Pandora's grave

His words were cut short as a door opened and slammed shut behind them, a young woman wearing a corporal’s uniform running onto the pad.

“Sobel! We just heard-” She stopped suddenly, in surprise at the general’s presence. “Excuse me, sir,” she continued, drawing herself up into front of Shoham and snapping off a sharp salute.

“You’re excused, corporal,” Shoham answered, smiling at her confusion. “Go on with your report.”

She nodded, pausing to catch her breath. “We just got a report from RAHAB over the satellite uplink.”

“And?” Shoham demanded, stepping closer to the corporal. “What’s going on?”

“They’ve secured SCHLIEMANN. Are proceeding to the extraction zone. That’s all.”

“No casualties?”

“None were reported, no, sir.”

“Everything’s proceeding according to plan,” the general said briefly, turning to the watch officer. “Give RAVEN the go-codes. Get in and pick them up.”

“Understood, sir.”

3:32 A.M. Tehran Time

Near the crash site

Major Hossein swore in frustration as the trucks ground their way up the mountain road, bumping and jouncing over the hard terrain. The Americans had outfoxed him once again. If it weren’t for BEHDIN…

He didn’t want to think about it.

The words, though, still puzzled him. FULLBACK to EAGLE SIX, the camp is empty…it’s like a ghost town. Didn’t the tangos leave anyone home?

He had fought against the American forces in Iraq for long enough to know what was meant by “tangos”. Taken from the NATO phonetic alphabet, it was special forces shorthand for “terrorists”. They were talking about his base camp. Empty?

Thomas rose up from the rocks beside the road, his finger flicking off the safety of the AK-47 he cradled in his hands. Another fully-loaded Kalishnikov was slung over his back, both rifles he had taken from the Iranian soldiers he had killed.

The trucks looked brand-new, a Chinese make Thomas recognized vaguely from some Langley intelligence photos. The way their gears whined as they made their way up the steep mountain road, they weren’t likely to remain that way for long. His presence reduced that likelihood to a statistical impossibility.

The lead truck came abreast of his position and he could see the two figures in the cab, glowing green through the lens of his night vision goggles.

Now!

The windshield disintegrated before Major Hossein’s eyes under the impact of a short burst of gunfire, the sound of an AK-47 on full-automatic filling the air like the popping of firecrackers. The corporal driving let out a strangled cry and Hossein felt something warm and wet spray over his face. His hand came away sticky with blood.

The truck lurched to one side as the tire blew, careening off the road into the rocks. The driver’s body slammed into him as the truck turned over, pinning him against the door. He lay there, feeling the shattered glass dig into his flesh, the breath completely knocked from his body.

From the road above, the gunfire continued, but it was being answered now, as his men responded. They need me! His mind screamed, but he lacked the strength to answer that call. The corporal was dying, slowly, his body pressed against Hossein’s chest, blood dripping from his neck wound onto the major’s face. Above, the stars twinkled down through scattered clouds. And the gunfire continued…

3:34 A.M.

The base camp

Something had gone seriously wrong. The back of the young sentry’s head was blown completely away. Harry rolled the corpse onto its back, noting the single bullet hole squarely between the eyes. The mark of a professional.

Even trained soldiers were prone to firing more shots than absolutely necessary, making up what they lacked in precision with sheer power.

This man had felt no such need. A single shot had been required, and a single shot had been delivered.

A chill ran up and down Harry’s back, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling with danger. There was the chance, slim though it might be, that the killer was still in the camp ahead of them. He toggled the mike, breaking radio silence. His team needed to know what they were up against.

“EAGLE SIX to Alpha Team. I’ve got a corpse on this side, single wound to the head. Do you copy?”

Tex’s typically gruff voice came on the air. “I read you, EAGLE SIX. Same situation over here.”

“Why didn’t you report it?” Harry exclaimed in frustration.

“Hey, boss. You order radio silence, and I no longer own a set.”

Harry nodded silently. “Fine. FULLBACK? Report in.”

“Somebody got in here before us, Harry,” Hamid stated bluntly. “I’m looking at a body. My gut tells me it won’t be the last.”

“We will be proceeding as planned. But be prepared for tougher resistance than we could expect from IRGC-” Harry stopped sharply, his ears straining to pick up the slightest sound. “What was that?”

“I don’t know, EAGLE SIX.”