“We’ll just see about that, won’t we?” Shishani replied. “Do you really think we won’t be waiting for them?”
“General, you don’t understand the SEALs — they hope you are,” Marshall icily replied.
“Please escort Secretary Axelsson back to his room” Shishani replied. “We’ll decide what to do with everyone else later. Colonel, Madam Secretary, please put these necklaces on.”
“What is this?” Marshall abruptly asked.
“My dear colonel, it is simply a device that ensures you will remain within fifty feet of me at all times. You see, rather than keep you tied up in here — which I’m loathe to do — you’ll simply wear this necklace and be free to roam about the room. However, should you be foolish enough to try and escape while wearing it, or even remove it, there is a proximity fuse and a small explosive charge in the back of it and I’m sure you do not want to experience its detonation.”
“You can’t be serious!” Johnson replied.
“Abdul, would you assist the Secretary?” Shishani asked his chief of staff.
“Don’t bother!” Johnson replied as she fastened the device around her neck.
“Abdul, how soon can you have this video ready to distribute?” Shishani asked his chief of staff.
“General, we’ll be combining this video with the one we’ve put together showing off the arrival of the C-130 and the initial unloading of the B-61s. Combining these two should get the maximum public relations benefit for us. I’ll have this ready to go within the hour.”
“Excellent, Abdul. Madam Secretary,” Shishani began, “what kind of boost do you think this will give us? You see, we’ll begin this video with many of the statements you’ve made about us, and how much of a ‘minor league’ organization our Caliphate really is. Then we’ll show the four Israeli pilots who are currently guests of ours — yes, they are in one of the many rooms below us. We’ll then show the arrival of the C-130 and show footage of the nuclear bombs we obtained from your air base at Incirlik. Finally, we’ll show you and Colonel Marshall here next to Imam al-Baghdadi — in all of your… glory. What kind of an impact do you think this will have on the world stage for us? Hmm? Here we are, this bunch of ‘minor leaguers’ who, in just the past week, have shot down three vaunted Israeli fighters and captured four of their airmen. I realize, we did not shoot down their planes, but the rest of the world does not know that — they will know that we have their pilots so what difference does it make? Hmm? Then, we have obtained thirty-four of your own nuclear bombs — and we’ll show every one of them — and now we have captured the American Secretaries of State and Defense? The impact this will have on the world stage will be unimaginable! We’ll have people throughout the world flocking to join the Caliphate!”
“You bastard!”
“You guys sure know how to travel in style,” Jackson said to Dani as he admired the fully stocked galley of the Gulfstream 550. The seating in this plane truly served its occupants’ need for comfort: Four pair of Lazy-boy type seats lined the windows of each side of the plane with a table between each pair of seats. Farther down the cabin, a couch sat on one side opposite a big screen TV on the other. Then came the galley where Dani sat on what amounted to a ‘bar stool’ type of chair while Jackson prepared a couple frittatas for each of them. “I’m used to traveling in either a C-130 or a C-17. I could really get used to this.”
“Well, not everyone in the IDF gets this treatment. Being in the Unit helps but that’s not even a sure thing. Remember, just a few days ago we were in ‘your’ C-130 and had to swim to shore.”
“Oh, I remember. Just sayin’ I could get used to this. So, when’s the last time you worked on a nuke?” Jackson asked her.
“Yeah…” Dani began, “I’ve never really had the opportunity to work on a real one. I’ve worked with several dummy warheads. In grad school, it was all math, theory and computer problems. They never allowed us to get any hands on experience. Working on the Iranian project the last few years, I was able to keep up to date on everything but still never had the actual chance to work on a nuke. Now, it looks as though I’ll finally get the chance.”
“The million dollar question here, though, is just how secure are those nukes that ISIS grabbed?”
“It really depends on the nature of the PAL — the Permissive Action Link. Early versions of these simply kept the device from being detonated if someone managed to steal it and try to use it — they didn’t do anything to render the device tamper proof. Essentially, the PAL prevented the bomb’s immediate unauthorized use but did not necessarily prevent someone from bypassing the PAL. Basically, someone could take the bomb apart, bypass the PAL — or completely remove it — and then reassemble the device. More recent PALs are quite good about actually destroying the device if someone tries to bypass the PAL — some even have a small explosive charge designed to essentially destroy the symmetry of the nuclear fuel rendering the device incapable of nuclear fission without first being re-machined. I have my doubts that a PAL this sophisticated has been installed on any of the bombs at Incirlik given the huge push by your Defense Department to upgrade these weapons. I hope I’m wrong about that.”
“You’re not the only one… was that your phone? Sounded like someone texting you,” Jackson added.
“It’s Yoni. He said to turn on Al Jazeera. I wonder what’s up?”
“Hard telling, but it can’t be good — the way this week’s gone, probably an ISIS propaganda tape?”
“That’s my guess… sure enough,” Dani added as the video feed began. “There’s our pilots. At least they look to be in decent shape, though who knows at this point?”
“Have to admit, we’ve kind of made things easy for them on the propaganda front this week.”
“Yeah, no doubt. There’s the nukes… no way to tell what they’re doing with them based on this…” Dani added, and then both of them sat in stunned silence as four guards grabbed the American Secretary of State and another woman and completely cut their clothes off of them. They didn’t even hear the narrator extol the virtues of the Caliphate as the video portion of the feed froze with the image of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, sitting on what amounted to his throne, flanked by the two naked women, their fear clearly etched across their faces. “I’m going to kill him. As God as my witness, I… am going… to kill… that son-of-a-bitch!” Dani said, turning to Stonewall, with a fire in her eyes that he clearly recognized.
“You realize what this is going to do for them, don’t you?” Jackson asked Dani.
“Clearly. This is going to be the single biggest propaganda boost that they’ve ever had. I mean what sells success like taking on ‘The Great Satan’ and getting away with it? They’ve just told the world that they have taken on both of us and not only have they gotten away with it, they’re rubbing our noses in it. Just think about what they’ve done in the past twenty-four hours.”
“Not only that, but they’re baiting us. They know this can only have one result — it won’t be diplomatic, and they know it and they are telling the world that they know it. Now, literally, everyone in the world knows we’re coming. This raid is going to be far more dangerous, and far more deadly, than any of the politicians realize,” Jackson added as he felt a cold chill envelope him.
“Yes, it will, but don’t even think about trying to stop me. Tamir’s the only one that could do that, and he won’t. Not for this.”