Close Quarters

“Did you say guessing?” McCarter said. “You, luv?”

“I know,” replied a booming voice from the door of the War Room. “Isn’t it a shocker?”

Though the man who came through the doorway was in a wheelchair, nobody would mistake that for weakness. Aaron “the Bear” Kurtzman didn’t just fill the role of technical wizard for Stony Man; his intelligence and prowess had literally saved the lives of every team member more times than anybody could count. Kurtzman had a way of pulling off technical feats like a magician pulled a live rabbit out of a hat, and that had paid off many times over.

“You can blame me for our lack of information,” Kurtzman replied. He looked at Price and added, “Sorry I’m late.”

Price nodded. “Did you learn anything else?”

“Nothing definite but some patterns emerged from a software algorithm Akira and I wrote to scan travel documents into and out of South America, particularly around Paraguay. It seems there’s been an increasing number of Muslim visitors. Now supposedly they came in and later left, but there were some inconsistencies we didn’t really like so we’re digging deeper into those patterns. They’re complex, however, so it’s going to take time. For now we can conclude that this paramilitary force, if nothing else, is not comprised of native South Americans.”

“You’re suggesting Muslim terrorists?” Manning asked.

As a former member of the Canadian RCMP and recipient of training with GSG 9—the federal anti-terrorist police unit in Germany—Manning boasted expertise on the many terrorist groups in the world. He also had a clear grasp of their various methods of operation, something that resulted in an almost bloodhound instinct for global terrorist activity.

“We think it’s possible,” Price said.

“And the President agrees with our assessment, which is why we’re sending you down to Paraguay immediately,” Brognola said. “We don’t have much, I know, but we think it’s enough that we want to get in front of this thing. I’d hate to be caught with our pants down because we weren’t being as proactive as we could have been.”

“It surprises me the Man wants to send us this soon,” McCarter said. “But I agree. I’d rather be prepared than wait for further incidents to prove your theory.”

“Do we have any idea which terrorist group might be operating there?” Encizo asked.

“If I had to venture a guess, I’d say either Hezbollah or New Islamic Front,” Manning said.

“Which in any case spells al Qaeda,” Hawkins remarked.

James sighed. “Doesn’t it always seem to spell al Qaeda?”

“Not always,” Hawkins said with a shrug. “Occasionally we get some terrorists who like to be original. Remember the IUA?”

Indeed they did. The Intiqam ut Allah, or Revenge of Allah, had stolen the plans to a new U.S. fast-attack nuclear submarine and built duplicates right under the noses of Americans. The battle to stop them had stretched from South Carolina to Africa and nearly cost the lives of every member on the team.

“Whoever they are, they’re obviously dangerous and whether an Islamic terrorist force or simply a band of Islamic fanatics getting support from other organized groups, they have to be stopped,” Brognola said.

“Your mission is to pick up where the NSA investigation left off,” Price told them. “Your contact in Asunción will be Brad Russell, the SIGINT analyst who conducted the initial inquiry. He’s been instructed to give you his full cooperation and not to ask questions.”

“Hopefully not just another run-of-the-mill spook ruined by political bureaucracy,” McCarter said.

“I’ve spoken with my contacts at the NSA and they tell me he’s top shelf.” Price smiled. “Just be your usually charming and cordial self. Russell’s a hard-line patriot who’ll give you the shirt off his back. He’s also a one-man geekfest so you’ll have every technical advantage at your disposal.” She glanced at Kurtzman with a wink and said, “Present company excluded, of course.”

“Back at you, girlfriend,” Kurtzman said, the reply very uncharacteristic when matched against the masculine bass in his voice.

* * *

MCCARTER SMILED IN RECOLLECTION at Kurtzman’s droll retort before the sudden waver as the engines revved in preparation for landing at a small airfield near Asunción.

“Prepare for landing, boys,” Grimaldi’s voice called over the cabin intercom. “Tray tables up, seat backs in their locked and upright positions…blah, blah, blah.”

This brought a chuckle or two from the roused Phoenix Force members.

They could’ve landed at one of the major airports, but McCarter had opted to go in using more covert means. Any public display would have attracted unwanted attention. Grimaldi had filed a flight plan with the Paraguayan government with a request from the U.S. Embassy to not pay much attention to the flight, a request that they’d chosen to honor in light of the recent events. The last thing they needed was for seventeen missing Peace Corps volunteers, possibly seized by a terrorist group, to leak. The press would eat it up—the situation would turn overnight from a private nightmare into a very public one.

That was the reason they’d decided to keep Harland under the spotlight, as well.

The Gulfstream C-38 had just rolled to a stop when the onboard phone next to McCarter’s seat signaled for attention. The engines whined down even as he picked it up. “Yeah.”

“David,” Price’s voice replied. “We just got notification from Able Team. Somebody tried to kill Harland.”

“Oh, that’s lovely,” McCarter said. “I take it Ironman and friends pulled his bacon out of the fire?”

“Barely, but yes. We also just got word from the Man and his morning CIA briefing. Somebody has apparently come forward and identified our mysterious paramilitary group. Looks like Bear’s theory panned out.”

“Who’re we dealing with?” McCarter asked.

“It’s a training contingent of Hezbollah under the leadership of an elite paramilitary unit inside of Iran…the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.”

“Bloody hell,” McCarter mumbled. “Why would the IRGC have any interest training terrorists in South America?”

“For one thing, they’ve had economic and soft power in the region for quite some time. Due to Paraguay’s large production of soybeans, these food exports are vitally important to Iran’s stability more than ever after the embargos, injunctions and other economic sanctions the UN’s leveled against them.”

“Yeah, Ahmadinejad’s not known for his working and playing well with others.”

“That’s only half the news,” Price said. “The other half is that this individual who approached some agents in Tehran indicated the Muslim cleric group of power in Iran, known commonly as Pasdaran, plans to make their move against Ahmadinejad soon. We’re talking a religious coup inside the country of incomprehensible proportions.”

“Do I smell a change in plans?”

“Not for you. Your mission is the same as before but we wanted you to have a better idea of what you’re up against. We’ll be taking care of the rest of this through Able Team.”

“And how exactly do you plan to do that, if I might be so bold as to inquire?”

“We’re sending them to Tehran to handle the matter personally,” Price replied.

“Wait. Let me make sure I just heard you correctly. You’re sending Able Team into Iran?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, bloody hell,” McCarter said. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Well, the decision’s already been made by the President, and Hal’s in complete agreement with it. I had my own reservations but it didn’t seem like the issue was up for debate so I’m going along with it. For now anyway.”

“Have you told them yet?”

“No, we’re still trying to sort out the details regarding Harland and who to hand him off to. This just isn’t a contingency we saw coming until now.”

“All right, then, thanks for keeping me in the loop. And, Barb?”

“Yes, David.”