War Tides

“Then you have carte blanche to do whatever needs to be done to neutralize the threat,” Brognola replied. “The only caveat is that if you can’t recover the plans for the prototype, then you’re to destroy them and anyone who’s laid eyes on them.”

THE THREE MEN of Able Team had understood that order, and the potential consequences that might come from having to execute it. While they weren’t exactly keen on involving potentially innocent bystanders, they understood that the mission went well beyond the standard “terminate with extreme prejudice” clause. They were dealing with a critical threat: the potential of the design of a nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed warship that could be turned against the entire free world. So it didn’t exactly come as a comfort when Lyons heard the news from Blancanales and Schwarz that they weren’t any closer to identifying the enemy.

Before they could engage in any further discussion, a uniformed police officer approached them. “Are you guys with that Homeland Security task force?”

“Maybe,” Lyons replied.

“Well, if you are, there’s a guy from the D.C. traffic safety department in that big truck over there.” The officer pointed to a large white panel truck parked just beyond the yellow police tape used to cordon the area. “Says he wants to talk to somebody from the FBI.”

“That would be us,” Blancanales said with a smile at his two cohorts.

Able Team accompanied the officer to the panel truck and ascended the makeshift steps leading into the back. As they crowded inside, one of the two technicians wearing headphones and seated in front of several small monitors took the earpieces from his head and smiled.

“Morning, boys,” he said, extending a hand to shake each of theirs. “The name’s Grant. I’m a technician with the TSD and I think I have something you can use.”

With that, Grant turned in his seat and began to run some type of video on the monitor as the three men leaned closer. “Late last year,” Grant said, “the city implemented a new traffic safety program. Basically, we had an increase of traffic accidents at intersections so we put in a camera system at those areas with the highest numbers of incidents. That intersection out there was one of them.”

“Don’t tell me,” Lyons said. “You got all this on video?”

Grant shook his head. “No, not all of it but a small snippet—about twelve seconds to be exact. You see, the cameras are timed to take a picture any time a vehicle runs a red light or is detected speeding through an intersection. However, we also capture a video of the infraction because as soon as the light turns yellow, the system is set up to start performing a digital capture. It’s not admissible in court, but it does help the officers reviewing the photographs to make a positive determination as to whether on infraction actually occurred.”

“That’s all fascinating, pal,” Lyons said. “But we’re not really interested in what is or isn’t admissible in court.”

Blancanales obviously saw the potential for conflict and immediately stepped in with a pleasant chuckle. “Pay no attention to him, Grant. He’s always grumpy when he doesn’t get breakfast. I think what you’re trying to say is that you didn’t get the entire incident but did get about twelve seconds of it.”

Grant nodded enthusiastically, obviously not offended by Lyons’s brusqueness. “Yeah, it looks like whoever made that mess out there was too occupied to realize they were getting caught on candid camera.”

The Able Team warriors turned their focus to the video and watched with fascination as men in camouflage fatigues and black hoods with red bands burst from the back of a van. Fortunately, not only did they now have a description of the aggressors, but also the license plate shone clearly enough that they would likely be able to run a trace. After watching the twelve-second segment a couple of times, the trio exchanged knowing glances.

“Has anybody else seen this yet?” Lyons asked Grant.

The technician shook his head. “Nope, you’re the first.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

“Do you have a secure feed-transfer capability on this video?” Schwarz asked.

Grant smiled. “Of course!”

Schwarz then looked at his teammates and said, “Well, ain’t that just dandy.”

WITHIN AN HOUR of transferring the video segment to Aaron Kurtzman and his team of cybernetics wizards, Able Team was headed for an address on the south side of Washington, D.C. As Blancanales drove, Lyons and Schwarz rode in back of the specially equipped van that sported the latest technology in surveillance, electronic countermeasures and communications. They were engaged with Brognola and Price in a video conference facilitated by Stony Man’s dedicated satellite uplink systems.

“We think we finally know who the assailants are,” Price announced. “They call themselves the IUA, short for the Intiqam-ut-Allah.”

“Never heard of them,” Lyons replied.

“Loosely translated, the name means ‘the Revenge of Allah,’” Brognola offered helpfully.

“They’re a relatively new group, a radical cell that grew up from al Qaeda and finally split off when their numbers got large enough,” Price continued.

Schwarz snorted. “Oh, as if al Qaeda wasn’t radical enough.”

“What’s their angle, this IUA?” Lyons asked.

Price replied. “Murder, mayhem and terror wherever they can spread it.”

“In other words, the usual.”

“Yes. They are fundamentally an Islamic extremist group, interested only in the conversion of all peoples to their religion. Anyone not willing to convert ends up on the shortlist for termination and especially us heathen, capitalist dogs here in the United States.”

“Any idea how many we could be dealing with?”

“Not yet,” Brognola said. “This particular group hasn’t taken a whole lot of credit for terrorist acts around the world, which is interesting only due to the fact there are some significant incidents recently attributed to them by world opinion. They were especially prolific in Pakistan, India and some African countries. But their biggest impact has been recent events in Iraq. They have even taken on those terrorist groups with very similar platforms.”

“That’s odd,” Schwarz remarked.

“Yes, we thought so, too,” Price said. “But our intelligence, while scant, is pretty accurate.”

“Doesn’t sound like they play well with others,” Lyons said.

“Whatever the case, you’re to proceed with all haste but extreme caution. Understood?”

“Gotcha,” Lyons said.

“Jawohl!” Schwarz said.

“Muy bueno!” Blancanales added from the driver’s seat.

Price pursed her lips and shook her head with resignation before signing off.

“I don’t think she’s much on our sense of humor,” Schwarz said.

“Speak for yourself,” Lyons replied.

With that, the Able Team leader turned toward the armory. There wasn’t any reason not to take Stony Man’s intelligence at face value. If Price and Brognola were convinced that the IUA was extremely dangerous, then that was good enough for Able Team. Lyons opened a slide-away panel that released by punching in a code on the keypad set in the face of the heavily armored weapons safe.

“What’s your pleasure?” he asked Schwarz.

“I’ll take the G-11.”

A good choice indeed, Lyons noted. Manufactured by Heckler & Koch, the G-11 sported a fifty-round magazine positioned horizontally above the barrel. It chambered 4.7 x 33 mm DE11 caseless cartridges, which eliminated the need for any extraction or ejection mechanism and this minimized muzzle rise. This in turn provided a tremendous increase in first-hit probability, particularly in the hands of a marksman like Schwarz.

Blancanales called for the Beretta SCS-70/90. This weapon only differed from the assault rifle version by sporting a folding, tubular metal butt and slightly shorter barrel. Blancanales preferred it for these features in addition to the fact it fired 5.56 x 45 mm NATO rounds at a cyclic rate of six hundred rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity exceeding 900 meters per second.

Lyons decided a combat shotgun would not do this time, and opted for a trusted M-16 A-3/M-203 combo. He’d grown accustomed to earlier variants of this weapon while serving on the LAPD, and come to appreciate it over the years for its reliability and accuracy. Not to mention that if they were going up against some terrorist hardasses, the Able Team leader wanted some extra oomph in his arsenal, which the M-203 grenade launcher promised to provide.

Each of the Able Team warriors also carried his preferred sidearm and plenty of extra ammo. They weren’t expecting trouble—assuming the terrorists had done what they came to do and were probably long gone—but they were damn sure ready for it.