“Your man on the ground.”
“I do not know what you mean.”
“At Alamut.”
Efraim hesitated. “That is a very sensitive matter. I regret having told you about it.”
“I don’t think you do. I think you wanted me to know about him.”
“What is your question?”
“I told you we would act. You didn’t believe me.”
“You are going to strike?” Efraim asked, surprised.
“Yes.”
“What is the plan?”
“I’ve been asked to present a question to you.”
“This discussion should perhaps be between others, at a higher level.”
“The higher levels have asked me to ask you directly.”
“What is the question?”
“Does the person on the ground have the ability to do laser illumination on the target?”
“You ask too much. If I say yes, you will ask if he would laser designate for your strike.”
“Of course.”
“Then we would be working for you. In your war.”
“Exactly. You told me not to ask about our pilots doing your bidding before. Maybe it is time to return the favor.”
“If in fact such a thing happened… perhaps letting them go was the favor. We don’t need the help of the United States, or of a Navy Lieutenant who is avenging the death of his friend who was only chasing a woman. Do not insult us.”
Kinkaid hadn’t anticipated Efraim’s response. He had no leverage to bring to bear. He waited. The line hummed quietly. The entire room of Americans stared at the speaker on the table, waiting.
Efraim finally spoke. “Perhaps it could be done.”
“Will you?”
“Ah. We get to the ultimate issue. I’m afraid it is beyond my ability to offer. I would need to ask others. It could only happen once, if at all.”
“I assumed he was well hidden.”
“No one is undiscoverable.”
“Efraim, I need to hear back from you immediately. Our aircraft can do it by themselves, but the precision required in this mission would benefit greatly from someone on the ground. If you can’t do it, let me know. We may drop in one of our own people to do it.”
“I would recommend in the strongest possible terms that you not do that. It could compromise your mission and ours.”
“The Navy has its own people who could be there in less than twenty-four hours—”
“Yes. Your DEVGROUP, I suppose. Do not do this.”
Kinkaid smiled at the others in the task force. “Then make it so I don’t have to.”
“We will see.”
“I need to hear back from you in less than an hour. If you’re not willing to help, we’ll be launching our own people immediately, but even that will not be ideal. They don’t know what’s inside the hill. Now, if you’re willing to share a diagram with—”
“I will let you know as soon as I know.”
“Thank you, Efraim.”
“I haven’t said that I am willing to help. You are beginning to make me regret I said anything to you.”
“You will not regret it in the long run.”
“I will call. And, Joseph, please make sure your Turk knows none of this. It cannot get into the wrong hands.”
Kinkaid glanced at Sami, who sat with his hand over his chin, listening to every word. “I will await your call.”
The line went dead and Kinkaid put the receiver back on its cradle. He looked at the room full of CIA officers.
Cunningham spoke. “They owe us. Ricketts.”
Kinkaid nodded. “Efraim will remember him later.”
“We’re still just doing their dirty work,” Sami said.
“How?” Kinkaid asked, exasperated.
“Maybe they want us to go after him in Iran because they couldn’t. They’ve known about him. Who knows, maybe for years. They failed to take him out, which they wouldn’t hesitate to do, if they could have. They tried in Lebanon, and missed again. Maybe rather than attack the Sheikh in his fortified positions, they just lateraled the whole thing to us.” Sami played with the blank notepad in front of him. “This whole reluctance to let us use an agent on the ground to laser the target? I don’t buy it. They’ll do it. Guaranteed. It was the plan all along. If we called, they’d be there for the final stroke. I think their guy is on the ground for this very purpose. Always has been. You’ll see,” Sami said, standing. He leaned against the wall and put his hands in his pockets defensively. They were all listening. “They got to where we are now, except they thought it through first. Instead of just bombing the fortresses to dust, they realized they’d never get it done. They knew they couldn’t penetrate this guy’s cave. They don’t have the GBU-28. They don’t have the weapon. But we do.”
“The what? What kind of bomb did you say?”
“GBU-28.”
The others in the task force looked at one another. “What the hell is that?” Cunningham asked.
“Penetrates a hundred feet. It was designed to get Saddam Hussein. They dropped two of them during the Gulf War.”
“How do you know that?”
“I read Jane’s Defence Weekly like all the rest of you should.”
“Whatever. But they couldn’t just ask us for a couple of these magic bombs?” Cunningham asked sarcastically. “We only give them what, three billion dollars a year? Come on.”
“Sure they could have asked. And we would almost surely have given it to them. But then they would have had to fly into Iran. They have never flown into Iran. They want us to do it, because if Iran blows up, we can handle it. They might not be able to. This is going perfectly according to their plan.”
The others sat silently. Kinkaid saw their faces. He realized Sami was gaining converts. “I think you’ve read too many novels,” he said, trying to be lighthearted.
Sami was undeterred. “If you think Israel’s above using us, or anybody, you’re mistaken. Don’t forget the Liberty incident. Not only will they use us, they will kill us if it serves their purposes.”
“That was an accident,” Kinkaid protested.
Cunningham and the others laughed out loud.
Kinkaid blushed. “That is the accepted position of our government.”
Sami couldn’t believe his ears. “Why do we give them the benefit of the doubt?” he asked, looking around the room at the rest of the task force. He was angry. “Why them? Why do we disregard the Syrian Ambassador to the UN, and believe everything this Efraim tells us?”
“Experience.”
Sami stood up, agitated. “Experience? Israel has stabbed us in the back many times. They have spied on us, tricked us, used us, lied to us. Hell, they lie to themselves! What about the Mossad guy — I forget his name — who claimed to have a big spy inside Syria, and took out money to pay this guy for like twenty years, all about the Golan Heights, all kinds of stuff, then someone finally checks on it when he says Syria is about to go to war against Israel, and they find out it was all total bullshit. Guy made it all up and faked the reports. That was a Mossad guy!”
“They have been our friend in the Middle East—” Kinkaid replied.
“You are too close to this Efraim,” Sami accused. “You aren’t objective anymore.”
“Watch it — “ Kinkaid warned. The rest of the task force was staring in disbelief. “We’re all tired, and saying things—”
“Tired?” Sami asked. “I’m not tired, or at least not so tired that I don’t know what Israel is about. They are out for themselves. Always. If we are in the way, they will do whatever they need to do to us.”
Kinkaid looked at Sami in a new light, remembering Efraim’s warning. “Perhaps you are biased—”