Chapter 251: the Incedent

"Eve, do the people in DC know where the hostage is being held?" I asked.

"It appears they have him in the Mosque at Aazzam," Eve replied. "There is a lot of activity around it for sure."

"Why not just level it?" I asked.

"We want him back, preferably without losing his value to us." Eve said.

"Sweetie, they better have been doing damage control since day one. My guess is he has told them things he didn't even know that he knew." I was being perfectly candid. "Syrians and all the rest of them have no problem with torture. Yes torture is crude, but it does work."

"So you are telling me that this man is compromised," Eve said. "So what now."

"You should have killed them all on the first day that you knew where he was being held. That is still my advice." I said.

"Even if it were true that the men in charge screwed up, we still need to know what he has told the rebels," she said.

"Is that worth getting more people killed. I'm telling you now, that he told them everything." I said. "If you can't bring yourself to do it, call the admiral. If the price is right he will do it."

"For some reason the people in charge refuse to use the Admiral for this," she said to me.

"I wonder why that is, do you know?" I asked not really expecting an answer. "It was obvious the admiral would not risk men on a futile rescque that was already too late to accomplish anything but get a broken man home. It was hardly a worthwhile endeavor.

"I have no idea," she said.

"So you guys are thinking, why not get Maxine to put together a team like the one she used to take down the druggie guy? You had to have asked yourself why the hell I would do that?" I suggested. "So what was the answer you gave yourselves."

"For the money this time. Of course that is a moot point, since you are not physically able to do it."

"You are right about that for sure. I am not up to it and I wouldn't do it, even if I were," I said in agreement.

"All of the others were leaders in their own rights, so who would you suggest? Make it someone you would be willing to help with the planning. if they needed it."

"Bullshit, you don't want them to know who they are working for. You want them to think I am arranging the job and doing all the planning and logistical work for it. That's why they are bringing this to me." I said angrily. "I am not going to become the next swamp thing."

"It's nothing like that. The man they grabbed is the son of a very important man. We have to get him back. The rebels don't know who they have yet. If we go in full force and he has been moved, then they know their hostage is high value."

"You have teams sitting in ready rooms all over the middle east. Just jam the communications to the area, then send one of those teams in quietly to kill everyone there. If the kid is gone, plant enough evidence to make it look like a different group of terrorist, or that it was their own government."

"My guess is that the place is going to be hard to get to lots of desert everywhere. Sneaking up is going to be difficult." I suggested.

"That is my guess. It's probably why most battles are small scale or suicide bombers. It would be hard to move a hundred men around there without the other guys knowing," Eve said as if she had experience. Which of course she didn't.

"These guys are aligned with some other country, they always are, find out which. You can probably use that to your advantage." I suggested.

"To be honest we had already thought about that. There are Russian advisors in the country," Even said.

"You want to use Vlad and Anya?" I asked.

"Yes," Eve said. "The boss wants you to arrange it."

"You are talking about them never being able to go home again. I hope you know that." I said.

"We are talking about a package of benefits that would keep them very happy right here," Eve said. "They won't trust us, so we need you. We need to do this right and do it right now."

"I won't do it until I work it all out in my mind. If that is a problem then fuck you." I said angrily. I was agitated and my muscles were tense which caused me a hell of a lot of pain. I couldn't think clearly and I refused to risk my friends on such a stupid job. Not unless I could bring the odds down some.

It was a hell of a way to start a Monday morning, in pain, and with a problem that was going to get people killed. It was just a matter of which people and how many. These guys could get papers and uniforms to designate Vlad and Anya as advisors, the trick would be to find an interpreter.

"They will need an interpreter and some foot soldiers," I suggested. "Also, up to date intelligence hourly."

"There is a tribe of nomads that will fight for money nothing else. They belong to no party and no alliances. We have used them before. Along with your Russians and our interpreter they will make up the force."

Before she even said it, I knew who the interpreter would be. "I'm going to be leaving this afternoon," Eve informed me. "Will you be alright here alone."

"I'll be just fine. Go do what you have to do and take care of my friends," I suggested.

"Don't worry I will. Are you ready to set this up for us?" she asked.

"Give me the deal," I demanded

"We are willing to pay one million dollars US for the hostage alive. Half that for a body, if he is no longer alive when we arrive," Eve informed me. Eve looked down when she added, "I would feel better if you were going.