region.
He checked the operations queue for all satellites in this area over the next six hours. Only one was in range—the same KH-14–2 that had recorded the recent coverage—but it was currently in use for a high-priority operation.
‘We won’t have the luxury of live satellite coverage,’ Denton told Grace, ‘so you’ll have to find them the hard way.’
‘Yes, Colonel.’
‘Do you have any leads?’
‘We suspect the defective operatives crossed the river either by boat, ferry or possibly by swimming. It would be logical for them to steal a vehicle and continue on a northeast bearing.’
‘Into the mountains,’ Denton said.
‘Difficult for us to ambush by vehicle. It’s a clever way for them to slow us down. We’ve placed a blocking party in just before the north border. We have four helicopters searching vehicle routes. There aren’t many, so it won’t take long to find them.’
Denton zoomed in to inspect the Land Cruiser’s location. ‘I think you’re wrong.’
There was a moment’s silence. ‘Colonel?’
‘They’re not heading for the north border,’ he said. ‘They’re still moving west. They’re heading deeper inside Iran, you halfwit. Move your—’
He stopped, realizing the implications of what he’d just said. The defective operatives were heading for the holy city of Qom, right near a subterranean former military base the spy satellite was queued up for. The same former military base that a US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber was soon to take out with a GBU-28 bunker-buster bomb—the Fifth Column’s planned retaliation for the suicide bombing.
Sophia and her team were walking right into the middle of a 2.5 ton bomb.
Chapter 4
‘We could hand ourselves in,’ Damien said. ‘We don’t know for sure they’d kill us.’
‘It’s happened to other operatives,’ Sophia said. ‘What makes you so special?’
‘You’re the teacher’s pet, Soph,’ Jay said from the driver’s seat. ‘If anyone survives, it would be you.’
‘I’m not interested in testing that theory,’ Sophia said.
‘Then what are you interested in?’ Jay said.
She watched as he steered their newly procured brick-on-wheels hospital bus over a long bridge and into a tunnel that ran deep inside a mountain.
‘Getting into Tehran, blending in and holing up,’ she said. ‘There’s a budget hostel on Amir Kabir Street that has dial-up internet and kettles that boil water. It’s basic but it’ll do us. We get a double room and bunker in as American backpackers.’
‘Again,’ Damien said.
The bus crawled up the steep tunnel, churning through second gear.
‘And then what?’ Jay said.
Sophia checked the rear-vision mirror. There was a fire truck starting up the tunnel behind them. It seemed to be having just as frustrating a time as they were.
‘Consider another career,’ she said. ‘Can you paint, Jay?’
‘With a sniper rifle.’
Sophia spotted a Humvee entering the mouth of the tunnel ahead of them. ‘Twelve o’clock.’
‘Fuckers!’ Jay said. ‘Get down. And my face is showing—give me a scarf or something.’
‘I don’t think they’ll go too hard on your fashion sense,’ Damien said.
Sophia took her eyes off the Humvee just long enough to check the rear-vision mirror. Even if they could reverse and get around the fire truck, the Humvee would outrun them. She could see the fire truck had turned around. It was heading back onto the bridge, water leaking from its fire hose. She looked back at the approaching Humvee. It pulled up broadside, window down. Javelin fire-and-forget missile launcher.
Jay hit the brakes. ‘Forget the scarf.’
‘Get to the back,’ Sophia said. ‘Now!’
She scrambled to the rear of the bus, Damien two steps ahead.
Jay stayed in the driver’s seat. He threw the bus into reverse. Its right side scraped the tunnel, whipped around, its left side exposed to the Humvee. She didn’t hear the missile launch, but knew in a tunnel
He checked the operations queue for all satellites in this area over the next six hours. Only one was in range—the same KH-14–2 that had recorded the recent coverage—but it was currently in use for a high-priority operation.
‘We won’t have the luxury of live satellite coverage,’ Denton told Grace, ‘so you’ll have to find them the hard way.’
‘Yes, Colonel.’
‘Do you have any leads?’
‘We suspect the defective operatives crossed the river either by boat, ferry or possibly by swimming. It would be logical for them to steal a vehicle and continue on a northeast bearing.’
‘Into the mountains,’ Denton said.
‘Difficult for us to ambush by vehicle. It’s a clever way for them to slow us down. We’ve placed a blocking party in just before the north border. We have four helicopters searching vehicle routes. There aren’t many, so it won’t take long to find them.’
Denton zoomed in to inspect the Land Cruiser’s location. ‘I think you’re wrong.’
There was a moment’s silence. ‘Colonel?’
‘They’re not heading for the north border,’ he said. ‘They’re still moving west. They’re heading deeper inside Iran, you halfwit. Move your—’
He stopped, realizing the implications of what he’d just said. The defective operatives were heading for the holy city of Qom, right near a subterranean former military base the spy satellite was queued up for. The same former military base that a US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber was soon to take out with a GBU-28 bunker-buster bomb—the Fifth Column’s planned retaliation for the suicide bombing.
Sophia and her team were walking right into the middle of a 2.5 ton bomb.
Chapter 4
‘We could hand ourselves in,’ Damien said. ‘We don’t know for sure they’d kill us.’
‘It’s happened to other operatives,’ Sophia said. ‘What makes you so special?’
‘You’re the teacher’s pet, Soph,’ Jay said from the driver’s seat. ‘If anyone survives, it would be you.’
‘I’m not interested in testing that theory,’ Sophia said.
‘Then what are you interested in?’ Jay said.
She watched as he steered their newly procured brick-on-wheels hospital bus over a long bridge and into a tunnel that ran deep inside a mountain.
‘Getting into Tehran, blending in and holing up,’ she said. ‘There’s a budget hostel on Amir Kabir Street that has dial-up internet and kettles that boil water. It’s basic but it’ll do us. We get a double room and bunker in as American backpackers.’
‘Again,’ Damien said.
The bus crawled up the steep tunnel, churning through second gear.
‘And then what?’ Jay said.
Sophia checked the rear-vision mirror. There was a fire truck starting up the tunnel behind them. It seemed to be having just as frustrating a time as they were.
‘Consider another career,’ she said. ‘Can you paint, Jay?’
‘With a sniper rifle.’
Sophia spotted a Humvee entering the mouth of the tunnel ahead of them. ‘Twelve o’clock.’
‘Fuckers!’ Jay said. ‘Get down. And my face is showing—give me a scarf or something.’
‘I don’t think they’ll go too hard on your fashion sense,’ Damien said.
Sophia took her eyes off the Humvee just long enough to check the rear-vision mirror. Even if they could reverse and get around the fire truck, the Humvee would outrun them. She could see the fire truck had turned around. It was heading back onto the bridge, water leaking from its fire hose. She looked back at the approaching Humvee. It pulled up broadside, window down. Javelin fire-and-forget missile launcher.
Jay hit the brakes. ‘Forget the scarf.’
‘Get to the back,’ Sophia said. ‘Now!’
She scrambled to the rear of the bus, Damien two steps ahead.
Jay stayed in the driver’s seat. He threw the bus into reverse. Its right side scraped the tunnel, whipped around, its left side exposed to the Humvee. She didn’t hear the missile launch, but knew in a tunnel
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