I mean, there’s no better alibi than being dead, is there? - Terry Hayes

Apart from opium poppies and hemp plants, kidnappings for ransom had become about the only growth industry in Afghanistan.

I went to open the front passenger’s door. It was locked and she indicated the rear seat. Apparently it was okay for a Muslim woman to lead a man to his death but not to share the front seat with him.

I had read about it, of course, but I had never actually seen the machinery of a totalitarian state in full flight. For anyone who values privacy and freedom it’s a terrifying thing to behold.