A Deceit to Die For (93 page)
“That’s something I’d rather explain later too.”
He ran his finger gently along the cut on her chin.
“And this?”
“A mother’s love for her children, that’s all,
He saw her lip begin to quiver.
“Okay, save that story too,” he said, bending down to brush his lips against hers. She closed her eyes and pulled his mouth into hers with passion, released as a physical expression of affection and gratitude. Somehow, her man had come through. That was all that mattered. The taste of his mouth suddenly reminded her of what had almost happened that morning, and she pulled abruptly away.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, looking at her uneasily.
She pulled close to his ear and whispered.
“Shelly and I were almost raped this morning. I’m still trying to cope with that.”
Gilbert pulled her close and looked over at Shelly, who was tying Garth’s shoe. Now, he understood that look in her eyes. It was the shock of waking eyes that had stared a nightmare in the face. He wanted to sit on the beach and let them cry, wipe their teary eyes dry and assure them that everything was going to be alright. But he couldn’t. It wasn’t over. He didn’t know the operational details, but Yusuf had told Gary that Turkish security forces would be all over this place ten to twelve minutes after the exchange. He had to get his family away. Ginger spoke before he could.
“But, we’re safe now, aren’t we? I hope you have plane tickets for us to go home? I just want to go home.”
“We’re going to take a cruise back. Let’s get back to the car. It’s at the end of the beach here,” he said, pointing over her shoulder.
He looked out over the water. The waves whipped by the wind had the cruiser bobbing up and down like a cork. Men with guns could still be seen on the deck in the fading light. The rubber dinghies were still straining at the oars. A large raindrop struck him in the eye. He looked at the clouds to the east. The storm would be upon them in minutes.
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A little over nine hundred meters away, the monocular was laid down on the window sill. The sun had already set. It would be dark in fifteen minutes.
“Eagle’s Nest, this is Hummingbird. Our targets will be boarding in the next couple of minutes. They are having a tough go of it. The wind has really picked up. The man and his family will be driving away any minute now. This storm should mask your approach by drowning out the noise of the rotors. Make your final preparations. You’re a go in seven minutes.”
“Hummingbird, stay in place. The Captain wants your eyes right up until the end.”
“Understood.”
CHAPTER
72
In his headphones, Murat could hear the helicopter pilot asking for a weather update as the Sikorsky S-70B-28 Seahawk lifted off the ground. He didn’t like flying in storms. It always made him queasy. Today was different though. Queasiness didn’t seem to explain the sense of darkness and imminent danger he felt crowding in on his subconscious.
“The eye of the storm will be on top of you in minutes. Meteorological conditions are conducive for vertical wind shear up to thirty knots, golf-ball sized hail, and dangerous lightning. If possible, delay deployment.”
Murat shook his head, telling the pilot that was not an option, as he watched the other bird, three hundred meters to his right, line up parallel with them. He addressed Yusuf on the radio.
“Captain, we’re airborne. ETA in less than three minutes.”
“I’ve notified the Coast Guard cutters. They are en route. ETA twenty minutes or less. Once they’ve boarded the ship, and the men have been apprehended, you can wait out the storm at Rumelifeneri. Then, take custody of the prisoners from the Coast Guard vessel. I don’t want that vessel docking for the exchange. It’s too risky. I’ve arranged transport to Ankara from the Topel airbase. I’ll see you there. Be safe.”
“You too, Captain.”
Murat leaned forward in his seat as the two helicopters broke the crest of the hill, coming in low and fast. Approaching darkness and the heavy rain had reduced visibility to less than three hundred meters. There was no boat in sight.
“Hummingbird, this is Eagle One. What’s our heading?”
“It should be about one o’clock, sir. It’s too dark for me to see them now, but the last time I looked they hadn’t moved.”
The pilot altered course slightly and pushed the bird forward into the wind. Murat motioned further east.
“They’ll want to put their nose into the wind.”
He continued scanning the waves for any sign of the boat. They couldn’t be far. In less than thirty seconds, Murat had spotted the boat at one o’clock, bouncing in seven-foot seas. It was too dark to see if there was anyone on deck until they got close enough to use the spotlight.
“Eagle Two, this is Eagle One. Target spotted dead ahead of you. Stay back and to the east side. Keep your guns trained on them. We’ll move in for a closer look.”
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C
AIRO
Ahmet’s entire team sat frozen in the operations control room, listening to the report from the hostage team leader on the boat in the Black Sea. The computer monitors were all dark because the entire operation was via a sat-phone connection. Everything had been proceeding exactly as planned. This was no time for a complication.
“We had just retrieved our men from shore, weighed anchor and headed for open water when these two helicopters came over the hill.”
The calmness in Ahmet’s voice surprised everyone.
“Adnan, we’ve received no word of any operation.” He turned to Jabbar. “Get on the phone with the Coast Guard in Istanbul. This might be a search and rescue operation in the area due to the storm.”
Jabbar had finished dialing before Ahmet finished his sentence. Ahmet addressed the team leader.
“Stick with the plan.”
“Sir, I don’t think that’s a good idea. The lead chopper has turned on its spotlight and is moving to cut us off.”
“Run up the international maritime signal flags, Adnan. Communicate no distress, and see if they back off.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ahmet weighed the possible outcomes. This was his op. Every contingency had been planned for.
“Babek, do you copy?”
“Loud and clear, sir.”
“Do you see any shore back-up?”
“No sir, it’s been quiet up here all day.”
“Well, they can’t board the cruiser with a helicopter if the winds are as bad as you say. Be prepared to deploy the SAM at a moment’s notice.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Listen team, if this turns ugly, the document must not be captured. If there is any danger at all, simply destroy it. Be ready to do this at my command.”
He hit the mute button and turned to Jabbar, who had just hung up the phone.
“Sir, there is no search and rescue operation in the area, but two Coast Guard cutters were given instructions to rendezvous near this location thirty minutes ago.”
“On whose orders?”
“That’s what is strange. Nobody at Coast Guard Command knew about it until I asked them to check with the vessels in the vicinity. The orders were conveyed through normal channels. All of the protocols were followed exactly.”
“Perfect.”
“Excuse me?”
“They’ve tipped their hand.”
Ahmet hit the mute button again so he could address his men on the boat. The grin that spread across his face threatened to split it in two.
“Adnan, how did they respond to your signals?”
“They haven’t backed off. One is still hovering less than fifty yards away, spotlighting the deck. The other is about 150 yards away with a .50 caliber gun trained on us.”
“I need you to stall them for a few minutes while we finish our own little sting, but do let us know if they attempt to board.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Babek, do you copy?”
“Loud and clear.”
“When I give the order, take out the chopper furthest from our men. We don’t want it crashing down on our vessel. You’ll have to move fast after that as the second chopper will take evasive measures.”
“With pleasure, sir.”
“Adnan, destroy the document. We don’t need it.”
“Sir, that may be a problem. The American delivered it in a stainless steel canister with a combination lock, but the combination he gave us isn’t working.”
Ahmet shook his head and smiled. He felt a grudging appreciation for the American.
“Throw it overboard.”
He hit the mute button again and turned to his technical op team.
“All of you were assigned one name from the list Jabbar put together. We believe one or more of these men have been working against us. Now, it’s time to find out who they are. Call your number. Any person involved in the operation at this moment will most likely refuse to take your call. Pinpoint the location of every person who doesn’t take the call. Istanbul is standing by, ready to move. Let’s go!”
Ahmet turned to Jabbar.
“The tracking device on the boy is working?”
Jabbar pointed to the screen on his smart phone.
“Yes, sir. The Americans have just entered Sariyer and are moving south.”
“And the physical tail?”
“It should be in place within five minutes.”
“Fine. Now, call off the Coast Guard cutters. As soon as we’ve got a lock on where their instructions were coming from, send in Hamid with an inspector. Get the 2nd Istanbul Felony Court to draft the arrest warrant. I want this clean and legal. This has to be a senior officer. No one else could pull it off. Busting a high-ranking officer who opposes our movement in the act of helping Interpol fugitives will give us a lot of political mileage.”
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B
LACK
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C
OAST,
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ORTH Of
I
STANBUL
Murat looked down at the cruiser tossing in the storm. The ocean of air that buoyed the chopper was every bit as rough as the waves below, and it was starting to make him feel sick. He looked over at the pilot. The man’s face was white and tense from the constant fight to keep the bird in the air. Twice, he had already said they should head back. He persevered only because Murat insisted.
On the boat below only one man was visible. He knew there were at least four more armed men in the hold. The entire situation made Murat uneasy. He had expected them to head for open water. Instead they had run up international maritime signal flags. The message was simple, ‘VHF hailing channel has malfunctioned. No distress. Riding out storm.’ It was a stalling technique. He knew that. What he didn’t know was why, and that was what made him nervous.