‘I’d say seventy-two hours from now, the tungsten device gets delivered to Kammler’s headquarters,’ he continued. ‘We’ll be eyes on. We’ll see it taken into his IND lab. Then we detonate. That’s a very large part of the problem taken care of.’
‘And then?’ Narov challenged. ‘How do we finish it?’
Jaeger shrugged. ‘That I can’t say. Not until we’re visual. The plan of attack will shake out of whatever we find on the ground. But either way, this time we finish it. Finish Kammler. For good.’
Narov pulled up one of the satellite images on her iPad screen. ‘There appear to be three separate facilities: what they think is the laboratory; the generator hall and plant; plus the accommodation block.’
‘Yep. And they’re well spaced out. The tungsten blast will take out the lab, that’s for sure. But the rest of it: that’s for us. We’ll need some kind of diversion. And our usual calling cards: speed. Aggression. Surprise.’
‘You’ve seen the thickness of the walls?’ Narov queried. ‘We’ll need demolitions gear. Plus whatever kind of firepower Brooks can offer us, ’cause we’re bound to be seriously outnumbered.’
‘On that level at least we’re sorted,’ Jaeger confirmed. ‘I’ve been told there’s a real war-in-a-box waiting for us at Takhli. And I’ve made sure they included a Dragunov with your name on it.’
As Jaeger knew only too well, the Dragunov – the iconic Russian sniper rifle, with a ten-round magazine – was Narov’s weapon of choice. He’d asked for a Dragunov SVD-S – the shortened lightweight version, with the folding stock – to be included in the weapons package that Brooks had prepared. As America’s key ally in the region, the Thai military had proved extremely accommodating.
The ghost of a smile played across Narov’s features. ‘Thanks. You remembered. Uncharacteristically thoughtful.’
Was there just a hint of playfulness in her tone? It said a lot about their relationship, Jaeger reflected, when the only opportunity the two of them had for flirting was discussing the best means to kill.
‘So, total weight?’ Narov added. ‘And how long do we need provisioning for?’
‘Seven days. At that kind of altitude, we’re constrained by how much we can carry. Assume twenty-five kilos per person, not including weapons. We’ll have a pulk, with a further hundred-kilo capacity. So that’s two hundred kilos between us. But with munitions, grenades, demolitions gear, batteries, comms kit, surveillance kit, and cold-weather and survival gear, we’re left with precious little room for rations. We need to get this done quickly, or we’ll be chewing on thin air.’
‘What about the locals?’ Narov probed. ‘Brooks figures there are several dozen Chinese employed at the plant. Unsuspecting, of course, since the place has perfect cover.’
‘We try to minimise local casualties. But it’s going to be incredibly hard to ID friend from foe in the kind of fight that’s coming. We’ll do our best. Trust our instincts.’ Jaeger paused. ‘But Kammler and his people – no one gets out alive. The risks are too great.’
‘No one? What about Falk?’
‘Falk…’ Jaeger shrugged. ‘If he’s onside and no risk to the mission, then he lives. But you better be damned certain…’ He paused. ‘For that matter, we all better be damn certain he’s onside. Falk’s phone calls… if they’re designed to lure us into a trap, well, we’re buggered. And so, my dear, is the entire fucking world.’
Narov nodded. ‘We cannot afford to fail. But trust me: Falk will not have betrayed us.’ She fixed Jaeger with a look. ‘As to your wife…’
Jaeger flinched. ‘If she’s in that place, the same rules apply. We have to be certain. But leave it to me. It’s my call.’
49
As far as Jaeger was concerned, the Antonov AN-32 was the only aircraft with which to be attempting such a mission.
With its twin Ivchenko turboprop engines set high on the wings, it had an almost unrivalled high-altitude landing and take-off capability, a 2,500-kilometre range, plus a stall speed of under 100 kilometres an hour – which for tonight’s operation was absolutely critical.
It was also ubiquitous across Asia, being flown by the Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and several other armed forces, and scores of civilian operators, including any number of Chinese commercial airlines. A common workhorse of charities, it regularly flew missions of mercy into Asia’s uncharted regions.
Hence the cover for tonight’s ultra-secret flight.
The AN-32 was decked out in the markings of the International Committee of the Red Cross: the distinctive red and white livery, plus the iconic red-cross symbol splashed across the tailplane, wings and the underside of the fuselage.
Routed via northern Thailand, Myanmar, north-west India and Bhutan, the Antonov would be straying one hundred kilometres into Chinese airspace from the border crossover point. That an ICRC flight could have blundered that far off course was unlikely, unless the navigator was seriously incompetent. But it wasn’t entirely impossible, especially amidst such wild and uncharted mountains, where detours due to bad weather would be common.
The one-hundred-kilometre insertion would take the Antonov little more than ten minutes, and the aircraft wouldn’t pause long to deliver the team to target. It was unlikely to be detected on such a short run, especially as it would be weaving a path between towering peaks.
The route back would take the same amount of time, and it was just possible that the Antonov might get intercepted or forced down. Should that happen, the pilot would claim to be a bona fide aid flight that had somehow strayed into Chinese airspace.
The idea of using ICRC cover wasn’t without precedent. In 1997, the SAS had been tasked to snatch two prominent Serbian war criminals, Milan Kovacevic and Simo Drljaca, from Bosnia. Kovacevic was hiding out in a hospital. The five-man SAS team sent in to get him posed as Red Cross officials, gaining entry to the hospital with their 9mm pistols tucked beneath their clothing.
Code-named Operation Tango, the SAS mission was a resounding success. Kovacevic was spirited away to a waiting ‘Red Cross’ helicopter, whisked out of the country and subsequently tried for war crimes. His partner, Drljaca, tried to put up a fight. He didn’t get to stand triaclass="underline" he died in the firefight with the SAS.
Jaeger hadn’t been on Op Tango; it was before his time. But he’d certainly heard about it. It had gone down in SAS legend, and it had inspired tonight’s little subterfuge.
On one level, using the ICRC livery as cover wasn’t entirely morally justifiable. The Red Cross relied upon its reputation for strict neutrality and humanitarianism to gain access to war zones. But during his years in the SAS, Jaeger had learnt that sometimes, whoever broke the rules won.
Who dares. And always for the greater good.
Going up against Kammler and his ilk, he’d also learnt some of the darker arts of the enemy. As a consequence, he had few qualms about the nature of tonight’s deception.
He, Narov, Raff and Alonzo were dressed in unmarked white Alpine warfare gear – state-of-the-art Goretex jackets and trousers. Under that, each sported a Helly Hansen thermal top, plus layers of silk, and they had thermal gloves and white Goretex overmitts to protect their hands from the intense cold.
In the centre of the Antonov were piled their bergens, each sheeted over with a white Alpine camouflage covering, along with two steel cargo para-tubes. An expedition-spec pulk – a six-foot flat-bottomed fibreglass sled, which came complete with tow harness – completed the kit for tonight’s drop.