“Yes, that is our goal. This is likely to be one of the biggest blows they have ever received, possibly ranking as high as the first days of the ’73 war.”
“And what of the Americans?”
“We haven’t decided on them as yet. We’ve been ‘interviewing’ the Secretary of Defense for much of the day but so far, he hasn’t been too cooperative. It might serve to wait on him until later in the week when he’s seen the fate of the Israelis, plus the impact of the Mahdi operation.”
“That is fine, Abdul. At present, he isn’t the highest priority,” General Shishani replied. “Imam, are you off to the Odessa tonight?” Shishani asked.
“Yes, we are. With Kayani out of town, I thought I’d mix things up a bit and head over there for tonight. Ladies,” Baghdadi said, looking to Johnson and Marshall, “we’ll be spending tonight over at the Odessa Hotel.”
“I heard you never slept in the same place more than a couple days in a row,” Colonel Marshall replied.
“In my position, you can never be too careful. Besides, I thought you’d appreciate a more comfortable place tonight.”
“You’re all heart,” Marshall sarcastically replied.
“We have burkas for you for the trip over but I will need them once we get there.”
“Of course, you will,” Colonel Marshall replied.
“I’m not hiding under a burka,” Secretary Johnson replied.
“Madam Secretary, if you prefer to parade through the streets completely naked, I could certainly have you do that.”
“Give me the damned burka!” she added in frustration.
XXXI
“I assume Jim briefed you on everything on the way back,” Tamir said to both Dani and Stonewall.
“He just gave us the big picture idea. We’re supposed to meet up with a friend of mine at the consulate as soon as we’re done here,” Jackson replied.
“Correct, he will fill you in on the details. I’ve cleared you out of Tel Nof. They’ll be expecting the three of you any time after midnight. It’s roughly a two hour flight and we want you on the ground well before the sun comes up.” Turning his gaze to Dani, Tamir began “Arielle, you are being attached to an American unit. I believe Stonewall will be in overall operational command on the scene — at least for the weapons part of this raid. Unless an obvious and overwhelming opportunity arises, you are to leave the hostage rescue to the other team.”
“I understand — the nukes are far more important than our four men. We’ll get them back, but we need to get those nukes.”
“Exactly. Off with you, now. I’ll see you in a couple days.”
“How long does it take to get to the consulate?” Jackson asked Dani as they got into her Cadillac.
“This time of night, not too long. It’s only about five miles or so. What’s the plan? It’s already close to nine o’clock and we need to be out at the base in a few hours.”
“Wolf’ll need to brief us on the operation and I wouldn’t think that will take too long. He’ll probably want to do that now rather than on the ride up to Raqqa — the C-130 doesn’t offer the best opportunity for that — so figure grab a bite to eat and go over everything over dinner. Then head back to the apartment and grab a couple hours sleep before we head out?”
“How about we hit a grocery store right now, pick up Wolf and bring him back to the apartment,” Dani countered. “We’ll go over everything while you fix dinner and that way we’re already home and we can sack out right after dinner.”
“Good idea. Let’s do it. I’ll throw together some pasta, chicken and asparagus. That won’t take long at all. I’ll give Wolf a call and let him know what’s up for tonight. Better yet, how long would it take you to run to the consulate, pick him up and then swing back and pick me up at the store?”
“Not long at all, maybe ten minutes this time of day. There’s a Super Yoda a couple blocks away and the consulate’s just down the street.”
“Okay, I’ll give Wolf a call and let him know you’ll be picking him up at the consulate in a couple minutes.”
“No one else you need to see at the consulate?” Dani asked.
“Not that I know of, and no one’s said otherwise.”
“Okay, see ya in a few,” Dani said as she dropped Jackson off at the curb.
“I’m looking for a Major Dale Wolfson,” Dani addressed an army major that walked up to her as she entered the consulate.
“Not anymore,” Wolf replied. “Call me Wolf. You must be Dani.”
“Lieutenant Colonel Danielle Yaniv, but yeah, call me Dani,” as she shook hands with Wolf. Dani’s firm grip caught him by surprise, which she immediately noticed. “Welcome to Israel, Wolf.”
“Thanks, though I don’t think I’ll be here all that long. Stonewall said you’d be right over. Didn’t realize you were this close.”
“I don’t think he did either. I dropped him off just a few blocks away and this time of day, traffic isn’t much to speak of. I hope you didn’t have any plans for the evening.”
“I’ve left it pretty much up in the air. I wasn’t sure what Stonewall might have planned so I didn’t plan on anything.”
“That’ll work out perfect then,” Dani added. “We’ll pick him up and then head back to our apartment. We can go over everything while he’s fixing dinner. I figured it would be a little more comfortable at home than in a restaurant. Plus, we won’t have to worry about anyone eavesdropping either.”
“Stonewall’s the cook, huh? He always mentioned that we never had a decent cook on the team.”
“That sounds like him,” Dani agreed. “There he is,” she added as she pulled up curbside to let him in. Wolf got out as she stopped the car, met Jackson on the curb and then hopped in the back seat.
“Wolf, good to see you again, but I could have sat in back,” Jackson added as he got in the front passenger seat.
“No big deal. It’s good to see you, too. Heard you’ve been busy over here the past couple of months….” Wolf replied.
“It’s good to see your eye injury hasn’t slowed you down any, Stonewall,” Wolf said to Jackson as he started working in the kitchen.
“It wasn’t easy requalifying but I wouldn’t change anything.”
“From what I’ve seen, he hasn’t lost a beat,” Dani chimed in. “He did an amazing job in Tehran a couple months ago. Glad I was a part of that operation, though I did get a little shot up.”
“So, what’s the plan for this latest op?” Jackson asked.
“The current thinking is that all of the hostages are being kept in the basement of the Al Qadim mosque. Al-Baghdadi uses this as his base of operations and, while he hardly ever spends the night in the same bed two nights in a row, we’re thinking he’ll be here since he has his two trophies with him round the clock.”
“That’s just disgusting,” Dani added.
“No argument there,” Wolf agreed. “The nukes are being held in a warehouse about a mile due east of the mosque. Because of the dual nature of the mission, hostage rescue and recovery of the weapons, we’re figuring that we’ll need both fixed and rotary aircraft on site. Now, everyone knows we’re coming so the idea is to bait the ISIS forces into attacking the raiding force. The idea is to drop two Ranger companies on the south side of the Euphrates at either dusk or first light so the ISIS spotters will see the jump. What’s more vulnerable than paratroopers that are either still in the air or haven’t assembled as a unit?”
“You’re using two Ranger companies as bait?” Dani asked. “You realize ISIS has something like three thousand men in Raqqa.”
“Yeah, but this bait’s bitin’ back. They’ll be dropped with sixteen LAV’s — Light Armored Vehicles—