“I don’t like it,” Dale said. “Not one bit.”
“That shit will get us killed,” Clements added.
“Hence why we’re not playing by our normal rules. We’ll attempt using our technology. Rivers has some accessories that might also help in the field. Surveillance items and such. But still, we don’t know what will work, if anything,” Reynolds replied.
“Guess we’re going old school,” Jefferson said with a grin.
“That’s exactly why you gentlemen were brought in,” Elizabeth said. “You’ll use whatever tactics are needed to complete this mission.”
The Colonel nodded. “Your mission is to kill. Simple, eh? Most important, you must get them all.”
“How do we verify that?” Dale asked. “Shit, depends on how big the cave is. If any slipped out.”
“Remember one thing. It’s in their upbringing to obey. In the eighties, the Muj had seen many great warriors. Each region consisted of counsels of some form, mostly warlords. The tougher the warlord, the more power he had. These were the leaders of men. These were the Soviet’s primary targets.”
“You’re saying some remain,” Dale said, beginning to understand.
“Exactly. These things are living in the past. If still alive, they have a strong leader, one who they’d answer to without question. The goal, in our opinion, is to find the head of the snake, and cut it off,” Reynolds told.
“Who is… or was he?” Dale asked.
“Ahmed Massoud. He was a great leader, one who loved getting his hands dirty. Especially with Soviet blood. He was in the top ten on the Soviet hit list, so to say. They tried over and over again, but could never kill him. He was very elusive, and very dangerous.”
“Did they know he was in this cave when they fired that shit into it?” Clements asked.
It was a good question.
Elizabeth nodded reluctantly.
Sighs were heard throughout the room.
“Thing is, we’re pretty sure he was in that cave, and if he’s still alive, even if he’s changed, he’d be in charge,” Reynolds said. “Without a doubt, they’d answer to him.”
“So we need to get to this Ahmed,” Dale noted.
“Cut the head off the snake and the body dies,” Reynolds replied. “Seek and destroy all that inhabit that cave, but make sure you take out their leader. We’re hoping, if you can do this, it’ll put them in complete disarray,” Reynolds said.
“That’s our strategy, eh?” Dale said smartly. “How we going to find him? Or is he going to come out waving his arms saying he’s the leader?”
“Sergeant, I’m just telling you the best strategy we have at the moment,” the Colonel said. “Besides, Ahmed Massoud was the sort of leader who actually led his men. The kinda guy who’s boots touched the ground first,” Reynolds said. Then, as if an afterthought, he added something very important. “Oh, and Sergeant York saw him. He didn’t hesitate when we showed him this picture,” Reynolds said, motioning to Michael.
He clickity-clacked on his keyboard, pulling up the photograph.
“This is the last known photograph taken of Ahmed Massoud. It was taken within a few hours of the Soviet strike,” Reynolds said. “The picture is grainy, but his features are memorable. If you’ll note, there’s a large scar that runs down the side of his face.”
“Wait, this picture was taken the same day they fired that shit into the cave?” Thompson questioned.
“That’s correct.”
“Damn, guess the Soviets wanted a before and after shot,” Clements said.
“It wasn’t taken by the Soviets. It was taken by the Americans.”
“Did we know about the chemical?” Dale asked, hoping he wouldn’t hear a ‘yes’.
“No, of course not. Remember, we were financing the fight. Training their men. Building caves and tunnels, supplying them with weapons. It was our fight with the Soviets, done by proxy.”
The men stared at the picture, taking in the image, remembering his features. Luckily, Ahmed did look unique. They’d remember his face.
“So the Americans just happened to be there?”
“Just watching is all. From a distance, as you can tell from the picture.”
“Who took it?” Dale asked.
“I did,” Reynolds replied.
Eyebrows raised, each of the men curious, though knew better than to ask questions. Instead, they took their time, studying the picture even longer, gazing at Ahmed’s features, taking notice of the long scar, staring into his cold eyes.
“All right, it’s settled,” Dale said. “We go in and we kill them all. Especially this Ahmed guy… we’ll make sure and take him out.”
73
“So, if we can’t fly over, how we getting down there?” Thompson asked.
“Your drop point will be here,” Elizabeth pointed to the map. “It’s the adjacent valley. You’ll have to cross this path, in the dark. We want you set up on the other side by dawn.”
“Damn, that’s pretty far,” Thompson said. “Another problem, you say drop point? How we getting there?”
“Plane,” Elizabeth said.
“But I thought—”
“Sergeant Thompson, your team will execute a HAHO jump, about twenty miles out,” Elizabeth said. “You’ll glide in.”
“Um, excuse me,” Svetlana raised her hand, asking, “What’s that mean?”
“High Altitude High Opening,” Rivers said. “We’re jumping from an airplane, high up too,” he said, grinning.
“Um, how high?” Svetlana asked.
“Thirty-two thousand feet,” Elizabeth answered. “You’ll be wearing oxygen masks at that altitude. You’ll pull your chutes quickly, and float on in.”
“Float?” Svetlana looked appalled, paler, as if she might get sick.
“Ah, it’s no big thing,” Rivers said.
Elizabeth ignored him, knowing Jeff Rivers to be quite the womanizer, knowing that he was flirting. It irritated her, but she continued, saying, “You’ll land here,” she pointed to the map at the adjacent valley. “Gather your supplies. From there, you’ll hike in.”
“That’s pretty far,” Dale commented.
“We can’t risk flying too near the valley. This provides us the safest option.”
“HAHO, eh?” Thompson said. “Who’s taking the woman?” he asked.
HAHO was a technique used to covertly insert behind enemy lines. The Delta team were experts at it, having done so many times. Thompson always enjoyed the rush, but then again, he had trained for it many times. He had a valid question.
“Someone will have to tandem with her,” Elizabeth explained.
“I’ll do it,” Rivers volunteered. Again, it angered Elizabeth, but Rivers added, “You said she’s my problem.” He looked at Svetlana, his voice gentle, saying, “Don’t worry, hun. It’ll be safe. Done it a million times.”
Nothing he could say could soothe the woman.
“Can I assume we’re doing a night drop?” Dale asked.
“We hope so,” Elizabeth said. “You’ll be dropped in the early morning hours. Once you gather your supplies, you’ll make your way to the valley. It should take most of the day, and you can set up recon that night. You’ll wait until the next morning before going in. Like I said, you’ll have no resistance from the villagers.”
“Sure, maybe… if you say so. But that area is still hot. Should we expect any resistance from other parties? Taliban?”
“Some, perhaps. It’s where the original Delta team encountered theirs.”