Chapter 14: Baabaa Hotak

Watch the Show

At his desk, Baabaa Hotak looked out at the night sky through the plate glass window of his office. His two youngest sons stood at the large window, the moonlight gleaming off their faces. They shifted their attention from the valley below to each other and his reflection in the glass. He made no comment to them, and they began to wrestle as they watched outside. He couldn’t help but smile. These two were the only members of his family currently at the fortress. Most of his wives, older sons, and daughters were in Europe.

The boys continued to wrestle the valley, no longer on their minds. He had told them he had a surprise for them tonight, but boys will be boys. He hoped the fight with the four Americans would last long enough to impress his children. The prisoner hadn’t wanted to talk, but Badi always found a way to get the information Hotak needed and or wanted.

The handheld radio on his desk transmitted a breathless voice.

“Boys.”

Both children immediately stood. “Yes, father,” one of them said.

He stood up and joined them at the window. A rock outcropping covered the window from overhead observation. In no way did it hinder their view. The moon lit up the landscape of the valley below. It would give his children an excellent outlook for tonight’s festivities.

“Look.” He pointed down to the left. “It has started.”

“The bad people are trying to get away?”

Hotak smiled and met Aarif’s gaze. The little boy’s eyes were full of admiration and love. He placed his hand on Aarif’s head and tussled his hair. The boy was more intelligent than any of his children at that age. Well, he corrected himself, except for his first daughter. She was the best and most capable of all his children.

“Watch now. Look more of the green tracers I told you about. I gave our men more tracers than usual tonight. I told our soldiers to fill the night with green if the bad people don’t surrender.”

“Father,” Jabbaar said. “Badi told me that a kind of paint goes on the bullet and that it lights up when it is shot out of a gun. He showed me how to load the tracer bullets, every fifth bullet in the magazine. He said a line of tracers help the man shooting see where the bullets go and help him aim to kill his target.”

Hotak looked down at his youngest son and put his other hand on his head. Like boys everywhere, Jabbaar wanted to show his father how smart he was. “That’s right. Badi is teaching you and your brother some hard-earned lessons for later in life. Learn them well. I don’t know when you’ll ever need to put them to use, but that day will come.”

He glanced down and saw more tracer fire. Both boys smiled at him, proud of their father, who had led them to greatness.

“Boy’s, outside.”

“Yes, Father,” they said in unison.

Family. I have laid the foundation for a dynasty. With intelligence, loyalty, and ruthlessness, his family will rule an empire that Hotak built.

The three gazed through the window. Jabbaar started to bounce under his hand. Hotak cleared his throat, and he stopped.

A man spoke on the radio. His patrol had made contact. Soon, a second man spoke and issued orders to the men on the ground.

The boys were squirming with excitement.

Look!” Jabbaar said.

A line of green streaked over the valley.

A second line of green dashes raced through the trees. It lasted longer than the first group.

A third AK fired. Only two tracers raced through the night air.

"That's a lot of guns shooting," Jabbaar said. "Did they get the bad people?"

Aarif's breath fogged up the glass. "It's not over."