The ISIS Gambit

by Brad Carlson

  Batman Airbase, Turkey

  5:55 PM Local Time

  “General, the Mahdi flight is taking off as we speak,” Major Savas Aksoy addressed his boss over the encrypted phone connection.

  “Excellent. Were there any difficulties with any of them?”

  “No, sir, everything appears to be working as expected. All fighters and tanker aircraft have taken off and are proceeding to their assigned targets.”

  “And we figured somewhere between three and four hours to their targets, right?”

  “That’s correct, if everything goes according to plan.”

  “Good to hear, Major. You might want to keep an eye out: the Americans just staged an airborne drop outside of the city—paratroopers and other equipment. I don’t know what to expect from them but they might try and take you out since you represent the only air support we could call on.”

  “I’ll let everyone know and get word to the pilots that they might need to fight their way out of here.”

  “Thanks, keep me up dated,” General Van said as he ended the call.

  Arielle – Chaos Hide-sight, Raqqa

  6:12 Local Time

  “Chaos, Cougar, come in.”

  “Cougar, Chaos here, what’s your status?”

  “Chaos, we’re fine but ISIS hasn’t taken the bait. They’ve actually got a couple tanks deployed in blocking positions over both of the bridges keeping us from crossing the river—not that we planned to do that in the first place.”

  “You’re going to have to improvise, Cougar. You need to make it look like you’re trying to cross. You’ve got the air support to take out what armor they show you as well as keeping the rest of their forces pinned down. We’re going to need all the help you can give us. Since you landed, we’ve seen troops of all sorts heading your way and I really don’t like the prospect of taking on a couple thousand of these guys still on our side of the river.”

  “Understood.”

  “Cougar, Viking is due in about forty-five minutes. Ten minutes prior to their arrival I want you to launch what ISIS will think is an all-out push to take the bridges.”

  “Roger that, we’ll be in touch.”

  “Damn it! I was afraid of that!” Arielle exclaimed. “You never underestimate your enemy. These guys have been way too smart to fall for that trap.”

  “Nightwatch, Chaos, got your ears on?” Jackson called to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron combat controller about a mile away preparing for the Navy SEALs’ arrival on their makeshift ‘airstrip.’

  “Nightwatch here, Chaos, what’s up?”

  “Nightwatch, be advised it’s going to get a little hot here pretty soon. Our bait didn’t take. Viking will be here in forty-five. Cougar is going to light it up ten minutes prior to that to take some of the heat off of us.”

  “Good, it’ll be dark by then. How do I reach them?”

  “They’re call sign is ‘Odin.’ Odin-One, three, five and six will be landing by you. Odin-Two and four will be over here. Who’s got top cover for us tonight?”

  “Ghostrider 24. They’re in an AC-130 and they’ll be on call as long as we need them.”

  “Well, let’s hope we don’t need them too much,” Chaos replied.

  “Roger that.”

  “Okay, Falcon, Kayani’s still in the warehouse. Can your guys set out the signal flares for the C-130s while Arielle and I watch the warehouse?”

  “Absolutely, they’ve done this before.”

  “I thought so. Okay, as your team’s doing this, check out the back of the warehouse. We need to know the status of the guards in back. They’ve had six guards in back and a couple roaming the motor pool all day. With the Rangers just dropping in, I don’t want any surprises. Once the flares are set, we’ll need them to assault the warehouse from the rear. I’ll need you back here with us to hit the front. Remember, we need to take these guys down before Odin-Two lands and have everything loaded up and over to the planes as they turn around. Plan for kick-off at precisely 6:30, just under half an hour from now. Will that work for your team?”

  “Not a problem, Chaos. Understood. I’ll let them all know.”

  “You realize this mission just got a whole lot more dangerous,” Arielle said to Stonewall.

  “Yep. It sure did.”

  The Odessa Hotel, Raqqa

  6:15 PM Local Time

  “General Van, we are under attack!” Major Aksoy called to his boss in Raqqa.

  “What’s that?!?” Van replied.

  “General, we are under a serious aerial bombardment,” Aksoy replied amidst several explosions very close in.

  “Major, I can hardly hear you.”

  “Sorry about that. I had to find a more secure place. We’re getting pounded. It looks like it started out with a cruise missile attack but right now, they’re just hammering the runways.”

  “You said that all of the planes get off okay, right?”

  “Just in the nick of time. No sooner than the last plane took off than the first of the missiles hit the main terminal. We got extremely lucky with that. However, I’m afraid this base is out of commission for a while: most of the buildings have sustained some damage, if not completely destroyed and the runways have been completely cratered—and the bombs keep coming!”

  “Very well, Major, at least the entire Mahdi flight got off.”

  “What’s happening?” Shishani asked General Van.

  “It seems the Americans have taken out the base at Batman. From the way Major Aksoy talked, most of the buildings have been destroyed and the runways have been thoroughly cratered.”

  “I’d like to say ‘I told you so,’ Mr. Shishani,” Colonel Marshall interrupted.

  “What did you say?!?” Shishani hollered out.

  “It’s just beginning. The paratroopers just outside of town and what’s left of your air force has been reduced to rubble so you can’t count on any air support—I wonder what’s next?” Marshall goaded him on.

  “I don’t think you’ll like what’s next for you, Colonel,” Shishani added, “or do I need to remind you of your . . . vulnerability?”

  “I think that’s where you’re wrong,” Marshall vehemently replied, totally oblivious to her very real vulnerability. “You’re the one who isn’t going to like what comes next! And vulnerability? It seems to me, you’re the vulnerable ones, here Mr. Shishani. Isn’t it Machiavelli who said that he who has more to fear from foreigners than his own people ought to leave fortresses alone? But isn’t that what you have right here, Mr. Shishani, you’ve retreated to your own ‘Fortress Raqqa’?”

  “You just wait, Colonel,” Shishani said as he struck her across the side of her face and knocking her to the floor. He then grabbed her by the hair on the back of her head, pulled her up off the floor and brought her head back while he pulled her towards him. Her left eye had already practically swollen shut from the violent blow. “Tonight the world will get a taste of just what we have in store for you and your friends.”

  “No, tonight you’ll get an idea of just what it means to be on the receiving end of absolute, raw power,” Marshall struggled to say as Shishani continued pulling her hair back, and then, in a sudden and violent rage, he shoved her over a chair in the room where she fell hard, striking the back of her head against the hard floor.

  “Are you okay?” Secretary Johnson asked her as she ran to help her off the floor. She had placed her hand under the colonel’s head and clearly felt blood mixing in with her hair.

  “I’m fine, probably better than I look.”

  “No, you’re not. You probably have a concussion and a broken eye socket. You’re a mess.”

  “Yeah, well, there’s probably more to come. Those SEALs better get here soon or we’re both in for it.”

  XXXVII

  Desert Hawk Two-Six, 30,000’ over Kirkuk

  6:15 PM Local Time

  “Archangel, this is Desert Hawk Two-Six,” the AWACS operator called to the US Central Command headquarters. “We�
�ve got radar contacts leaving Batman air force base on an east bound heading. Designating this as Raid One.”

  “Desert Hawk Two-Six, I thought we took out that base.”

  “Archangel, all of those planes got out just as the attack started. I’m counting forty-two planes in total. It looks to be two tanker aircraft and forty F-16s. Current heading is zero-nine-seven at 522 knots.”

  “East-bound? That doesn’t make any sense. Desert Hawk, keep watching these guys. We need to make sure they aren’t trying some type of end-around on us. If they break from this course in any direction, I want to know about it.”

  “Copy that, Archangel.”

  ISIS’s Weapons Depot

  6:15 PM Local Time

  “Ahmad, have you heard what’s going on? There seems to be a lot more activity than usual around here tonight.”

  “I’m not sure, though something’s going on, Doctor,” Kayani’s assistant replied. “Ever since those two guards went missing this morning, this place has been on edge. The last I heard, neither one of them has been found. Now, we’re hearing of American paratroopers across the river.”

  “What? Why wasn’t I told? Have the guards been increased around this building?”

  “I don’t believe so. I believe they felt it was more important to keep the Americans out of the city than to simply increase the security here. If we can’t keep the Americans out of the city, a few extra guards here is pointless.”

  “Oh, okay, thank you, Ahmad, that makes sense. You’ve done good work here.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Ahmad replied.

  “With everything you’ve done here, I think we should be able to get another batch ready for transport. Actually, we could look at flying them out tonight or first thing in the morning since we have the C-130 available that I flew in on.”

  “I think flying them out tonight might be the better option with American paratroopers on the edge of town. Does General Shishani know we’d like to fly them out tonight?”

  “Not yet, I didn’t realize just how much work you were able to accomplish. Let’s finish up this last one and then we can tell General Shishani together.”

  Arielle – Chaos Hide-sight outside of ISIS’s Weapons Depot

  6:30 PM Local Time

  “How we looking over there?” Stonewall asked Arielle. She’d been looking through her rifle scope analyzing the target layout.

  “There’s still a bunch over there but they haven’t reinforced the guards since the Rangers landed. They obviously want to keep them from crossing the river. I’ve got six in front and then I’ve seen two roaming from front to back. Falcon, how’s the back look?”

  “Just like they have all day—six in back, plus a couple more roaming the motor pool.”

  “Okay, so basically eight each in front and back,” Arielle said. “Taking the front six out shouldn’t be too hard. We should be able to do that with two quick sniper shots from each of us.”

  “Oh yeah, and with all the commotion right now, those guys inside probably won’t even notice,” Stonewall replied.

  “We’ll need to be ready for the two roamers coming back, though,” Falcon added. “I’ll alert my team to be prepared to take out the guards in the rear.

  “Roger that,” Arielle replied. “Okay, on my mark . . . three, two, one, fire.” And with that three 7.62 rounds leaped from each of their rifles and dropped the first three guards. Five seconds later, the remaining three guards met the same fate as their compatriots.

  “Okay, I’ve got one guard coming around the east side,” Arielle whispered.

  “And, here comes his friend,” Falcon added.

  “Ready, fire!” Jackson quietly ordered.

  “Let’s get over there and see what we have inside before they realize their guards are gone.”

  “Chaos, my team’s reporting the back has been cleared as well,” Falcon added. “We’re all clear.”

  “Okay, there’s Kayani and that one there must be his main assistant,” Arielle relayed to Stonewall as she peered through a window. “It looks like they’re talking to someone on a speaker phone or something.”

  “They must have doubled the guards since this morning. I’m seeing what looks like six guards: one in the office, three watching something on the TV and then two more with Kayani.”

  “Cougar must be starting his attack,” Arielle added as half a dozen A-10s flew overhead just as the sound of several explosions thundered from a couple miles away. Seconds later, four Apache gunships flew over, headed towards both of the bridges, the sound of their rotors completely drowned out by the rumble of the ordinance dropped by the A-10s.

  “Okay, Viking will be here in fifteen, twenty minutes tops,” Stonewall commented. “Everyone ready?”

  The Odessa Hotel, Raqqa

  6:43 PM Local Time

  “General Shishani, Ahmad was able to get a lot more work done than I had expected. We actually have another batch of eight more bombs we could fly out tonight if your plane and pilot is available.”

  “That is very good news, Doctor. How soon do you think you’d be ready to get them loaded?”

  “We could actually start very soon. We just finished the last one for this batch and all of the bombs are on the racks, so, maybe fifteen minutes.”

  “Excellent. I will let General Van know. With what is going on with the Americans, I’d like to get them moved as soon as possible. Thank you, Dr. Kayani.”

  “Kayani has another batch ready to move?” General Van asked Shishani.

  “He does. How soon can you get the plane warmed up?”

  “I’ll call over there right away and have the crew get started on it. If Kayani can have the bombs moved over to the plane, I would think we could be airborne in twenty minutes.”

  “Leaving us so soon, General Van?” Colonel Marshall asked him. Clearly, the Colonel’s spirit had not been damaged a bit, despite the physical beating she had taken. “It would seem that the party’s just getting started.”

  “As much as I would love to stay and ‘party’ with you and the Secretary, we have a few more of your bombs to fly out of here.”

  “And just where do you think you can take them? I believe we just destroyed at least one of your bases. Do you really think we won’t do the same to any other bases you might have, that is, if we haven’t already?”

  “Basing locations are not a problem, Colonel. General,” Van said as he turned towards Shishani, “I’ll see about the plane, and the cargo, and then be back in the morning.”

  “Excellent, I assume you’ll be taking Doctor Kayani with you? I’m thinking he’ll need to work on the next group of fighters as well, correct?”

  “That’s my understanding,” Van replied. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  ISIS’s Weapons Depot

  6:45 PM Local Time

  “Falcon, Arielle and I will go in the back from the loading dock area. I’d like you and two of your men to come in the front door. The back of the warehouse has a fair amount of concealment with all of the pallets of weapons and ammunition so give us a few minutes to get inside and get into position. When you guys make your entrance, we should be able to catch them in a pretty serious cross-fire. The guards will clearly see you make your entrance. They shouldn’t be able to see us. Okay, its 1845 now. Go ahead and make your entrance at 1850 unless you hear otherwise from me.”

  “Roger that, let’s go boys,” Falcon said to his two teammates.

  Desert Hawk Two-Six, 32,000’ above Erbil

  6:48 PM Local Time

  “Archangel, Desert Hawk Two-Six, Raid One has continued east bound and is now just crossing over the Caspian Sea.”

  “Desert Hawk, have they made any course adjustment of any kind?”

  “Only slightly, Archangel, they’ve been on course zero-eight-seven for roughly the last half hour. Looks like they were trying to skirt Iranian air space. We’re at the edge of our range so we’ll lose them pretty soon. At this point, we’re dropping the Raid One
designation.”

  “Roger that, but keep an eye out for these guys. I don’t want them sneaking back into our radar envelope undetected.”

  ISIS’s Weapons Depot

  6:48 PM Local Time

  “You ready for this?” Jackson asked Dani.

  “Just a walk in the park, right?” Arielle replied as she tightened her pony-tail. “Is that a C-130 I hear over there? Viking hasn’t landed, has he?”

  “No, they haven’t. Nightwatch would have said something. Something else must be going on. We better hurry.”

  “Okay, let’s do this.”

  “Ahmad, go get the tractor out in the yard so we can start moving these bombs. Grab one of the guards to help you,” Kayani ordered. “We need to get these over to the airstrip right away. I’ll get one of the trucks as soon I have the rest of the electronics needed to retrofit the next group of fighters.”

  “Right away. It sounds like General Van already has the C-130 warming up,” Ahmad replied as he raised the overhead door that led to the loading dock.

  “Whoa, Stonewall, someone’s coming out!” Arielle warned as he started to enter the rear side door.

  “Any chance you can . . . .” was all that Stonewall got out. The guard hadn’t taken more than a few steps out of the loading dock when he noticed both Jackson and Arielle. Arielle dropped the guard with a quick burst from her HK MP-5 submachine gun as he reached for his gun, too late. Two seconds later, Ahmad met the same fate as the guard.

  “Falcon, we’re blown! We need help, now!” Jackson ordered over the radio.

  “Here come his friends,” Stonewall warned Arielle as they both ran into the warehouse seeking shelter amongst the pallets of weapons and ammunition.

  “On the way,” Falcon replied. “You’ve got five more guards headed your way—Arielle, two of them are almost on top of you.”

  “I got ‘em,” Arielle replied, as she stepped out from shelving stacks of weapons crates, hitting both guards with a long burst from her HK submachine gun. Almost immediately, Falcon and his men opened up on the remaining three guards, cutting them down from the rear in a classic ambush. Within fifteen seconds of entering the warehouse, Doctor Mohammed Kayani was the only one left alive in the warehouse.