The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

front of the airport and drove back towards Mikrorayon, which was quiet and deserted.Residents of that district remained in the safety of their apartments, quietly praying. TheSoviet operatives didn’t see anything of note there and turned back towards the center ofthe city.They soon found themselves back on 26 Saratan Street, where many tankscontinued to dodge shells and return fire. An armored vehicle was in flames near Daoud’sresidence. Valery and Victor did not see anybody killed or wounded there. Suddenly a tankappeared, heading directly toward their car. Victor managed to maneuver the Toyota out ofthe path of the speeding tank’s treads just as the tank fired a shell towards the Ark. Theshockwave knocked the front passenger door of the Toyota open and deafened Valery, whohad to overcome his instinct to jump into a ditch to avoid the projectiles. He clutched theseat firmly with his left hand, reached for the passenger door, and slammed it closed.“How many times do I need to tell you not to slam the door?” Victor grumbled. “It’llbe the end of this poor car.”Valery said nothing. He was silently smiling. In a moment like this, when theproximity of death should evoke thoughts of eternity and repentance, his friend’s outburstwas comical and, more importantly, revealed that Victor’s steely nerves were about toburst.Once they reached the Hadji Yaqub Mosque, Victor began making a series ofconsecutive left turns. They drove by the residence of the American ambassador, the Indianembassy, and the Afghan Ministry of Internal Affairs. The area around the Americanambassador’s residence and the Indian embassy was quiet. Afghan policemen sat in theirbooths as if nothing had happened. Now, however, they did not seem bored. It was obvious58