Code of Honor

Two agents, both white, come into the interrogation room. One is a disheveled looking man in his fifties, and the other a perfectly coifed, young, pretty blond woman with a tight bun that makes her face look harsh and unforgiving. The woman introduces herself as Special Agent Tomaszewski; the male agent is not introduced, though he asks Tomaszewski if Kamran's handcuffs are necessary.

Tomaszewski begins to question Kamran, pulling out a file on his family. Kamran asks for a lawyer; Tomaszewski makes it clear that he isn't under arrest, saying, “you're a guest of the United States government” (58). She also makes it clear that he won't be leaving until they get the answers they want about his family. Kamran explains that his mother was raised Muslim, but she is non-practicing, and that his brother wouldn't be accepted by al-Qaeda because he is a Shi'a Muslim by heritage. After some other questions, Tomaszewski finally lets Kamran talk about the code he thinks Darius is trying to communicate in his videos.

Agent Tomaszewski listens to Kamran talk about the codes, and begins to ask him some pointed questions about Darius. She pulls out the Code of Honor Kamran and Darius made as children, which her agents had photographed and submitted as evidence. She begins to ask Kamran questions about the final quest of Rostam, which involved conquering the “White Demon,” a symbol that some connect to white invaders from north of Persia. Agent Tomaszewski is interested in who Darius thought was a monster; Kamran insists his brother was fighting for the good of America. Tomaszewski is clearly skeptical. She asks Kamran about the neighbor boys, who Darius beat up for calling him racial slurs, then asks, “Why would Darius throw everything away?” (64).

Agent Tomaszewski then reveals that Darius had Muslim prayer beads in his apartment. His computer was searched, and agents found recurrent searches about how to accommodate devout Muslim customs in the American military, like shaving a beard or wearing boots while praying. Kamran is shocked. He wonders if Darius really did become a devout Muslim, and what it means if he did.

Many days pass. Kamran is locked in a small cell most days, and spends his mornings being interviewed by Tomaszewski and her mostly silent, disheveled partner. He is brought back to his cell for lunch, and then often returns to be interviewed by more agents in the afternoon. They go over the same material again and again, until Kamran begins to doubt his own convictions. He wonders if Darius had been broken by years of racial bias: “Had they called him ‘monster’ with their looks and their whispers and their prejudice so often that he had finally decided to become what they said he was?” (67).

Kamran's dinner tray has already been taken for the day. There is a knock on his cell door. He is confused, and worried, but opens the door to let whomever it is inside.