The ISIS Gambit

by Brad Carlson

  “We got the hostages so that counts for something,” Chaos replied.

  “How soon before we can pack up and leave?”

  “It shouldn’t be much longer. The first Chinook is just landing now. Once we have everyone loaded up, we’ll pick up the last two hostages on the way out.”

  “Roger that, I’ll wait to hear from you.”

  “Mr. Secretary, are you okay?” Chaos asked Axelsson.

  “I’m fine. Where’s Secretary Johnson and Colonel Marshall?”

  “We’ll be getting them once we get everyone else out of here.”

  “You can’t leave them behind. Do you know what those bastards did to them?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Do you know where they are?” Axelsson asked.

  “We have a pretty good idea. Once everyone’s loaded up, we’re going to get both of them. This is the last chopper. We need to get you out of here, sir. Viking,” Chaos said, turning to Commander Edberg, “let’s get teams four and six out of here with the rest of the hostages and all of the casualties. I’ll release Odin-Two and Odin-Four. We’re not going to need them.”

  “Eli, Caleb, let’s get your teams out of here as well,” Arielle said to her two Unit team leaders as well. “We’ve got our guys so go ahead and head out with them.”

  “You sure you don’t want us to stick around?” Eli asked.

  “No, go ahead and get out of here. You’ve been a big help,” Stonewall replied.

  “Arielle? What about you?” Eli asked.

  “I’m with Stonewall. Someone’s got to make sure we get his ugly mug back home,” she added, grinning the whole time at Stonewall. “See ya when we get back.”

  “Very well, but be careful. This could get pretty ugly before you get out of here.”

  “Okay, Viking, as soon as Huntress takes off, take team one up to the airstrip. We might need a little stronger guard on the Hercs or we might not be getting out of here. Can you take everyone with the LAV?”

  “Yeah, we can do that. We’ll put six in back and then the rest of us will ride on top.”

  “Good, I’ll stay here with everyone else. Once teams three and five get here, we’ll assault the Odessa hotel and get the Secretary and the Colonel.”

  “Sounds good. Team One, let’s mount up!” Commander Edberg ordered his men.

  “Archangel, Chaos. We’ve got all the hostages with the exception of Secretary Johnson and Colonel Marshall.”

  “Chaos, what’s their status?” Archangel asked.

  “A few of them have some minor injuries, but nothing that looks too severe—all probably from their plane getting shot up. Most of them have to be dehydrated—its hotter then hell here and they don’t look like they were treated the best. The first Huntress flight just took off and we’re loading the second one now.”

  “Very good, Chaos. Do you know where the Secretary and Colonel Marshal are?”

  “That’s affirmative. We’ve had eyes on them all afternoon and haven’t lost contact.”

  “Okay, good work. Keep me apprised.”

  “Will do. We’ll be on the move as soon as the second Huntress leaves.”

  XL

  Mahdi Flight, 30°54’N x 51°52’E

  7:33 Local Time

  “Mahdi flight, execute!” and with that, the ISIS attack squadron, as a unit, took a new heading of two-two-zero degrees, aiming for a gap in the expected radar coverage.

  “Did you hear that?” the communications technician aboard Desert Hawk Two-Six asked his commander. “Archangel was on to something, ma’am. There’s a raiding party out there somewhere—we just can’t see them.”

  “Yeah, I know, and we need to find them. Any chance you can locate them based on that last transmission?”

  “No ma’am, the transmission was too short but based on the strength of it, they have to be just beyond our range but no telling what direction.”

  “Keep looking for them. We need to find them.”

  The Odessa Hotel, Raqqa

  7:35 PM Local Time

  “Abdul, any word on what’s happening?” General Shishani asked his chief of staff.

  “Nothing as yet. I’ve lost contact with General Van and I can’t raise anyone at the mosque either, sir.”

  “Imam, it might be best to get you to the bunker under the Great Mosque,” Shishani suggested to Baghdadi.

  “But if no one knows where we are, aren’t we perfectly safe here?” Baghdadi replied.

  “Imam, that’s a big ‘if’,” Shishani replied. “I’m sure the Americans have had their spies here in the city. I would be very surprised if they did not spot us and have simply been keeping watch over the hotel. It’s completely dark out now so we should be able to sneak you out of here. What about our two guests?”

  “That is up to you, we can take them or leave them here.”

  “Very well, let’s go, and bring them.”

  “Ladies, let’s go. We are moving to a more secure location. Since you last preferred to travel as Lady Godiva, we’ll leave the burkas here.”

  “Mr. Shishani, do you really believe there is a more secure area right now?” Colonel Marshall asked, continuing to neglect the rank.

  “Colonel, shut your trap!” Shishani ordered as he backhanded Marshall across the face once again. The left side of her face received the blow this time and blood immediately began flowing once again from her clearly broken nose. “I’ll deal with you when we get there—and the ride will not be long!”

  As the party exited the back of the building, Shishani told Abdul to ride with Baghdadi and he’d ride with the two women in a separate car.

  “Chaos, Nightwatch. I’ve got some movement here at the hotel.”

  “What’s happening Nightwatch?” Stonewall replied.

  “Looks to be something like a VIP motorcade, if something like that exists in this hell hole.”

  “Roger that, any idea what direction they’re heading?”

  “Looks like they’re going to head south on Highway 6 heading towards the Clock Tower.”

  “Okay, we’re about thirty seconds out from the junction with Highway 6. Can you call in some air support and take out the lead escort vehicle? If we can get the convoy stopped, we’ll come in right behind them, pen them in, grab our two friends and get out of Dodge.”

  “I’ll see what I can whistle up, Chaos. If you’re that close, you’ll be able to see the results.”

  “Viking Two-Six, Chaos. Sounds like our last two are on the move. I want you and team five to stay at the Odessa with Nightwatch. I’ve got Monty and team three with me and we’ll take one of the LAVs as well. We need you to guard that intersection. If they close it, we’re in trouble.”

  “Roger that, we’ll keep the door open for ya,” Chief Conti replied.

  “Ghostrider Two-Four, Nightwatch. Emergency 1 fire mission. We have a four vehicle convoy headed south on Highway 6. They’ve just left the Odessa Hotel and appear to be headed towards the Clock Tower roundabout. We need the lead vehicle taken out with a thirty mike-mike gun run. Danger Close as friendlies are in the second vehicle. Repeat!”

  “Nightwatch, Ghostrider Two-Four. Fire mission for thirty mike-mike gun run on lead vehicle in four vehicle convoy. Danger close as friendlies in vehicle number two.”

  “Ghostrider Two-Four, roger that. Fire at will!”

  “Whoa!!! Stop!!!” Shishani ordered his driver as they both witnessed their escort Humvee completely disappear in a ball of fire from the impact of the thirty millimeter high explosive rounds fired from Ghostrider’s Gatling gun. “Back up! Take Al Wadi and get us over to Al Mansour Street,” he ordered as they noticed Baghdadi’s vehicle behind them cut across with this route.

  “Nightwatch, Ghostrider. We’ve got five people in your vehicle with what looks like a LAV and a truck almost on top of them coming up from behind them very fast. We’ve got three other vehicles taking a cut through route back into the old city.”

  “Ghostrider, roger that. Be advise
d the LAV and the truck are friendlies.”

  “Copy that, Nightwatch.”

  “Get us out of here, Massoud,” Shishani ordered his driver as he saw the quickly approaching American vehicles.

  “We can’t move, sir. We’re boxed in,” Shishani’s driver replied as he valiantly tried to drive around the flaming wreck of what used to be their escort Humvee. “Sir, we can’t get through. There’s just too much debris in the—” was all he got out as a burst of nine millimeter rounds from Arielle’s HK MP-5 submachine gun tore through the driver’s side window, taking out both the driver and the guard in the shotgun seat.

  “Chaos, we’ve got ‘em!” Arielle yelled to Stonewall as he approached the passenger’s door on the driver’s side.

  “I wouldn’t do that!” Stonewall told Shishani as he reached for his sidearm. “Out of the car! You first!”

  “You’ll never get out of here!” Shishani defiantly exclaimed. “You’re sitting in the middle of four thousand of my best troops.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Stonewall replied as Secretary Johnson and Colonel Marshall exited the vehicle. Arielle had already taken off her BDU coat and T-shirt—she still had her Under Armour sports bra on—and offered these to both women to cover up. However, Secretary Johnson grabbed Arielle’s holstered H & K VP9 instead.

  “Mr. Shishani,” who turned to listen to the secretary, “I have never believed in torturing or abusing prisoners. However, you have completely disabused me of that position. You’ll have to settle for your seventy-two virgins instead of the Colonel or myself.” And with that, she proceeded to pump ten rounds into Shishani’s face and chest. “That oughta’ do it, don’t ya think?” The secretary asked as Shishani collapsed on the dirt road, creating a bloody mud mixture.

  “Here’s your pistol,” she said to Arielle as she reached for the BDU coat. However, rather than put it on, she tended to Colonel Marshall. The colonel had received an incredible beating over the past hour and a half but she remained defiant.

  “Susan, you’ve got to have a broken nose. I heard something crack the last time he hit you. And, can you even see? The swelling looks terrible,” Johnson said her as she tried to gently wipe away the blood from her nose.

  “Sure feels that way . . . ah, careful,” Marshall flinched as the Secretary tended to her. “Aw, jeez, that hurts! Yeah, I can see fine but my whole face feels like one massive bruise.”

  “I can tend to her, ma’am,” Arielle said to Secretary Johnson.

  “I’m fine . . .”

  “Arielle. I’m here with Chaos . . . ah, Colonel Jackson, ma’am.”

  “I’m fine, Arielle. My son’s a paramedic and he taught me a thing or two. I’m not really the snowflake many people take me for. Colonel Marshall reminded me earlier that most of this was going to be mental—not all, obviously, but much of it was—and she led the way. She’s a rock star. Once I recognized, and understood that, my whole mindset changed. However, if you don’t mind can you get these damned collars off of us? There’s supposed to be a small charge in the back. Shishani has the remote if you need that.”

  “I got it, ma’am,” Arielle said to the Secretary as she removed their collars.

  “Thanks, where’s that top at?” she asked as Arielle picked it up off the ground.

  “Okay folks, mount up! We need to get out of here,” Stonewall ordered as they all jumped in the back of the truck.

  “Just a second, Colonel,” Marshall interrupted Chaos. “Shishani’s launched some type of airstrike out of Batman airbase. I’m not sure of the target but I’m thinking it has to be somewhere in the region as they referred to it as Operation Mahdi.”

  “What?!?” Arielle exclaimed in horror.

  “All I know is they’re using Turkish F-16s and they have tanker support. Since they’ve called this ‘Operation Mahdi,’ I’d think the target would be Israel, Jerusalem or possibly something in the Peninsula/Persian Gulf region but most likely Israel.”

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “About the attack? Absolutely, but not at all about the target,” Marshall replied. “They never discussed the specifics in front of us but given the name of the operation, Mahdi, I’d be willing to bet that this is Shishani’s version of ‘Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war!’—an ode to usher in the twelfth imam. . . . Aw, jeez, my nose hurts.”

  “Okay, good work, Colonel. Arielle do what you can for her.”

  “On it.”

  “Archangel, Chaos.”

  “Chaos, Archangel Actual, go ahead,” Admiral Fisher replied.

  “Archangel, we’ve rescued Secretary Johnson and Colonel Marshall. The rest of the hostages have already flown out. They received some ground fire on their way out but both helos made it out. Sir, we’ve got a bigger problem. It sounds like ISIS was able to get a raid launched from Batman airbase. I think we can assume they’ve got eight nukes on this raid, though we probably need someone up at both bases to check this out. Estimated target: Jerusalem.”

  “Chaos, are you sure of the target? We saw the raiding party take off and tracked them for several hundred miles east bound until we lost them.”

  “Understood. Be advised they reportedly have tanker support so they might be making kind of a wide ‘end-around,’ sir.”

  “Okay, very good. We’ll check it out and pass this on to the Israelis. Now get outta there!”

  “Roger that!”

  Al Udeid Air Force Base, Qatar

  7:47 PM Local Time

  “Desert Hawk Two-Six, Archangel. Any luck finding Raid One?”

  “Archangel, negative. We’ve tried boosting our signal but no luck so far.”

  “Desert Hawk, what’s your current position?”

  “Archangel, we’re currently about one hundred miles east of Kirkuk.”

  “Okay, I want you to change course to two-two-zero. I want you south, southwest of Baghdad just as fast as you can get there. We’ve received confirmation that ISIS launched a raid before we took out their bases. I want you watching our southern flank in case they’re trying a wide end-around.”

  “Understood. Changing course to two-two-zero.”

  Raqqa, Syria

  7:50 PM Local Time

  “Viking Two-Six, how we looking? We’ve got the last two and are headed back your way.”

  “Chaos, you might have a problem. It looks like the street’s been cut at that last intersection there, 23rd of February Street. From what I can tell, it looks to be about a platoon sized force and they’ve got a couple heavy machine guns in the middle of the intersection. As a guess, they’re probably about a quarter mile from you. As soon as you come around that bend in the street they’ll have you in their sights.”

  “Roger that. Nightwatch, can Ghostrider clear that for us?”

  “Already working on it, Chaos.”

  “Ghostrider, Nightwatch. Fire mission. Thirty mike-mike. Intersection of Highway 6 and The 23rd of February Street. Be advised friendly forces are four hundred meters due south of this position on Highway 6.”

  “Roger that, Nightwatch. Hit the intersection with thirty mike-mike. Friendlies are four hundred meters south. Fifteen seconds. Coming in from the south.”

  “Chaos, Nightwatch. Ghostrider’s making a gun run in ten seconds. Get ready to move.”

  “Got it. Okay, Monty, Ghostrider’s clearing the intersection up ahead. As soon as it’s clear let’s get outta here. Lead the way!”

  No sooner than Stonewall ordered this than the sound resembling an extremely loud zipper erupted directly over them. The devastation just four hundred yards ahead was complete: the heavy machine guns had been completely destroyed and not so much as a whimper came from any of the men who had blocked the intersection, so complete was the carnage. However, the surrounding buildings had not even been touched.

  “Let’s go!” Monty ordered his driver, as the LAV lead the two vehicle convoy.

  “RPGs!!!” Montoya called out just as they approached the intersection. The 30mm
fire mission Nightwatch ordered had completely cleared the intersection of ISIS fighters while leaving all sorts of debris in the street but several ISIS fighters occupied the apartment house ruins on both sides of the street—which is precisely from where the RPGs were fired. One RPG hit just above the left front wheel; the other ricocheted off the slant of the front armor and exploded against the turret. However, the damage was done: the driver and gunner of the LAV were killed outright; Montoya severely wounded.

  “SHIT!!! Monty’s been hit,” Arielle hollered out.

  “Viking Two-Six, we’ve got a problem,” Chaos radioed ahead as Falcon pulled the truck up just behind the disabled LAV while Arielle jumped out and climbed the LAV to tend to Monty. “Monty’s LAVs been hit and they’re blocking the intersection. We’re going to dismount and shelter in one of these buildings.”

  “Roger that,” Chief Conti replied.

  “Come on, Chief, we’re going to get you out of here,” Arielle encouraged Monty as automatic rounds pinged off the armor all around them.

  “Sniper!” Monty warned as best he could through the pain as Arielle dragged him free of the commander’s perch in the LAV. Arielle heard the snap of the round as it sailed right past her head as she pulled him free of the turret.

  “Umph . . .” Arielle instinctively exhaled as the next round hit her squarely in the chest with her body armor completely absorbing the impact. “Yeah, I think I see him,” she said as she crouched behind the turret looking for the sniper. “I gotcha,” she whispered to herself as she peered through the infrared scope on her HK 417 assault rifle and squeezed the trigger. “That’s one less bastard we need to worry about,” she assured Monty. “Okay, let’s get a couple tourniquets on those legs of yours and then get you out of here. You ready?” she asked as she pulled him towards the edge of the vehicle.

  “Moose, you got ‘em?” Arielle yelled to the SEAL she recognized from the Latakia raid.

  “Yeah, I have him. Go ahead and let go.”

  “Okay, let’s get him out of here,” Arielle said to Moose as she jumped off the LAV. They each grabbed one of Monty’s arms and carried him under his shoulders as they ran towards the two story house where the rest of the team hunkered down.