nothing much phased me, but this guy . . . This guy was hella awkward. Nervous, shy, and apparently unwilling to be touched.
Edward
A heavy fog rolled through the sleeping town as I said goodbye to my dog and set off down the street on foot. The salty tang of ocean water hanging in the air reminded me of home, but it wasn't quite the same. As a matter of fact, it was on the opposite coast; I'd moved all the way to the other side of the country. It wasn't in my plans, but nothing had been for a majority of the last decade. Nothing had ever come easy for me, no matter how old I got or what I accomplished. Hard work didn't always pay off, honesty wasn't always the best policy, and the truth hadn't set me free; it had fucked me over.
