Suicide Highway. Don Pendleton

Man Farm. The Executioner was the cat who walked by himself. He chose whether to go along with the soldiers of Able Team or Phoenix Force when they needed an extra hand. And he chose when to discharge his duties elsewhere.

      The career of the big soldier wasn’t one defined by pay, or orders. It was entirely personal. It had started with destroying major chunks of the criminal organization that drove his family to its death. It moved up to battling terrorists, and then to the Executioner’s realization that there was more that needed to be done than what was sanctioned by any pencil-pushing politician or even Brognola himself.

      “I’m sorry. Thanks for letting us know that you’ve got other pots cooking,” the big Fed said. His cheeks burned, even though he knew Bolan would forgive him.

      “If it’s any consolation, you could be right about who I might be doing,” Bolan said.

      “I’m betting it’s Chaman,” Brognola said, pulling the report of an attack on a relief hospital setup near a refugee camp in Afghanistan.

      “Remind me to keep you away from LasVegas,” Bolan said.

      A chuckle relieved the pressure in Brognola’s gut. “I dunno. I don’t remember having much time to place bets any time we’ve been to Vegas. Besides, I’d be much more interested in catching one of the shows.”

      “Well, that’s one thing Vegas and Chaman will have in common,” the Executioner said.

      Brognola chuckled. “You’ve always been known for your tiger impersonation.”

      “Yeah. But when I put my teeth into someone’s neck, I intend to take their head off,” Bolan said.

      MACK BOLAN WENT to Afghanistan in answer to the murders of UN relief workers, but he went not to bury them, but to insure that no one else would fall. The soldier’s duty he undertook didn’t have room for feelings of hatred and revenge.

      He needed assistance, and while the cyberteam he usually relied upon at Stony Man Farm might have proved helpful anywhere else, in the technological wasteland of Afghanistan, Internet evidence of the suspected Taliban perpetrators was scarce.

      That meant that the Executioner was going to have to go hunting the old-fashioned way. Electronics only went so far, but human eyes and ears, and trusted old friends, could reach further and deeper than anything. When the world was still in a cold, cold war, Bolan had been to Afghanistan often and had built up a network of allies, warriors among the mujahideen, the first and finest of whom was Tarik Khan, an old ally from the very last days that Bolan had been known as Colonel John Phoenix.

      Aleser Khan looked every bit the younger version of his Uncle Tarik, and though he didn’t know Bolan personally, the two men knew each other by reputation. The young leader accepted the soldier into his camp as if he were a long lost cousin, and listened to the Executioner’s reasons for being there. Aleser’s dark brown eyes flashed with outrage, not at his presence, but at the need for the Executioner’s presence. His long black hair flowed like the mane of the lion he was named after.

      “My uncle and my cousin owe you their lives, Al-Askari. It matters not which name you travel under. You will always have the best Aleser Khan can provide you, in men or arms,” the young mujahideen leader told him. “Especially when it comes to righting the wrongs done by those who claim to be our countrymen.”

      “Thank you.” Bolan accepted, glad at Aleser’s facility with English. While the soldier knew enough Arabic to help him get around most of the Middle East, the Dahri dialect wasn’t one he was as skilled with. “I know that the men of the Taliban are no sons of this land, just another conquering army in a long line,” he said.

      “That they succeeded so well leaves the taste of ashes in my mouth, Colonel,” Aleser stated. “We would hunt them down ourselves, but your military commanders tell us that it is their job to insure the peace.”

      Bolan frowned. “They mean well, but sometimes they tie the wrong hands. Mine, however, are free.”

      “Tarik Khan spoke of your willingness to step outside the laws thrown in your path. What others consider walls, you step over as scratches in the dirt,” Aleser stated. “Ask what you will, and I shall give you anything.”

      Bolan was already well-armed, thanks to the generosity of Khan. He didn’t want to risk the lives of any others in his crusade. All Bolan needed, and asked for, was information—a handle on his enemy so he could work his way up the chain of command. Aleser responded totally. Though disappointed the request was so simple, and that he would do no more than act as a pointer, the Afghan warrior not only gave Bolan a handle, but a road map of potential Taliban targets, from desert training camps untouched by the U.S. military to urban cells nestled in towns, hiding under the noses of their enemy.

      “It is the same information I have given many in your government,” Aleser said, dejectedly.

      “Let me guess. Nobody acted on any of it,” Bolan replied.

      Aleser shook his head, a deep melancholy in his leonine eyes. “And now, unarmed healers and caregivers lay dead at their hands. Only say the word, Colonel, and I shall assemble fifty of my best men, and we shall descend upon them and slay them all.”

      “It’s tempting,” Bolan stated, “and I am honored by your offer. I cannot risk, however, our forces mistaking you for the enemy. If you are armed for war, and lurking around our area of control…”

      Aleser nodded.

      “I look like one of them, at least. And one man can disappear more easily than fifty,” Bolan explained.

      “Then if you wish stealth and a low profile, you will need more than one man.”

      “I cannot—” Bolan began.

      “You cannot speak our dialects fluently. You come seeking information, and you will undoubtedly come across more in your quest,” Aleser replied. “My younger brother, Laith, he speaks English as well as I do, as well as half a dozen local dialects. He moves like a hunting cat, is good with a gun, but will follow orders.”

      “Are you sure?” Bolan asked. “I’ve been assigned young bucks in the past.”

      Aleser smiled and put a reassuring hand on Bolan’s shoulder. “Laith’s enthusiasm has been long since tempered. The wilderness does not suffer many fools.”

      Aleser gestured toward the newcomer entering the tent, a young man just inches short of six feet, with short, curly black hair and light brown eyes that flickered golden with the reflected lamplight. He looked out of place in the Afghan camp, and for a moment, Bolan wasn’t sure if it was one of the mujahideen, or perhaps a Green Beret assigned to the area.

      The newcomer was dressed not in the traditional robes of an Afghan warrior, but in a green coverall that Bolan recognized as a Nomex jumpsuit, used by American pilots and Special Forces soldiers alike. Over the flight suit was a black vest festooned with tool and magazine pouches. One of the pouches had been improvised into a holster for a handgun. While the outfit was relatively clean, Bolan saw signs that this wasn’t original GI issue for the young man.

      The jumpsuit showed wear and tear, weathering except for patches just below the youth’s elbow and kneepads. The previous owner, having worn similar joint protection, kept those parts of the garment looking newer. The cuffs on his wrists were turned in, and the young Afghan wore no gloves, a mainstay of U.S. operators in either full or fingerless form for the past decade. The final clue was the lack of shooting glasses.

      Bolan aside, no active American special operations trooper as young as this man would be caught without a set of protective eyewear.

      Laith Khan looked Bolan over, evaluating him, but not challenging. Apparently the Executioner met the young man’s standards of approval, because Laith took a step forward and extended his hand. “It is a pleasure to meet the man who saved my cousin and my uncle.”

      “I am honored by the hospitality of your tribe,” Bolan answered, shaking hands. The kid’s grip was strong, and his fingers not quite so callused