They waited until Dima and Gil came back with the five packs of aluminum poles the team had carried into Lebanon. Farzat followed with three rifles and four heavy bags hanging from his shoulders. Nir had been recovering in the back of the truck, but he quickly jumped out and met the 504 man in the courtyard. He lifted three of the bags from the man, asking, “Is there anything in these that will blow me up?”
“Blow you up? No,” Farzat answered as they began moving toward the truck again. “Others? We’ll see.”
“You’ve got to move now. We don’t know how far out the enemy is,” Nicole warned.
Stavro reached his hand outside the truck and slammed on the door several times. “Is everyone in?” he called out in Arabic.
“Go,” answered Nir.
Stavro punched the accelerator and the engine revved, but they didn’t move.
“Come on! Drive!” Yaron was in the cab sitting between the 504 man and Imri. He sounded desperate to take the wheel.
“I’m trying!” The gears ground as the man worked them back and forth. When he hit the accelerator again, the truck began to inch ahead. Slowly, the vehicle built up speed until they were nearly up to traffic level.
“Make a left! Left back into the hills,” Nicole called. Stavro obeyed.
“Either of you still have an extra coms unit?” Nir asked Dima and Gil. The Russian pulled out a black case. “Give it to Farzat.”
The gunfire had pulled a lot of people from their homes. Nir held his rifle at the ready, but it didn’t seem as though anyone ahead was armed.
Nicole came back on. “Send up the second UAV so that I can follow you guys while Liora watches the house.”
The truck slowed, then Imri put his hand out of the passenger window. A drone whizzed up into the air.
“Okay, I’ve got you guys. Keep going forward, up into the hills.”
After about three minutes, Liora picked up the narration. “I’ve spotted the convoy. Six vehicles, three heavy. The troop trucks are open. All three are deuce-and-a-halves. Not fully packed. I’m counting six or seven a side, so say about 40 total. The other three are…what are those? Ivecos?”
Efraim answered, “Affirmative. Iveco LMVs. Each has a heavy gun on top. Can’t tell yet what the caliber is, but it’s ugly.”
“Turn left! Left!” Nicole yelled. The truck swerved, and the four men in the back slammed against the side of the bed. “Sorry about that. Keep going straight. There are hills ahead.”
“The lady is going to hurt us,” said Farzat, rubbing the side of his head. “This road will take us toward Dmit. It is a good choice.”
A few minutes later, Liora reported. “They’ve arrived at the house. Two trucks are unloading. I’m betting it won’t be long before they find the tunnel…wait for it…there it is. Everyone is running back toward the truck. Now, they’re starting to roll.”
“Got it,” said Nir. “Are they coming our way?” Nir figured that at least one of the people watching from their house had to have Hezbollah ties, although he hoped they’d get lucky and everyone would keep their mouths shut.
There was a pause. “Turning left,” said Liora. A couple minutes later, she added, “They’re turning up the Dmit road.”
Yaron spoke up. “Not good. We can’t get more than sixty kilometers per hour out of this. A squadron on a pack of mules could catch us.”
Nir asked, “CARL, how much of a lead do we have on them?”
“If they know where you are, I’d say ten minutes max. If they have to look for you, maybe a little more,” answered Liora.
“Hey Efraim, if there’s any air cover in the vicinity, it would be nice to get a visit,” said Nir.
“I’ll see what I can do,” answered Efraim.
They had just executed a switchback, their second. As their angle increased, their speed did the opposite. He looked ahead over the roof of the truck at the smattering of small homes just ahead. When he did, he saw a pile of trash on the side of the road.
It seemed out of place. Random.
“Swerve right! Swerve right!” he cried.
Stavro pulled hard on the wheel. Still, when the IED went off, it was enough to lift the back of the truck and toss the four men through the air and onto the hard dirt below.