thinking like a lawyer and not convinced. “Okay, rationalize any way you like, but what I’m really hearing is that we have a chance to cut off a billion dollars from funding another WMD attack, maybe numerous attacks.”
The man from the CIA responded, “Yes that’s right.”
He went on, “All right then, we don’t have much time. We have all the experts here from our Mid-East sector, but we don’t have any good options on the ground in Iran. Short of a well-placed nuclear bomb, we don’t have a good way to get at this guy in the heart of Tehran. We need to develop an operation from scratch, and fast. Ideas, please?”
Simmons leaned next to Rachael and whispered, “I know just the guy.”
She turned ashen and didn’t respond. Simmons was unaware of her feelings, and she knew he could draw Peter in. This was just the kind of save-the-country scenario he could not turn down. When they left the meeting, Simmons was on his cellphone for the short trip back to the Pentagon and she had no opportunity to speak with him. When they got to the office, she moved ahead slightly and turned, “General, can we talk privately for a moment?”
“Sure, Rachael, let’s go into your office.” She closed the door.
“Sir, I’m not sure what to say or if this is even appropriate given my position, but I’d like to talk to you about Major Shields.”
Simmons looked at her and decided to sit down. He was almost old enough to be her father saying, “Rachael, I’m starting to think you’re asking me to play favorites.”
“Maybe, sir, but I think I’m, we’ve, Peter and I, earned the right to ask for special consideration.”
“Rachael, you’ve both bled for the country and earned the right to ask for anything, but I guess I’m a little surprised.”
“General, John, I’m not only deeply in love with Peter, he’s done so much and suffered. I think that in the interest of humanity, the military could find someone else for a change. Peter would never refuse this mission if given the chance, even if it meant breaking a promise to me. He’s just like that.”
“Okay Rachael, this is off the record and I want you to think of me as a friend, not as your boss.” He waited for a moment to allow her resolve to mellow slightly. Fortunately, they had worked together long enough that she trusted him.
“You need to think about this, right now and hard. It’s not just endangering our country by not using him. It could destroy your relationship. He would know you bargained against him if this mission goes off without even consulting him. He would blame you. How can we not ask him? You’d be attacking him on an emotional scale that could be far more devastating over the course of a lifetime than the danger of one mission.”
She was beginning to shake. “But John, you know he’ll want to be in the middle of it. He’ll want to be on the ground again. They nearly killed him last time and it was a staged event!”
“Okay Rachael, let me suggest this, we need Peter to help with planning. He knows how to survive in metropolitan Tehran, and he knows the layout of the guy’s home. This is vital stuff. So, I’ve got to ask him to help. You’re right, I know he’ll want to go in. The best I can do is talk to him as I would talk to you.
“But also, you know you’ve got to support him. He’ll feel he has to go and your resistance could distract him.”
He got up and gave her a hug. “Look, kid, you know I would never want to see you hurt. Peter’s a great guy who’ll be a wonderful husband and father. But, his country needs him one more time.”
He left her alone. She wasn’t crying, but was close.
Rachael’s Decision
After half an hour of quiet introspection behind a closed door, Rachael composed herself before walking across to the General’s office. The staff was respectful. They could sense from their demeanors that Rachael was having difficulty with the boss.
“Sir, can we speak?”
“Sure, Rachael.”
She closed his door, “John, I realize that this is ultimately going to involve Peter and I don’t want to cause problems, certainly nothing that will hurt him. I would just like to know that you are giving him an option to stay behind. It won’t happen, but I’d still like to think you care enough for him and me that he’ll make the choice.”
“Rachael, you can rest assured that I will have a heart to heart with him and that any decision he makes will be difficult. I will respect his wishes if he does not want to go back in again.”
“Also sir, I’d like to be sure this is a military mission and that he’ll get full support.”
“Rachael, I will expect to be in overall command and will risk my career, if necessary, to give the guys on the ground everything they need.”
“All right then, I want to talk to Peter first.”
“I would appreciate that.”
That evening after Peter picked her up at the Pentagon and while they were driving to Georgetown, Rachael told him that General Simmons wanted to talk to him in the morning, and the subject was important. He could tell that she didn’t want to talk inside the truck, so he diverted again to a park along the Potomac where they could walk and talk.
She told him about the meeting at the CIA. It was awkward outside in the open, but there was nobody within earshot, and she didn’t care.
Peter asked, “So why does Simmons want to talk to me?”
She shuddered without looking at him, “I think you know what it’s all about.”
“Rachael, I made a promise to you that I intend to keep.”
They walked along the river without stopping to look at each other. After some time, she said, “Look, I had a talk with the General today. He’s going to ask you to help put a plan together to stop Abu Qatana before he can transfer money from an island bank account. I think he believes someone will need to go back into Iran. It’s going to save American lives and you’re probably the only person with the experience that can also identify the Minister.”
“Are you saying you want me to go?”
“Hell no! I’m only saying I’m able to accept it. I don’t like it, but I’ll accept it.”
He remained silent as they walked up an embankment to his Explorer. That night, they cuddled and drank a bottle of wine with dinner. Very little was said and during the night, their lovemaking was more intense and urgent than ever before. Peter stayed awake most of the night starting to understand what she meant by “commitment.” He had always been able to go on an operation with no personal encumbrances, but with her beside him, he could sense the disastrous affect it would have on her, if he was killed or disabled. It weighed on his mind throughout the night.
Peter parked at the Pentagon at seven o’clock the next morning and went with Rachael to her office. General Simmons was already at work. Together, they went to see him. Simmons said, “Good morning, you two! I just put on some coffee so let’s go fill some mugs.” Rachael made tea while Peter let the General pour his fourth cup then followed him back to his office.
“Well Major, I’m guessing that Rachael has briefed you?”
“Yes, sir. I think I know the objective and the criticality of time. I gather you’d like my help putting the plan together.”
Simmons affirmed, “We need something fast and simple, otherwise this will turn into a cluster fuck of monumental proportions.”
“Actually sir, speed of execution may be the key to success. The Iranians will expect some kind of retaliation, but they won’t be expecting it so soon. Abu Qatada probably doesn’t know how quickly the CIA got under his tent. He won’t be alert until he finds the funds frozen.”
“Exactly what I was thinking, Peter. How quickly can you have a plan ready to brief the spooks?”
“Sir, I can be ready in a few hours if you tell me we can use military assets.”
“Well, we won’t have time to get Nimitz in position (US aircraft carrier operating in the Indian Ocean), but otherwise, put the plan together and let’s see what we can do. We’ll brief the CIA and the NSC at the same time. The President will need to aut
horize overt use of the military, but I can’t see a problem this time. Technically, this will be a CIA operation, but I intend to use the emergency ops center and be there through the whole thing.”
“HUA (Heard, Understood & Acknowledged), sir!”
Rachael stood in the doorway behind Peter while the conversation took place and didn’t say a word. Her stare let both men know she missed the part about someone else leading the mission. She appreciated the fact that Simmons would be at the command center.
The rest of the morning, Peter sat in a cubicle researching the Internet and putting tables of equipment and personnel together. In order to expedite the process, he left out whole elements, such as the operating budget. The schedule was short with most things happening in parallel. At eleven o’clock he told Simmons they could plan the meeting for 1300 hours.
Rachael hoped they would have time for lunch, but the process was moving too swiftly. She knew they might not be alone together again until the mission was over. Feeling sick, she told them she was leaving and Simmons arranged a driver to take her home. Peter missed the opportunity to talk to her.
Later that afternoon, while she was sitting on the couch listening to music and sipping iced tea, Peter came home to collect his gear. He was animated, “Rach, ah, I didn’t know if you would be awake.”
“Yeah, well. I just couldn’t sit around the office as you charted your way to death’s door again.” She reflected a moment, then continued,