The Caliphate André Gallo (list of ebook readers TXT) 📖

was facing the front of the building again but found that the dirt and smoke blinded his aim. Kicking himself for not having thought of this foreseeable problem, Karim flew to the left, came around to line up the sidewall of the building, aimed, and fired his second missile. It hit the ground about ten feet in front of the wall. The angle was so shallow the missile didn’t explode until its nose contacted the wall.

     His bad aim turned out to be a lucky mistake. He then directed his Ranger directly south to get out of the way of the two other Rangers he knew were coming in behind him before heading back out to sea, hugging the waves, hoping to make it more difficult for any Israeli pursuit.

    As Karim’s second missile exploded, al Khalil’s four vehicles drove down the access road toward the gate of the compound. The first van drew near and slowed, a guard came out appearing confused and looking over his shoulder toward the first explosion.

     As planned, the driver had his window open and, as he got closer to the guard, who was holding his arm up, he shot him. He fired a burst at the guardhouse just as another guard came out. The driver crashed his vehicle through the bar across the road and headed for the main building.

     Al Khalil saw the second Ranger fire its missile against the roof of the main building and he shouted in anger. The missiles were supposed to be aiming for the walls to make entrance easier to his fighters. The third followed quickly but overflew the building.

     The driver of the van slowed down and stopped to stay out of collateral damage range. The UAV swung around and came at the building low from the side. Instead of firing its missile, it crashed and exploded against the structure.

     People ran out of the building. Several fell, wounded or killed by the air strikes. Some of them were armed and uniformed. A tall man in front seemed to be giving orders. He pointed at the approaching vans and spread his few men in defensive positions hastily. The first van came under fire.

     Hussein told the driver, “Pull over, quickly!” He turned toward the back of the van and shouted, “Everybody out!” He jumped out first and began firing at the Israeli security detail.

     Hussein spread his men out and told them to move forward. “Don’t stop here,” he said.

     Using the sparse cover, Hussein’s men quickly dislodged the outnumbered defenders. They were soon at the front steps of the building. Tariq, Hussein and their men ran up the steps toward the entrance. The Renault was following fifty feet behind the last van but was stopped just beyond the gate by a metal plate that had swung up out of the road, either automatically or activated by an alert guard.

     Abdul and the other Hamas soldier jumped out of the Renault. One pushed Kella out and the other pulled Steve out of the trunk. With AK-47 muzzles prodding their backs, Kella and Steve, their blindfolds off but their hands still tied, ran toward the building.

07:20

Rashid, Karim, and their crews were busy flying their UAVs back to their Gaza bases when Mahmoud, who was with Karim to monitor the attack on the primary objective, said, “You have to ditch your drones at sea. You can’t return them here. The Israeli Air Force will find them and destroy half of Gaza. You should have used them Kamikaze style against the objectives. Call Rashid and tell him.”

     “We can’t do that. We can use those UAVs again.”

     “Trust me. The Israelis are taking off right now and they’re getting ready to retaliate. Don’t worry. What you’ve done is worth a hundred of your drones. Call Rashid and tell him, now.”

    Karim beckoned one of his crew and turned away from the controls of the UAV he was flying south.

     “What if we land them in Egypt, on the sands of the Sinai? We just fly them a few kilometers farther, past Gaza into the Egyptian desert?”

    Mahmoud smiled and said, “That’s a political decision—above my head. But in the heat of combat, soldiers have to make difficult choices. I think we can handle the results. The Egyptians won’t be happy. They’ll confiscate your planes, but it might save Gaza from the usual overreaction of the Jews.”

     “I’m calling Rashid,” Karim said as he grabbed his phone.

     Mahmoud stood in front of the crews and told them, “Land all your drones in Egypt.”

     Karim was pleased that Mahmoud had stopped using the word “toys” to describe his UAVs.

***

The fires started by the first Hellfire missile spread quickly. Flames surrounded the front entrance and smoke rose above the roofline. Al Khalil and his men reached the top of the concrete stairs leading from the parking lot to the entrance but were stopped by the fire.

     Hussein yelled for his men to follow him around to the side of the building where the Rangers had created entry points. They complied and jogged around the building, finding only light opposing gunfire from the few survivors of the initial skirmish. They entered and spread out into what seemed to be a warehouse with offices at one end. The walls were decorated with agricultural posters, and there were signs over office doors in Hebrew and in English.

     They split up and pushed further inside, peering around corridors and office cubicles. The two missile attacks against the roof had, against their initial expectations, caused considerable damage. They found bodies, apparently killed by falling chunks of the roof and walls.

     An office door opened and two men ran out drawing bursts of gunfire from Hussein and his men. One of the runners was wounded but kept moving across an