Tracks (52 page)

Minutes later they had all
three prisoners in the BMW. Aziz and Amar drove them away. They rest packed
some clothes in carry-on bags and drove to the airport, all seven of them
crammed in the Subaru.

Rafik estimated they had until
morning at the most.  Once he and Nyla failed to show up for work it was
only a matter of time before all hell was to break loose.   

When he was done with Rafik,
Kessler called Nyla in and questioned her in detail on her role in the
organization.  She was very uncomfortable and kept looking sideways toward
her husband until Kessler had him escorted by Jaras to the adjacent room.

Nyla was an assistant to the
head personnel officer in the organization, Abu Yusuf, who along with a few
others, had access to sleeper agents’ names and assignments.  The files
were kept in a vault in his office but Nyla had never been allowed to see those
files. This was critical information and Kessler interrogated her at length on
the safe's exact location, making a makeshift drawing on a piece of
paper.  She also divulged the names assigned to the children who came to
the compound for training, as well as their original names, and Kessler made
certain the initial information supplied by Rafik regarding Sammy's location
and name were accurate.  Overall, a trembling Nyla
 
disclosed
, there were 12 children in training aged 8 to 14,  ten
boys and two girls.

Kessler hustled Nyla back to
the room with her husband and children, left an agent in the room together with
Jaras and took Elena with him down to the lobby where they followed the second
agent to the van parked on the street.

The van was equipped with a
satellite phone and Kessler quickly made contact with the force in Cyprus
informing them of the number of children currently being trained and the vault
location in the personnel director's office at the compound.  He then sent
the agent back to guard the Hilton's tenth floor and had Elena drive him to the
Israeli Embassy where he would closely monitor the very dangerous and sensitive,
soon to be launched operation, in Beirut.

CHAPTER
FIFTY

The Black Hawks flew low over
the calm dark Mediterranean Sea.  They were loaded with elite military men
divided into two groups. A group of Israeli Special Forces commanded by Colonel
Amir Dori, who had also been in charge of seizing Abu Salah just weeks earlier,
were in the lead chopper on their way to extract the abducted children.  A
mix of British SAS operatives commanded by Air Commodore Ian Nesbitt and US
Navy Seals commanded by Colonel Terry Lennon were heading for the compound in
the second Black Hawk.

IAF Lieutenant Colonel Gershon
Shemesh, the lead pilot, navigated his chopper low over the waters, taking off
from Larnaca heading for Beirut. The Special Forces troops behind him were all
geared up ready to go.  Dori sat on the floor reviewing his aerial photos
and maps with his troops speaking in hushed voices.

The rear Black Hawk and two
Apache helicopters followed in his wake.

A final go-ahead for the
operation was received just hours earlier from the participants' respective
defense ministries with clear instructions not to involve the Israeli force in
infiltrating the compound which was assessed to hold an extreme political
explosive potential.

The compound would be
infiltrated by the British and US troops through the tunnel Devlin had used to
infiltrate the site.  He had provided Kessler with exact coordinates where
to land and would be waiting at the landing zone to escort the troops.

The choppers would cover the
distance in one and a half hours and split up a few kilometers before crossing
the shoreline.  The Black Hawk flown by LTC Shemesh would make a southerly
arc and come in from the south.  The second Black Hawk, flown by
Lieutenant Colonel Yaron Lavie, would take a direct approach towards the center
of Beirut where the football field lay in darkness.  The attack on the
compound would begin in sync with Dori as soon as the force made it to the
garage.  The Israeli troops would storm the three houses as soon as the
force entered the tunnel.

It was just after 2:00 am when
the Beirut lights began to shimmer towards them in the dark.  Air
Commodore Nesbitt gave the order and the troops began to make final
preparations.  Flight Engineer Doobie Oz flung the chopper’s doors open on
both sides allowing Seal Sergeant Boone and SAS Sergeant Crawford to take
positions near the openings.

The Black Hawk banked gently
to the left then straightened and began descending over the flat waters of the Mediterranean.
It came down in total darkness over the city almost at building level. 
The two pilots, equipped with night vision goggles, sat rigid at their seats
focusing on the target.  The chopper almost stopped in mid-air and began
descending over a darkened field where they could see three small fires marking
the landing zone.

The troops were lined up on
two sides, the Seals to the right and the SAS to the left.  The two
sergeants were looking through the openings trying to figure out the drop zone
and height levels.

SAS Lieutenant John Murphy was
first in line all ready to go, holding a silencer in one hand, a flashlight in
the other, his M-16 slung on his back.  Lieutenant Steven Gold from the
Navy Seals was in an identical position on the other side of the chopper, ready
to jump to the ground.

It took seconds to lower them
down.  Both officers jumped off the chopper seconds after the helicopter
touched ground and took positions in opposite directions, securing the landing
zone.  The rest jumped down in quick succession, the two sergeants the
last out before the Black Hawk disengaged and was back in the air, disappearing
into the darkened sky.

Nesbitt and Lennon led the
troop toward the edge of the open field they had landed on. Three silhouettes
appeared from the darkness after the fires marking the landing zone had been
distinguished.  Nesbit and Lennon met them, conferred for a minute with
Devlin before Aziz took point, leading the troop among the quiet streets toward
their target.

*****

Rolston and Mai-Li crouched
among a row of boulders on the edge of the empty field designated as the
landing zone for the incoming helicopter.  They could see the triangle of
small fires they had set up further along where the terrain was at its most
level.

Amar, on the other side of the
field, could not be distinguished among the boulders he had hidden in.

Mai-Li shivered in the cool
night air. Rolston felt it and put an arm around her shoulders.  She did
not mind and cuddled against him feeling his warm breath, watching his face as
he searched the sky for the incoming chopper.

It came without warning over a
hill without any noise, its shadow growing as it quickly descended toward the
triangle of lights.  It was a moonless night, cloudless with a soft
breeze, and the helicopter had no difficulty finding the spot and swooping
down, its noise suddenly becoming evident as its blades cut through the air.

Within seconds it was on the
ground, dark bodies emerging from it on cue, quickly blending into the terrain.
Suddenly there was too much noise and gusts of wind from the chopper’s blades
and Mai-Li was certain they would be discovered.

Then it was in the air again
and gone beyond a low ridge and it became deathly quiet again.

Rolston got up, switched on a
flash light for a few seconds marking their spot,
then
squatted next to Mai-Li again, waiting for the rendezvous.  The troop was
upon them in seconds and Mai-Li caught her breath as several large shadows
suddenly emerged beside them, weapons at the ready.  Amar was putting out
the signal fires as Rolston conferred with their commander.

“Hello, I’m Dori,” one of the
dark shadows said in a heavy accent, emerging into their field of view.

“Welcome to Beirut,” Rolston
said, shaking his hand.

“Been here before,” the
soldier said, flashing a kind smile, then was all business again.

“The others have landed
already, we haven’t much time.”

“Should take us twenty
minutes, if we hurry,” Rolston informed him. 

“Let’s do it then!” the
officer said and gave a silent signal to his men who arranged themselves in
single file and began following Rolston who had Amar by his side.

Mai-Li followed Rolston,
walking hastily next to the commander who had signaled two men to flank them on
both sides with the rest remaining single file behind.

Rolston set a grueling pace
which did not seem to bother the troopers, but had Mai-Li practically running.

They left the landing area and
began climbing through a narrow creek that traversed through low bushes and
rough terrain.  They reached a rocky saddle and suddenly Beirut became
visible in all directions.  Mai-Li looked back down towards where they
come from and realized that the helicopter had landed in a barren area but in
very close proximity to several neighborhoods on the outskirts of town.

In one of those neighborhoods,
she suddenly realized, there was a family that had held Sam’s little boy
hostage for over ten years.

The troop was crouched in
place, blending into the rocks.  Rolston and Amar motioned for Dori to
come forward and began pointing in a certain direction, speaking in hushed
voices.

A minute later they resumed
walking, this time slower and more careful until they reached a dirt road that
led them to an area of private homes.  They converged in back of a small
playground with slides and swings and Mai-Li could imagine little Sammy playing
there with family and friends.

Dori conferred with Rolston
and Amar again, then crawled back to brief his men.

Rolston motioned for Mai-Li and
informed her they were heading back to the landing area to wait for the
helicopter which they would need to bring in once Dori gave them the word.

She quietly reminded Rolston
about Devlin’s instructions to bail out once the assault began.

“Someone has to mark the LZ,”
Rolston explained, whispering.  “The force might have to leave in hurry
and they won’t have time to bring in the chopper.  We need to make sure
the LZ is lit and the chopper comes in before we can bail,” Rolston went
on.  “Devlin will most likely have to do the same for the other force.”

Dori organized his men into
three squads.  Amar, who together with Aziz, had locked the Ammad family
maid and two body guards in the shelter at the farm where they had interrogated
Rafik, verified immediately after, based on Rafik's disclosure, the exact
location of the three houses the targeted children lived at.  He pointed
out to Dori the three houses giving him unique landmarks for each house. 
Their main target, Sammy’s, or Amir’s house, was closest.  It had a parrot
cage in the front yard, surrounded by a low fence.  The other two houses,
which housed Kareem and Zeidan, had a tall Cypress tree and large front windows
respectively.  Once they nabbed the kids, Dori instructed, they would all converge
back at the playground, organize and retreat back to the landing zone.

Dori led his squad of four
from one house to the next, squatting low and using the cover of bushes and
trees that were abundant in the area.  They reached their intended house
and took positions around it.  A trooper covered the back of the house in
case anyone tried to flee.  One covered the front, while Dori and the two
remaining took positions near the front door.

Dori tried the handle, but the
door was locked.  Without wasting a second he aimed his silencer and shot
the lock forcing the door open.  He found himself in a darkened foyer that
had a staircase leading up and two openings to larger rooms he guessed were the
living room and kitchen.  He took the stairs two at a time, signaling one
man to follow and the other to check the bottom floor.

As he reached the top of the
stairs, a small night lamp spread enough light to reveal a small corridor with
three rooms, their doors half open.  As he stepped on the landing he saw a
man in striped pajamas standing in the farthest doorway, staring at him, a
startled look on his face. Then the man woke out of his reverie and backed up
trying to shut the door in Dori’s face, but he was too late. 

Dori kicked the door open and
hit the man square in the gut.  The man doubled up and Dori hit him on the
head with the butt of his silencer.  The man fell face down on the floor
and remained motionless.  Dori looked into the room seeing a shadow
watching him from underneath the sheets of a double bed.  He motioned for
the woman to get up, whispering in Arabic which he spoke fluently.  She
got out from between the sheets and stood shivering in her nightgown.

“Amir, where is he?” Dori
demanded in Arabic.

The woman moved back toward an
open window and stood her ground, not speaking, not willing to cooperate.

Dori was about to threaten her
more, when she turned and flung herself through the window.  He ran to the
window and looked out seeing her trying to scramble out of a bush.  He
whistled sharply to get his trooper’s attention but there was no need. The
trooper guarding the back was already upon her.