Satan's Spy (The Steve Church saga Book 2) AndrĂ© Gallo (top 100 books of all time checklist TXT) đ
- Author: André Gallo
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What about Farah? Was her death his responsibility? Kella had taken the lead in her recruitment, and he had made the final pitch. Again, Farah had willingly joined them. In retrospect, Farah had unconsciously been open to an opportunity to achieve closure by exacting revenge for the death of her father. She was dead for having allowed herself to work with Steve and Kella. In fact, she had seized the opportunity. Should he have pointed out the dangers more explicitly?
Suddenly, Mike slowed the vehicle down just enough to make a U-turn. Heading back north, he brought the truck up to seventy-five miles an hour. He instructed Kella, âTell me before we get to this trail on the right that will take us to the yellow pin,â and he pointed to a blue line on the GPS map in front of her. The pin was on the West side of the road.
âAli spotted a roadblock. Not clear if they saw him. Heâs off the road. That yellow pin is our emergency meeting point in this section of the road. After that, itâs on the bikes all the way.â
60. Manama: U.S.S. Dulles
A tall, red-haired Sea, Air, Land officer stood at attention in Navarreâs shipboard office and said, âCaptain Navarre, Iâm SEAL Lieutenant Duncan from the Naval Special Warfare Task Force reporting for duty. My orders were emailed to your ship a couple of days ago. I have four men with me. Their names and ranks are included in our orders, sir. My RIB and weapons were put onboard yesterday. Iâd like to brief you on our mission.â
âAt ease, Lieutenant; SEAL assignments usually emphasize stealth, mini-subs, that kind of thing. Why a Rigid Inflatable Boat this time?â
âIn this case, speed will be more important, Sir.â Duncanâs prominent chin seemed to emphasize his statement.
âLet me get my exec and my tactical activities officer. Weâll do this in our conference room.â
When they were all there, he said, âProceed, Lieutenant.â
âSir, our mission is to pick up two CIA operatives on the Iranian coast and turn them over at a helicopter pickup. According to my last information, they were being taken to the coast by two CIA Special Activities Division officers from here,â he said, pointing on a wall map to Firuzabad, âto here,â now pointing to the Nayband National Park. âOn motorcycles, cross-country. Iranian authorities were in hot pursuit at the last report, according to the NCS Chief ThĂ©rĂšse LaFont and her Near East Division Chief Jason Farrish who briefed me and my team this morning.â
âWhere did this briefing take place Lieutenant?â Navarre asked. âFifth Fleet Headquarters, Sir.â
Navarre made a point of sitting back, hiding his heightened interest. âGo ahead Lieutenant.â
âIâm guessing the beach pickup may take place under fire. Weâll see. Depending on the size of the hostile force, we may need extra help. Weâre scheduled to pick them up at this park at sunrise minus forty-five minutes, or 0514 hours local time, 0944 Zulu.â
âWhere do you want us to take you, exactly?â
âSir, if I understand the ops order correctly, the Dulles is about to leave for the Somali Coast imminently.â
Navarre appreciated the understatement. He said, âYes, weâre putting out to sea in an hour.â
Duncan continued, âIf you could drop us off here,â he pointed again to the map, âat 0414 local without deviating from your normal course, weâll take our boat to the beach under cover of darkness. That gives us an hour to reach our objective. Our boat shouldnât appear on Iranian radars. Their radars and their patrol boats will be too busy tracking the Dulles. At least, I hope so.â He smiled.
Straight-faced, Navarre told his men, âMake sure this mission takes place without a hitch. Obtain all-source intelligence on Iranian patrol boats. This mission wonât get off the drawing board if the Iranians want to play âchickenâ again.â
61. Zagros Mountains, Iran
Mike, Steve, and Kella reached the yellow pin first, after a ride that took them over rocky arid ground full of fissures and little vegetation. It was now dark. Mike let Steve and Kella out then parked close to a boulder as high as the truck. He and Steve rolled the second motorcycle off the truck bed.
âAli should be here soon. Weâve been riding in and out of this area for the last week, first during the day, then at night. Ali has a good grasp of this geography. Thatâs what rehearsal is all about,â he said in a reassuring them.
He asked, âEither of you ridden one of these?â
âNothing that fancy,â Steve said, eyeing the bike with heightened interest. âI had an old Harley in college.â
Looking less enthusiastic than Steve, Kella said, âNever have.â She hesitated an instant then added, âI guess the truck is out of the question.â
âFrom here on, the trails go through choke points too narrow for any truck or car. For example, there are a couple of ravines that can only be crossed on planks masquerading as bridges. Itâs either bikes, or walking, or horses, and bikes are best. Weâve got,â he looked at his watch, âabout five hours to reach our rendezvous with the SEALs. By daylight, you should be on a ship enjoying blueberry pie.â
Noticing the unspoken question in Steve and Kellaâs eyes, he added, âAs far as Iâm concerned, thatâs the Navyâs best contribution to mankind.
âHow about weapons? Either of you weapons qualified?â Mike asked, leaving blueberry pies to refocus on the practical requirements of the mission.
Steve answered for both of them. âWe both have
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