Question I

[Jonetta]

Decker traps Sophia but doesn’t buy her story of her capture by Bashir and the death of Dimitri. Why was it so difficult for him to believe her? Why was it so difficult for her to believe him? What did you think when he allowed her to become intimate with him?

[Sharon]

Both people are in a dangerous position. Decker knew that Lartet sent one person after him; it wouldn't surprise him if he sent the woman too. Decker knew that Sophia sprinkled some truth in with her lies. He didn't know what the truth was and what was a lie.

Sophia couldn't trust anyone immediately. She had to see if Bashir sent Decker. Her distrust was the fear of getting sent back to Bashir. She knew what that would mean for her.

[Jonetta]

I’ve mulled over this a lot and listening to the scenes was illuminating. Both of them are skilled operatives trying to relate to each other as if they’re not and both could see through it. There was no trust here because they were trained not to be. It was so frustrating.

[Lauren]

Neither one was in a position of being able to trust a complete stranger.

As to why Deck allowed Sofia to get so close, he was thinking with the wrong brain...

[Jonetta]

😂😂😂

[Anita]

This is one of the scenes I didn't much like in this book. Decker is stalking her and he has no reason for doing that. Sofia thinks he is just a westerner there for profiteering reasons and would turn her in for the reward.

Decker was definitely thinking with the wrong head, or he would have seen that she was in trouble and was not a threat to him and that she needed his help.

[Jonetta]

It’s a scene I disliked both times.

[Sharon]

The way I heard this scene gives both Decker and Sophia a pass. Decker is back in a place where he knows he can't trust anyone but his team. Sophia was giving him an evil eye at the bar. He sensed something was wrong with her sitting among the prostitutes. He had to question if she was a spy for Bashir, Lartet, or one of the other evil people looking to kill an American.

Sophia was broken after everything that Bashir did to her. The only weapon she felt worked on all men was sex. Decker was conflicted about his feelings for Tess and listened to his inner dialogue, telling him sex with someone else would get his mind off any feelings for Tess.

If Decker and Sophia met a day or two later, I believe their encounter would play out differently.

[Jonetta]

The only reason why I hold Decker more accountable is because Sophia was trying to survive, he knew that and had the upper hand.

[Sharon]

I see your point.

The reason I looked at both is because of stories my cousin tole me years ago about some of his experiences in Vietnam. Women and children were used as suicide bombers so often they never knew who to trust.

I suspect a place like Kazbekistan would do the same thing although they wouldn't used young boys only young women. I had the vision of those young girls found dead when the school fell.