CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
6:35 p.m. West Africa Time (12:35 p.m. Eastern Standard Time)
Sambisa Forest
Borno State, Nigeria
Border with Chad
In the forest, when night came, perfect dark descended.
The ancient military truck moved slowly through the darkness, headlights off, bouncing along the rutted and pitted dirt road. Old springs squeaked and squealed, as the engine blatted and farted black smoke, smoke darker than the forest itself.
Two dozen men walked with the truck, in front of it, alongside it, behind it. They wore dark green camouflage kaftans and pants, and heavy black combat boots. They wore black bulletproof vests. They carried AK-47 rifles. A few in front carried flashlights, sweeping the road ahead for unseen obstacles.
“How soon?” the man in the passenger seat said.
His n
