It became clear I wouldn't catch the group before they crossed the river and the border. The road from the Panjshir Gorge came out to the Panj River opposite Ishkashim. The Englishmen had turned right and driven along the Afghan bank towards Khandud. Theoretically, they could now cross at any point—they just needed to ford the river. But logically, they would wait for darkness. They didn't just need to cross; they needed to go somewhere further. Bek said they had taken mountain equipment, meaning they might be heading into the mountains. They could enter the mountains in numerous places, provided they knew them. And they did know—they had a guide.
I stopped, found a more or less suitable spot, and shifted back to human. I took out my phone, looked at the map, and pondered my next move. Actually, it might be better for me if the Englishmen crossed the border—it would be easier for me to operate on Tajik territory. But the area was too large—I could lose them. For all I knew, while I was thinking it over, they were crossing the border somewhere ahead. Unlikely, of course, but possible. I would need help to monitor the entire area. It was worth contacting the border guards.
It would even be good if they were detained while crossing. Or at least if their numbers were thinned out. I suspected the security detail with the jondor weren't ordinary fighters, if they moved across the border so confidently. The border near Khandud was under the jurisdiction of the Ishkashim Border Guard Unit—that was good. I happened to know someone there.
It might seem like a strange coincidence that the Englishmen were crossing here, and I just happened to have a contact. But it wasn't surprising—I had one or two contacts in almost every border unit. The thing was, border guards controlled vast territories, not just the border line but also the adjacent border zones. Tajikistan is a small republic, surrounded on all sides by other states. Consequently, there were many territories controlled by border guards. I traveled all over Tajikistan, including such areas. And to avoid all kinds of misunderstandings, I tried to make as many acquaintances in such places as possible. This time, that policy paid off. I dialed the number.
"Hey, Shams. Recognize me?"
"I do. To what do I owe the pleasure? Something happened? I'm not in the city right now, by the way."
"Good that you're not in the city—means you're on duty. That's why I'm calling. I'm not far from you, just on the other side."
"I see. And what are you doing over there? And you want me to help you cross back?"
"No, no," I interrupted him. "That's not it. But your help wouldn't go amiss. I'm pursuing a group that will most likely try to cross the border in the Khandud area tonight. They have a guide from there."
"Now that's interesting. What kind of group? Composition?"
"The aforementioned guide, four security personnel, and a civilian—Englishmen, besides the guide, of course."
"And how exactly can I help you in such a situation? Thanks for the tip, of course, but you understand..."
"I don't want anything supernatural. If you detain them—that's already good. Well, and if you give me a couple of minutes to talk with the civilian, that would be super."
"Indeed, nothing supernatural. I'll see what can be done."
"I'm not asking for more."
"Alright. But look: if you're going after them, don't stick your nose across the river right behind them. You'll run into our guys and they might shoot you. There are several convenient passages from the Khandud area leading deep into the mountains. There will be reinforced outposts everywhere. I'll deploy men right now."
"Thanks for the advice. I'll call you back later," I said and hung up.
Shifting back to the wolf, I decided to cross the border immediately. I started looking for the most suitable spot. After swimming across, I immediately moved away from the river into the mountains and began skirting the possible border guard outposts in a wide arc, all while moving parallel to the river. I needed to get as close as possible to the area of the potential border crossing by the Englishmen so as not to miss them.
I wasn't the least bit worried about the redhead's safety during a potential detention—the jondor would try to preserve him. I had no such confidence regarding the other group members, but that only played into my hands. After some time, I was already level with Khandud—now it was just a waiting game, hoping for the border guards.
On the map, I counted six of the most suitable gorges for moving from the river into the mountains, trying to determine which one the English group would take. I took up a position on a spur between the couloirs above the gorge that seemed to me the most convenient for the group's passage. In my opinion, of course. What reasoning they would use was unknown to me.
Time dragged on. For hours, nothing happened. The Englishmen were waiting, probably timing the right moment to cross the border. Finally, from the gorge farthest from me, of the six I had considered, shots rang out. So, I had guessed wrong about the gorge.
Making up for lost time, I ran straight towards the site of the firefight. By the time I reached it and got onto the spur above the gorge, the shooting had already stopped. The lull wasn't absolute—there was activity down in the gorge, muffled shouts, some running around, and scuffling. I hid and listened, but it didn't make things any clearer. I was too far away and too high up.
I moved a bit, found an inconspicuous crevice, climbed into it, and shifted back to human. I took out my phone and called Shams. Shams answered and immediately clarified the situation:
"Listen, so, what's the outcome? The guide slipped away back as soon as he led them to the gorge. We tried to grab him quietly, but he was slick—got away somehow. And we didn't divert major forces to catch him—not that important, after all. But a firefight broke out with the main group. How they sensed us in advance—I can't fathom."
I could have explained how, but I doubted he'd believe it.
"Anyway, we captured two, two were killed in the shootout. But your civilian got away."
"With the guide?"
"No, I told you, the guide left at the very beginning. Here, these security guys were clearly covering the civilian's retreat. He went off somewhere deeper into our territory. I sent my men after him, but nothing so far."
"I see. Are there many options for where he could have gone?"
"If he managed to get out of the gorge and cross the ridge in the dark, then he could go anywhere from there."
"Well, thanks anyway."
"Thank *you* for the tip. If my guys find anything, I'll let you know."
"Okay, I'll be in touch," I said and hung up.
So that's how it was. I pondered. Going down now to sniff out the jondor was fraught with complications—border guards were everywhere. Circling around to pick up the trail at the gorge exit wasn't an option either. The jondor might not have gone anywhere at all, but hidden somewhere in the gorge. The border guards could walk within a few steps of him and not see him—his abilities were sufficient for that. Even dogs wouldn't help. Although, I didn't hear any dogs—strange.
Well, since there was no point in running around in the dark, I'd wait for dawn and for the border guards to leave. I turned back into the wolf, curled up in a ball, hid my nose in my fur, and drifted into the light, alert sleep of an animal.
At dawn, I shifted again, checked my phone—Shams hadn't called. So, his men had found nothing. Well, I'd search myself. I shifted into the wolf, chose a higher spot from which the entire gorge was visible but which was itself shielded by a rock. And from the shadows, I began to study the bottom and slopes of the gorge. No border guards were visible.
Having noted about ten promising spots worth paying attention to, I began to slowly descend. There could still be hidden outposts, but for now, I didn't scent anyone. I had to do a fair amount of running—the ground below was heavily trampled. In theory, I should still have been able to sense the jondor, but there was nothing. Apparently, he really could conceal his scent, which was very alarming. So, here he was hiding from possible pursuit with dogs. But he hadn't concealed his scent from me before—after all, I could smell him even on the highway where cars constantly drove.
I only caught the jondor's scent again at the very exit from the gorge. He had, after all, gone all the way up the gorge and crossed over to the other side of the ridge. But I had confidently picked up the trail now—he wouldn't get away. Especially in the mountains—here I was in my element, you could say. Of course, the same could be said for the jondor, who was, in essence, a kind of mountain spirit. 'Kind of'—because a spirit is a spirit, and whether it's 'mountain' or some other kind is just how people try to differentiate them. In reality, they are all the same everywhere. It's just that the 'mountain' one is in the mountains.
But all that wasn't important. The main thing was that I myself felt more confident in the mountains. I'd catch up to the jondor—and then we'd see who felt better here. Anticipating a quick resolution, I ran faster along the trail.
