Train to Turkmenistan

Next day, while working in the bakery Sahar checked the old receipts on the pretext of tallying old bills. "You are very hard working!" praise Riyaz as he saw Sahar sitting with lots of papers around her. Sahar nodded her head and went back to work. Sahar noticed a constant name in all the papers – Khalif Flour Mill. "This has to be it, if the cash is being supplied to the bakeries, this place is providing it." Sahar thought.

Sahar found the location of the Khalif Flour Mills. It was on the way towards her village. Sahar left after the Iftar and took a bus to her village. On the way, she spotted the flour mill and got down. As she walked toward the mill. The workers had finished their shift and they were going home. Sahar observed from a distance that, the security guard locked the door and went into his cabin. After there was no one around, Sahar broke in. The boundary walls were high but Sahar took a run-up and managed to climb the wall. She landed on the side very softly like a cat.

Sahar was looking for the parking area, and after walking for a few meters, she found the truck she had seen on her first day at the bakery. The truck that had carried the cash box, was marked with the red X. As Sahar reached the parking area, she found herself surrounded by those similar boxes, all marked with the red X. "This can't be real, the money in one such box was in itself an unbelievable quantity. I don't think this mill can have enough cash to fill, all of these boxes," thought Sahar.

But Sahar was about to get the shock of her life. Sahar opened the truck door and found it to be filled with Chinese cash. From the bottom to the top, the whole truck was filled with cash. Sahar couldn't imagine what was she looking at. She uncovered her burkha and let the extraordinary sight in. "A truck full of cash," mumbled Sahar. Sahar locked the door again and thought of exploring the place a bit more.

Sahar had walked not more than a few sets of steps and she stood still. There were more trucks in front of her. Exactly similar to the one she had just checked. The one which was brimming with cash. All white and all bearing the name Khalif Flour mills, in broad red strokes. Sahar was certain this truck will have no more surprises for her. They all will be just filled with flour, that's it. But as Sahar started to unlock all ten trucks one by one, the results were mind-blowing. Sahar fell to her knees. All the trucks, ten here and the one in the packaging center were filled with Chinese cash in them. "What's happening, who is giving them, so much money, and on what will they spend this money?"

Sahar looks around for any clues and on a table, she finds the paperwork of these trucks. There were toll receipts that indicated that these trucks had been to the Torghundi railway station. Torghundi is a border town in Herat province. This railway connects Afghanistan with Turkmenistan. "Chinese cash arriving from Turkmenistan, why would somebody does that," wondered Sahar and left the mill, as quietly as she had entered it.

The next day, Sahar took a leave from her bakery job on the pretext of getting her heart checked and went to the military hospital. Aaron and Mike were present in the room. Sahar entered and laid out all the details to them. Lieutenant Mike looked worried, "We sent the Chinese currency you brought from the bakery, it is not a fake. And nice job on finding, the location of their arrival. We never thought we will have to be worried about cargo coming in from Turkmenistan. These bastards found a long but efficient way to bring money in the country."

Sahar was still in shock from the sight she had seen yesterday, "It's not just money, it is a truck full of money and not one or two but eleven trucks full of Chinese currency in Afghanistan. What do you think this is about?" "That we will find out, we have already set eyes on the mill and the trucks. We will now know where they move to," replied Lieutenant Mike. "Are you not going to cease all this money?" Asked Sahar. "No, we want to know what they are going to use it for," justified Lieutenant Mike.

Lieutenant Mike left, leaving Sarah and Aaron alone in the room. "Are you free tomorrow?" asked Sahar. Aaron was pleasantly surprised, he quickly replied, "Yes! Off course. Do you need any help?" "No, not any help. Tomorrow is Eid, the end of Ramazan, a celebration with food and friends and I would like to invite you for lunch," said Sahar. Aaron couldn't help but blush, he was unimaginably happy, "Yes, I would be there, but what about a foreign man not being allowed at your house?"

"It's Ramzan we can have guests at home and then you have saved my life. The neighbors think you rescued me from the desert and are now providing me free treatment for my heart too," said Sahar. Aaron was delighted the cover he created for Sahar also lets him visit her. "I'll be there," said Aaron.

On the afternoon of Ramzan, Aaron was at Sahar's house. Sam was with him too, who was immediately dumbstruck when he looked at Zahira. Aaron was in for a shock too; Sahar was not wearing a burkha today. She was dressed in a beautiful red dress. Looking like a rose in the desert. They all were enjoying the delicious Afghani dishes when Aaron's phone rang. It was Lieutenant Mike on the other side. Mike said, "The cash was used to exchange Russian weapons at the port. A box was also delivered to the bakery. Sahar must find out where the box goes from there."