Gorsula rushed up to Hassan, who also suffered from some of the effects of the flash bangs and was a bit dazed.
“Are you okay?” the soldier asked.
“Yeah, I'm fine. Are you attacking Andan?”
“Yes, with full force. Almost 300 special ops troops are there right now and we have heavy air support.”
“Omar Bashir is there and many of the other top as-Sirat people. They are hidden in a cave complex. You have to take me there. I know where the entrances are.”
“Hold on.”
Gorsula turned and called in what happened.
“Hassan al-Zaid is secure. I repeat. Hassan al-Zaid is secure. He says Omar Bashir and other senior as-Sirat leaders are in a cave system in Andan.”
“There are at least 40 fighters there and they are heavily armed,” Hassan interrupted.
Gorsula relayed the information to mission control.
He listened to the response.
“Okay, you're coming with us. The chopper is taking us to Andan. The president seems quite adamant about wanting to see you again, so let's not disappoint him.”
Gorsula began taking off his body armor.
“Better put this on before we take off.”
Before handing the equipment to Hassan, the special ops captain hesitated.
“Sorry, I'm a little confused. My uncle was on that Metro bus and his funeral was last week,” Gorsula said, pointing Hassan in the direction of where the chopper had set down. “So for a week I was sure that you killed him but now I'm hearing that the attack was a setup and I'm just not sure I understand what's going on.”
The two were walking side by the side toward the helicopter.
“I'm sorry about your loss,” Hassan said. “I can only give you the short version right now, but, when this is over, I'll be more than happy to sit down with you and give you all the answers you want. Your uncle was terminally ill and agreed to participate in a mission that we hoped would get us to infiltrate as-Sirat. His last act was to give his life for his country. Without him, we'd not be at Omar Bashir's doorstep right now.
“I think it is very fitting that you are one of the people who get to kick that door in.”
“Thanks,” Gorsula said.
They rushed toward the Chinook in silence as the soldier tried to wrap his head around the fact that the guy he had wanted to kill until a couple of hours ago was in fact on his side. Literally.
Wednesday, 5:02 pm ET
The situation room erupted in cheers when word came through that Hassan al-Zaid was now with the special ops team. Things got even louder when the information was passed on that Omar Bashir and other as-Sirat leaders were in Andan.
President Sweeney let out a deep breath. A heavy burden was lifted from his shoulders. DNI McClintock looked as though he wanted to hug everybody in the room.
“We did it,” the commander-in-chief said, slapping his intelligence chief on the back repeatedly. “We did it.”
A new battle plan was drawn up quickly. According to the intelligence Hassan was providing from the chopper, the tunnels had several exits but all of them came out in or near Andan. Drones circled the area like a swarm of buzzards to make sure that none of the terrorists got away through an exit they didn't know about.
The soldiers would wait a little bit longer before attacking the tunnels until Hassan was on site and able to tell them exactly where they could enter the “bunker.” The troops used the time to clear Andan of civilians. Anybody remaining in the town would risk getting killed.
McClintock wasn't excited about getting Hassan that close to the action but it made sense to have him on site. The information he had would make the job of the special ops soldiers much easier and probably safe lives. The DNI really wanted to talk to Hassan but fought the urge. There was no time for being sentimental. But he did tell the general in charge of the mission that they better brought his guy home alive.
“He has done his job. Your men better make sure they get him out of there in one piece.”
***
Inside the bunker, the as-Sirat leaders had quickly figured out that Andan was under a massive attack and were organizing their defense. The terrorists booby-trapped the tunnels and fortified themselves in the rooms close to Omar Bashir's quarters.
“Don't be taken alive,” Khalid el-Jeffe ordered. “Paradise awaits us.”
Among the equipment in the armories were several suicide vests and a couple of men at each defensive position strapped one on. They were ready for the Americans.
Wednesday, 5:30 pm ET
When Hassan finished telling the leaders of the operation everything he knew about the tunnel system, he asked to speak to the Director of National Intelligence. He was patched through to the White House in one of the choppers.
“Hey Bob.”
“Hassan, it's so good to hear your voice. You've done great, son.”
“Listen, I think we're just about ready to get underway, but this can't wait … just in case something goes wrong here. As-Sirat is planning an attack on a nuclear power plant near Chicago. This has gone way past the planning stage. They are moving assets into place now for a Thanksgiving strike. The leader is a nuclear physics grad student. Sadly, I don't have a name.”
“There are some military intelligence people in Andan now,” the DNI said. “Once the fighting stops, make sure you find them and see if you can recover some data that will help us find the sleeper. But for now, stay out of the way.”
“Don't worry, I don't think they'll allow me anywhere near the action.”
Just then, simultaneous explosions rocked Andan. The special ops soldiers had breached the secret doors to the bunker and were moving in.
To Hassan, who was sitting in the helicopter and relegated to waiting, it seemed like the battle took a long time. He could hear explosions and gunfire and, from his vantage point, saw several U.S. soldiers being carried toward the waiting Chinooks. Choppers kept taking off and landing and more troops were pouring into the tunnels. Hassan, who had seen the seasoned as-Sirat fighters, knew they would put up a heavy fight. They had the advantage of knowing the terrain and knew that they were battling for their lives.
***
Hassan would have known more about the outcome of the fight for the bunker had he been in the situation room. The president and his staff received real time updates on the progress and had video images from cameras mounted on the helmets of some of the soldiers. Even to the untrained eye of the president it was clear that the special ops forces were winning. They brought strength in numbers and overwhelming force. But they paid a heavy price for their gains as the holed up as-Sirat fighters threw everything they had at the Americans.
As the special ops soldiers fought their way through booby-trapped tunnels, as-Sirat fighters lobbed grenades at the hated enemy. Whenever a room was about to be lost, they set off their suicide vests, hoping to take as many Americans to death with them as possible. The explosions also resulted in some cave-ins, making it more difficult for the troops to advance.
It took a grueling hour for them to make it to Omar Bashir's quarters. Thirteen men had been lost and over 50 were injured. All efforts to take as-Sirat fighters alive had been unsuccessful. More than 40 of the terrorists now lay dead in the bunker. Omar Bashir and Khalid el-Jeffe did not seem to be among them.
An explosives specialist set the C-4 charge at the heavy metal door and moved back, away from the blast radius. The tunnels behind him were filled with soldiers, ready to toss flash bangs into the room.
“Ear plugs,” the combat engineer said. “I'm blowing the door in ten seconds.”
The men got ready for the explosion that ripped through the cave. The door flew inside Omar Bashir's private quarters, followed quickly by several M84 grenades.
Just as the troops were about to move in, a couple of massive explosions ripped through the rooms ahead of them.
“Another suicide vest?” the major who led the assault asked his c
ombat engineer.
“Sounded bigger. I don't think anybody in such a small space could have survived that.”
The major gave an order and four of the troops moved through the opening where a massive door had been seconds before. The explosives expert had been right. Nobody was alive in Omar Bashir's quarters. Instead, the special ops soldiers only found the remains of four men. The bodies were quite disfigured from the explosions, but, at first glance it appeared that one of them could be the tall and lanky as-Sirat leader. Forensics experts would have to sort that out.
The troops had tried but, apart from the five men captured by Captain Gorsula and his men, none of the terrorists survived. That information was relayed to the White House.
“They were just too determined not to be taken alive,” the major in charge of the operation said apologetically.
“I'd like to talk to him,” the president said and was patched through to Andan.
“Major, this is Jack Sweeney speaking. You and your men have dealt a grave blow to as-Sirat and should be very proud. I know I am.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I promise that I'll come to Bagram as soon as possible and then I want to thank all of you in person.”
“It'll be an honor, Mr. President.”
“I'm sure you'll have a lot more work to do, so I'll leave it at that for now. Just make sure you tell the men that their president is proud of them.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Wednesday, 6:15 pm ET
The five remaining as-Sirat fighters who had been sent after Hassan rushed back toward Andan once they saw that the second group was lost. Unaware of the major assault on the town, they wanted to warn Omar Bashir and the others. When they got close to the town, the as-Sirat fighters realized that they were too late. Helicopters and American troops were everywhere, their attention focused on the “bunker,” where two massive explosions had just shaken the ground.
“Oh no,” said Yezem, who was part of the group. They were hiding out of the reach of the spotlights that had been set up all over the town. “What happened? How did they find us?”
One of the men lifted binoculars to his face and scanned the area while the others debated quietly what to do. They knew that fighting against this overwhelming force meant dying.
“Hassan is standing and talking with the Americans,” the voice of the man with the binoculars interrupted the hushed deliberation. They took turns looking through the binoculars and all saw Hassan standing with some soldiers, looking like an equal and not a prisoner.
“That traitor must have been working with them all along,” one of the as-Sirat fighters said.
“If we run, they will find us anyways,” another chimed in. “I say we kill that two-faced dog.”
After a brief discussion on how to proceed, the five men tried to move closer to where Hassan was.
***
Hassan and Captain Gorsula stood by the Chinook, awaiting word on how the operation inside the cave was going. His squadron had been assigned to protect Hassan, guard the five men they captured and provide backup if necessary.
The two were chatting to pass the time, with Hassan filling the soldier in on some of the details of Pathfinder. It all sounded incredible and unbelievable to Gorsula even though he was witnessing the results of the mission firsthand.
“So you have been preparing this for four years?” he asked.
“Yeah, and we didn't even know if we would ever put the plan into action until the president gave the green light. That set everything in motion, including your uncle's trip to Washington,” Hassan said.
He wanted to tell Gorsula about the letter his uncle had written to his family when he saw a flash in the distance and something struck him in the chest.
“Get down,” the special ops captain yelled as more shots were fired. He tackled Hassan and threw him to the ground.
The other soldiers, who had more or less been just hanging out, immediately went into combat mode. They returned fire in the direction from which the shots had come, called in the attack and launched a counteroffensive.
“We need a medic,” a voice yelled from back where Hassan and Gorsula had gone down.
It didn't take the soldiers long to take down the five as-Sirat fighters. Four of them were killed and only Yesem survived.
With the threat eliminated, the men rushed back toward the helicopter. They saw Hassan sitting hunched over Gorsula, trying to stop the blood that was seeping through the uniform from a wound to the chest.
“We need a doctor,” Hassan shouted at the soldiers approaching them. A request was immediately radioed to the appropriate place. One of the soldiers with the most first aid experience crouched down next to Hassan.
“Let me take over from here,” he said, seeing that his squadron leader was in bad shape.
Another of the special ops soldiers asked Hassan if he was injured.
“I don't know. I think the armor deflected the bullet but I feel like I cracked some ribs.”
“Lemme take a look.”
Hassan took off the body armor that Gorsula had given him and let the soldier examine him. His eyes kept being drawn to the special ops captain. Hassan was painfully aware that Gorsula was in this position because he had not only given up his body armor but also taken a bullet for him. A doctor finally arrived and was now fighting for the soldier's life. Hassan wanted to do something but there was nothing he could contribute other than to stand aside as Gorsula was put on a stretcher and loaded into a helicopter.
***
A long day slowly turned into a long night in Washington as news from Andan kept trickling in. Out of nowhere, a couple of bottles of champagne appeared in the situation room before McClintock caused them to disappear just as quickly.
“A lot of our guys lost their lives tonight,” the DNI said. “So let's put that champagne back on ice.”
In one change from the usual situation room procedure, an elated president decided to give his national security team something better than pizza and sandwiches to eat. He asked his chefs to take orders from all those present and treat them to a gourmet meal.
Sweeney's mood got even better when it was revealed that Omar Bashir and Khalid el-Jeffe were among the dead in Andan. They had all agreed that it would have been better to capture him alive but there was no way that could have been accomplished.
The entire area around Andan had been sealed off and, when it was determined to be completely secure, the president finally got to thank Hassan before he headed to Bagram.
“Remember what I told you before you landed in Pakistan?” Sweeney said. “I can't wait to tell Americans what you have done for them. And I can't wait to finally meet you and thank you in person. How are you feeling?”
“I'm really concerned about the soldier who saved my life. He's the nephew of one of the people we put on the bus and he took a bullet for me.”
The president had already heard of the small group of as-Sirat fighters targeting Hassan in a last-ditch effort.
“I'm sure they're taking good care of him, Hassan. But how are you?”
“There isn't a scratch on me because the soldier had given me his armor. Apart from that, honestly, I'm a little out of it. Twenty-four hours ago I was convinced that I would be dead by now.”
Hassan told the president about how he had planned to kill Omar Bashir to make Pathfinder at least a partial success but changed his mind when he found out about the plan to attack the nuclear plant.
“On that front I have some good news,” Sweeney said. “The forensics team on site found a bunch of documents that weren't destroyed by the blast and a laptop from which they think they'll be able to recover a lot of information. I'm sure we can stop their plot now that we know about it. It's another thing the United States owes you for.”
“It's been an honor to serve my country. I'm just happy that everything worked out. Actually, in retrospect, it's really surprising,” Hassan joked. “I mean, what in the
world was I thinking?”
The president laughed.
“Well, I'm happy you did what you did. Now go to Bagram and get some rest. We'll have some decisions to make with regard to you. When I tell the country about Pathfinder, you'll become a target for the rest of your life. We could prevent that from happening if we make people think you died in the Andan operation. Give that some thought. I'm sure we'll speak soon.”
Friday
The laptop and documents recovered in Andan proved to be a treasure trove of information. Over the next couple of days, intelligence specialists pulled as much data as possible from the hard drive and tried to piece together the papers that were found in Omar Bashir's quarters.
The decision had been made to keep the success of the Andan operation a secret for as long as possible. The recovered information had presented the United States and her allies with a unique opportunity to deal further blows to as-Sirat. All that was known, since it was impossible to hide the fact that something had happened in South Waziristan, was that there had been a U.S. military operation in Pakistan that had been sanctioned by President Khan.
In the meantime, Hassan, under a shroud of secrecy, headed to Washington. The same Gulfstream that had brought him to Pakistan now took Hassan and the other members of Pathfinder, with whom he had met up at Bagram, back to the United States.
On the way home, he finally got to speak to his parents. Though everything about the operation was still highly classified, the decision had been made to not keep the al-Zaid's thinking that their son was a terrorist any longer. McClintock visited Hassan's parents right before their son called and tried to mentally prepare them. A team of doctors was standing by in case the good news was too much for Farouk al-Zaid's recuperating heart. That proved to be unnecessary. The transpacific reunion was heartfelt and tearful and the Pathfinder team members were embarrassed to be witness to such a private moment.
“I knew it,” both of Hassan's parents kept saying with tears of joy streaming down their faces. “We always believed in you. In our hearts, we knew it couldn't be true.”