With Mike’s M24A2, they agreed to limit their firepower to the handguns they were used to carrying-the.45s they had been trained to use as Delta Force operators.
“How far are we taking this thing tonight?” Mike asked.
“I’m just going to take a look around. I don’t plan on making things worse by shooting anyone. Don’t worry about it, Mike, they’re not even going to know I’m there,” Drake said, sounding as confident as he could. “Look, I have some work to finish in the vineyard. You can help me, or take a nap. It’s your choice. I’ll take you to dinner around 6:00 and we’ll leave for Hood River around 7:30.”
Drake spent the next three hours on his old tractor, pulling out another row of old grape vines, alone.
Chapter 32
After a late breakfast and a walk around the ranch facilities, Barak headed back to the ranch house for Kaamil’s final briefing before he returned to Las Vegas. His plan was flawless and would succeed, if all his players did their part, especially Kaamil.
Over a cup of Turkish coffee in the den, he ran down the list of things he wanted Kaamil to do, and then asked about the attorney.
“What success have you had with the man you wasted three men trying to kill?”
Kaamil’s eyes flared before he answered.
“He hasn’t shown his face again. The imams are putting pressure on the cops to find out what happened to our brothers. My source says their investigation is also looking into his role in their disappearance.”
“Find a way to turn up the heat. If he comes around again, make him disappear. The police will think he’s running from their investigation,” Barak said. “Don’t you like the coffee? Drink up, you’ll hurt my chef’s feelings.”
“I was waiting for it to cool,” Kaamil offered. “It’s very hot and very strong.”
“That’s the way I like it, hot and strong. Great Turkish coffee is supposed to be ‘Black as Hell, Strong as Death, and Sweet as Love’ according to an old saying. Are you comfortable with the arrangements for tomorrow’s party?”
“Everything is set. Roberto is bringing the girls and the food. None of the regular staff is here, because it’s Sunday, and I didn’t want your chef involved. Their juice will be laced with the drug you designed, and it will be in their meals until Wednesday. They’ll be as courageous as lions and have the time of their lives.”
Barak finished his cup and nodded his approval. “What have they been told about the plan for their extraction?”
“The truth. I’ll be there in the Medevac helicopter to pick them up. I don’t expect they will make it that far, but if they do, we don’t want them captured.”
“And are you willing to do what’s necessary, if it looks like you might be captured?”
Kaamil met his leader’s gaze directly. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll never let them take me alive.”
“Good. That’s what I expect of my leaders. In this fight, the price may be death. If you’re not willing to pay it, you will remain your country’s slave. Remember that.”
On his flight back to Las Vegas, Barak thought about his young lieutenant, and how easy he was to motivate. Telling him that jihad was his way to take revenge against whitey was all it took. Inflaming his anger had been easy, once he discovered Malcolm X was the young man’s hero. Convincing him that martyrdom was noble had been harder, but Kaamil’s fear of returning to prison guaranteed the end would be the same.
Looking out his plane’s starboard window at the verdant mountains stretching south toward California, Barak wondered how America was going to react when it realized the racial violence rising up against it was being mobilized by its enemy.
Chapter 33
After dinner in Dundee, Drake answered Mike’s careful questions about life as a widower and his law practice as they were driving to Hood River. When they arrived, he gave his friend directions to a drive-thru coffee shop just off the interstate.
“Sunset’s at 8:59 p.m. tonight, so there’s time to kill before we head out to the ISIS ranch,” Drake said. “It’s not your beloved Starbucks, but maybe it’ll keep you awake while I’m prowling around.”
“Forty-four million customers, ya gotta be proud. Changed the world since 1987, that’s more than we were able to do.”
“Yeah, but we sure tried, didn’t we?”
A sunset painted thunderheads pink and purple as they piled up against the eastern flank of the Cascades. Mike drove them through the old downtown section of Hood River until they turned south onto Highway 35. The scattered lights from rural homes and small ranches soon gave way to the darkness of forested land, broken only by the headlights of the SUV.
“There’s a road just south of the ranch. It ends at a trailhead into the national forest. We’ll park there. If we see anyone, we’re hikers out overnight,” Drake said. “We’ll hike in and when we get as close to the ranch buildings as possible, I’ll make a quick insertion. We’ll be back in Portland by breakfast.”
“Plan’s a little short in details, but then yours always were. Let me hear your voice now and then, in case I get scared out here with the coyotes and such.”
Mike had concealed himself as a sniper for days, while snakes and all sorts of insects crawled over him. A night in the open, for him, was a piece of cake.
When they drove past the unmanned ISIS guardhouse a short time later, a surveillance camera tracked their passage. A quarter of a mile beyond the guardhouse, a country road turned east, and ran parallel to the southern boundary of the ranch. When they found the trailhead, Mike pulled his Yukon into the small graveled parking area. The darkness of the night was brightened only by a panoply of stars. A new moon did little to help illuminate the ground. Both men moved silently to the rear of the Yukon where Mike unloaded their gear. They pulled on black balaclavas and positioned the headset headbands on their heads.
After a final check of their equipment, Drake spoke softly into the boom-arm mike of his tactical headset.
“This headband is new. Wish we’d had something like this when we were running around in Iraq.”
“Latest equipment, designed for special ops, private security and private military work. I’m looking into some of the Blackwater-type contracts available around the world. Thought I’d better check out some of the equipment they use,” Mike said.
“You sure you want to get into that line of work?”
“Have to. If you do executive protection work these days, clients want to know you can mount an operation if one of their people is kidnapped. You remember the hand signals, in case you can’t talk to me?”
Drake raised his hand to his forehead, as if he was looking into the distance, the signal for “watch.” He then signaled “sniper,” by making a looking glass with his left hand at his left eye, and pointing his right hand like a pistol ahead at the ground. With his left hand he made the A-OK sign for “I understand.”
“Let’s stay together until we reach the decline that slopes down to the ranch buildings. From the topographical map I bought, it looks like there’s a fairly steep drop-off ahead. From there, we’re below the tree line. Find a high point where you can cover me, and I’ll move in.”
“Ready as ever,” Mike said, tapping his chest twice with a closed fist. “Just don’t take too many chances.”
“If I run into trouble, you’ll be the first to know.”
A carpet of pine needles provided silent passage. When the pine trees began to thin out and the lights of the ranch buildings were visible three hundred yards away, Drake told his friend to cover him.