Black Operations- the Spec-Ops Action Pack

by Eric Meyer

  "It’s done. I'm going up top. As soon as the troops start to leave the barracks, we'll get to work."

  He climbed up the rungs until he reached the top. He squinted over the wall surrounding the well and looked into a scene like a mediaeval depiction of hell. The Pasdaran were terrified, running around the square in awed confusion. When the blast went off, it looked as if a vehicle had been approaching a gas pump to fuel up, and the blast had startled the driver. He'd collided with the pump, and a spark had ignited the fuel. Hundreds of gallons of gas were burning like crazy, and men were screaming orders, trying to cope with it and put out the flames. An officer ran out of a nearby building, shouting panicked orders as he tried to bring order to the chaos. Some of the men trying to fight the fire began to form up. The barracks gate opened, and they ran out. More of their comrades poured out of the buildings to answer the emergency. Clearly, they were taking the threat to Ahmadinejad's life seriously. He looked back down the shaft and called softly to the men.

  "Another few minutes and this place will be almost empty. I'll call as soon as it's clear to go."

  He watched the last of the troops pour out through the gate, and there were only a half-dozen men left fighting the blaze. It was probably as good as they'd get, so he called down the well shaft again.

  "I need a sniper up here. Send Vince DiMosta up, and ask Jerry to stand by."

  Vince climbed up and squeezed next to him so he could see the burning chaos of the almost abandoned barracks.

  "Jesus Christ, Guy did well. That collateral damage is a stroke of luck. About time we had some. You want me to take out the rest of those guys?"

  "Yeah, they won't be expecting to be hit from here. As soon as you're out of targets, climb out of the well and go over to that patch of shadow. It looks like some kind of a storeroom. It may even be the communications center, but I can't tell from here. I'll assign Jerry to cover the other side of the barracks, and then the rest of us will start searching for our guy, if he’s still here.”

  "Copy that."

  Vince opened fire, and within less than a minute, the six Revolutionary Guards went down. He climbed over the side of the well and sprinted across the open ground, disappearing into the shadows. The Polish sniper, Jerry Ostrowski, was already halfway up the shaft, and he joined Talley at the top. Abe pointed out DiMosta's position and explained he wanted Jerry to cover the other side of the barracks. He nodded and climbed out of the well to make his way to the other side. He'd almost reached his intended position when two more Revolutionary Guard troopers appeared from around the corner and almost ran into him. Their assault rifles were slung on their shoulders. They were running to fight the fire, not repel invaders. Jerry's Accuracy International rifle was too slow and cumbersome, but he snatched out his Sig and fired off two quick shots. They both found their mark, but one of the Guards was only wounded. He’d unslung his AKM and was bringing it up to fire when the 9mm round from the Sig crunched into his groin. His face twisted in agony, but he still managed to squeeze off a round at his opponent. The bullet hit Jerry square on the ballistic plate fastened to the front of his vest. The plate was enough to block the 5.56 mm round, but even so; the kinetic force knocked him flat on his back. He got to his feet still clutching his rifle, and continued to his position. But he knew, Talley knew, and they all knew that the shot might be enough to alert the remaining garrison. They were already jumpy because of the supposed attack on the President. Talley called down the well.

  "Everybody out, and fast. You know what to do. Split up into pairs and start searching the buildings. And remember, if you see this Ayatollah Majidi, he is to be taken."

  "You mean killed?" Rovere murmured as he climbed out.

  "Only if he offers a threat. We're not assassins."

  That damn word again! It seems stuck in my head.

  "I take it the prospect of unleashing a nuclear holocaust on Israel would count as a threat?" the Italian asked, with a raised eyebrow.

  "Yeah, I guess that'll do," Talley said tersely.

  We have no brief to kill anyone, but on most operations, we don't make the rules. It's the enemy who lays down the agenda. All we're doing is responding to a threat. If that means killing a hostile, putting him down like a mad dog, so be it.

  The men were pairing up and running off to begin the search for Majidi. He could be Arash, or would lead them to him. If he was part of Arash’s crazy scheme, he was going down. Heinrich Buchmann climbed out of the well last.

  "I've prepared a charge in the well, Boss. It's on a remote detonator, so if you want me to blow it, you only have to say the word."

  "Good thinking, Heinrich. Join me and Anika, our search area is the main administration center."

  The German nodded, and Talley raced off with Anika on his heels and Buchmann bringing up the rear. Lights were coming on in the buildings as the few remaining Revolutionary Guards, slower than the first responders who had chased off to respond to the threat to their President, started to go into action. As he ran, he heard the first shouts of alarm from a building a hundred meters away. It looked like it could be a dormitory. A shot cracked out, the back markers were definitely starting to wake up. The distinctive chatter of an M249 machine gun echoed around the barracks as Echo Six responded, hitting back hard. The enemy fire stopped immediately. Then more firing came from another part of the barracks, and even more from a cluster of workshops opposite, and the entire barracks became a battle zone as the Revolutionary Guard at last started to retaliate. He keyed his mike.

  "This is Echo One. Keep moving. Keep moving! Remember, we have to locate and take out the target. Don't waste time on the gomers. We have to keep pushing forward. Find Majidi, and we’ll find Arash. That's what this is all about."

  He reached the administration block. The door was locked, but he stood back and Buchmann, the hefty German, shoulder charged it and smashed it open. Talley followed him in with the girl behind him. At first glance, it seemed empty. There were no lights. He was about to order Buchmann to conduct a search on his own, while he went to help with the firefight in the dormitory that was still growing in intensity, when they all heard a noise from the second floor; a man with an Iranian accent shouting in Farsi. The building was occupied, and the occupant was Iranian, but when the other man replied, they looked at each other in astonishment.

  "Abe, that’s not an Iranian. He sounds like an American, or a Brit,” Anika exclaimed in a puzzled voice. “It sounds like Miles Preston to me.”

  He glanced at her.

  Preston? Doesn’t sound like him to me, but it could be. Maybe I'm wrong.

  "Stay here with Heinrich and cover the entrance. I'll head up there and take a look."

  He dashed for the nearby staircase and started up. When he was halfway to the second floor, he heard footsteps behind him and knew that Anika was following. He mentally shrugged.

  She's a fully trained MI6 officer, so what the hell? I wonder what her agenda is for this operation? She hasn’t told us everything, that’s for sure.

  The voices had stopped, but at the end of the passage a light was on. He looked round at the girl. She was holding her pistol, and he had no doubt she'd use it when the time came.

  "I'm going to check out that room at the end, but I want you to stay right here and cover me, in case someone comes out of the other rooms and gets behind me."

  She nodded and sunk into the shadows, her gun ready.

  Talley crept forward, careful not to make any noise. He almost missed a gun barrel that pointed out of the doorway and emptied a full clip along the corridor. He barely had time to flatten himself against the wall as bullets whistled past him. The firing stopped, and he knew he had a second or two before the shooter snapped in a new clip and started again. He threw himself forward, reached the door and rolled into the room, coming to his feet and raising his weapon to fire. But the shooter had vanished. A man sat behind a desk, a man in the iconic robes of an Iranian cleric, an ayatollah. He didn't seem to be armed, b
ut Talley kept him covered with his MP7 as his eyes searched the room, looking for the shooter. A door was open at the back of the office, and he heard footsteps outside on metal stairs as somebody raced down a fire escape. He shouted for Anika to come and cover the Iranian cleric. Then he ran to the door and looked out, pulling back as a man who was racing away, turned and fired three shots that cracked past his head, narrowly missing him before he got into cover. When the shooting stopped, he looked back through the door and saw a figure in European clothing disappearing around the corner. There was no time to go after him, but he had secured Majidi. He went back inside, Anika had the Iranian covered. He nodded his thanks, pulled his Sig out of the holster, and pointed it at the man.

  "Do you speak English?"

  The man stared at him for a few moments, and then he smiled. "It matters little what language I speak. Can you hear that noise outside?"

  The roar of the gun battle had increased, and it sounded as if Echo Six had run into major problems, but that wasn't what he meant. The sound of a convoy of trucks approaching the barracks told of a large number of troops returning.

  "You understand what that is? As soon as your attack started, and we realized what was happening, I called for reinforcements from the Pasdaran unit to the west of the city. They have sent me two companies of troops. No matter what you do to me, you will not leave this place alive."

  "Cover him!"

  Anika nodded and held her gun held against his forehead, leaving him in no doubt she would use it if he did anything stupid. Talley went out onto the fire escape, in time to see the first truck nearing the main gate.

  "This is Echo One. Domenico, what's your situation?"

  The Italian's reply came through, accompanied by the sounds of a full on firefight.

  "We are holding them in the main dormitory, but it's a close-run thing. Is that reinforcements I can hear outside?"

  "Yeah, do your best. I'm calling in some help to deal with them."

  "Make it sooner rather than later, Abe. We’re holding on here, but only just. If those new guys join in, we’ll have to make a run for it."

  "Copy that. Hang in there, Domenico."

  He switched over to the net that would allow him to speak to a circling P3 Orion.

  The venerable four-engine turboprop aircraft had been developed for the United States Navy, and introduced in the 1960s. Since that time, the aircraft had seen numerous design advancements, most notably to its electronics packages. Patrolling on the outer edge of the Iraqi border, the Orion was able to look down over a wide area and offer command and control capability to a wide range of reconnaissance and weapons systems. Because of their proximity, they’d been handed control of the stealth drone over Tehran, the Lockheed Avenger.

  "Echo One, calling Eagle One. Echo One, calling Eagle One. Do you receive, over?"

  He waited for only three or four seconds before the laconic voice of the P3 controller came back to him.

  "Echo One, this is Eagle One. Receiving you strength five."

  "Eagle One, I have a fire mission for you. Can you triangulate on my position?"

  "Our bird is already overhead. We're looking at you right now with a live camera feed. It looks as if you've stirred things up some down there in Nezam Abad. Have you seen the convoy almost at the barracks, Echo One? There’s a heap of trouble heading your way."

  "That's why I'm calling, Eagle One. Can you take out that convoy? If the infantry deploy and join in the fight, we’re in trouble."

  "You’re not kidding,” he chuckled. “That's an affirmative, Echo One, we can do that. The bird is carrying a full load of Hellfires, and we're ready to launch on your order. Can you confirm that your men are all under cover? There's going to be some serious shit flying when those missiles hit."

  "Give me twenty seconds before you launch the first salvo, Eagle One. We'll have our heads down."

  "Confirm salvo in twenty seconds, Echo One."

  "That's a confirm, Eagle One."

  Talley switched to the local net. "This is Echo One. We have a missile strike inbound in approximately fifteen seconds, so keep your heads down. There's going to be some fireworks in the area of the vehicle convoy coming through the main gate."

  A chorus of acknowledgements came back to him, and he rushed back inside the office.

  "Everybody down. Anika, get clear of the windows!"

  As she started to move, he grabbed hold of the Ayatollah and dragged him to the floor, pressing his face into the carpet. He counted off the seconds in his head as he held the cleric's head tightly. The first indication of an attack was the sound of the missiles a split second before they hit.

  The AGM-114 Hellfire was an air-to-surface missile intended originally for anti-armor use. It was a precision weapon that could be launched from air, sea, and ground platforms. Following numerous advances to the avionics, the propulsion system, and the warhead, it was more lethally effective than it had ever been.

  The drone fired an initial salvo of four missiles, and they struck the convoy almost simultaneously. The blast wave smashed in the windows, and they were showered with broken glass and debris. The enormous force of the explosion lifted them off the floor, and the combination of the warheads and the gas in the convoy vehicles as they exploded was like an ammunition dump exploding. He dusted himself off and went back out onto the fire escape to check the extent of the damage. The blast radius was some two hundred meters and had flattened vast swathes of the buildings that had all but disappeared, mixed with the tangled wreckage of steel and human flesh; the remains of the infantry convoy. The main gate and the wall surrounding it either side had been pulverized, and the Pasdaran military facility was completely open to the street.

  One thing's for sure, our operational window just contracted. We may have had as much as an hour without the missile attack. Now, we only have minutes. The whole of Tehran must be on alert. The threat to assassinate the President, and explosions and missiles, the city will be boiling with police and security forces determined to isolate the threat and deal with it. He keyed his mike.

  " Echo Two, this is Echo One. Guy, come in. Where are you?"

  While he waited for a reply, he went back inside the office.

  "Majidi, get up. Anika, we're taking him with us. Secure his hands."

  She nodded and delved in her pack for the plastic ties they carried as standard equipment. As she fastened his hands behind his back, he sneered at Talley.

  "If you think you'll ever get out of here with your lives, you're very mistaken. How many men do you have? Ten, twenty? The Revolutionary Guard will be mobilizing even as we speak. You don't stand a chance, but if you surrender now, I may be able to save your lives."

  Talley ignored him and went back outside to the fire escape. His earpiece was still dead.

  "Echo One for Echo Two, Echo Two, Guy, do you read me?"

  The silence seemed to mock him.

  Where the hell is Guy? Have they taken him? If he's a prisoner of the Iranians, there's little or nothing I can do about it. But maybe he’s okay, there's still time. What then? Majidi wasn't entirely wrong. Pursued by just about everything the Iranians can throw at us, we'll have our work cut out getting out of here. Even so, Guy is the most resourceful Special Forces operator I've ever known. If anyone can turn a bad situation around, it's him. And we have Javeed Zardooz. The combination of Guy's lethal skills with Javeed's knowledge could just give us the edge and a chance to get clear of the citywide manhunt that's inevitably already underway.

  He looked across the barracks. The firefight had ended after the missiles knocked out the relief convoy. He saw movement in the yard. Four Pasdaran troopers were making for the wrecked vehicles, probably checking for survivors. Or maybe to beat it over the rubble of what had once been the main gate and security fence. They were toast. Vince and Jerry were looking for targets. They divided them between them.

  "Jerry, I've got the two on the left. Can you see the other two guys?"

  Ostrow
ski's calm voice replied, "I have a clear shot on one of them, but the guy on the far right is hidden by some of the wreckage. We have to drive him out into the open and take them all at once. Otherwise, they'll run for cover."

  "We could pepper the wreckage in front of them, and that would drive them back. The second those shots strike, they'll head back like crazy."

  Talley could see the gomers in front of him, about a hundred meters away. Too far for accurate shooting using an MP7, but they weren't looking for accurate shooting.

  "This is Echo One, save your ammo. I can see it all from here. I'll empty a clip into that wreckage. Once they're out in the open..."

  "We'll take it from there. Ready when you are, Boss."

  He sighted on the still burning vehicles, pulled the trigger, and put a dozen rounds into the tortured wreckage. The sound of the bullets ricocheting off the metal was too much for the spooked Revolutionary Guards. They turned and ran back, straight into the precision sniper fire of Jerry and Vince's sniper rifles. They fired four shots each, four 7.62mm rounds. The men went down, thrown to the ground in a bloody heap by the tremendous kinetic energy of the heavy bullets.

  "Good shooting, men. Everyone break off, and we'll assemble in front of what used to be the main gate and find a way out. I want you there in one minute, no more."

  He took Majidi by the arm and started to propel him toward the door. He looked at Anika. She hadn't moved, and he stared at her.

  "What is it? It's time to leave. In a few minutes time this place will be overrun, and I guarantee they'll be shooting first and asking questions afterward."

  "Abe, how are we getting out of here? When we get through that gate, it'll be obvious we are the enemy."

  "It's getting late. If we keep to the shadows, we could get clear."

  "And we may not. There are vehicles inside the barracks. Why not take one of those?"

  He mentally cursed himself for not thinking of the obvious.