by Isaac Stormm
“No, that’s okay. We’re waiting for transport.”
The ambassador shifted his eyes and saw Nalini coming over. “General, good to know you were involved with this operation. You did wonderful.”
“Thank you, my friend.” The two gave a customary kiss on each cheek.
Carlson never had it done to him before. Despite the fact that he made good friends of the Arab persuasion all over the Middle East, he thought the greeting uncomfortable for men to do. He was glad he was never called on to display it.
They brought Huffman out and put him in the back of an Army truck. It started its raspy diesel engine, belched a brief spurt of smoke and drove away.
“Gentlemen.” It was Nalini. “Your ambassador wants to congratulate you personally. He’s being kept at a safe house. I’ve been instructed to take you to him.”
“Damn formalities,” Carlson managed under his breath.
“Pardon?” Nalini said.
“Nothing.” Carlson smiled.
“I’ll go with you.” Bloom said again, appearing behind them.
A Mercedes, black with silver trim around the bottom and polished to a mirror sheen, pulled up. “This is my car,” Nalini said. “We will go now.”
“Haifa is in bad shape,” Foxmann said over the phone. “Gas masks are useless. The rockets have subsided for now but if they keep it up, we will have casualties in the thousands. I’m going to ask you to consider doing something that goes against everything you ever believed in…I’m going to ask you to evacuate the city.”
“You know I can’t do that,” Grozner replied. “If nothing else, national pride is at stake. We don’t take a step back in our own homeland.”
“I know that, Prime Minister. But this is much different than anything we’ve ever expected. Better to be alive and fight another day than die in place without ever having had a chance to fight back.”
There was a moment of silence. Then, “Is there anyway it can be kept quiet? No word getting to the outside world.”
Foxmann knew that in today’s world, that was impossible. Still, they could try. Shut down all internet accounts as well as wireless service. For a short time, it might work. “Yes. Yes, we can do that.”
“I’ll have Metzer do it immediately. I know that sometimes I may bring up issues that should be above your pay grade. But I value your judgment as much as I value anyone’s.”
“Thank you, Prime Minister. I’ll never be out of reach of the phone, I promise.”
Foxmann pressed the reset button and brought a new screen up on the phone. He touched the icon and put him in touch with Metzer. “Sir.” He wasn’t going to mention the evacuation. “I’m asking for a quick situation report in Lebanon. There has been no luck in finding the signal to the drones. Have we recommenced our push again in Lebanon?”
“I’m afraid no. We’re still regrouping. The prime minister has asked me to give the word on when to commence the second drive forward.”
There’s the damn bureaucracy again. The generals on the ground needed to do that. Not tell him and wait for his reply. But that’s the way wars were fought these days. Including Israel’s. Political correctness had yet to take hold in the military command structure but it was making an appearance. He hoped it wouldn’t get beyond that and would be stamped out. After this was over when they counted their losses and recommendations were asked, he’d be sure to bring it up. “Sir, I request to be sent to the front lines with more of my units.”
“Not right now. When we discover where the drone signals are coming from, I want you to lead it. Until then we have to keep you safe.”
Foxmann bade him goodbye, and wondered about Gil David. All of the teams had a direct line to his iPhone. Different beeps signified which ones they were. The highest beep was David’s. His team had been inserted furthest since the opening of the invasion. They were still waiting on him to check in but he hadn’t. He wondered if they had been discovered. He hated sitting this stuff out. It was too important. He knew his position though and had to honor it.
What of the Iranian advance into Iraq? His last update was that they had stopped suddenly in Mosul. The armored and infantry divisions were dispersing into the city. None had come further than that. He wondered if they were waiting on Israel to launch an attack and would find it best useful to have their forces in populated areas. Smart. For the time being. Maybe there was an off chance they were going to try something on the diplomatic front before advancing any more…Not likely.
He knew Iraq was going to enter the war. Of that there was no question. He knew Syria wasn’t going to give any problems to the Iranians because they had been supporting them for years. That’s one of the reasons the secular government had lasted so long in the midst of a civil war with ISIS and other factions. Jordan probably would try to avoid fighting with anyone as much as possible. He was confident the king had a good head on his shoulders and would go the extra mile to ensure that there was still peace between Israel and Jordan. There’d been no condemnation from the Jordanian government after the attack. Even after the cloud had drifted over Saudi Arabia. That was about the only bright spot in the whole situation so far.
His thoughts came back to the Iranians. Israel could handle them quite easily if there was no outside interference. They would have to hit them though when they were still advancing in Iraq. Not waiting until he got into Syria. With the Air Force right now focusing on clearing the way for the advance in Lebanon, it would be a day at least before any action was taken. This conflict is not going to be like the past ones. The Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur war. No, this was going to be as trying if not more than the fight for independence in 1948.
Mosul, Iraq
General Val Jalil sat in the once opulent hotel room overlooking the city center. The refueling of the armored columns went fast and now the last of the tanks dispersed into the city to wait for the order to regroup, feeling that they should keep pressing onward. Rustani had told him different. He was simply to halt “for a short time.” Basically, at the Ayatollah’s whim. He knew he was on what was basically a suicide mission what, with no air cover, but he’d been told something big was going to happen in Lebanon once he was in Syria, and Allah willing, it would allow him to storm toward Tel Aviv on his way to Jerusalem. He knew the last hope was always farfetched. Years of study confirmed that but he always had to hold out hope. It helped with the morale of his men whose hearts were more susceptible to the dream than his.
What was bugging him was if they would even make it out of Iraq. Sure, he heard of Israel’s troubles in Lebanon. But the most formidable fighting arm, the Air Force, remained intact. He envisioned them swooping down on his armored columns, bombing his vehicles, strafing his troops and sending them back across the Iranian border with only a handful of what he started out with. He remembered the Syrian Air Force in 1982 being slaughtered 80 to 1 in air combat. He knew the Iranians were not much better but he’d been told the Iraqis were going to permit Iran to land aircraft. He could see it now, an Iranian Su-27 Flanker sitting next to an American F-16 fighting falcon on the tarmac. The F-16 striking ISIS and the Iranian flying cover trying to protect from America’s greatest ally in the region. Strange bedfellows indeed.
Of something he didn’t worry about was ISIS. There’d been many secret meetings held with the group over the months and they had agreed not to harass any Iranian columns entering Syria, their last stronghold. They received a personal guarantee not to take the ISIS headquarters in Raqaa, in exchange for a hands-off approach to the Israeli border. That was good, but he wondered of any splinter groups allied with ISIS that might try to take matters into their own hands. He picked at a small sore on his forehead, the sweat coating his fingers. What did the Ayatollah have in mind?
There was a knock at the door.
“Enter.”
It was one of his aides. “Sir, all of the tanks have been dispersed now. None of our surface-to-air missile systems have detected any planes today. Everything is goin
g according to plan.”
He nodded. “Send word to Tehran.” Then he walked over to the window and looked out. The streets were sparse. Trash gathered on the sidewalks. A few businesses were open. ISIS had done a job on this place all right. His eyes scanned over the run-down tan dwellings, black and burned-out buildings and the many decrepit and hollow abandoned vehicles rusting on the sides of the roads. The only thing that hinted that there was new ownership was an Iraqi flag flying over the city center, which he could barely see being several hundred meters away. He thought if ISIS reconstituted, he wondered how long it would take them to take back this place once the Iranians left. The Iraqis would probably scatter like last time even though with Iranian help, they were able to resemble some sort of heroic advance when kicking ISIS out this time.
“General.” It was the aide again, holding a cordless military style walkie-talkie. “It is the Supreme Chancellor.”
He knew the line may not be secure. It was just a standard frequency used to communicate with the Iraqis. He hoped the Chancellor knew as well. He took the phone and placed it next to his ear. “Yes “
“I’m aware this line is unsafe so I hope the Israelis are listening. I have splendid news. We have just concluded a mutual partnership with the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates. A joint thrust mind you against the heart of the Zionists. They’ve all been receptive and are willing to coordinate with us. I just want to let you know as I’m letting all our senior commanders know. Today is a new day. A great day. We have a common cause. May Allah bless us with our future endeavors.”
“That is wonderful news.”
“I wonder how things are in Washington right now.”
Jalil chuckled. “Oh, to be there.”
Washington, D.C.
11:07 P.M.
Anderson lay in bed, the covers up to his waist. He was propped up on a pillow with the phone pressed to his ear. “Sir, we’ve tried every threat we can think of. Nothing worked. The Saudis blindsided us. They are willing to lay to rest old hatreds to counter the new threat. They even asked us to come on board, if you can believe that. Our ambassador pleaded with them about what they would lose if they went this direction. They simply said the meeting was over.”
“The Israelis are going to go after the oil fields. Of that there is no doubt.” It was the most logical target. Take out the oil fields by conventional or especially nuclear means, you just created an energy crisis the likes of which the world has never seen before.
“We could send in forces to protect them.”
“If they would let us back on their territory.” He paused for a second and thought it over. “All right. All right, I’m going to contact the Secretary of State, set up another meeting for our ambassador. We will strictly be neutral in this conflict. We are there only to protect the oil fields. We will not be aiding or assisting any side during this crisis.”
He pressed another button on the phone. “Get me our ambassador to Saudi Arabia.”
The number rang several times and a groggy voice picked it up. “Yes, Mr. President.”
“Beales?”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“I understand our Saudi friends gave you a rough time.”
“Yes, sir. I tried, Mr. President. I really did. I think we’re talking to a wall right now.”
“Let’s hope not. Because I have a new proposal I want you to take back to them. Tell them we would like to send a military force to secure the oil fields and that will not interfere with any military operations they may be carrying out. When’s the soonest you can meet them?”
“I can have a meeting with them within an hour.”
“Good. Good. Tell them if they turn us down over this, I can promise you we’ll never have friendly relations like we used to again.”
“Isn’t that a little strong, Mr. President? These are very suspicious, obtuse people I’m dealing with. They might take that as a threat.”
“Reassure them that it’s not. We’re just looking out for the world’s energy supply.”
“I will get right on it, Mr. President.”
“Call me tonight after you get through meeting with them. Doesn’t matter what time it is here. I’ll not be sleeping much anyway.”
“Agreed.”
He pressed the button for Mitchell again. “Beales is going to meet their people within the hour. After he gets back to us, if they say yes, I’ll need you to send forces in in less than twenty-four hours.”
“Yes, sir. The 82nd airborne will fill that role.”
“Very well. I’ll give you the word on if we’re to go hopefully in about an hour and a half to two.”
He set the phone back down and noticed Jennifer lying on her side looking at him. He switched the light off. “Get some sleep. I’ll be alright.”
“You may need that hour and a half to two. You should try to rest.”
He folded his arms on his chest. ”With everything that’s been coming down, I haven’t had much rest since the Israelis attacked.”
“I know. You’ve been distant.”
“Didn’t mean to be.” He reached over and rubbed her forehead with the back of his hand. “I know you understand though, right.”
“Trying to. Remember I’m kept out of the subtleties of this situation.”
“I wish I could tell you everything.” He shook his head, contemplating the situation. “It’s gotten too damn complicated for me sometimes.”
“All things must pass.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Forward Operating Base Julie
Northern Israel
May 29
“Colonel.” The hand kept shaking his shoulder. When he opened his eyes, one of the junior officers said, “Captain David is back.”
Gil David walked in. His face was covered in grime as well as his clothing. He was shaking his head in disgust.
“What happened?” Foxmann asked, coming up quick off the cot.
“On the run. We nearly got ambushed. We managed to get away but they chased us everywhere. There were lots of firefights. Out of a six-man team, three were wounded. We’re lucky nobody died. And we found our contacts had no information on where the signals might be coming from, not even speculation. They said they’d keep working on it.”
“You may not be in the best mood to hear this but you will nonetheless. The Saudis and the UAE have joined the Iranians. A combined force that will cooperate against us.”
“Then we should be striking them now. Before they get close.”
“I have a feeling Grozner is going to do just that.”
Tel Aviv
The Situation Room
“This is absolutely outrageous,” Grozner seethed. “Houser, you told me you were going to support me through thick and thin. You lied. You’re nothing but a filthy liar. Suggesting a vote of no confidence in the Knesset.”
“I didn’t call for this vote, Ariel.” Houser said, his voice elevated just below a shout. “Several junior representatives have gotten together and believe that you’re heading in the wrong direction, that this thing is spiraling out of control, that we should do more on the diplomatic front. A unilateral cease-fire on our part maybe.”
“My God. You can’t be that weak.”
“We are looking at Armageddon here. I was actually accosted by a group of Rabbis yesterday that insisted we should go ahead and blow up the Dome of the Rock because the end is near.”
“I do not share their conclusion or yours. We’re facing a grave threat. Not something predicted in the Bible. You go back to these junior representatives and tell them what they are suggesting at the very least amounts to treasonous activity. There will be time for politics. Now is not it. Do you understand?”
“Alright, Ariel. I’ll tell them their assumptions are misplaced. I did not ask for this. I was just the messenger.”
Grozzner gave an angry wave off to Houser. After he left, he looked at the laptop again.
“This is an another assassination you’re proposing. Take out the Saudi Royal family and the structure of the government implodes causing chaos including with their military.”
“Yes. That’s what I’m saying,” Metzer said. “They tend to stay in their palaces. Easy to locate. Suppose we hit them there. It can still be done. But the window to do it gets smaller by the hour.”
“Are their forces moving?”
“No. They’re on full alert and reserves have been called up. They are still waiting for word to go. “
“You know, we took out a sizable portion of the Iranian government too. It hasn’t worked. But I do believe in this case your plan has merit.”
“There’s also something else I’d like to propose.” Metzer rubbed his lip, swallowed, then spoke. “With our attempt on the Supreme Chancellor’s life, we should reverse our policy of not assassinating heads of state. As much as I hate to say this, they’ll try to come after us too.”
“How soon could you strike the Saudi Royal family?”
Metzer shrugged. “We can have planes on their way at first light.”
Grozner nodded. “That’s very good. But it would be foolish to go all that way for just the family. We need to take out their military command chain as well.”
“That can be added. But we may not be able to locate them by first light.”
“How long?”
“About four hours should suffice.”
“Good. See to it then. In the meantime, I’m going to get some rest.”
Washington, D.C.
Anderson had the phone up to his ear before it concluded the first ring. “Yes.”
“Sir, they’ve agreed to it. But they say they will not tolerate us meddling in their military affairs. They also said they’ll allow air cover as long as we patrol only over the oil fields.”
“I suspect they’re agreeing because they know the Israelis won’t attack while we’re there. That’s good enough. Thank you, Beales. Inform them that in twenty-four hours, we will have a division on the ground there.”