It had taken them the best part of a day to get there but at last the house lay before them. It had been over a thousand miles, by plane, car and foot, by far the hardest part. Neither of them were used to the thick mountain wilderness and would have more than a few scars to show for their efforts.
“So, at any point, are you going to tell me what we are doing here?” asked Zak, just a little frustrated at the lack of trust being shown by the Sheikh. In fact, the Sheikh had told Zak to call him Benny, it sounded Italian and would cover his middle-Eastern looks without sounding Muslim.
“Let’s just say that through my contacts, it has come to my attention that in that house is the Secretary of Defense.”
“And?”
“We’re here to get him!”
The Sheikh removed his backpack and emptied its contents in front of them. There were two pistols, a few stun grenades, two pairs of Night Vision Goggles and a length of plastic explosives for blowing open doors.
Zak was somewhat surprised by the last few hours and couldn’t help wonder out loud. “I didn’t think you got involved at this level?”
“If an opportunity arises and no-one else is around, I’ll do whatever needs to be done,” he replied with some irritation and handed Zak one of the pistols, a pair of Night Vision Goggles and a couple of grenades.
The Sheikh was beginning to wish he had never involved Zak but with Deif sending a bomb to America, operatives were thin on the ground and he needed help. Once in position, just a few hundred yards from the house, the Sheikh ran through the plan. A few tweaks later they were ready to go. Darkness was falling and the lights were beginning to come on in the home below them.
A phone ringing in the house alerted Mrs Charles Baker to the unwanted visitors. The alarm company alerted them to potential intruders. Mrs Baker thanked the alarm company very much and immediately told Clark and her husband about the call. There was little they could do. They certainly couldn’t call the police and their friends were miles away in Helena, the State capital.
Following the call, Clark ensured all windows and doors were locked. It could of course just be deer or wildlife knocking the contacts but she didn’t think so. Coincidences were something non-professionals believed in. Somebody had found the location, it had only been a matter of time in any event.
Just as the Sheikh was about to give the ‘go’ signal, he stopped. A bright spot had appeared on the side of the house. He knew it wasn’t coming from inside. It was a tiny spot almost undetectable to the human eye. In fact, it was undetectable to the human eye, he realized, as he removed the Night Vision Goggles. Where the spot should have been was nothing, no sign of any light at all. Putting the goggles back on, there it was, clear as day.
He nudged Zak and pointed to the spot. Zak took one look and knew exactly what was happening. He scanned the tree line with his goggles and picked up the contacts he knew were going to be there.
“Shit!”
“Exactly, I think we should pull back, don’t you?”
“Yep!”
Both men began to crawl back, keeping their heads down and careful not to alert the others to their presence. Once at a safe distance and hopefully out of sight, they hightailed it back to their rental car parked just off the main road. They had no intention of being anywhere near the house when all hell broke loose.
The Avenger had proven its worth already and having lost nearly twenty good men already, CIA Director Johnson was not taking any chances. A small team of the Clandestine Service had arrived in Montana earlier in the day and made its way to the mountainside house. Their job on this occasion was simply to paint the target for the weapon which would be dispatched from the Avenger some 20,000 feet above them.
The laser designator was switched on as the Avenger came into range. Although naked to the human eye, there was no need to highlight their arrival. One minute after lighting up the target, they got the heads up that the weapon was on its way. As Ben had predicted, the Americans were using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. A GBU-24 Paveway III bomb was making its way towards the house, Two thousand pounds that would turn the cabin into matchsticks if there were any pieces left large enough to be considered useful.
The laser spotters took cover as they received warning of the bomb’s imminent impact. The operator watched as the bomb glided right into the side of the house exactly where the laser told it to. A microsecond later, the house ceased to exist. A demolition team would take weeks to do what was accomplished in less than a second.
The Clandestine Team took one look at the area and devastation and left the scene. Although in the middle of nowhere, it wasn’t going to be long before the locals came to see what had just woken up half the state. Their job was well and truly accomplished.
A very pleased CIA Director informed his President of a successful conclusion to the mission.