CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Wednesday the 13th October 2010 1.00 am, King Khalid Military Installation, Saudi Arabia. Sivert had used an empty hangar to set up a base and drew up maps and plans, he planned to head direct east to the Persian Gulf, turn north west following the coastline along the gulf to Failaka Island landing on a dirt strip near the centre of the island and ten kilometres from the target area. Sivert had five crew with him and had them commandeer some items; two Toyota four wheel drive civilian vehicles, small arms and ammunition, flack jackets, helmets with communication systems. The Hercules was fuelled and checked for departure.
Sivert called a briefing in the hangar in front of a whiteboard also commandeered by his crew. His crew had no idea of what he was going to say as they stood at attention in line in front of the board.
"Gentlemen, it has been brought to my attention that a key link to radical groups attempting to gain control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is currently in this area. I have been asked to operate outside of any government orders or directives to acquire this link alive and deliver him to the west. Although he is in western friendly territory any contact with eastern or western governments regarding his activities may alert other operatives in the chain as we have no idea who they are. If you come with me you are risking your life for something very few people know about and we will be considered enemies of the state if we fail; anyone who wishes to volunteer for this assignment please step forwards." The five men stepped forwards together. Sivert pointed to the map scrawled on the board as he spoke. "Thank you gentlemen. We will fly directly east from King Khalid some two hundred and fifty kilometres; turn north west over the Persian Gulf keeping the coastline in sight, landing on Failaka Island twenty kilometres off the coast of Kuwait city on a dirt airstrip ten kilometres from the target of the old Failaka Harbour. Our estimated flight time is one hour and fifteen minutes. All this will be done at three hundred feet and in complete darkness. Our target is Al Ahmadi, now remember the name and how to say it with a middle eastern accent. Al Ahmadi." They all repeated the name with the accent. "That's real good; you guys may make the movie when you get home. We will access the harbour in our four wheel drives in direct route not using roads again in complete darkness. The building we target is new, the only new building in the harbour, Ahmadi would be aware that we are after him, this could be why he has retreated to this island. Inadvertently if this is the case he has made himself vulnerable for if he had stayed in Kuwait we would have some real problems. There is only one other pilot here and he will stay with the aircraft; if we do not return by first light he will leave and return to King Khalid. We kill no one unless absolutely necessary, meaning if you are about to die. If the target is armed wound but do not kill him, we need his mouth and brain. Any questions?"
"When do we leave sir?"
"Saddle up people, time is wasting." Sivert knew that five crew was scant to operate an AC 130 gunship, especially if they came under fire. Sivert lifted off at the controls of the Hercules at 1.45 am the airfield was deserted. They turned north west over the Persian Gulf at 2.10 am. The radar officer reported to Sivert that there was a ship bearing dead ahead twelve thousand metres. Sivert dropped to fifty metres above the waves and held speed and bearing. The radar operator on the US patrol frigate Phoenix called out loud across the bridge.
"Unidentified ship bearing, sir I think you better look at this." The commanding officer studied the screen. "Not many ships can do over two hundred and fifty knots sir. Whatever it is will be off the port bow in two minutes sir."
"Call battle stations!" yelled the commanding officer as he accessed the port side of the bridge and studied the sea’s surface with his binoculars. "Lock a missile on target and hold."
"Whatever it is will be too close for a missile strike on approach and we have no gunners in place yet sir."
"Lock main cannon prepare to fire," replied the commander. "Wait I have visual, it's an AC 130 just above the water off the port bow." The commander walked out of the bridge and onto the viewing platform on the port side of the ship. He followed the Hercules with his night vision binoculars only a few hundred metres away until she began to head north west away from them.
"You want us to make radio contact sir?"
The commander thought for a while. "No, if she's just above the water in complete darkness there's a good reason for it."
"Shall I contact Atlantic command sir?"
"Put about full ahead, track her for as long as you can, no contact at all. She could easily have avoided us but she flew right by. Her gunnels are opened and manned. Whoever they are they were looking for help not hindrance." Sivert's radio operator made a report.
"Sir she's putting about and picking up speed sir." Sivert smiled.
"It's the Phoenix, Captain Miller is a smart man. Any radio transmission?"
"Negative sir she's quiet as a tomb. No attempt to contact or report."
"Anything else in the area?"
"I have two more vessels to the east right on the Iranian sea border line both heading south east closest eighty kilometres. They are probably allied or US ships on Gulf patrol. No radio activity."
"Ten minutes to target gentlemen, man the vehicles, have them started and ready to roll when we stop!" yelled Sivert.
Aboard the Royal Naval patrol frigate the Glasgow the radio operator called out across the bridge with his clear cockney accent. "Sir the US Phoenix has put about and picked up speed, she's on a heading for Kuwait sir." The captain attended the radar screen."
"Any radio traffic as to why?" asked the captain, with an obvious plum in mouth accent.
"No she's silent, I thought I had something on screen in her area minutes ago sir but can't really say. Do you want me to contact Admiralty Control?"
"Absolutely not. Send her one beep on the radio." The radio operator sent one sonar beep over the radio and the Phoenix radio operator reported.
"Captain Miller we have one beep over the radio from HMS Glasgow she is ninety kilometres to the south east heading south east."
"Return two beeps." The radar controller looked up at Miller. "Two beeps do it." The radar controller on the Glasgow reported.
"Sir we have two beeps from the US Phoenix." The captain immediately shouted orders across the bridge.
"Go to battle stations put about heading same as the Phoenix pick up to full ahead." The cockney radar controller asked a question.
"Sir we are outside of standard procedures."
"So is the Phoenix, she's found something that needs attention. You want everybody to follow standard procedures in a non standard environment?"
"Probably why you're the captain sir, you got bigger bollocks than me."
Sivert lined the AC 130 up with the strip that was just visible and exactly on the coordinates he had put in the flight computer. The strip’s condition was not visible in the moonlight and the plane rumbled as it touched down, spreading dust for hundreds of metres either side of the plane. The strip had not been used for months and was completely deserted. Sivert lined the plane up for take off and lowered the cargo bay ramp and the two Land Cruisers left the bay pulling up alongside the cockpit access door. Sivert climbed behind the wheel of the lead vehicle and with a hand-held GPS they headed off across the rough, flat, dusty terrain making an average speed of sixty kilometres plus.
Two kilometres from the harbour they encountered bomb craters from the war and found the main road leading directly to the harbour from the east. The buildings were deserted around the harbour with most still showing the ravages of the war with no rooves and bullet holes. The harbour had a concrete breakwater protecting it from the open sea and a new building was obvious on the corner of the main street and esplanade opposite the loading pier. There were several new looking boats moored at the pier and two vehicles outside the new building. Sivert pulled his men up one hundred metres short of the building they alighted in the silence and darkness; there were no street lights just one light in the courtyard of the new building
. The group climbed to the top of the building shell next door which was three storeys high and looked down. Sivert whispered the plan.
"We have two doors front and rear. Wilson you stay up here and cover us. Me and Styles will go in the front, Jackson and Williams the rear. You signal us when we are both in position. Wilson and we go in at the same time. If anyone is seen on the upper roof balcony areas from the second floor you will have to take care of them Wilson, take out their legs and arms in case it’s Al Ahmadi. From Wilson's signal take the doors off with automatic fire and yell Al Ahmadi at the top of your voice when we go in. I'll take the upper floor when we find the stairs and go to helmet radios once we get inside; good luck."
They split into two groups and crept quietly to the doors. Wilson gave the signal and automatic weapon fire and the cry of Al Ahmadi rang through the still quiet night. The two groups could see each other up the hallway in the centre of the building as they stormed in. Sivert broke off climbing the stairs to his left and as he reached the top a bewildered-looking man of Middle Eastern appearance came from one of the doors in the upper hallway with shoulder-length hair and wearing a full length white nightgown. Sivert blinded him with the light from his M16 and knocked him to the ground. Williams checked the other upper rooms and yelled clear. Sivert had pulled the man into the room he came from and was cuffing his arms behind his back; Williams entered and looked around for ID. He retrieved a wallet on the bedside table and they studied the contents in the light. A Kuwaiti driver’s licence with picture in English and Arabic - Al Ahmadi. They checked his features to the picture with a match. Two credit cards bearing the same name and a security card from his own organisation with his name and picture in English.
They began to take him down the stairs, Williams leading using the light from his weapon to pierce the darkness; a short burst of automatic gunfire was heard followed by, "Damn, I've just taken someone out, clear down here now," was heard on the helmet radios. Williams reached the lower hallway to find Styles standing over a man with bleeding legs and Jackson behind him. "He came out of nowhere with a pistol and lined up Jackson I had to put him down, he was about to shoot," explained Styles.
Williams and Styles went briskly back to the vehicles, bringing them to the front of the complex while Sivert and Jackson kept watch from inside the front and back doors. They dragged the two men into the vehicles and when loaded up waited for Wilson to come down from the adjacent roof; the vehicles headed off into the night. Five minutes from the AC 130 Sivert called the pilot to prepare for take off.
The four wheel drive crept into the cargo hold and the ramp began to lift as the plane surged forwards. Sivert asked the crew to secure the targets and man the equalizer cannons then took the controls of the Hercules as it rumbled and banged over the dusty, rough strip and finally lifted from the ground. He headed directly south east along the route he had come climbing to two thousand metres.
"USS Phoenix this is Captain Sivert US Marine Corps do you copy?" Both the Phoenix and the Glasgow went to speaker on the bridge.
"Captain Sivert this is the USS Phoenix we copy."
"Phoenix I am in control of a British AC 130 gunship heading due south east from Failaka Island Kuwait. We have invaluable human cargo and request sea to air support. Coming your way at two thousand metres."
"Captain Sivert this is Captain Miller US Navy. I thought you had a desk job?"
"I got lucky, get us out of here in one piece. I am heading for King Khalid."
"Captain Sivert this is Captain Wheeler HMS Glasgow, we are changing course to assist heading due south west towards the Saudi coast."
"Roger Captain Wheeler we are coming your way." The airways went silent as the Hercules neared its turning point for King Khalid; it made no turn and maintained its heading. The Glasgow's radar operator responded.
"Captain Wheeler this plane’s maintaining course and gaining height sir. It’s way too far south to head for King Khalid."
"Plot its heading, give me any allied installation on its course."
"United Arab Emirates but not on course for anything, Oman don't think he’ll be too keen on landing there, the only place it passes directly across is Diego Garcia sir. Shall I inform Admiralty sir?"
"No, they have broken off radio transmission, they could have informed everyone themselves."
"She's dropped below radar sir I've lost her. Sir we have a squadron of probably Iranian migs tracking south east right on the Iranian side of the border fly line bearing two one five at forty kilometres tracking from Bushehr Air Base."
"Weapons lock and engage surface to air."
"Missile locked on lead aircraft sir."
"Fire."
"I beg your pardon sir."
"Fire, F.I.R.E., fire."
"Missile away sir." There was silence for a while then the radar operator spoke.
"The formation has broken, dispersed and heading back towards Iran sir."
"Self detonate the missile just before it reaches Iran airspace. Find something else to shoot at I want the entire area’s focus on this spot."
"Sir we have three squadrons of unidentified aircraft heading our way out of Oman, two heading out of Saudi, they are offering assistance."
"Pull them in over us, keep them busy."
Sivert had dropped to just above the ground and was busy tracking across the desert of Oman; they had some idea of the ruckus in the gulf due to the masses of radio traffic. Sivert needed another thirty minutes before they got out of Oman air space over the sea and could gain height. By the time the air had been cleared and things settled down the Hercules was clear of the coast and gained height, her next problem was fuel as she would not make the over four thousand kilometres from Kuwait to Garcia. Stanton broke silence four hours and half way into the journey in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
"Garcia Tower this is Captain Sivert do you copy?" the air traffic controller in Garcia tower looked puzzled.
"Captain Sivert this is Garcia."
"Garcia I am tracking direct from Kuwait to Garcia AC 130 gunship request immediate refuel currently four hours out of Garcia, height thirty thousand bearing ten degrees forty minutes north by seventy three degrees twenty one minutes east. Have invaluable cargo, request air support." The controller spoke to the duty supervisor standing in for Sivert while he was away. He was not sure what to do so the air traffic controller, used to Sivert’s voice and manner took the reins.
"Captain Sivert we have a tanker coming in from the east, two hundred and fifty kilometres to starboard drop to fifteen thousand and watch your starboard quarter for visual, estimated dock time thirty five minutes. Two F15s ex Garcia estimated ETA one hour and fifteen minutes."
"Roger Garcia, we’re tired and coming home."
Sivert touched down at Garcia 12.15 pm and the first person he contacted was Stanton. He asked Stanton where he wanted Ahmadi taken to. Stanton gave Ahmadi to Sivert saying the US had more resources than anyone to take action on what they find from him. Stanton explained the extent of the information that he was about to release to journalists and governments around the world, that in time would blaze a trail to the rest of the chain and send the Pakistani government loyalists in the right direction. Sivert was concerned that he would be court marshalled when returning to the States with Ahmadi. Stanton convinced Sivert to wait forty-eight hours before he left and informed the US government he was bringing Ahmadi in. There would be much more chance of a band playing for his reception when he touched down in Washington than a military police squad by that time. Sivert thanked Stanton for giving him the chance of making a decision and doing something he felt made a difference; they hung up.
At the touch of a send button Stanton released a mass of gathered information relevant to the nuclear conspiracy, government documents, names, pictures, video footage, dates, times, bank accounts to name a small part; to western and eastern journalists, western and eastern governments, MI6, the CIA and the FBI. After the information had cleared the
bounce computers in Black Beach Hawaii, Pimba in South Australia and Angel City Florida, Stanton initiated the self destruct codes on the properties security systems and they all burnt to the ground.