War Tides

THE NUMBERS WERE RUNNING DOWN

McCarter didn’t feel they were any closer to eliminating the threat than the moment they stepped foot in this godforsaken desert. Sure, they had some idea of the terrorists’ plans but they didn’t really know where they would hit or how they would do it. And if Phoenix Force failed in their mission, it only increased the chances of the nuclear material getting to its final destination.

The fact remained that Able Team didn’t have any more ability to wage war against the nuclear threat than Phoenix Force. At the end of the day, they had to succeed. Failure wasn’t an option and neither was compromise. This time around, the stakes were high enough that there could only be one outcome for Phoenix Force: absolute victory! Because if David McCarter knew something with certainty, it was this.

Anything less would mean tragic defeat for America and her people.

War Tides

Don Pendleton

STONY MAN® AMERICA’S ULTRA-COVERT INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

Dedicated to the brave warriors of the U.S. Navy SEAL team who rescued American maritime captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates in April 2009.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER ONE

Washington, D.C.

At just after 0400 hours on a cold Thursday morning, four FBI agents hustled Dr. Philip Stout from his offices at the U.S. Navy shipyard into a waiting government SUV.

The reason for Dr. Stout’s visit to an emergency session of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was highly classified. None of the agents strayed beyond the polite conversation required by their jobs. Still, it didn’t take an advanced science degree like one of several possessed by Stout to guess that his visit likely had to do with the contents of the briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. Inside the reinforced-aluminum box were secrets so classified not a single one of the agents escorting Stout to the Pentagon had a security clearance high enough to know even the nature of its contents.

Not that they needed to. Their job was simple: transport the doctor from the shipyard to the Pentagon and keep him alive in transit.

As far as Philip Stout was concerned, the four men assigned to protect him were better off not knowing the things he knew. Stout had spent the past eight years of his career developing a prototype for the U.S. Navy, and he was about to deliver all of its secrets to the Joint Chiefs. In some ways, it made Stout feel like the member of a transplant team who had to get a badly needed heart across town with only a small window of opportunity. In some respects, it wasn’t that far from the truth. If the secrets he carried with him fell into enemy hands, it could well mean a whole new day of terror for America.

And while the FBI agents accompanying him may or may not have realized that, they did realize the importance of protecting him. Especially when their SUV stopped at an intersection a mere seven blocks from their destination and two black nondescript vans suddenly appeared in the deserted intersection.

It took only a moment for the agents and Stout to realize the intent of the passengers who poured from the backs of the two vans. They wore urban-camouflage fatigues, black hoods with red headbands, and toted SMGs. The agent riding shotgun rolled down his window as he ordered the driver to take evasive action. He reached into his jacket and withdrew a Glock pistol, leaned out the window and snapped off a few rounds. The resistance proved to be short-lived when the driver, while in the course of executing a J-turn, smashed into a massive garbage truck that had appeared out of nowhere. The truck was one of the front-loading types designed to pick up commercial Dumpsters, and one of its large steel bars punched through the SUV’s rear door with the screech of wrenched, torn metal and cracked glass.

A low rumbling emanated from the truck a moment later, the droning sound of hydraulics reverberating through the SUV’s cab. The thrumming sound hurt Philip Stout’s eardrums as the SUV began to tip forward and its rear wheels rose off the ground. Pandemonium erupted when the two agents seated on either side of him turned and began to fire their pistols at the truck. Unfortunately their efforts were in vain because the SUV continued to tip forward and soon they had to give up firing in favor of holding on to the rear seat.

Stout and the driver fared better than the rest of the occupants as they were still seat-belted in place. The two agents in back with Stout were soon clinging to their seats for dear life, their feet actually dangling in midair while they tried to hold on. Then the vehicle flipped off the steel bar of the garbage truck, the front end now providing a pivot point that dumped the SUV onto its roof.

The agent riding shotgun in the front seat screamed as his arm became pinned under the weight of the vehicle. The agents with Stout had ended up on their backs, and were trying to right themselves when the doors swung open to reveal a swarm of hooded gunmen. One of the agents reacted with incredible speed. He brought his pistol into view, snap-aimed at the closest gunman and squeezed the trigger. The report of the gunshot was deafening in the confined space, but it proved effective as the round struck the agent’s target in the chest and knocked him off his feet.

A heartbeat passed and Stout’s world suddenly came alive with the raucous, brutal cacophony of autofire. Stout shuddered amid the maelstrom of burned gunpowder, bright flashes and ear-shattering reports from a half dozen SMGs. But none of the rounds found his flesh. The firestorm of violence ended as suddenly as it had begun and left only ringing and dulled senses in its wake. Amid the searing odor of cordite, Stout detected just a whiff of blood. Lots of blood.

Before Stout could decide what to do next, rough hands cut free the seat belt and then dragged him from the SUV. Stout considered resisting but then realized it wouldn’t do him any good. Well-trained and armed FBI agents had been unable to repel these aggressors, so to even attempt such an escapade, being unarmed and unprepared, wouldn’t have been the act of either a wise or educated man.

And Philip Stout considered himself both above all else.

Stout looked into the eyes of the man he assumed to be the leader. They were dark eyes, eyes that burned with hatred and the fires of fanaticism. Stout had seen them before, eyes that belonged to men who were driven by something much deeper than mere political or religious conviction. That was a mistake so many Americans made. To think that terrorists were really interested in furthering the cause of any one group or religion bore inherent dangers. No, men like this were not driven by such trivial considerations. They considered the eradication or subjugation of those who did not subscribe to their same personal codes of belief as the paramount goal of their activities.

Before Stout could even inquire as to the man’s intent, another one of the terrorists grabbed his arm and held it out in front of him. The shiny steel manacles dangled in the streetlights for only a moment. And then, oddly, they were no longer visible and the burning sensation that followed seemed to take a very long time to reach Stout’s brain. That’s when it registered that the reason he no longer saw the cuffs dangling was that they were no longer attached to his wrist.

And that was because he no longer had a wrist.

Stout looked down and saw his hand, still twitching slightly, lying on the street directly in front of his shoes. He let out a scream even as he looked up and into the eyes of the terrorist one more time. His eyes had changed shape, crinkling at the corners, and Stout realized the man was smiling beneath that mask. Next to him, he held up a very long, sharp object—some kind of sword—coated with just a patina of sticky redness about midpoint along its length. Stout opened his mouth to scream again.

It would be his last scream.

CHAPTER TWO

The noonday sun had long cleared away the gray winter clouds by the time the three men of Able Team arrived on the scene.

Carl “Ironman” Lyons, Able Team’s leader, stood with arms folded and studied the wrecked Ford Expedition with cold blue eyes. Lyons wore tan slacks and button-down shirt with tie beneath his brown leather jacket. On his belt he wore the badge of an FBI agent, visible to any of the real FBI personnel who might scrutinize him, but the .357 Magnum Colt Python revolver remained concealed in shoulder leather beneath his left armpit. Lyons gave the scene one more look and then ran his hand through his thin blond hair.

A shorter man with light brown hair, brown eyes and a mustache walked up and stopped beside him. Lyons glanced for a moment at the profile of Hermann Schwarz. Known among his colleagues as “Gadgets” for his wizardry in electronics, particularly countersurveillance technology, Schwarz had been friends with Lyons for more years than either of them could remember.

“Well?” Lyons inquired.

Schwarz shrugged. “I did an inspection of both the SUV and the surrounding area. Whatever did the damage to that vehicle wasn’t any kind of an explosive device. There’s all sorts of paint transfer along the back, like a neon orange color.”

Lyons furrowed his brow. “Like maybe on a city truck?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Before Lyons could ask any more questions, a third man joined their huddle. He had gray-white hair, black eyes and a husky build, but it was a mistake to assume there was any flab in that physique. Rosario “Politician” Blancanales exchanged glances with his comrades, and Lyons could tell just by the look on his face he didn’t have any better news. Given Blancanales’s unique talents for diplomacy, Lyons had let his friend handle the inquiries with the other agents investigating the scene, as well as the forensics team. A half dozen agencies were represented, and neither Lyons nor Schwarz had the patience to deal with all the red tape. That left Blancanales as the optimal choice.

“What is it?” Lyons asked Blancanales.

“I’m afraid it isn’t much is what it is,” Blancanales said.

Schwarz chuckled. “Sounds a bit like a Buddhist riddle.”

“Only not as easy to solve. I talked to everybody who’s anybody on this case. Nobody has the first clue what’s going on or why this happened.”

Lyons shrugged and splayed his hands. “Well, we already know that much. Hal and Barb gave us the likely motive in this morning’s briefing. Were you sleeping during that part?”

ABLE TEAM had been at Stony Man Farm for a training exercise when the call came from the Oval Office to activate them. It took only fifteen minutes to get from the training grounds to the War Room in the basement of the old farmhouse, where Hal Brognola opened the briefing with a chilling statement.

“It would seem that some unknown party has laid their hands on the plans for a new prototype submarine being developed for the United States Navy.” Brognola then looked at Barbara Price and prompted her with a nod.

The Stony Man mission controller fingered a strand of her honey-blond hair behind her ear before saying, “Approximately three hours ago, four federal agents and a military scientist from the Washington Naval Yard were ambushed in downtown D.C. on their way to the Pentagon. Aaron?”

The other man in the room, a big and burly type despite being confined to a wheelchair, was Aaron “the Bear” Kurtzman. The Stony Man cybernetics genius tapped a key on the terminal board in front of him, and an overhead projector displayed the face of a young, wiry-haired man in a business suit.

Simultaneously the lights dimmed and Price continued her narrative. “That’s Dr. Philip Stout, a specialist in the construction of nuclear-powered naval ships. Six years ago he graduated with his doctorate from MIT, an education he’d won on a scholarship after almost twenty-five years as a submarine officer. The vessel he designed was under a direct nod from the Secretary of the Navy and the Department of Defense.”

Brognola interjected, “You should probably know that this vessel is more than just another submarine. It’s a superweapon designed to carry a very small crew complement, penetrate enemy waters and deliver a first-strike nuclear payload.”

“And according to the information we received from the President, Dr. Stout was on his way to a meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon to present the plans for the prototype,” Price said.

“Okay, question,” Lyons said. “I thought America had entered into a strict policy of nuclear nonproliferation.”

Price nodded. “They have, but with the continuing threat from nations like Iran and North Korea, not to mention the increased terrorist activity around the world since we first invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, there are certain elements within the DOD that insist on a backup plan. And apparently the President has agreed to this.”

“But only as a backup plan,” Brognola added.

“What about this attack?” Blancanales asked. “We have any suspects?”

Price shook her head. “Not yet, but we’re working on it. It seems pretty obvious to us, though, that we’re dealing with a terrorist organization of some kind.”

“What makes you think so?” Lyons asked.

“First, the attack was extremely well organized. It was done very early in the morning in a place where there were no witnesses and no emergency services close enough to render timely help. Second, whoever coordinated this attack obviously knew a good number of details, not only about this meeting and the route the FBI had planned out, but also relative to Stout’s work on this new prototype.”

“When you say prototype, are we to assume that they’ve already built this thing?” Hermann Schwarz inquired.

“Not insofar as we know,” Brognola answered.

“I don’t get it,” Lyons said. He shrugged and added, “I mean, what’s so special about this particular submarine?”

Price said, “It’s called a Fast-Attack Covert Operations Submarine, or FACOS. Its crew complement is only six men and it boasts an underwater speed nearly twice that of any conventional submarine currently in use around the world. It can deliver up to four nuclear warheads at ten megatons each. Its size makes it nearly impervious to any antisubmarine defenses and its footprint is generally too small to trigger most surveillance systems presently in use.”

Blancanales let out a long, low whistle. “What’ll they think of next?”

“Exactly,” Brognola said. “This gives you some idea why we’re concerned. If the plans for this prototype fall into the hands of any terrorist organization with significant resources, such as al Qaeda, the show is over for the free world.”

Price continued, “Even if a terrorist organization didn’t have the resources to build the FACOS, they could easily sell it to the highest bidder in trade for nuclear material. That would permit them to create dirty bombs or even begin exploring techniques for manufacturing nuclear fission devices. We can’t let that happen.”

“No argument there,” Schwarz said.

“So what’s the mission?” Lyons asked.

“You’ll be posing as FBI agents attached to Homeland Security,” Price answered. “You are to learn everything you can about the incident this morning, pick up the trail of its perpetrators and follow that wherever it leads you.”

“And if we find out it is terrorists?” Lyons asked.

“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.