when he had been pinned down under insurgent fire in the deserts of afghanistan , the land flat and wide for a hundred miles in every direction and the hated sun of that cursed land purging any semblance of shadow save the blasted and pitiful makeshift barrier he crouched behind he had almost expected to hear those words , `` hi brother , '' and to turn and see her next to him -- a petulant look pasted on her face .