Rigged

by James Rosone

  They all turned their attention to the video feed. The Mercedes was now parked in front of one of the houses they had under surveillance. When the man got out of the backseat, one of the other observation teams used their telescopic lens to zoom in and snap a number of images of his face and the faces of the other two men who were traveling with him. In seconds, those images were transmitted to the US to be run through their sophisticated facial recognition software. They wanted to get a confirmation on his facial image in addition to his voice before they executed the raid.

  A second later, one of the captains who had been coordinating that part of the operation with their back-end support nodded to the general. “It’s a match. That’s Rexhepi. The other two men are his bodyguards.”

  With both voice and visual confirmation of the target, General Lancaster nodded to the JSOC colonel. “Get your boys in the air, and go fetch me Rexhepi,” he ordered. “Tell the interrogation team to stand by. We should have him in custody and ready for questioning within the next sixty minutes.”

  With the green light given, a flurry of activity started as the whole mission moved forward. The sound of helicopter blades picked up in speed, the noise reverberating through the walls of the building. It was now a matter of waiting until the capture team arrived on station and executed the snatch-and-grab.

  “It’s incredible to watch, isn’t it?” the general overheard Seth ask the newly appointed Director of the Kosovo Police and the new Head of the Security Service. The two men had been observing the controlled chaos with a look of bewilderment.

  A special exception had been made to allow these two men to observe the mission. The Sachs administration desperately needed to keep the Kosovo government on their side so they could continue to execute these capture missions inside Kosovo and, soon, in the surrounding countries. The US didn’t have a lot of allies in Western Europe these days, so keeping the Kosovars on their side was important. The easiest way to do that was to make them a fully vested partner. The Sachs administration would essentially eradicate the Islamic extremist problem inside Kosovo, and in exchange, the government would turn a blind eye to the fact that many of these individuals being captured or killed were their own citizens.

  The police director remarked, “It’s like watching something out of a James Bond movie. I still can’t believe you were able to listen in on Rexhepi’s phone conversation like that.”

  The new security service chief snickered. “To think the Serbs actually thought they could stand up to America two decades ago during the war. If they knew half of the capabilities you guys had before the start of the war, I think they would have walked away from Kosovo and we wouldn’t have suffered the ethnic cleansing we did.” He shook his head.

  Seth nodded. “The tricky part is coming up next. The actual grab is probably the riskiest part of the mission.”

  For the next fifteen minutes, they watched and waited as the Blackhawks sped toward the house. In short order, the choppers came into view of the drone, which had zoomed back out to provide them with a much wider view of the surrounding area.

  As the sound of the rotating blades drew near, some of the men guarding the house came outside to check on things. A couple of the intelligence assets on the ground saw what was going on and sent a quick message to the men in the helicopters, letting them know of the potential threats. Neither of the guards appeared to be armed, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have quick access to a weapon. Suddenly, one of the men pointed at the approaching choppers. They would obviously recognize that these were not Kosovo police helicopters but American military helicopters instead.

  The two men ran inside the building. The Blackhawks raced to get into position to offload the capture team. The first helicopter flew a quick pass over the two houses near the mosque before banking hard to the left and pulling up hard on the nose to bleed off speed. As the first chopper leveled off, the second helicopter got to within twenty-five meters of the two houses and hovered over the street in front of the buildings.

  A pair of ropes were thrown out of the door, men rapidly sliding down them to get on the ground. Once the figures were on the ground, they moved with lightning speed as the other helicopter dropped its own ropes on the roof of the targeted building.

  Four soldiers descended from the other helicopter onto the roof. From their vantage point in the observation deck, General Lancaster and the other observers could watch the footage from the body cameras as the Delta Forces men quickly moved to breach the top of the building and gain entry. The other eight soldiers on the ground moved rapidly to the front of the building. Four soldiers broke off from the group and headed toward the rear of the two houses.

  Suddenly, two men emerged from the front of the house, weapons in their hands. Before either of them could even raise their weapons to fire at the SF soldiers, the operators fired a quick series of shots, taking them both out. Seconds later, the four soldiers charging the front of the house positioned themselves next to the front structure. Two of the soldiers began throwing flash-bangs into the first-floor rooms. Then one of the other soldiers breached the front door, and the group rushed inside.

  The Delta operators moved rapidly, clearing each room, either killing the individuals they encountered or throwing them to the ground and rapidly zip-tying them. The second group of operators that busted through the back of the house quickly cleared their portion of the house while the other four who landed on the roof worked their way down the three-story structure until they had the entire house secured.

  One of the operators radioed in. “Rexhepi’s in custody. We have one of his bodyguards in custody and three others killed in action. We’ll get the biometrics on the KIAs and send them back to you shortly. We’re going to conduct a quick grab of any SSE we can find and get out of here. How copy?” asked the team leader.

  General Lancaster turned and headed toward the Kosovo police and security service chiefs. “Sirs, we just grabbed the primary target. We know the neighboring house and the mosque are also part of this group. Can we have your permission to search those two buildings before the team needs to return and before the locals living in the village have a chance to react to what just happened?”

  The two Kosovars looked at each other and just shrugged. “I don’t think it’d be a problem, but I’d do it quickly. It won’t take long for the people who support Rexhepi to figure out what just went down.”

  The general turned to the squadron commander. “Tell your guys to hit the other two locations and look for any potential SSE that might be helpful. They know what to look for. Tell ’em they have ten mikes to see what they can find and get the hell out of there.”

  The lieutenant colonel nodded and picked up the radio handset. He relayed the order, and the group collectively watched as the operators moved rapidly to the other two buildings. The twelve-man team broke into two teams of five while two of the soldiers stayed with Rexhepi and his bodyguard, who were both laying hog-tied on the ground in a field between the mosque and the two houses. Several large black trash bags of goodies also lay on the ground next to them, the contents of the house that had been identified as having potential intelligence value.

  *******

  With the immediate target apprehended, Seth walked over to the captain coordinating things with their back-end support. “Does the NSA have a fix on who Rexhepi was talking to yet?” he asked.

  The captain turned to Seth and nodded. “They do. It’s a cell phone. They’re still tracking down who it is. The person may be in the known voice recognition database, but even if he isn’t, we got a location. The call originated in Skopje, Macedonia. Here’s the location.” The captain pulled up a map of the city.

  The lines in Seth’s forehead deepened as he squinted. “Is it me, or does that look like a bank?” he asked.

  Looking at the image, the captain responded. “You’re right. Huh…yeah, it’s the Silk Road Bank of Macedonia.”

  Seth waved General Lancaster over. “Sir, I think
you need to look at this,” he said.

  “What do you guys have?” asked Lancaster.

  “The person Rexhepi was talking to,” Seth responded. “The NSA tracked the cell phone down to someone in this building, the Silk Road Bank of Macedonia. Whoever else is involved in this conspiracy clearly works at the bank, sir, or is inside doing some business there. How do you want us to handle this? Do we send the ODA team we have on standby after them and scoop up the other person involved with Rexhepi?”

  General Lancaster lifted his head up and looked at the back wall for a moment, clearly considering his options. Seth was glad he didn’t have to be the one to make the call on this. The potential political fallout from ordering this type of operation at a bank was definitely a consideration. Then again, if they didn’t do it now and he somehow slipped away, they might never know who else was involved in this dastardly attack on their country.

  After a pause, Lancaster ordered, “Get the drone headed that way. I want real-time surveillance on that bank. See if the NSA can keep a lock on that phone. If someone starts to leave that bank and the phone is on them, tell the NSA to keep tracking its movement.”

  Turning to look at his JSOC commander, the general continued, “Tell your boys to pack up what they have and get back to base. Order the ODA team to spin up and get in the air and start heading to Skopje. I’m going to place a quick call to the defense attaché’s office in Skopje and let them know what we’ve found and what we’re planning on doing.”

  Seth found the defense attaché phone number for the general. He hit dial and handed the phone over to Lancaster, who immediately grabbed it and waited for the senior defense official in Macedonia to pick up.

  Seth knew that the colonel over there had been briefed on what was going on in Kosovo and knew ahead of time that operations might spill over into Macedonia. He had already briefed the Macedonian officials on the possibility, and they had been all too eager to let the Americans handle their Islamic extremist problem for them. Truthfully, there was no love lost between the Macedonian government and their minority ethnic Albanian population.

  When the colonel in Macedonia picked up, General Lancaster relayed what had transpired with Rexhepi and how the person he was talking to was currently in Skopje. He told him an ODA team was on its way to Skopje and once it looked like they could reasonably execute the grab, they would.

  When the general got off the phone, he told Seth, “The colonel asked to be able to loop in his counterparts at the Ministry of Defense and to let the ambassador there know about the operation. They’d probably like to avoid some big shooting incident with US forces in the capital city. Macedonia is friendly to America, but they are trying to become a part of the EU, and the optics of that wouldn’t go over the best with the Europeans.”

  The next twenty minutes went by in a blur as phone calls between Bondsteel, SOCOM HQ in Tampa, the Pentagon, and the embassy in Skopje took place as the decision to send the ODA team in was weighed against the public perception and the possible reaction of such a raid. While all of this was happening, the captain who was monitoring the situation with the NSA interrupted everyone.

  “Sir, the NSA says the phone is moving,” he announced.

  All eyes then looked at the drone feed. The Reaper had finally come on station a few thousand feet above the city and had zoomed in on the Silk Road Bank of Macedonia. They watched a man leave the bank and head toward a row of parked cars nearby.

  “Is that the man?” demanded the general as they watched the lone figure walking down the sidewalk.

  The captain spoke into the phone and everything went silent for a second. He then looked up at the general and nodded. “It is, sir. The NSA is electronically pinging the phone. It’s him.”

  Lifting the cell phone in his hand, the general relayed what they were seeing back to General Royal at SOCOM, who had them on speakerphone with the Joint Chiefs and the White House. While Seth and the others in the ops center could not hear what was being discussed over the cell phone, it was clear the decision makers back in D.C. were discussing what to do next.

  A minute or so of silence ensued as the group collectively watched the man climb into a vehicle and start to drive away. The drone stayed locked onto the man’s car as he started to head toward the A1/E-75 Highway that connected Skopje with Thessaloniki, Greece.

  Is this man trying to head to Greece or some other safe house along the way? Seth asked himself.

  While they contemplated where the man was headed, a decision had to be made in D.C. Another sixty seconds of tense silence ensued before the general nodded. He looked at the Delta commander. “We’ve been ordered to intercept the vehicle and bring the man in for questioning,” he said. “The NSA’s made a clear connection between this mystery man and Rexhepi. We already know Rexhepi is the man who ordered the attacks in the US. We need to know what this man’s relationship to him is and who else may be involved. Go bring me that man, Lieutenant Colonel!”

  With the order given, the Delta squadron commander nodded and picked up another hand receiver. A second later, the helicopter blades of the two Ospreys down on the flight line increased in speed. After another minute transpired, the building rattled as the two aircraft flew overhead to fetch this mystery man.

  Ten minutes later, they heard the chopping of helicopter blades again. The Delta team had returned from their own raid with Rexhepi in tow.

  Seth stepped out of the ops center and caught a quick glimpse of them manhandling Rexhepi into a waiting van. A couple of other men dressed in 5.11 apparel hopped into the van as well, which Seth knew would be headed over to the interrogation room that had been prepared.

  Looking at his watch, Seth figured he had twenty minutes before the ODA team caught up to the mystery man in Macedonia.

  More than enough time to go check on our guest, he thought with a smile.

  Seth made a beeline to the small detention facility the Army still maintained on the base. He arrived about the same time the van from the flight did. When the door opened, Seth saw the two men in 5.11 apparel get out with Rexhepi and smiled. He recognized one of the men—the OGA had sent their best interrogator.

  The man looked up and saw Seth. He smiled but didn’t say anything. Seth knew he wouldn’t, at least not in front of the prisoner. When they brought Rexhepi inside, they immediately placed sensory deprivation goggles over his eyes and a headset over his ears. Then they chained him to his chair so he couldn’t go anywhere.

  With the prisoner now taken care of and his mind and senses being assaulted, the OGA man turned to look at his unexpected visitor. “I should’ve known SOCOM would send you out here. How the hell are you, Seth?” he asked.

  “Oh, you know me, Smith. They still calling you Smith these days?” Seth asked in jest. He didn’t actually know the man’s real name. All part of his cover, he figured.

  Flashing a wry smile, the man responded, “Whatever do you mean, Seth? My name has always been and will always be Smith.”

  Shaking his head in amusement, Seth switched topics. “Do you think you can break him?” he asked.

  “They all break, Seth. It’s just a matter of when and how much they want to endure before they realize it.” He turned back to look at the man thrashing about in his chair with the specialized equipment on. “I’ll know more once I actually talk to him. Right now, I need to soften him up a bit, so I figure I’ll leave my toys on for the next hour or two. So, back to you. Why are you out here, Seth?” Smith asked. “I thought the Army had moved you past this line of work.” Smith pulled a pack of cigarettes out and lit one up. He offered the pack to Seth, but he shook his head.

  “I’m working for General Royal. He wants me out here as his eyes and ears. Figures I could be of some help to you guys.”

  “Hmm…well, I hear they’re bringing in another guy too. If there’s more than one prisoner, then I’d be glad to have your help. You’re good at this job, Seth. You really should have taken us up on our offer a couple of years
ago.” He winked. “You know, that offer still stands if you ever get tired of wearing that monkey suit you’re in.”

  Seth looked off in the distance. He had seriously contemplated the offer when it was made. Ultimately, he’d known he couldn’t accept it. He’d never get to see his kids, and his wife wouldn’t stick around. It just wasn’t meant to be.

  “Don’t think I haven’t thought about it, Smith. You know me, though. I’ve got a family now. I can’t just walk away from that.”

  Smith nodded. “No, you’re right to turn us down, Seth. It’s a tough life, definitely not for everyone. Maybe if our paths had crossed before you turned into a family man…”

  “Well, I need to get back to the ops center. I want to observe them capture this next guy. I’ll catch up with you in a while,” Seth said as he extended his hand.

  Smith shook it. “No problem. You know where to find me. I’ll be here.”

  Seth then turned around and started making his way back. As he walked, he couldn’t help but think back to his time in Virginia. It had been a tempting offer; he’d nearly accepted it. Then he thought back to the day before all of this had kicked off, lounging around in the pool in the backyard with his kids. A smile crept across his face, and he knew he’d made the right decision.

  As soon as he walked back into the room, Seth noticed the apprehension immediately.

  “What the hell do you mean the Macedonians are telling us to stand down? On whose authority?” yelled General Lancaster to a captain who was holding a phone to his shoulder.

  “It’s the ambassador. He’s on the line, sir,” the captain replied, voice shaking slightly. He held the receiver out for the general.

  Lancaster angrily walked over to the captain and snatched the receiver. “This is Brigadier General William Lancaster. To whom am I speaking?” he barked.

  A few seconds went by before they heard the next interplay of the one-sided conversation. “On whose authority are you trying to abort my mission, Ambassador?” Lancaster said tersely.