19
A SLURRY, BLACK AND THICK
Pakistan Naval Academy, coastal Pakistan. October 16, 5:21 a.m. local time (October 15, 8:21 p.m. EST).
Khalid’s arms stretched wide to grip the steering wheel of the eighteen-wheel flatbed truck. His small frame looked almost childlike against the sheer width of the wheel. The moon had set, and light was just beginning to undulate against the horizon, causing the stars to lose their previous luster. The truck lurched forward, struggling as though tethered to the dock with steel cables. Finally, it pulled away and headed south toward the perimeter fence of the Pakistan Naval Academy. Khalid glanced out his window and saw the silhouette of a mosque just across the bay. It sat on the water, flanked on one side by an oil pier, and the other, a desolate span of
