"Listening?"
"Oh yeah, I hacked into the cell towers. It was a breeze."
"One more thing," Styles said. "This group is a democracy. Decisions about who the group goes after, how we do it, and decisions that involve the group are just that: a group decision. The fact that we all have a specific role to play and at times we help each other as required and how we perform our specific roles is obviously up to us. I just wanted to clarify that. Okay, everybody get some sleep. We do a final analysis at six thirty sharp."
At 6:28 a.m., Styles opened the door, and Phillips joined the three guys in the motel room they were bunked in. Starr was in possession of the GPS receiver tracking the vehicles Styles had targeted. It displayed the truck still parked at Ali's compound. Styles was leading the assembly.
"Phillips, you'll be with me. Dress in full camo, including face concealment. Bring your armament, including suppressors, and your interrogation kit. Starr, you're going to have to supplant J. C. on the surveillance of Ellhad, since he needs to be in the copter. Be sure to have a full complement of gear with you. I want you to take up the position I marked on the map. That's the only way away from Ali's property that Ellhad will take. We'll keep in touch via our comm units. J. C., I already planted the GPS transmitter in the small field you'll use as the landing zone. Phillips, we have to be careful in avoiding the CIA or FBI going in. We don't want to get into a firefight with them."
"Do you want me to go ahead and land or just circle around?"
"Circle. When you file your flight plan, mention that you're on a photography assignment. You'll only land if we call for an extract."
"How far do you want me to stay back?" asked Starr.
"No more than a mile. You need to be close enough so that if he swaps for a rental, you can be sure to see what he's in. That's when you'll have to get a transmitter on that truck. There's a strong possibility that he won't stop. In that case, don't under any circumstances lose track of him. The one shot you should have is when he goes to pick up that camper rental. I didn't see one on the property. Anybody got any questions?"
All three shook their heads.
"All right. Starr, you're in the silver sedan. Phillips, you and I are in the Yukon. J. C. takes the Jeep, but remember, it has a stolen tag on it. You'll be leaving it at the airport, so wherever you park, be sure to back in. Phillips, we leave in thirty. Let's go."
Twenty-eight minutes later, Styles and Phillips were the only two at the motel. They were walking toward the dark brown Yukon they would be driving. Styles had loaded his gear earlier. Phillips was carrying hers. Styles opened the back passenger door, and Phillips threw her equipment across the backseat. Styles looked around carefully; no one appeared to be paying any attention to them.
Styles got behind the wheel, and they headed out.
"Any words of advice?" asked Phillips.
"Keep a three-sixty awareness and a close eye on your compass once I give you the signal. Hold it as I showed you; it'll detect a pressure plate. Now listen to me. Darlene, this is not about prisoners. This is about killing terrorists. When you shoot someone, and you will, be sure they are down. If in doubt, put one in their head. This is important: how far out are you accurate with your AR?"
"Four hundred yards with the sniper scope."
"How about with your EOTech?"
"Deadly to seventy-five, accurate to a hundred. That's what's mounted now."
"Good enough for me. We're going to get in close and hole up. After Ellhad leaves with the camper, we'll clear the cabins and then the main house. There will be at least two guards on the roof of each cabin on the end, possibly four. There are also sentries in deer stands in the woods. We take them as we come across them. We have to assume they have radios, but they probably won't use them on a regular check-in. When we start in, be sure you have your subsonic rounds loaded. Once we get ready to start the clear, we'll change over to green-tips," he continued, referencing the armor-piercing rounds. "Last thing: anybody in there is considered a hostile. Anybody. You okay with that?"
"I'm okay with all of it," she replied sternly.
28
CIA Team Leader Marty Larrow was awakened by his cell phone ringing at four in the morning. Groping for it, he answered, "Larrow here."
He was informed that the two agents charged with keeping an eye on Ryyaki Ali's estate had not checked in and could not be raised by either cell phone or radio. The agents had been located by obtaining a fix via their cell phones. Both were dead. One had had his throat cut, while the other had severe bruising and swelling in the front of his throat, suggesting the man had suffered severe blunt force trauma. Some type of strike.
"Does it look as though Ali was responsible?"
"No way to know that at this time, sir," asserted Special Agent Ryan Back, who had discovered the bodies. "Latell informed us that they had missed two checks, and we could not contact them. She was able to locate one of the cell phones; we went to the location and made the discovery. The agent who suffered the knife wound, that would be something a Taliban fighter would do, but the blow to the throat, that's not their style. We should know more after the autopsies." The call ended, and Larrow threw his cell phone across his motel room.
He had to call Backersley. He was dreading it. Plus, he had no phone. He was set up in a room four down from Latell and her intelligence unit. He stormed down. He knocked hard, and the door opened immediately. One of Latell's assistants ushered him in.
"Sir, we've been expecting you."
"Set me up on a secure line with Backersley," he ordered. Forty-five seconds later, he was handed a satellite phone. "Please hold for Director Backersley," he was told.
Two minutes elapsed before Backersley picked up. "Backersley here."
"Sir, Larrow here." He proceeded to give his boss a rundown on current events.
"Agent Larrow, allow me to ask you a question. If your agents were watching Ali, would it not make reasonable sense to presume that Ali probably discovered them?"
Larrow was pissed. "Obviously, I have thought of that, sir, but they were not on Ali's property. They were under strict orders not to enter his compound for any reason. The manner in which they were killed raises some doubt."
"How were they killed?"
"One had his throat cut — that would be Ali's style — but the other one suffered a severe blow to his throat. That isn't."
"I would operate on the presumption that Ali was indeed involved; however, keep your mind open to other scenarios."
"Sir, these were two well-trained agents. It would have taken a highly skilled team to take them out."
"Larrow, you have lost three agents in less than a day. We are the ones who are supposed to take people out, not having people taken out. You continue to run logistics on the surveillance of Ryyaki Ali, but any intel on the three agents goes directly to Rob Randall. Understood?"
"Sir, with all due respect, Randall has a bad habit of shooting first, and he won't bother about collateral damage."
"Three agents down, Larrow, three! Don't you dare lecture me about collateral damage! If you have a problem with that, get your ass back here!" Backersley yelled loudly.
"Understood, sir," Larrow acknowledged reluctantly.
"Good."
Randall turned loose. What next?
"Ryyaki Ali could employ any number of teams that have skill. The man is wealthy beyond most people's comprehension. I want three-hour updates." Larrow's phone went dead.
Larrow turned to Toni Latell, who had entered the room. "Toni, when was their last check?"
"At eleven thirty, sir. They reported a dark green or black four-door Jeep Wrangler parked in an obscure location next to Ryyaki Ali's property. We have the plate number. We're running it now."