War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1696 Negotiation
"Let me do it"

Just as Wei Ran was preparing medicines and scalpels, Hakim spoke, and at the same time, he took away the submachine gun with a silencer that he had previously lent to Habibullah.

"Killing your own companion is a very painful thing"

Wei Ran reminded, "Even if you are helping her, you will live with guilt for the rest of your life."

“I’m a guerrilla fighter”

Hakim said as he removed the magazine and checked the bullets inside. He then pulled the slide to load another bullet and let the bullet in the chamber fall into the sand and gravel on the ground. "The meaning of my existence is to protect my compatriots from dying under the muzzles of the invaders."

At this point, Hakim turned his head with red eyes and looked at Wei Ran, "Even if our enemies are helping her end her pain."

Sighing silently, Wei Ran put back the scalpel he had just taken out, "At least let me give her an injection of anesthesia, so that she can walk more comfortably."

After a moment of silence, Hakim took a deep breath and said, "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure"

As he said that, Wei Ran walked to Malalai's side again and squatted down. He inserted the needle into the blood vessel in Malalai's neck and pushed a full syringe of anesthetic into it.

“May the Lord bless her.”

Mahbub sighed, limped to the edge of the felt curtain with the help of a wooden stick, spread out a blanket, rinsed his hands with water, and finally began his morning ritual to soothe his heart or numb himself.

At the same time, Hakim also picked up Malalai and walked out of the cave alone.

Not long after, the people who were still in the cave heard a gunshot suppressed by a silencer.

As the gunshot was blown away by the cold wind in an instant, two strings of tears flowed down Qiao Ya's dirty face as she rushed over.

But soon, the little girl stopped crying and walked out of the cave.

"Qiaoya, what are you going to do?" Habibullah asked subconsciously.

"I'm going to bury my teacher, Ms. Malalai," Qiao Ya replied without turning her head.

“Look at the good things you have done”

Habibullah muttered something in Russian and then walked out of the cave.

For a moment, the only people left in the cave were Mahbub, who was chanting scriptures with his hands clasped in his hands, and the little warrior Murtaza, who subconsciously held up the Bobosha and stared at Wei Ran and Kirill warily.

"Where are our companions?"

Kirill asked tentatively in Persian, "Is he still alive?"

But Murtaza did not answer his question. Instead, he held the Bobosha in his hand more steadily.

During the somewhat long and in some sense too quiet wait, Mahbub completed the morning prayer. A moment later, Habibullah, Hakim, and Joya with tears on her face came in one after another. Behind them, Ruslan, who had regained consciousness, was tied to another donkey led by Hakim.

"Great, you two are still alive." Ruslan was obviously relieved after seeing Wei Ran and Hakim.

However, what he said seemed a little inappropriate, so as expected, before he could close his mouth, Hakim hit him in the ribs with the handle of the submachine gun.

"Children, eat something."

Mahbub spoke and asked his grandson Murtaza to help him bring an enamel jar of mutton soup to Hakim, Joya and Habibullah respectively. Then he asked him to bring two cups to Soraya and Ayana behind the curtain.

"Give them three some food."

Mahbub said, "And then get some goat's milk for the two children."

"They don't deserve to eat," Hakim said coldly.

"But they bandaged my child Habibullah's wound and helped my daughter Ayana deliver two boys successfully."

“They also treated Malalai and me, even though Malalai didn’t survive,” Mahbub said.

"Can"

"Hakim, good boy, don't be blinded by hatred," Mahbub said. "It's just some food."

Hakim opened his mouth weakly and finally stopped saying anything. He let Murtaza bring a bowl of meat soup to Wei Ran and the other two, and gave them a dry and hard naan.

"Fill your stomach first," said Mahbub.

"How are you doing?"

After Kirill took the food brought by Murtaza, he lowered his voice and asked Ruslan, who was thrown next to them and untied.

"It was like I had drunk vodka all night," Ruslan replied weakly. "I only remember you and Victor trying to bandage my wounds, and when I woke up, I was already on the donkey."

"It's a concussion," Kirill sighed, "We're captured."

"You three are not allowed to communicate."

Hakeem warned, "Or I'll tie you up again."

The three of them looked at each other helplessly and could only quietly eat the food allocated to them.

"Tell me about the current situation"

Ruslan wrote this sentence in Russian on the sand with his finger, and then immediately erased his own writing.

'They need our medical help'

Kirill also wrote a line of text and wiped it clean with his hands. Then he took off the Arrow watch on his wrist and put it on Ruslan's wrist, and showed him his own miniature camera.

Seeing this, Wei Ran did not participate in their text chat, but finished his own food as quickly as possible - to prevent Hakim from changing his mind.

After understanding the current situation through text communication, Ruslan couldn't help but look in the direction of the felt curtain. He didn't expect that during the time he was unconscious, Kirill and Wei Ran not only helped the guerrillas bandage their wounds, but also performed a seemingly successful delivery operation.

“We have to find a way to escape”

Ruslan rewrote the text and smoothed the ground again.

"Wait until you recover before considering this matter."

Kirill then wrote a paragraph in response, "Before that, get along well with them and avoid conflict."

Almost at the moment he erased the text, Mahbub in the distance spoke in the language that Wei Ran had learned in the first act, "We should discuss how to get through this winter."

Apparently, although Kirill knew Persian, he could not understand the language.

“They are communicating in Pashto, which I cannot understand,” Kirill wrote with his fingers.

He didn't understand, but Wei Ran did, so his attention shifted from the Russian words on the sand to the guerrillas gathered around the campfire in the distance.

"Teacher Abdul is dead, everyone is dead, only Qiao Ya and I survived." Hakim was the first to speak, "Father Mahbub, what are your plans?"

"Muhanmed and his men were also bombed by Soviet aerial bombs."

Mahbub said, "The only ones who survived are Ayana, Soraya, and the two children who were born last night. The other three are me, Habibullah, and Murtaza."

“And we’re out of weapons.”

Habibullah said, "We shot down two helicopters and destroyed many cars, but our anti-aircraft missiles were gone, and Hakim's recoilless guns were gone, and even the anti-aircraft machine gun we sent over was blown to pieces."

"Now there are only a few of us left, and there is nothing we can do."

Hakim said, looking at Wei Ran and the other two, "They are our only remaining bargaining chips."

"Maybe we should leave here," Mahbub said. "The Soviets will find this place sooner or later."

“We can’t leave right now”

Habibullah said, "We only have a few goats and three or four donkeys. Where can we go even if we leave? Your foot is injured, one of our captives is also injured, Ayana just had an operation, and we even have two newborn children."

"Where can we go?" Hakim muttered in the same despair.

“That’s what we’re going to discuss.”

Mahbub hesitated for a moment and said, "Maybe we can go to Kandahar."

"To Kandahar?"

"At least we can send the children away from there," said Mahbub.

"Where to send it? Bajistan?" Hakim asked after a moment of silence, "Then what?"

'Let the kids go'

Mahbub said, "There must be more guerrillas around here, we just have to wait patiently."

"I don't plan to leave here and go to Kandahar"

The one who spoke was Ayana who was on the other side of the felt curtain. She didn't know when she woke up. Although her voice was weak, it was loud enough for Wei Ran who was farthest away to hear clearly.

“I’m not going to let my kids leave here.”

Ayana continued, "Since you are prepared to wait patiently to find the guerrillas around, then I can wait too. After my wounds are healed, I can also fight together. My children will not leave here either. They are Afkhan people."

"I don't plan to leave either," Qiao Ya, Murta and Sorayaza said in unison.

“I am also an Afkhan”

Murtaza said seriously, "I am not a child anymore. I can hold a gun and I can shoot."

"I can shoot too," Qiao Ya said, "I'm not a kid anymore."

"I can hold a gun, too," Soraya said finally.

For a moment, the only sound in the cave was the crackling of the burning campfire.

"Then let's wait together."

After a long time, Mahbub sighed and said, "Wait until I recover from my injury, Ayana recovers from her injury, and the injured Soviet recovers from his injury."

"What happens after you recover from your injuries?" Ayana asked.

"In the meantime, Habibullah, Hakim, the two of you go look for other guerrillas around here."

Mahbub said, "If they can accept us, we can hand over the three Soviets to them and exchange them for weapons and ammunition."

"So before that, we still have to support the three of them?" Hakim asked subconsciously.

“We can’t just send them there.”

It was Habibullah who “could not” answer the question. “We need doctors. My father and my sister need doctors. This is a realistic problem.”

"Other guerrillas also need doctors"

“I hate to say it, but they may be all we have to offer during the coming winter,” Mahbub said.

Seeing that no one was saying anything, Mahbub sighed, “Habibullah, you, Hakim, and me.

The three of us took turns to look after them. They were not allowed to leave the cave, and the children were not allowed to get close to them.

The rest of the time, you will take Murtaza to look for other guerrilla camps in the surrounding areas, that's all."

For a moment, the cave became quiet again. Even Kirill and Ruslan, who were writing and drawing on the sand, stopped what they were doing.

“I’m going to find the guerrillas.”

Hakim seemed unable to bear this depressing and desperate atmosphere, so he stood up and said, "I'll go look around now."

"I'll go with you," Murtaza said, and he also climbed up.

"Go after dark"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Mahbub shook his head helplessly, "You haven't rested for the whole night. Get some sleep first, and then set off, so as not to be discovered by Soviet planes during the day.

Hakim, you need to be calm now. If you don't want to listen to my advice, take the captives you have captured and leave. Just leave Qiao Ya behind. She is still young and cannot take risks with you. "

"I"

Hakeem took a deep breath and said, "I know."

As he spoke, he walked to the side of the cave, casually spread out a blanket and lay down, but he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep at all.

At the same time, Mahbub also refused the help of Habibullah and Murtaza, stood up alone with the help of crutches, limped to the campfire where Wei Ran and the other two were gathered, and sat down.

"Soviet, let's talk."

Mahbub said in Russian, "Do you need more food?"

“We’re full”

Kirill spoke before Ruslan could, "What do you want to say?"

“I am grateful to you for saving my daughter and her two children, and for treating my wounds and those of my sons Habibullah and Malalai.”

Mahbub said, “So I don’t want to treat you as prisoners, but I can’t let you go.”

"We understand this," Wei Ran said.

"You may have to live with us for a while."

Mahbub said with all his strength, "I will try to give you the greatest freedom, but all this is subject to certain conditions."

"We have the right to keep confidential the military intelligence we know," Ruslan said.

"I have no interest in your military intelligence"

Mahbub shook his head and pointed at Murtaza and others not far away. "I hope you will temporarily give up your plan to escape and try to keep a safe distance from the children. This is the premise of everything."

"We accept," Kirill said.

"In exchange, we will provide you with food as much as possible, but if we need medical help, we also hope that you can lend a hand."

"A fair deal," Kirill continued.

"Finally, you cannot leave this cave without the consent of at least two adults in the cave." Mahbub put forward new conditions.

"no problem"

Ruslan said nonchalantly that they had no right to refuse at this time. The other party was willing to sit down and talk with them. The conditions just now could only be regarded as "notifications" at most.

"Correspondingly, you will also be given the greatest degree of freedom in this cave."

Mahbub continued, "You can chat as much as you want, you can play with your personal belongings as much as you want, including the watch and camera that Habibullah returned to you, but you cannot possess weapons."

"There are a lot of scalpels in here," Kirill said, patting the medical bag beside him.

"So let us keep these for the time being," Mahbub said as gently as possible.

"I need to change the dressings and check the wounds of all the wounded regularly, including my companions."

Wei Ran followed up by saying, “I hope all the wounded can be treated fairly.”

“That’s what I wanted to say,” Mahbub said.

"We will abide by the rules you set." Kirill took the initiative to extend his hand to the other party.

"We will also keep our promise," Mahbub said as he stretched out his hand and shook it with the other party.

"But we can't accept being locked up here for the rest of our lives," Ruslan reminded.

"certainly"

Mahbub nodded. "How about we set the deadline for the last wounded man to recover? Once the last wounded man in this cave recovers, we will have another negotiation."

"I need my survival vest"

Ruslan pointed at Habibullah not far away and said, "To be precise, there is a wine flask in the left pocket. I respect your beliefs, but the wine flask was given to me by my daughter. I want it back."

"no problem"

Mahbub waved to Habibullah in the distance and said, "Give this comrade his wine jug back."

Habibullah was much more rational than Hakim. He did not say anything, but walked over, opened the pocket that was originally used to hold the handheld flare stick, took out a slender wine jug with a leather cover and handed it to Ruslan.

"Thank you"

As Ruslan spoke, he had already unscrewed the jug and poured the remaining vodka onto the sand behind him to express his sincerity.

Then, he pulled off the leather cover of the wine jug and pulled out a photo that Wei Ran was very familiar with. He pointed at the woman and child in the photo and said, "These are my wife and daughter. My watch was given to me by my wife, and this wine jug was given to me by my daughter."

"You will meet them again," Mahbub said, and stood up with difficulty with the help of Habibullah. "Habibullah, take their medical kits away."

"What should I call you?" Kirill asked, standing up and ignoring Hakim who subconsciously raised his gun in the distance.

"Mahbub"

"Comrade Mahbub"

Kirill shook hands with the other man again. "Two last things. The backpacks containing the plasma need to be kept at low temperatures. If anyone else gets hurt, the plasma will be the key to saving lives for at least a month."

“I will keep an eye on this matter.”

Mahbub nodded seriously, "What's the other thing?"

"Your son, Comrade Habibullah, has returned my camera to me"

Kirill took out his camera and shook it. "Under the premise of not leaving this cave and with permission, can I take pictures?"

"sure"

Mahbub waved his hand nonchalantly, "Are these the only two things?"

“Maybe there’s one more thing”

Wei Ran wisely didn't sit up, "Where should we go to poop and pee?"

“I will find a way to resolve this matter.”

Mahbub said, "Okay, from now on, let's keep a distance that is comfortable for both of us."

"You speak very good Russian," Kirill said abruptly.

After a pause, Mahbub leaned on his stick and said as he walked away, "Before the war, when we were still friends, I lived in Moscow for a while."

Without saying anything else, Mahbub walked away and ordered Habibullah and Murtaza to build a simple toilet in the corner of the cave next to the sheep pen with a few dirty felts.

Soon, Wei Ran and Hakim also supported Ruslan and moved to the deepest part of the cave under the guidance of Habibullah, and re-lit a bonfire for warmth.

“That toilet is for you guys.”

Habibullah said, placing a tin bucket next to the campfire, "Remember to clean it up after use and cover it with sand. We will help you carry it out."

"In the evening, I need to change the dressings for all the injured," Kirill said.

"Thank you"

Habibullah said as he turned and walked towards Ayana's curtain.

At this point, the two groups of people were almost at the two ends of the deepest part of the cave, with a sufficiently spacious space reserved in the middle.

"It seems that we have become their bargaining chip," Ruslan whispered.

"So heal your wounds as soon as possible," Kirill said in a low voice.

Don't know what will happen next.
Wei Ran sighed secretly, took out his miniature camera from his boot, and when the sunlight coming in from the skylight above the cave entrance enveloped Mahbub and others, he secretly pressed the shutter towards them.

"Kirill, Victor, can you make their injuries heal more slowly?" Ruslan asked in a low voice while playing with the wine jug he had just returned.

“You are receiving the same treatment.”

Wei Ran put away the camera and reminded, "If you are the only one who recovers the fastest, they definitely won't mind creating more wounds for you."

"Or you two can just run away."

Ruslan said, handing his wine flask and watch to Wei Ran and Kirill respectively, "Whoever of you can leave here alive, give these to my wife."

“Now is not the time to take risks”

Kirill did not take the watch. "Ruslan, be patient. We can all survive."

“This is Afkhan”

Ruslan muttered, "Although I don't want to say this, we are the invaders, just like the Germans who invaded the Soviet Union."

"I know"

Kirill sighed and stared at the miniature camera in his hand. "I found out shortly after the war started."