“Thank you, General.”
The major left the office and the general heard the hangar come to life as the turbine whine of the C-130 started to sound in the cavernous space. He shook his head as once more he was sending Israeli boys into harm’s way.
“Demetrius, this is Duke, over.”
“Duke, barely … hear you … atmospherics are getting—”
“Demetrius, Operation Ramesses is a go. I repeat, Operation Ramesses is a go. The strike initiates at 0215, HALO drop into the village below Patinas. Be there for extraction, at the conclusion of Ramesses, Duke out.”
The static-filled response came through the air and Shamni gave the mic back to the operator without caring what was said in response to the historic strike order.
He stepped to the window that looked into the hangar as the ear-piercing scream of the four Pratt & Whitney turbofans of the giant Hercules started spinning up to idling power as the C-130 started to raise its rear loading ramp. Major Donny Mendohlson bounded up the personnel ramp to the pilot’s door just aft of the cockpit. He turned and faced the general and then gave him a quick salute and a smile. He turned and entered the Hercules just as the giant hangar door started to rise.
General Shamni turned away as the Hercules started its roll out of the hangar for Israel’s part in the flood relief for southern Romania.
Mossad had long anticipated the building of the resort when Marko started selling off antiquities from the Exodus through the Russian’s contacts. Shamni knew the destruction of the temple was now of the utmost importance to the state of Israel.
Tonight the past would get buried forever and the one weapon that Will Mendenhall feared the most was now on its way to a country once called Transylvania.
General Shamni took one last look at the secure storage area that would pop open automatically at certain coordinates over Romania and then it would be jettisoned over Patinas where the device would be recovered by the Operation Ramesses forces and then placed into the Lost City of Moses.
That device was nuclear in nature.
PATINAS PASS
The first of the rain started at sundown and the dark clouds bled the sun away early as the storm that initially had been forecast to miss the pass came directly toward it. The village of Patinas was unusually quiet as most of the farm-folk were settling down to a cold dinner. The apprehension felt by everyone in the small village was palpable as Niles Compton toured the single street that ran down the center of what would have been called a Romanian thoroughfare. Three of the 82nd Airborne combat engineers followed close behind. Niles removed his glasses and looked up at the black sky that was now hidden behind a roiling storm front. He refused one of the waterproof ponchos offered by the staff sergeant. Niles replaced his glasses and then looked at Will.
“You three, gather the rest of the men, we’ll stay here tonight, it may be a little drier than those tents,” Niles said, looking at the engineers. “Besides, I want us all in one place. Charlie will join us later. Alice and Denise insist on staying with Madam Korvesky.”
The three Airborne troops started to salute and then thought better of it and left the cottage as Will Mendenhall found the single light in the house and pushed hard on the old push-button switch. Nothing happened. He tried again and still nothing.
“Power’s out,” he said but then he saw the glow of Castle Dracula two miles down the mountainside through the opened window. “Huh, the castle looks like a Hollywood premiere is going on,” he said as he turned and looked at Niles, who was busy drying his glasses.
“Did you see the single phased power line running up the mountain? Well, you can bet your commission that it only runs here. The hotel and casino complex received all of the new stuff.”
Will understood now. “It must be nice being friends and limited partners with the interior minister.”
Niles nodded his head. “Something I plan to have changed as soon as I can get some reports filed. NATO and the president won’t be too happy to realize they became silent partners in an international land grab sponsored by antiquities thieves and mobsters. I think the new president of Romania may wish to speak to her interior minister.”
Mendenhall went to the open window and pulled closed the old wooden shutters and then slid down the even older lead glass four-paned window. He turned and looked at the director and hoped he was thinking the same as himself.
“What are we going to do about getting the colonel out of that resort?”
Niles put his glasses on and then walked over to the dead fireplace and started placing pieces of wood inside. He stopped and his shoulders slumped.
“It looks like for now we have to depend on that Marko character to help Jack, Sarah, Pete, and Mr. Ryan.” He shook his head and then angrily tossed the last piece of firewood into the dark hole.
“Yes, sir, but which side is he on exactly?” Mendenhall said as he only voiced the same doubt that Niles was thinking.
The lives of their friends depended on a band of Gypsies that should have died off over thirty-five hundred years before.
THE EDGE OF THE WORLD HOTEL AND RESORT CASINO, PATINAS, ROMANIA
Dmitri Zallas stood on the sixth-floor expanse of the loading platform with his arm around a dark-haired woman who obediently nodded a greeting to every lowlife that came to ride the cable car to the castle. Zallas was dressed to the nines in a black tuxedo and was dazzling with a bright red scarf wrapped around his thick neck. His cigar was smoking and he was beaming. The man next to him was not however. Colonel Avi Ben-Nevin stood silently in the new suit that had been purchased, after he had signed for it of course, and waited for the last of the guests to leave the casino. The last sixteen laughing and now ready to party guests stepped onto the ornate car where drinks were already being mixed by the car’s bartenders. A man approached and looked around as the car was preparing to leave.
“He has arrived, Mr. Zallas,” the man said and then gestured out the large geodesic dome that housed the atrium and the cable car barn.
Zallas smiled when he saw the approach of the old cars from the north. They made their way through the falling rain with little trouble. The Russian then removed the cigar from his mouth and smiled at the dark-haired woman next to him.
“My dear, I will join you at the castle shortly, I have immediate business to attend to.”
The woman made a fake pouting face and then smiled and hopped onto the cable car, smashing the illusion that the girl had any class at all. Ben-Nevin shook his head as he waited. The doors slid closed and the car with its anticipatory guests started the long climb toward Dracula’s Castle.
“Come, let’s meet our royal highness,” Zallas said as he himself almost bounded down the escalator to the spa and garden area where they would confront Marko Korvesky.
* * *
The eyes watched from a hidden corner of the darkened casino. The man had just returned from making his covert radio call to Tel Aviv. He saw the cars approaching the resort and knew it was the Gypsy, Marko. The man had also seen the armed men just outside the patio area earlier loading automatic weapons. He had counted over 135 hardened mercenaries.
Mossad agent Janos Vajic was now officially running out of time.
* * *
Ryan stood at the door and listened. He half turned and held up his hand and then just as quickly lowered it. He shook his head.
“It’s no one. I thought I heard the keycard for a second.”
“Give up, we were hoping they would bring us food and then we found the fully stocked refrigerator so there went that plan. They don’t even need to check on us.”
Ryan straightened from the door and looked at Pete Golding, who withered from his glare.
“Doc, they know we’re something other than NATO inspectors, so they will be in to check on us just like the colonel said they would. Just be patient.”
Golding flinched and then nodded that he understood. He turned and looked at Jack and Sarah, who sat silently at the small table a
nd waited.
As they watched the lights flickered once more. It was the same flicker they had been noticing for the past three hours. They had finally learned it was the giant cable cars stopping and starting from their large barn. Jack took the fork and made another mark on the cloth napkin. Thus far he had made over twenty-one hash marks.
“Well, it’s only a guess but the hotel should be near empty by now.”
Ryan looked at Collins and then walked to the large window, which still sported the wolf-etched number 6. The cable car was now visible as it cleared the sixth-floor barn. He could see the ornate lighting inside illuminating the partygoers as they anticipated a great night at the grand opening of Dracula’s Castle. Jason allowed his eyes to go to the swirling lights that came through clearly even on this stormy night. He turned and then walked back to the door.
“You think they’ve waited to do something about us until the hotel was empty of guests?” Sarah asked as she reached over and removed the fork Jack had been using to mark the number of times the northern-traveling cable car left the barn. She laid the fork down and took his hand.
“If not, this time will give us our best chance of busting out of this joint,” Jack said with a wink.
Pete nodded his head feeling better every time the colonel explained things. It was between those moments that doubts started to creep in.
Once more Jason held up his hand and the room went silent. This time Jack stood from the table as he had heard the same thing Ryan had. There had been a definite thump coming from the hallway. Collins reached over and took the small kitchen knife he had lifted from the fancy kitchenette. He walked to the door and waited with Ryan. Pete just stood rooted to the center of the room. Another bump sounded and then the door cracked open an inch. Jason prepared himself.
The door swung open and a man fell backward through the opening. Then another limp body was thrown in the room on top of the first. Ryan stood ready but then relaxed when he saw Janos Vajic step into the room and then close the door. He kicked at the legs of the last man he had thrown inside and then looked at the astonished faces around him.
“Colonel Collins, may I suggest you and your people leave this place immediately,” Vajic said as he quickly stepped to the double-paned window and looked out. He angrily shook his head as he looked around the suite.
“Mr. Vajic, do you mind telling us what is happening?” Sarah asked while Collins and Ryan looked out into the hallway before closing the door and facing the man that was not just a mere hotel owner.
The man they thought was Romanian walked over and took one of the suite’s Queen Anne chairs and walked back to the window. He took a deep breath and then looked at the two men who had inched closer to him as he was walking to the window. He finally smiled.
“Colonel Collins, suffice it to say that we in the Mossad are not fools. Just because we cannot find out your current assignment or duty station, do not think for a moment we believe you would be relegated to a NATO fact-finding mission. Not with your reputation and record of military service. We would have found you out even if you hadn’t told us your real name.”
“Mossad? Is everyone we meet here in Mossad?” Ryan asked, now not trusting the man at all, especially after the way he and Mr. Everett had been treated in Rome by that particular organization.
“How about it, Mr. Vajic?” Jack asked, keeping the small knife handy in his right hand, which was not lost on Janos Vajic.
“The name is Janos Schumann, Captain, Mossad,” he said as he kept his gaze on Jack’s right hand as he half bowed in military courtesy. “Colonel, you must leave this place, we would hate to have an American Medal of Honor recipient killed when we take down this mountain. That wouldn’t read too good in the newspapers.”
Before Jack could respond to the cryptic threat delivered by the Mossad deep cover agent, the Israeli raised the chair and smashed through the first pane of glass. The two Americans jumped back as he raised the chair again and brought it into the second, much thicker glass, smashing through it until the chair went flying. The Israeli captain then bent at the waist to catch his breath as rain and wind started pouring in through the smashed window.
“Take the small ledge to the cable car barn. It’s on the same floor. Then climb down and get out of here.”
“We can’t. We have people in the pass and we won’t leave without getting them out.”
“But you have to—”
“Save it, Captain, you heard what the colonel said, we’re not leaving without our people,” Ryan stated flatly as he confronted the Mossad agent.
Janos Schumann shook his head angrily and then wiped rainwater from his face. He came to a quick decision.
“You still have to go out this way, you have no choice,” he said as he relented and faced Collins. “The only way to get to the pass is on the cable cars. The weather is turning bad and walking or driving without knowing the road is too dangerous.”
“I would rather take my chances on the road,” Ryan said, looking from Janos to Collins.
“That won’t work. Zallas and Colonel Ben-Nevin have an army out there and throughout the hotel. They’ll catch you and that would be that. I don’t think they’ll leave anyone behind to tell the tale after they find out what they have sitting right under their feet.”
“You mean the treasure of the Exodus that sits inside the City of Moses?” Jack said before Janos could.
“Okay, Colonel, you seem to know a little more about my business than you should,” Janos said menacingly.
“Touché, Captain. Now what is Zallas planning and what is his manpower disposition?” Jack asked as he tried to ease the tension in the room.
“He has well over a hundred armed men.”
“Do you have a plan for that?”
“We have a strike team currently en route to Romania.”
“The Sayeret will be here in a matter of hours, won’t they?” Jack said as he remembered the alert Europa reported the Israeli army was under.
“Yes, they will bring down the temple and there will be nothing to stop them. They know they are expendable in pursuit of that goal.”
“They’re going to HALO jump through this storm?” Jack took another menacing step toward the man. He knew that if the Sayeret commandos were going to use a high altitude, low opening, or HALO, parachute jump, they meant some serious business. And Collins knew that business included his friends in the pass.
“Okay, we’ll go out the window. But make no mistake, Captain Schumann, we are going to get our people out of that pass, and if I have to go through you and the best fighting soldiers in the world to do it, I will.”
“And he can,” an angry Ryan said, stepping close to the Israeli.
Janos looked at the two Americans and knew immediately that if something happened to the people in the pass because of something his men did he would surely see the sharp end of a long knife as Collins would keep his promise. Yes, Janos had indeed heard of the reputation of U.S. Army Colonel Jack Collins.
“And you allowed Zallas to murder Ms. Louvinski so you could keep your cover?” Sarah ventured.
“Gina was not only my friend, she was my partner on this mission for the past five years. I would easily have given my life for hers.”
Ryan shook his head in wonder at the world he lived in. He now knew that no one was who they seemed.
“She was a good agent and I know she had wished to help you and your team, whoever you are. So, please, go get them out as we are fast running out of time.”
With that Jack turned to Sarah and held out his hand and then looked at a soaking wet Pete Golding.
“Come on, Doc, let’s go find out if Charlie is having as hard a time as we are with this crap,” Collins said as he slapped Ryan on the back and pushed him toward the window and the brightly illuminated castle far beyond.
The grand opening of Dracula’s Castle had started and Jack and the others wanted to be there.
* * *
Marko stood befor
e Dmitri Zallas with his twelve burly men standing menacingly beside him. The Gypsies were dressed as they have been for the past two hundred years while living in the pass. The brightly colored clothes stood out starkly against the Russian’s black tie and tux.
“I have been expecting you since this morning, Marko, what took you so long?”
“I am not here to play games with you, Slav.”
At the word “Slav” Dmitri flinched but the smile remained. Ben-Nevin for his part smirked at the racial epithet thrown at the arrogant Russian by the Gypsy. The man at least had balls.
“I want the four Americans to be brought to me, my grandmother wishes for them to be her guests at the pass.”
Zallas smiled wider and then looked at Ben-Nevin. The Russian then turned back to face Marko.
“Of course, anything for your grandmother, you know that. I will release them as long as I have assurances the Americans will not be allowed back onto resort property. Fair?”
“I’m not here to discuss what is fair, Zallas, I am giving you an order,” Marko said and for emphasis his twelve men spread out just a little further while staring down Zallas and his men.
“An order promptly obeyed, old friend, I assure you,” Zallas answered as his smile continued to irk Marko no end. But one thing was for sure, the smile never reached the Russian’s eyes.
The appearance of twenty heavily armed men and then the loud report of a discharged weapon made Marko flinch. As he looked around one of his men was lying facedown in the mud pit where bathers had frolicked not three hours before. The man slowly sank into the hot surface and then vanished. Marko saw that he and his men were surrounded as he slowly turned back to face Zallas. The man was still smiling as Colonel Ben-Nevin had produced an old Colt .45 automatic. The gun was pointed at Marko’s belly.
“I’ll be the one giving the orders today,” Zallas said as his men came forward and started disarming Marko’s men of their small caliber guns and the obligatory arsenal of knives and other stabbing instruments Gypsies were fond of hiding on their person. One man struggled to get a man’s hand off him and Zallas nodded and that man was executed with a large caliber bullet to the back of the head. Marko didn’t turn to witness the murder as he was focused totally on Dmitri Zallas and Ben-Nevin. The dead man that had been used as an example was pushed off into the mud.
Carpathian: Event Book 08 Page 52
