Whiplash

“But Iran has just eliminated all of its nuclear weapons,” said the Secretary of State. “And dismantled its weapons program. We’ve inspected it. We know this is true.”

“They showed us what they wanted to show us.”

“They showed us what we asked for—what the CIA told us to ask for,” said Newhaven pointedly.

“I would note that our estimates show there is a potential for several pounds of material to be missing from the official count,” said Dr. Bacon, who’d consistently been a stickler on this point. The missing material—if it was missing—was not quite enough for a bomb, but it was close.

“We don’t need to debate whether the material is there or not,” said the head of the CIA. “Obviously, we need more information. And quickly. The Iranian president is due here next week.”

This wasn’t news to most of the people in the room, but it was to Brea

“Yes, Mr. Reid, Ms. Stockard, it’s true,” said the President. “We’ve kept it a secret because he doesn’t want a backlash in his country. But the Iranian president will be here one week from tomorrow.”

“Maybe he plans on bringing a bomb with him,” quipped Bacon as the meeting continued.

Reid pressed his lips together and wondered if that might be more than just a joke.

33

Base Camp Alpha

WHILE THE PRESIDENT WAS MEETING WITH HER ADVISORS, Da

Tarid and the other rebels had been rounded up and driven about a hundred miles to an outpost near the village named Al-Quazi. The camp wasn’t much—a few buildings inside a minefield about a half mile from the outskirts of the village. But it was the most secure spot the army had in the area.

Shortly after dawn, an American ferret satellite picked up a Sudanese transmission indicating that the prisoners were to be taken to Khartoum for interrogation as soon as possible. The commander replied that he would set out the following day.

“Gives us a little time to rescue him,” said Nuri, reading the message with Da

Da

“Can we get them out?” asked Nuri. He unpacked a bagel from its vacuum-packed container and put the two halves on the camp stove to toast. The bagels came preslit, but tended to be a little mushy.

“I don’t know,” admitted Da

“We can hire more mercenaries.”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know that we can trust them if things get tough.”

“I can ask Reid for more people.”

“I have the military end,” said Da

“Fair enough.”

Da

The road swept toward the camp, veering south about a hundred yards from the gate. A Chinese-made Hummer knockoff sat blocking the turnoff. It wasn’t clear from the photos how many soldiers were in the vehicle, or even if there were any inside, but Da

Machine guns were located at the four corners of the camp in sandbagged positions. With the exception of the machine-gun nest on the southwest corner, they were all elevated about four feet above ground level, giving the occupants a better view of the distance and excellent firing lines, but also making them easier targets. The post at the southwest was heavier than the others, angled differently, and a little farther from the base perimeter. It appeared to be a cement bunker left over from an earlier camp and incorporated into the new defenses.

The gun posts were co

There were several sandbagged walls along the sides of the rectangular camp, which could be used for cover if the outer defenses were breached, but there were no prepositioned guns behind any of them. However, there were six pickup trucks with weapons mounted in the back bed—five of them were machine guns, the last a grenade launcher. These could easily be rallied if the camp were attacked, and Da

The camp itself measured hardly more than an acre and a half. There were two buildings on the north: a barracks, where the soldiers who had taken part in the raid the night before were staying, and a smaller headquarters building adjacent to it. A large pair of gasoline tanks sat in the southeast corner, not far from the entrance. Next to them was a large open pen where the prisoners were being kept. The prisoners had no shelter from the sun or elements except for a small tarp strung at one side.

“No helipad,” said Da

“No, the choppers would have come from further west and north,” said Nuri. “They’re part of an Egyptian-funded initiative. They wouldn’t risk them on the ground here where they’d be potential targets.”

Da

“So can we do it?” Nuri asked.

“Maybe. We better ask for permission first.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re not at war with Sudan.”

“You shot down two of their helicopters last night.”

“Only because they were going to kill me if I didn’t.”

“I think we just do it if we can do it,” said Nuri. “That’s why we’re here.”

“We’ll ask anyway,” said Da

34

Washington, D.C.

“IF IRAN IS TRYING TO CIRCUMVENT THE AGREEMENT THEY just signed, we should hit them hard with everything we’ve got,” said Secretary of Defense Charles Lovel as the debate about the uranium finding continued. “We should obliterate these weapons plants.”

“We have to find them first,” said Secretary of State Alistair Newhaven. “And what do we do to the ones in another country? Like here, in Sudan. Do we just attack Sudan?”

“Sudan is not one of our allies,” said Lovel. “By any stretch of the imagination. And they’d be thankful we took out the rebels.”