It looked abandoned, except for the closed gate. Some of the shutters hung askew, others lay on the ground. The courtyard was littered with debris. The third tier was partially collapsed. Fallen stones lay scattered on the balcony of the tier below.
"It looks like a Buddhist monastery."
"It was, a thousand years ago. There's an odd zone of quiet around this building. Even the Haqqani don't go there. It's as if everyone has decided to leave it alone. We'd never have seen it if we weren't looking for it. The satellite has to be directly above to see it at all, the way the canyon and the mountains are. Notice this shadow."
Hood pointed to a dark blur in the ruins of the third tier. "That's a satellite dish. I don't think the Buddhists had one."
"Looks like a good candidate for a Reaper."
"It would be, if we were certain it's the base for the assassins. We have to find out."
Carter knew what was coming. "And you want us to go take a look."
"That's right."
"That's a job for a full assault team. Why do you need us? You have people on the ground already."
"We did." Hood looked grim. "Now we have two more stars for our wall. You have a good team. Look what you did in Tibet and with that whole unpleasant business here in Washington. You're the right ones to do it. Langley will provide full logistical support, insertion and extraction, everything you need."
And if something went wrong, Carter thought, Langley would have no blame for a failed op.
"Why not send in the Seals? Like with Osama?" Stephanie asked.
"We can't. The Pakis are making a lot of trouble about incursions. And what if this place is some kind of religious school or retreat, a Madrassa? Things are bad enough without making a mistake. We don't have enough intel for that kind of Presidential decision. But you, on the other hand…"
"Are deniable." Nick finished for him.
Hood had the grace to look embarrassed. "Yes, there's that."
"I don't know." Stephanie picked up a photo, set it down. "We have our own way of doing things like this. Our own team. Who runs the show?"
"You do." Hood looked at Nick. "We provide support. As I said, everything you need. The President is okay with this."
"What about your boss? I don't trust him. He doesn't like us."
"The President expressed his displeasure in colorful terms when the DCI informed him about the bomb. Rice told him this op is a top priority. You will be dealing with me, not Director Lodge."
Hood didn't try to defend Lodge. Maybe the DNCS had his eye on the job. Nick filed the thought away.
He thought about Afghanistan and Pakistan. He'd never wanted to see either one again. Things didn't always work out the way you wanted.
"I've got one more question. What are the rules of engagement?"
Hood looked at Nick. "Whatever you say they are."
CHAPTER FIFTY
The team sat in a semicircle looking at the big screen. A real time satellite kept twenty-four hour surveillance on the target, courtesy of Langley. The building and landscape were coated with snow. It was winter in the mountains. Once, someone came out and crossed the courtyard. He was hooded, like a monk. Aside from that, he looked like anyone else in that part of the world. He wasn't carrying weapons. That stood out in an area swarming with militants and terrorists.
The building was fourteen thousand feet up. There was no road. A steep, winding track covered in snow descended along the canyon floor for several miles until it emerged onto a high plain.
Ronnie, Nick and Selena were wheels up for Afghanistan at 0200 the next morning. Lamont's injuries meant the only thing he could do was monitor the mission with Stephanie. He wasn't happy about it. Neither was Nick. They needed Lamont. Carter knew this operation could turn bad fast. The cold weather added another complication.
They had to approach unseen. They had to get in. They had no idea what lay inside. They had no idea how many people were there, or what they might be armed with. A safe assumption was whoever was inside was hostile and armed to the teeth.
"We can't go through the gate," Ronnie said. "It's exposed, they must have lookouts. We'd never get within a hundred yards. This sucks, Nick."
"Yeah. A chopper would be nice. We could drop right into that courtyard. But it's not going to happen."
Nick stood and walked over to the screen. He pointed. "Look at this notch in the canyon ridge, on the left of the courtyard and over it. If we can get to it from the other side, we can rappel down and land right at the front door. It's only two or three hundred feet."
"Excuse me." Selena raised her hand. "Would someone tell me why three of us are going to try and get into a place full of trained assassins who think the end of the world is coming? Doesn't this sound a little difficult to you?"
"It's difficult but not impossible. Pretend you're Tom Cruse. We're going because the President wants us to, Langley is covering its ass and we're expendable."
"Oh, that clears things up. I feel much better now."
"Welcome to the next level of your training." Carter sat down again. "We have a couple of things going for us. We've got surprise. No way they're expecting us. We get into that building, we've got firepower. We can create a lot of confusion. We've only seen one person but there must be more. That's what we'll assume."
Stephanie moved the satellite focus out. They studied the terrain.
"We could set down there, on the Afghan side." Nick indicated a flat area just across the border and a little over six kilometers from the objective. "Six klicks away. Then come in from the west."
Steph moved the focus to the west side of the canyon and zoomed in. A steep slope covered in snow and black rock rose to the ridge overlooking the courtyard. The ragged notch Nick had pointed out was clearly visible.
Nick studied the image. "It looks like we could climb to it."
The slope was bare of vegetation. They'd be fully exposed.
"Night penetration," Ronnie said.
"I agree. The only way." Nick rubbed the back of his head. He had another headache. "Way I see it, we get in and improvise after that. If it's a religious school or some kind of monastery, no problem, we leave. If it's not, we do as much damage as we have to, get as much intel as we can, and leave. Then we call in a strike."
"I don't like this." Stephanie looked at Nick. "We don't know anything."
"Then I guess that's why we're going. To find out what's there."
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
The plane vibrated with the pulsing drone of the engines. For the second time in her life, Selena found herself seated on an orange strap bench in a cavernous C-130. For the second time in her life she was dressed in camo battle gear with a pistol, a K-Bar knife and an MP-5. Different colors for the camo, but everything else was the same.
The first time in a plane like this she'd been busy with her mind, focused on the translation of an old text. The first time, she'd had only a vague idea of what she was in for. The guns, the knife, the gear, it had all been a little unreal. She hadn't known what combat was like. She'd had no idea of the deafening noise of battle, the instant choices that meant life or death. What it felt like to shoot back or die. Now she had more than an idea. Now she knew what might happen.