Chapter 11

Nadia had returned to the War Room and stayed there watching the satellite feeds until the very end. In back of her she heard the sound of traditional European clapping. The Old Man led several of the Order in showing Nadia she had done well. She would later learn that those who were present were The Council and she had impressed them greatly. From start to the installation of the new leader had taken less than 30 days, whatever monies expended had been recovered from oil and gas given to the Russian and Turkish as appreciation for the support shown when all of Iran was under attack. Their actions would long be remembered and new embassies were soon established.

Now that Iran was not alone, perhaps some payback to Iraq was needed, it seemed the people were in support of such an action especially with Russian and Turkish support.

There was an old saying, strike while the iron is hot. So it was the belief of the Order, that Iraq should be the next target. The UN was no longer meaningful; everyone knew that Saddam had them over a barrel, oil barrel if you would. Many troops were in place already and the Old Man just told Nadya, Iraq next. You will get more help for this one. The Old man had decided that this would be Nadya's last great battle, for a while anyway. If she could pull this off, only her loyalty and honesty would need to be tested.

The old made a Sat call to Kentucky. "My friend" he said; "Yes Uncle we have been watching. Iraq?" He asked. "Yes' came the response. "When will you be ready?" It will take 3-5 months to ready everything." The old Man laughed, not a good laugh and quietly said; "We start in 3 days, you have 1 week to ready help for the Commander. Should it not be ready, your replacement will be expected to meet this date, should I delegate further or handle things my own way? I am not asking if you can do it, I am telling you that it will be done, it must be done, or..." He ended the call. Kids he thought, as he made several more calls.

Later that day a conference call was placed to the Kentucky head of a special agency, the aide announced the call saying; "Washington! Conference call."

He entered the room, had the shields drop into place and picked up the phone answering, "Brooks". A voice that he recognized started shouting at him; "Why the Hell did you tell your Uncle no. He asked you to do a simple thing. What did you say to him that he now wants you replaced, maybe even worse?"

"Dad, I never told him no, he wanted an invasion force like in a week, I told him that it would take at least 3-5 months, and even then I'm not sure it can be ready."

"Son, Mr. Smith will arrive within 20 hours, he will take over the Kentucky site and I suggest you use this time to think how your excuses sound. I also suggest you vacate your office; he may also need your staff to vacate theirs. By the way there will be a joint, Saudi, Kuwaiti, British and US exercise next week, Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine combat troops are being readied. Several dozen stealth and special service aircraft are on the way to nearby bases and 1,800 Abram M1A1 and B tanks will line up near the Iraq border. With our friends there will be more than 1 million men available."

"I, no we, suggest now is a good time for a vacation, Wyoming perhaps, see if anything will be on CNN soon. I'm sure we will discuss you next assignment later, next year perhaps, good bye, son." There was silence on the line.

Several men had entered the room, how had they been able to enter a class 5 room?" One of the men spoke, we will see to your personal effects Mr. Brooks, and escort you to your new home, they sort of pushed him ahead. In the room were a dozen more men, very large men and very small men. "Your staff has also been removed, so do not concern yourself with petty details, your Uncle has made all the arrangements for your, mmm, place to rest."

He had over 10,000 men at the base, 200 of which were former Spec/Ops yet no one challenged the authority these men had shown. He wondered how his father had been able to mobilize so much in so short a time. Was he really inept, he could not even fathom what else he could have done to comply with his Uncle's request.

He later realized it had not been given as a question but as an order to get it done.