It was time for supper on the trail to Kathmandu. They had been going hard for eight hours with time out for breakfast, a very short stop for lunch and a ten-minute break every hour. The first foot check uncovered some small blisters that, when taped over, presented no problem or pain. Anita selected a site for supper, but when she got closer to the site, she saw the remains of several fires. A quick look around and she moved the party up the mountainside and into a narrow depression, out of sight of anyone moving along the trail. Twice earlier she had heard a group coming and alerted everyone to get off the trail and into some concealment. Both parties had been strings of six or seven porters traveling together, bent forward, eyes on the trail under their heavy loads.

Jack was pleased with the performance of his small group but decided they weren’t trail hardened yet and announced they would eat here and move on for another mile and stop for the night. Jack helped Kathy off with her pack and could see he had made the right decision. Kathy needed a break. She had been going on sheer nerve the last hour. She leaned against Jack and said, “I’m really bushed. I thought I was in good condition. I’m not. Thank God we are stopping early. I don’t think I could have maintained our pace for two more hours. I can’t wait to eat some of the heavy food I’m carrying. Maybe,” she said, with her old grin, “I’ll eat everything in my damned pack.”

While Anita prepared supper, Jack studied the map. He was surprised there was so little traffic on the trail. It appeared to be the main and, for long distances, the only trail marked on the map leading to Kathmandu. They were traveling in broad daylight in the prime hours of the day and had only seen two groups of porters all day. Why was that?

Over tin plates piled with boiled rice, lentils, dried corn and peas, Jack said what had been bothering him. Anita added that she was so used to an empty trail, the two groups of porters had surprised her. She had noticed the trail did not show much past traffic. Kathy told them she would put on her South Asia scholar’s hat and give them a few possibilities.

While they ate supper, Kathy gave them her instant analysis. “The first possibility is this trail was probably used much more in past decades than today. While there aren’t many roads in Nepal compared to other more developed countries, the new existing road network carries freight to hub points making the use of long mountain trails like this one no longer economical. Secondly, not many people live out here. The cities have grown at the cost of depopulating the remote countryside.

“The trail is more useful for short hauls between nearby villages, five or ten miles apart. When we get close to a village, I’m sure we will have to deal with more travelers. The last reason is, with the current unrest in Nepal, remote trails like this one may not be safe for solitary or unarmed travelers. There may be official or unofficial checkpoints, or some of the insurgents could be extracting a toll from all users.”

Jack told Kathy it made sense to him, and Kathy could see Anita nodding her head.

Jack then said, “Let’s talk about a strategy for dealing with different kinds of travelers on this trail. For example, I’m concerned about two kinds of armed travelers. The first is the armed group wearing military or police type uniforms. We have no permits to be here and no permits to carry weapons. The second is an armed group of men dressed in peasant clothing and looking like some sort of a militia organization, such as the Maoist insurgents. I don’t want a firefight with the Nepalese Army or police. Them, we must avoid. If we can’t avoid them, we need a plausible cover story.

“I have a possible cover story. This tour director, Bahadur Thapa, tried to force us to pay him double the agreement. When we refused, he put us ashore on the west bank of the Trisuli River and said if he ever saw us again, he would kill us. He kept our passports and we’re trying our best to get to Kathmandu and the police. Can you help us?”

Kathy laughed and said, “Jack, you are turning into a first rate spy. That’s a good cover story, close to the truth, simple and believable. The guy at the ferry crossing can confirm part of our story, and the restaurant at Devghat will remember we were with Bahadur. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.”

Anita agreed. “Now,” Jack said, “The problem of Maoist travelers could be more difficult. They are not going to be interested in any cover story. They are more likely to use a capture or kill approach. Our gear and weapons are valuable enough to get us killed. We can hide, run or shoot first. If we can’t hide, we’ll shoot first.”

Jack turned to Anita and said, “You may have to move out farther in advance, 50 to 80 meters. If you’re seen, evade to the uphill side and back toward us.”

After supper they moved a mile down the trail until Anita found a good camp site, far enough from the trail their low voices would not reach anyone on the trail, and the site showed no past use. Even better, Kathy thought, the damn place was almost level. When she crawled into the bag with Jack, the only thing on her mind was sleep. Jack rubbed her back, and she went instantly to sleep.

 

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan.