by Fritz Galt
“And to bring back my daughter,” Fred said.
The group nodded to each other.
Savage continued. “What do we have to offer? Only the best. DEVGRU has the best trained, best equipped and the most experienced operators in the world of counter-terrorism.”
“Better than GSG-9?” Alec asked.
“The Germans have nothing on us,” Savage replied.
“How come we never heard of you?” Fred asked. “Did you do the Olympics in Atlanta?”
“We were there, but domestic counter-terrorism is handled by the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team.”
“Then who are you, the SEALs?” Fred asked.
“We’re no longer the Navy SEALs. After Richard Marcinko, the original commander of SEAL Team Six, wrote his books exposing the work of his SEAL team, the unit was disbanded. We had a lot of counter-terrorism operators in the Navy with no outfit to use them. So the Pentagon formed DEVGRU, ostensibly to create, test and evaluate new tactics, weapons, and equipment. The president wrote an executive order additionally mandating our development group with intelligence, counter-intelligence, investigative and national security duties. Within months, we had our counter-terrorism operators back in action.”
“What’s your particular specialty?” Alec asked, yet to be impressed.
“As a Navy unit, we specialize in marine counter-terrorism. All our operators are skilled at both combat diving and parachute infiltration. There are similar counter-terrorism units in other branches of our military, including the Army’s Delta Force, the Air Force’s Task Force 160 “Night Stalkers,” and the Marines’ Special Ops units. Sometimes we cooperate and share equipment, but basically we’re independent. The commander-in-chief authorizes a job anywhere in the world, and we do it.”
The admiral spoke up. “Currently DEVGRU is here with SOAR, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the Air Force’s CT unit. Our DEVGRU assault unit is practicing land and ship assaults supported by the 160th SOAR’s small MH-6 ‘Little Bird’ helicopter.”
“I’m sorry,” Alec said. “But the name DEVGRU just doesn’t seem to fit your macho image. It sounds like the department tried to bury you somewhere in the Pentagon.”
“If you can come up with a better name, we’ll consider it,” Savage said. “Now let’s discuss who’s in charge.”
The admiral signaled Savage to take a seat, and said, “Let’s face it. None of us here has India experience. Our men don’t speak Hindi, and nobody’s been to India before. Despite all the training and research that we’ve supplied the operators on short notice, for them this country will be like the moon. We need leadership that can help these, pardon the expression, virgins find their way into the womb. Any suggestions?”
Alec spoke up. “The only logical choice is my brother, Mick Pierce. He’s a former Marine who most recently worked for the CIA. He’s an India hand, and he’s in Goa right now tracking down Abu Khan. He’s our man for the job.”
The admiral looked sharply at Captain Savage. “How come I never heard about him?”
Fred said. “I might be able to answer that. He quit the CIA. He’s only back in India on his own recognizance. The consulate is denying any knowledge of his actions.”
The admiral was clearly infuriated. “That’s why they never sent us a goddamned cable on him.”
Captain Savage rubbed his square jaw. “If your brother is our only source of information about these terrorists on the loose, but he isn’t communicating through normal channels, how is he getting through to the White House? Somehow he got the president to sign off on his mission.”
“He didn’t go through the State Department or the CIA,” the admiral said. “Someone else must be furnishing material to the White House.”
“I’m getting my input from the Pentagon,” Savage said. “And they don’t know squat.”
Fred stated the obvious. “Maybe Mick is piping the information directly to the president.”
Alec reached into his pocket. “I have a phone I can use. I can call my brother and find out.”
The group looked at him in disbelief.
Savage sat forward and said in a hoarse whisper. “You mean to say you can call him on a goddamned personal phone?”
“He’s got a cell phone with him. He’s been keeping me abreast of details.”
In the silence, the admiral cleared his throat. “Alec, you’re the only one with any iota of information on India, or knows who the hell that woman is.” He gestured to Camille, who was wandering alone in the tall grass. “Your brother has a handle on the situation, but he’s acting on his own, outside of government channels. I can’t trust Operation Fatal Sting to a renegade like your brother. I guess that makes you team leader.”
Alec took a deep breath and looked at the sky. Mick had never been the renegade. If anybody was, it was Alec, the guy screwing hostile militants while Mauritius burned. But he wasn’t about to bring that up.
“But I demand that you use a secure connection. Not some crappy cell phone.”
He listened to the tough grunts and whoops as soldiers climbed walls, dangled from rapid descent ropes and cruised through the air on parachutes that opened just before the soldiers hit the ground. Farther in the distance, volley after volley of gunshots fired at muffled targets. Masked by the gunfire, small helicopters buzzed low, picking up men from the sea.
“I guess that makes me leader,” he said.
At the naval supply base on Diego Garcia, Alec found a secure phone awaiting him in Admiral Busby’s comfortable, air-conditioned office. Rather than using encryption, the phone dialed a number that bounced off innumerable satellites and redirecting stations, masking the origin of the call. The admiral and Captain Savage sat down and listened with curiosity.
Alec dialed his half-brother, knowing the number, but not knowing where Mick’s phone might ring.
“Hello?”
“It’s me, Alec.”
Mick sounded desperate. “Mariah’s taken a turn for the worse. We’ve got to hustle.”
“Well, we’re moving fast on a name for the operation. The president has called this ‘Fatal Sting.’”
“Cute. So we’re official now.”
“No, we’re still covert. By the way, how are you getting your requests through to the president?” Alec asked.
“I’ve been calling Natalie.”
Alec thought for a moment. He knew that his brother and sister-in-law had been on the skids ever since Mariah’s illness. Perhaps they were mending their fences. “Are you and Natalie—” he asked leadingly.
“We’re working together on this. We’ve got to save Mariah. So Natalie is our contact in the States.”
“Oh, so she’s still back home, you’re bypassing the consulate and feeding your information directly to her, and she’s channeling it to the president?”
“Something like that. She has a contact at State who talks with the White House. I don’t know the details, and I’m not sure it’s working. Do you have any news on a CT team?”
“That’s one reason I’m calling. When I arrived here, the entire military was on high alert. A Navy SEAL team, or DEVGRU as they are called, made me their leader. I’m supposed to know where to go and what to do. That’s why I’m calling you.”
“Okay, here’s what we need,” Mick said, taking charge. “We don’t know where the ransom money will change hands, so we need to prepare ourselves for all contingencies. I need night vision binoculars, sniper rifles, assault rifles, explosives, communications equipment, water filters, light landing craft and a small company of soldiers that can operate all the equipment.”
As Mick spoke, Alec dictated to Savage.
Mick went on. “You’ve got to fly into Goa unnoticed, so I’ve found a way to infiltrate. I’m at the Fort Aguada Hotel, right behind the big castle on the water’s edge. If they can sneak in by boat, I can give specifics on where to land. In the meantime, I’ll rent some hotel cottages and vehicles for transportation.” He paused. “Can
you handle all that?”
“How about helicopters?”
Mick had no immediate reply. “I don’t want to announce our presence. Keep them offshore, but available. And one more thing: make sure the soldiers can dress like tourists.”
“Don’t worry. There are plenty of Hawaiian shirts here on Diego Garcia.”
Alec set down the phone and turned to Admiral Busby and Captain Savage, who were watching him closely.
“Looks like we’ll have to infiltrate by sea. Mick’s already at the Fort Aguada Hotel in Goa and can give us specifics on where to land. The hotel is right at the water’s edge. He’s got cottages and cars for the men to use. We’ll have to go incognito as tourists.”
The admiral and Savage looked at each other.
“Submersibles?” Savage asked. “Or a parachute drop?”
“I’d say drop ’em in the water and SCUBA to shore,” the admiral said.
“Not a problem,” Savage said. “I wrote down his shopping list.”
“Mick said that he didn’t know where the money would change hands, so we need to prepare ourselves for any contingency. We need a company of soldiers that can use all the equipment.”
“We got ’em,” Savage said. “I think we can handle it, Admiral.”
“Great. How soon can we get moving?”
Savage looked confidently at Alec. “How soon does he need us?”
“Congressman Butler is expected to receive the ransom money tonight. We’ve got to have our team in place by early tomorrow morning.”
“That’s soon.”
In his hotel room, Mick clicked his phone shut. In a second call, Alec had just informed him that a troop detachment would be arriving that night.
Mick had two final preparations to make. He would have to hide the Special Ops detachment, then he would have to transport the men.
Across his cottage room, Rajiv Khan and Swamiji sat leafing through a room service lunch menu.
“Forget eating for the next twenty-four hours,” Mick said. “That was Alec, and the troops will arrive early tomorrow morning.”
They lowered the menus and stared at him.
“I want both of you to call the front desk and reserve the two cottages adjacent to the fort for tonight and the following six nights. Put them in your names. After you’ve picked up the room keys, I want you each to rent two Land Rovers and drivers. Got it? That’s four vehicles and four drivers. Put them on duty starting at four o’clock tomorrow morning. After that, anything could happen.”
Rajiv looked confused. “How will these soldiers walk around the hotel property undetected?”
“I told them to pack resort wear. It’s a big resort and there are enough guests stranded in India and tanking up for their final days on earth that they’ll blend in.”
“And what should we do after we get the rooms and vehicles?” Rajiv asked.
Mick looked at the menu. “Have your last dinner and stay away from the cottages until everyone’s settled in. Then get ready for all hell to break loose.”
Chapter 37
That evening, Alec put an arm around Camille as they strolled in the sand along the dark lagoon. Behind them under distant floodlights at the base, frantic preparations were well underway.
Practice and briefings were over, and packing was nearly complete. Mick had given him details on the landing area around the Fort. The admiral had distributed maps of Goa for everyone to study. After a night flight via SOAR aircraft, the troops, Alec and Camille would drop into the sea at oh four hundred hours.
The congressman had been eagerly awaiting his two million dollars. The heavy briefcase, stuffed with stacks of hundred and thousand dollar bills, arrived by special transport shortly before dinnertime.
Fred Butler hefted the briefcase. “Best two million bucks I ever spent,” he said.
Alec had given him Mick’s cell phone number and watched him climb into the transport and fly off to Bombay.
Butler would use his Indian visa to enter the country, then immediately take a morning domestic flight from Bombay down to Goa. Somewhere on his journey, Butler hoped Abu would contact him with details on where to exchange the ransom for his daughter. Then Butler would alert Mick and the troops.
That was the plan, anyway.
All Alec had to do was work out the next step with Camille.
“Just how well do you know this Abu Khan?” he asked.
“I only knew him professionally. We had mutual respect. No funny business.”
“What are his strong points?”
“He’s committed, he’s a leader, he knows India inside and out, and he’s ruthless.”
“What are his weak points?”
“I don’t know of any, other than his ambition. But I was just as ambitious, so I never saw that as a weakness.”
“If the operation fails and we don’t capture Abu at the site where the ransom money changes hands, we’ll need to turn to you. You’ll need to show up at his doorstep and work your way into his organization. Now, what plausible reason can you give for being there?”
Camille’s thin eyebrows pinched together. “I’ve been thinking this over. I don’t have a good reason to be in India, and I should have no way of knowing where he is. I don’t know anybody in his organization who might invite me in. I think I’ll just have to show up as a mercenary looking for work.”
Alec shook his head slowly. “We’ll have to do better than that.”
She laughed teasingly. “I could always say I’m in love with him.”
He looked at her shining eyes that seemed to look at him for reciprocation. He responded by throwing his other arm around her and smothering her with a kiss that lasted several warm and happy eternities.
“You don’t seem the least bit nervous,” he told her, once they pulled apart and resumed their walk, this time heading back into the floodlights. After all, he hadn’t jumped out of a moving airplane since jump school at Camp Perry when he first joined the Agency. And he didn’t particularly like the experience then. “Have you ever parachuted before?”
“Once. For the thrill,” she said.
“Night dived?”
“Many times.”
“Worried about the malaria?”
“No. We’ll get the vaccine.”
“But you do seem quiet,” he insisted. “Is something bothering you?”
“It’s the Indian security forces that worry me,” she said. “They’re already on high alert in the Arabian Sea because of the Kashmir crisis. They’re also looking for gun and drug runners slipping ashore. They have a big Coast Guard and Navy and they do patrol their coasts. The shoreline is crawling with guards, police and civilians. There’s nowhere to hide in India. People are everywhere. We’re doing a very risky thing.”
He frowned. “Have you ever been to India before?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Me neither. It’s Mick’s plan, though. He knows the country as well as anyone could. He thinks we can do it.”
“He thinks we should do it. There’s a big difference. You told me about his daughter needing the cure. Don’t you think he would try anything, even if it risked our lives?”
He had no ready reply. They were all desperate. Even the president was desperate. Their measures were a sign of their desperation.
He pulled her closer. “Camille,” he said. “Look at it this way. We’re not invading India. We’re helping them chase their own fugitive. If we’re found out, we’ll explain ourselves honestly. They’ll welcome us.”
“Indians are very proud. I don’t think they’d take it that way.”
“Then what do you think we should do?”
“I think we should call Washington and have the entire Army ready for backup.”
Admiral Busby was alone in his office when Alec entered and closed the door.
“Sorry to disturb you, sir,” Alec began. “Camille and I have been discussing a particular problem with the operation. India’s security forces will retalia
te if they feel that we’re violating their territorial sovereignty.”
“Is this your way of saying you’re getting cold feet? We shouldn’t go through with Operation Fatal Sting?”
“No. All I’m saying is we have to be prepared for anything. I think we need to have the Fifth Fleet on standby and an Air Wing prepared for counterstrikes. This might turn ugly, and we need to be prepared.”
“DEVGRU is well armed. They can defend themselves.”
“Only up to a point. Also, we have no means of extracting them if they run into trouble.”
“They’ve got radios.”
He seemed to run out of arguments.
The admiral squinted at him. “We’ve got to be very careful with that woman. She’s not completely vetted.”
Alec shrugged. “I’ll take responsibility for her.”
“Let me fill you in on something here. What we call our Fifth Fleet in the Indian Ocean isn’t a fleet at all. All we can do is borrow troops, ships and equipment from our Atlantic Fleet and our Pacific Fleet. We’ve already got an Aircraft Carrier Battle Group and an Amphibious Ready Group enforcing UN sanctions against Iraq. If we get battle groups steaming in here from Norfolk, San Diego, or Yokosuka, we’re sending out mighty strong signals. We could have a full-blown regional war on our hands. I’m not sure what Camille’s motives are, and the way I see it, a war with India might be exactly what she wants.”
“You’re right,” Alec conceded. “We don’t want to escalate matters.”
“And Mr. Pierce, don’t count on her to make this mission a success. We’ve got capable men that can handle it.”
“I’d rather not use her, if possible. She’s only a backup.”
“Mr. Pierce, if you don’t mind my asking you, exactly what is her motivation behind cooperating with us?”
He smiled sheepishly. “Love.”
The admiral gave him a dubious look.