Echo Six: Black Ops 8 - ISIS Killing Fields (19 page)

"So that's what you meant when you said you cared."

He tried to backpedal. "I'm sorry, wrong time, wrong place."

She chuckled. "There's never a wrong time or place. Abe, I was terrified underground. All I wanted was for you to take hold of me, kiss me, and never let me go."

"It's all over now. You won't have to face the tunnel again. Once we've broken into that room, we'll have completed what we came here to do. Then we hold for two days, and we're out of here."

"Good." She shivered and moved in closer to him, just as Guy walked in.

At least he had the presence of mind to cough. "Er, Boss, you're wanted elsewhere, if you can spare a moment."

He gently pushed her away. "I wasn't busy. What is it, is Drew ready to blow that door?"

"No, it's not that. We’ve got trouble, Boss."

"How bad?"

A pause. "Pretty bad. On a scale of one to ten, I'd rate it as a nine."

"So it could get worse."

"It could get worse," he agreed, "a lot worse."

* * *

"We must leave here. The Russians are coming. We cannot fight overwhelming numbers with armored support."

Khalil glared at Jafaar. "I don't agree, Hasan. We must kill them all, starting with the American, Talley."

"And when the Russians come? What then, Khalil? You think you can fight them with a few assault rifles and a couple of machine guns?"

"We have RPGs, enough to take care of their tanks. Besides..."

Jafaar look up. "Besides? I would be very careful what you say in public."

"Of course." He motioned to the older man, and they ambled a few meters away where they could talk without being overheard. "What I meant was our storage facility inside the fort, there is enough there to wipe out any number of Russians and the tanks driven by their Cuban friends."

"You're assuming the NATO men haven't discovered it!"

Khalil stabbed his finger in the direction of the fort. "If they had discovered it, this place would be alive with troops and aircraft."

A pause. "Yes, perhaps you are right. Although the new weapons are not yet ready for use."

Khalil scoffed. "A weapon that can kill men is a weapon we can deploy. We will sow the sands with poison, and our enemies will fall like wheat before the harvester. The vultures will strip their bones of flesh, and they will never leave this land. Never!"

Jafaar considered what to do about his fiery commander. The fort had been a valuable tool in their fight against the forces of the Syrian Government, ruled by the Alawite apostate Assad. It was also close to the Iraqi border, a perfect springboard for their future offensive. He hadn't intended to deploy the weapons they had stored at Al-Amoh, not yet. A lethal combination of mustard gas laced with a mutated radioactive plutonium. They'd developed the binary weapon with the aid of their friends in the Pakistani nuclear program, a weapon that would frustrate and confuse the efforts of their enemies to combat its effects.

First, the cheaply produced mustard gas would render an unprotected enemy incapable of fighting. The material would strip away the mucous membranes of the eyes, rending the victim blind. Then it would attack the nose and respiratory tract, causing shortness of breath and sinus pain. Abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, and vomiting would soon follow. The infidels would be as helpless as babies until medical aid reached them, by which time it would be too late.

The binary compound they had stored at the fort had a secondary function. Hidden behind the mustard gas, the enemy medics would fail to notice the deadly plutonium. By the time they understood the problem was far more serious than mustard gas, the afflicted would be beyond help. As would the hospital staff themselves, exposed to the radiation. The weapon would destroy any of their enemies who stumbled into its path. Effective for the first time they used it, or maybe twice if they were lucky. After that, the enemy would discover what they faced and take steps to deal with it.

He considered his options and decided Khalil was right. Sooner or later, the soldiers who'd taken the fort would discover the underground store. It was inevitable. However, if they attacked and retook the fort before they made the discovery, they could turn the tables on the approaching Russians.

Khalil was waiting for a reply, and he decided he had no option. "Very well, my friend, we will retake the fort, and use the new weapons to kill the Russians. Can we deploy the chemical? You know we have still not completed the delivery mechanisms."

"Of course." The other man stared back at him, and already his face had filled with a fierce glee, "My men will dig foxholes in the sand and wait for the Russians to approach. When they do, they will open the cylinders."

"And they will die. You know they’ll have no protection from the effects of the plutonium. Even if they wear NBC suits.”

Khalil shrugged. "Then they will die as martyrs. I will assign some of my men to act as volunteers. They cannot use protective suits. It would tell the Russians we're using chemical weapons. They will have to open the cylinders without any protection. I will tell them Allah will give them all the protection they need. When they know Paradise awaits them, they will be strong."

"It may be better to tell them they'll be safe in any case. Tell them they'll suffer a little from the mustard gas, but they’ll recover quickly."

"If you wish."

He looked up as a man ran toward him, Abu Abbas, who'd been watching the fort.

"What is it, Abu? Can't you see I'm busy?"

Since Khalil's abortive attempt to put the blame for the failed attack on his men, Abbas had been less polite to his leader. "Do you want to hear important news or not?"

He sighed. "Very well, what is it?"

"The Iraqis, a small group of them, they're holding an observation post five kilometers from the fort."

"How many of them?"

"We're not sure, Khalil. Perhaps ten, perhaps less."

"Do you know what they're doing? Why would they be five kilometers from their main force? Do you think they're planning some kind of an ambush?"

He considered for a few moments. "If they are, it's a strange ambush. They're vulnerable to attack cut off from their unit. It would be useful to capture them and find out what's happening down there, what their plans are."

"You can do it without any problems? They'll be on alert, watching for just such an attack."

Abbas spat on the ground. "You haven't seen them, Khalil. They have a single sentry on watch, and my man said he was asleep when he observed him. Their officer spends his time sitting in the shade of a camouflage net, with his men bringing him cold drinks from a portable ice box."

"Cold drinks?" Jafaar looked incredulous.

"Yes, Hasan. They're having a picnic on the sands."

The older man looked puzzled. "How peculiar." He looked at Khalil. "We must take these soldiers, interrogate them, and kill them."

"Agreed, but there is another possibility. If they're part of the contingent that took Al-Amoh, we could use them as leverage. See how their friends react when we cut off the first head."

The three men looked at each other and erupted into laughter. "A beheading, yes, we will show them the Islamic way," Jafaar told them, "Offer them the chance to save their comrades, or watch them die, one by one. Caliph Pasha himself would approve. Bring us those Iraqis, Abbas. It's time to test the strength of our foes."

Two and a half kilometers from Al-Amoh the cairn of stones shimmered in the heat. Geena was beside him, and he saw her shiver as she recalled the qanat they'd crawled through to reach the fort. The nightmare crawl that had almost killed them all, and left her with a dark memory that would doubtless stay with her for all time.

"What're they doing?"

ISIS had arrived, and they were there in strength. He could make out around twenty men occupying the rock cairn. Further away, as many men were in view in the exact position where Captain Salim had established his 'command post.'

Tough luck for Salim. I wondered if he is still alive. Probably not, poor bastard.

They'd used the rocks as cover and made their way across the desert floor unseen, until now. Now, they wanted to be seen.

Rovere had his binoculars to his eyes. "It's some kind of a ceremony. They have a man kneeling on the top. Wait," he took a breath, "It's an execution."

"Who're they executing?"

"Salim's men. They must have captured them. I can see the Captain clearly. An Iraqi kneeling on the ground, and a guy with a sword behind hm. Jesus, that's one big mother of a sword. They're gonna behead him!"

They watched in fascination, knowing they were too far away to intervene. Then something strange happened. A man put down his rifle and started walking toward the fort. He wore the black garb of the ISIS fighter, but without a ski mask, and in his hands, he carried a white piece of cloth.

"He wants to talk," Guy murmured, "Maybe he wants to negotiate some kind of a deal."

"Maybe."

Rovere put down the glasses. "Talking isn't doing. It is a kind of good deed to say well, and yet words are not deeds."

Guy sighed. "That's bullshit. Shakespeare never had to fight the ragheads."

"That’s the point," Rovere started to explain, "What he meant was..."

"Can it, Domenico." Talley put down his rifle but left the pistol where it was, "I'm going out to meet him."

"You trust them enough to go out into the open, where they could put a bullet in you without warning."

“I don’t have a choice.”

He looked at diMosta, who was watching them. "If there's any sign of a doublecross, can you take him out?"

There was no answer at first. He tested the wind and glanced around for any sign of a change in the weather. "I could try, and there's a chance I may get him, but it's a long shot for an assault rifle, Boss."

"They'll have the same problem, if it is a double cross," he pointed out.

"Unless they have a sniper rifle. ISIS seems to have access to most weapons. If they wanted a sniper up on those rocks, they'd have one."

"In which case, I'll have to chance it. Besides, they don't know we don't have a sniper rifle. I'm going. Keep your eyes skinned."

"I'm coming with you."

They all looked at the girl as she approached. Talley had a one-word reply, "No!"

Her expression was determined. "I have to go. You don't speak a word of Arabic. How will you know what he means?"

"He's sure to speak English. He wouldn't be coming otherwise."

"And you think you'll understand the nuances of what he's saying? There's just one way to do this that makes sense, and that's for me to do it. Besides, CIA would want me to listen to what he says. We may get some clues as to their thinking."

Guy chuckled. "You want that kind of a clue, ask me. They're thinking about killing that soldier, then the rest, then coming for us. It's not complicated."

"We won't know until we talk to them, will we?"

The logic was hard to refute. He hated it, but she had a point. She was an active participant in the operation. Five minutes later, they were crossing the sands, walking toward the midpoint between the rock cairn and the fort.

They came to a stop three meters from the black clad figure that had approached from the cairn of rocks. His expression blazed with a passionate hatred.

“My name is Khalil al-Khalil.” He glanced at Geena Blake, and his gaze was glacial, “What is this woman doing here? I requested this meeting with a soldier, not with a useless woman. We have matters to discuss. Send her away.”

Talley had grown used to the Muslim hatred toward women, but he still had to keep a grip on his emotions and not take a swing at the ISIS leader. The man stared at him, and his hatred was more intense. He ignored it.

“She’s here because I wanted her to be here. My name is Commander Abe Talley, and this is Ms Geena Blake.”

He repeated the name. “Talley.”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“You killed my men in cold blood. For that you will die.”

So that’s it. The men I killed had been under the command of this man, Khalil. The guy’s made up his mind to kill me. That’s nothing new. Islamists have been trying to kill me ever since I first set foot in the Middle East. What is new is this man has made it personal. Fuck him!

“Why don’t you cut the crap, and tell me what you want?”

“I'm here to negotiate your surrender.”

The statement took him by surprise. “You’re kidding me.”

He didn’t reply at first, but pointed at the cairn of rocks just over a kilometer away. It was just possible to make out an Iraqi soldier kneeling at the top, and a man standing over him with a sword. The sword was huge. “No, I am not kidding. We have a total of eight captives up there, including a Captain. If you refuse to accept our terms, we will execute that man, and then continue to execute one man every four hours until you comply. When they are all dead, we shall storm the fort, and you will be the last to die, Commander Talley. Your death will be long and hard. I need your answer now.”

Geena spoke first “Khalil, what would it take to prevent you beheading that man? You must know it’s too soon for us to make a decision about surrendering the fort. We need more time.”

He scowled at her. “This is man’s business. Be silent, woman. Your place is in the kitchen. Or on the bed, there are many of my men who would be pleased to service you.”

She flushed with both anger and embarrassment. “You know, Khalil, you’re full of shit.”

He spat on the ground to emphasize his contempt. “Commander Talley, what is your answer?”

“She just gave you the answer.”

Al-Khalil stared back at him, struggling to contain his fury. “One more thing. My offer does not include you. Surrender now, and your men may go free, but not you. You will stay here and answer for your crimes. Those are my final terms.”

Talley locked eyes with the Islamist. Then he swung on his heel and strode away with Geena beside him. The ISIS leader snarled his fury. “When you reach the fort, watch the first execution. The next will take place in four hours. Soon, it will be your turn.”

Geena almost had to jog to keep up with him. “What are we going to do, Abe? You know he means it.”

“What am I going to do? I’m going to kill him.”

She managed to come alongside him, and she tugged at his sleeve. “How will you do that? There’s no way we can attack them. They outnumber us, and they sure outgun us. All we can do to survive is to stay inside the fort, behind thick stone walls.”

He looked at her. “If we stay behind the walls, all we're doing is giving them time to bring up more of their men to come at us in a mass attack. And it won’t stop the execution of those men.”

“So what’s the deal? You think we can attack their position across open desert in one heroic, suicidal charge?”

“Nope. I’ve got another plan. I’ll get behind them and kill the fuckers, one by one. At least, the men up on that rock.”

“Get behind them, but how? They’d see you coming from a mile away.”

She saw it, then. If it was at all possible for a girl with her Arabic skin coloring, she went white. “The qanat. You are planning on going back the way we came in. You will die, Abe. You don’t stand a chance. That tunnel will become your grave.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

They reached the fort and climbed over the stones that blocked most of the gateway. Guy was waiting for him, along with Roy Reynolds and Domenico Rovere. Guy stared at Geena and cocked an eyebrow.

“I gather it didn’t go too well.”

“It could have been better.”

He explained what they discussed. “They mean to go ahead with the beheading. It’s not just a show. We should have guessed. Is Lieutenant Bino around?”

Rovere waved toward the Humvee. “He's in there with Drew. They're trying to patch the radio together. It took a few knocks along the way. Nothing serious, as soon as he can fix it, we’ll contact base and bring them up to date with what’s going on here.”

“Any luck with the underground door?”

Guy shook his head. “Nothing yet, but as soon as the radio is working, he’ll get back to it.”

“Okay, but it’ll have to take a backseat for a short time. I’m going back through the tunnel, and I don’t want any sudden explosions to bring the roof down any more than it is already.”

Roy looked stubborn as a mule. He was like a rock blocking his path. “Boss, there’s no way you’re going back down there. You’ll never get through.”

He grinned. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Roy. I can make it. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Now that ain’t all true, is it, Boss?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Reynolds looked at Guy, who shrugged, and he took the plunge. “Commander, we know you’ve had problems, and they’re none of our business.”

“Who told you?”

He grimaced. “Do you think we’re blind? You reckon we didn’t know about that little flask you carried under your camos. You think we haven’t smelt it on your breath, and seen the expression in your eyes. Whatever it is, it's tearing you apart? We know you’ve got problems.” He looked around the smoking ruins of the fort and chuckled. “Shit, we’ve got more problems here than you could shake a stick at, but that’s different. I’m talking about personal problems. Commander, you won’t make it. Let me go.”

He considered it for a moment, but not once in his life had he allowed a man to do something he couldn’t or wouldn’t do himself. “I appreciate the sentiment, Roy, but I’m going. Someone has to try to save those poor bastards up on those rocks, and right now they’re running out of time.”

He turned as an Iraq began waving frantically and shouting in Arabic. Bino emerged from the Humvee and ran up the stone steps. He glanced down at Talley.

“Commander, what happened?”

He explained about the surrender offer.

“They will let us all go?”

“Except me.” He told him about killing al-Khalil’s men.

“So if you give yourself up to them, we can leave?”

“If you believe what he says.”

Bino paused. “Perhaps you should consider it, Commander. One life for many.”

He stared at the Iraqi with contempt. “Is that the Islamic way?”

The man avoided his eyes. “Perhaps.”

“If you think he’ll keep his Islamic word, Lieutenant, you’re crazier than I thought.”

He looked up as Rovere shouted for him to come up on the wall quickly. When he got there, it was all over. The headless body lay in full view. The victim’s blood had painted the rocks a kind of abstract pattern of red blotches. Talley watched with eyes like ice.

“That’s the first and last man of mine they’re going to murder. Bino, I want that wall doubled in thickness. Guy, they’ll attack, sooner or later. When they do, make sure you kill them all. I’m going to try the tunnel again. You’re in command until I return. You know what to do.”

“What about Brooks?”

“Contact him as soon as Drew gets that radio fired up. He’ll need to know what’s going on here. I wanted to wait until we’d seen what’s inside that door, but I guess it’s taking longer than we thought. Do what you can.”

He raced away without waiting to hear any more objections. Down the stone staircase, past Buchmann, who was still working at the door, hammering at it with a length of steel he’d found. He looked up. “Nothing yet, Boss.”

“Keep hitting it, Heinrich. You’ll get there.”

“Sure.”

Geena caught up with him, and they went back down to the qanat entrance.

“You shouldn’t do this,” she warned, “It’s insane.”

He ignored her, and they reached the entrance to the narrow tunnel. He took out his flashlight, switched it on, and pointed the beam into the dark shaft, working to control the fear that threatened to overwhelm him. Then he thrust the fear to one side and dived headfirst into the shaft. He made a meter and came to a stop. There’d been a further roof fall, perhaps when Drew had tried to blast open the steel door. When he aimed the beam further along the qanat, he could see the shaft was even narrower than it had been before.

She stared at him as he eased his body back out. “What happened? You’ve changed your mind?”

He explained about the shaft. “Since we came through, there have been more falls of earth and rock, and it’s not possible to squeeze through. No one larger than a child would make it. Not unless they had a pick and shovel and a few days to do it. Those Iraqis up on the rocks don’t have more than a few hours. Although I guess they’ll stop beheading them during the night. The object is to demonstrate how brutal and cruel they are, so if their intended audience, that’s us, can’t see it, they’ll hang fire until dawn.”