Inside the cavernous hangar, young soldiers watched Leo and Lev as they took their seats at a long folding table beneath American and Israeli flags stretched overhead. The two men were seated between Colonel Wilson and Moshe on one side and Ben Zamir on the other. Sitting on the concrete floor with the troops, Alon and Nava were in the front row next to John and Ariella and the three Spanish scientists.
Lev stood and looked around at all the serious faces staring back at him. It was time to lighten the mood. “Good evening. It’s good to be in the United States, however I think it’s safe to say that we’ve just made the most spectacular illegal border crossing in American history.”
The sound of laughter echoed around the tall empty space of the hangar and filtered out into the night, making the sentries outside peer around the corner of the building to see what was so funny.
“I’ve been told that we scared the pants off some Border Patrol officers when we flew right over their heads. It appears that someone forgot to spread the story to them that there was a military exercise going on out in the desert tonight. Fortunately, this little bump along the road has been rectified, but due to future operational security, all local law enforcement agencies will be left out of the loop concerning our true mission. If the Mexicans catch even a hint that something’s coming their way it will make our job a lot harder.”
Colonel Wilson looked down the table at Lev. “Excuse me, Professor, but we haven’t been briefed on our objective yet.”
“I was coming to that.” Lev glanced over at Leo before looking back out at all the camouflage-painted faces of the young soldiers staring back at him. “What level of security clearance do your men have, Colonel?”
“Every one of my men are cleared for top secret missions … all the officers for ultra.”
“So are ours,” Ben said.
“Well then, Gentlemen, if both commanders agree, consider this your first classified operational briefing.” Lev paused for a moment, because he knew the impact his next words would have.
“Since time is running short, I’ll get right to the point. Tomorrow night, we’ll be flying back across the border to a ranch in the Mexican desert. We’re going there to kill a man.”
The hushed murmur of a hundred voices filled the hangar as the soldiers exchanged looks and wondered if they had heard him right. One man? Why had so many of them been sent for just one man?
Lev smiled. “On the surface, this might seem like a straightforward mission with very little risk, but I can assure you that it is much more. In fact, this may be the most dangerous mission any of you have ever faced. The man we are going after is responsible for the plague that has killed thousands of people around the world, and he has chosen his hiding spot well. He has surrounded himself with well-armed men inside the borders of a country that is overrun with vicious drug gangs, and he has hired one gang in particular to protect him. They’re a bloodthirsty group that rivals anything we’ve come up against in the Middle East, and they’ve adopted some of the terrorist’s tactics.”
“Sounds like an untrained rabble to me,” Ben said.
“Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth,” Lev said. “We’re facing a gang of hundreds of Mexican Ex-Special Forces soldiers that were trained in the United States.”
Colonel Wilson stood when he saw some of his pilots shifting uneasily on the concrete floor. “I’m afraid he’s right. I’ve heard stories about these guys. Some of our politicians still think it’s a good idea for our army to teach classified warfare tactics to people of questionable character from unstable countries. These people were originally hired by the drug cartels to protect their drug trade, but once they figured out they were the ones with the power, they killed their bosses and took over.”
“I see you’ve done your homework on these guys, Colonel,” Lev continued. “However these people are not our main threat. They may be trained, but they’re undisciplined and a lot of them are on drugs.”
“Then what’s the main threat?” Alon asked from the front row.
“Our main problem is going to be the real soldiers inside this ring of thugs. The man we’re going after has an elite team of mercenaries recruited from armies all over the world surrounding him. We need experienced soldiers to punch through that inner ring of protection.”
Ben looked at his American counterpart. “Then why are we here? The whole American army is right across the border, and they have more resources.”
Lev stood next to Colonel Wilson. “Two words, Ben … operational security. The man we’re after sits at the head of an organization that has infiltrated police, military, and intelligence agencies all over the world. This mission is off the books, because if this guy catches even a hint that we’re coming after him, he could potentially release his virus all over the world. We need to hit him hard and fast. All information about our mission will be on a need to know basis only, even within our own small group. Our target is approximately 300 miles southeast of here, which means the closest American city is El Paso, Texas. There are literally thousands of soldiers there at Fort Bliss who could conceivably come to our aid if asked, but for now even their base commander is in the dark about what we’re up to. There will be a lot of activity here over the next couple of days, because we have less than forty-eight hours to mount a successful attack. We’ve chosen the best of the best for this job, but this is not a time for egos. We all have to work together, because the lives of millions of people are at stake, so let’s keep our eye on the ball and do what we’re asked to do.”
A proud-looking American pilot raised his hand to speak. “Why can’t we wear our flag on our uniforms?”
“Although the answer to that question might appear obvious, it actually brings up some good points. We need to cover our joint involvement for several reasons. If the details of this operation were ever to be made public after the fact, it would raise a red flag to those Muslim countries who believe the U.S. and Israel are one and the same. At the same time, it would also send the right-wing conspiracy theorists into overdrive … you know, the whole foreign troops on American soil and Zionist Occupation Government scenario.”
“They might have a valid point,” Diaz said.
Nervous laughter again spread through the hangar on both sides.
Lev re-lit his cigar as he tried to keep from smiling. “Another reason for not announcing who we really are with flags and unit insignias is our cover story. These people like to emulate the jihadists in the Middle East by decapitating their prisoners, so pray you’re never captured. However, if you are, we want you to confess everything.”
The young soldiers traded puzzled looks.
“You will of course lie and tell them you are mercenaries … paid members of a rival American paramilitary criminal gang that has been sent to capture the drug trade across the border. This story will throw them off and may buy you some time, because they will want to draw out details of a potential new threat to them. In fact, they may even try to recruit you. We will supply you with some false operational details so that all of you will be able to tell the same story. But know this … if you are captured we will come for you, even if it looks like a suicide mission. All for one and one for all … that is the motto of this mission.”
The soldiers gazed up at Lev with a newfound sense of respect. The old soldier turned professor really did talk like one of them. He walked the walk and talked the talk, and he obviously hadn’t lost the fire for battle.
“Your commanders and I need to go over some more details tonight. Hopefully, we’ll have some satellite photos of the target for the morning briefing. All I can say with certainty for the moment is that this will be a helicopter assault. Unfortunately, we’ll have to leave our armored ground vehicles behind.”
“No armored vehicles?” Ben asked.
“With all the narco traffic in the area, we’d be spotted as soon as we crossed the border. Surprise is everything. I realize this doesn’t give us much time for making practice runs before we go in tomorrow night, but if everything goes according to plan we should be in and out of there before they have a chance to mount any kind of organized resistance. Every man here was chosen for their ability to think on their feet. American and Israeli Special Forces Teams both have proud histories. The recent raid on Bin Laden’s compound by Seal Team 6 comes to mind, as does the IDF raid on Entebbe in Uganda back in the ‘70’s. Both of those missions will live on in military history as a testament to what can be achieved when we put our minds to it. Just remember, regardless of your religious beliefs or what country you come from, the world is counting on us to do our job tomorrow night.”
A young pilot raised his hand. “Excuse me, sir, but I have to ask. Why don’t we just take this guy out with an F-15 strike? We can promise you there’ll be nothing left of him but a smoking hole in the ground.”
Lev smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep you fighter jocks busy. However, we need boots on the ground to make sure we’ve taken out the target, so this will be primarily a helicopter insertion followed by a ground assault. We also need to find out if they have stockpiles of the pathogen at this location.”
Lev paused to let his words sink in. A crowded room can be a very quiet place when those present are lost in silent thoughts concerning the viability of their future.
“Then why not nuke him?” a young soldier asked. “A nuke would kill any pathogen.”
“Like I said before, this needs to be a surgical strike. Nukes are out. We need proof we’ve taken this guy out.”
Lev continued puffing on his cigar as he looked out at all the young faces staring back at him. From their expressions, he could tell that the enormity of the task ahead was beginning to strike home.
“OK, my young warriors … get some rest. I have a feeling we won’t be getting much sleep in the next forty-eight hours. We’ll meet back here at five AM.”