CHAPTER 16

The moon rose in the Bohemian sky, casting a hazy glow on the forest. Usually nighttime travelers welcomed such illumination, but for a stealth mission, it was clearly less favorable. For the last twenty minutes, the team had been trekking in contemplative silence. The undergrowth and damp soil muffled the sound of their footsteps. Bringing Branislav had proved to be a smart decision. In fact, the reporter had become pack leader and was shepherding his friends at a decent pace up the steep footpaths.

As the caboose, Eytan watched the young man forge ahead with his little flashlight. Both agents had objected to his using it. They wanted to remain as discreet as possible. But he had insisted. “I already look like an ass in this mask. I’m not going to sprain an ankle for your amusement too.”

It was a convincing argument, considering the terrain. They even let him ditch the balaclava—temporarily.

The Kidon was keeping an eye on Elena. Her behavior was erratic, mysterious, and unpredictable. At times she was withdrawn, and at other times she was fully engaged. She was impatient and downright dangerous. He hadn’t forgotten her promise to take him out once their mission was over. She was also capable of deluding people into thinking she had compassion. Eytan was annoyed to see Branislav gallantly holding aside the shrub and tree branches for her. Then she would sadistically let them snap back and hit him in the face.

Half an hour after the start of their hike, they were out of the forest and had reached the summit of a green hill. The location offered a sweeping view of the valley, which was intersected by a small stream.

Eytan stopped and carefully placed his bag at his feet. He unzipped it and took out a gun.

“I’m going to scout the area. Wait here,” he ordered, handing the pistol to Elena.

“Do you trust me, 302?” she asked, sliding her hand over the weapon.

“I’m not going to waste my energy babysitting you. Either kill me, or do what I say.”

And with that, he hiked off.

Elena took out the magazine and checked the contents. Satisfied, she reassembled the weapon and slipped the pistol into her belt.

“So that’s how secret agents joke around?” Branislav asked hesitantly.

“What?”

The woman didn’t seem to understand the question.

“You call him by a number, not his name. He says he doesn’t have time to babysit you, and he invites you to kill him. Looks to me like you guys have that Odd Couple routine down pat.”

Elena smiled. Just because she was forced to collaborate with the Israeli agent, she didn’t have to make his life easy.

“Eytan is not my partner. He’s my guard. We’re not colleagues. We’re enemies. I’ve been assigned to kill him. The number is not any type of ID. It’s his guinea pig number. So that should clear up your little misunderstanding over what we are to each other.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Does it look like I am?”

“I can’t tell. By your face, I’d say no, not really, but…”

Elena was growing tired of the conversation. She turned away from Branislav. “Sit down and shut up before I’m tempted to show you what secret agents really laugh about.”

Branislav obeyed without objection.

Some three hundred feet away, Eytan was stretched out on the ground at the edge of the woods and using his binoculars to scope out his objective. The camp appeared to be roughly the size of a soccer field, maybe one hundred and twenty yards long and eighty yards wide. It was surrounded by fire trucks and light tanks and illuminated by a dozen floodlights. An octagonal camouflage tent and three satellite dishes on tripods were in the middle of the field. Cables at the back of the tent were connected to an enormous gray generator on the bed of a white tractor-trailer. Eytan was familiar with this kind of generator. It was designed for specific military purposes. Between the satellite communications system and the energy supply, it was obvious that this big top was serving as the operation’s headquarters. Two military men with machine guns were standing guard.

Another heavy vehicle was parked about a hundred feet to the right of the camp. It was of no particular interest, but what it was towing attracted the agent’s attention. It looked like a mobile home with four ventilation stacks on the roof. A black door with a translucent window was at the back of the unit. A ramp extended from the door to the ground.

Just as Eytan was taking a closer look, a thick cloud of vapor rose from the ventilation chambers. Moments later, the door opened, and a woman with curly brown hair emerged. The woman, who was wearing black pants and a white coat, descended the ramp and approached one of the camp guards. He saluted her, and they talked for a couple of minutes. The guard handed her a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She nodded and walked over to a nearby fire truck. Leaning against it, she lit a cigarette.

Operation headquarters and a mobile quarantine unit. Bingo! Eytan made a mental note. He left his observation point to return to Elena and Branislav. He found them sitting more than fifty feet apart, looking like well-behaved angels. Almost too well-behaved.

“Everything all right?”

“Not a worry in the world,” responded Elena. “Right, Branny?”

“Yep, just peachy,” the Czech said with a nervous smile.

“Great. Elena, we’re going to take action. There are about thirty of them, forty at most. And since I didn’t spot any sleeping quarters, it probably won’t be long before our little party clears out.”

Eytan unzipped the bag to reveal an impressive arsenal: two M14 assault rifles, several Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns, two metal cans, and a bunch of magazines.

“Not very Mossad but still a nice stash,” Elena said.

“I could have brought an Uzi, a few Desert Eagles, and a Lonely Planet guide to Tel Aviv. Oh, I don’t have any more masks, but I could give you my yarmulke to wear if you’d like.”

“That’s enough,” she said. He had hit a nerve.

Meanwhile, Branislav could not take his eyes off the frightening smorgasbord of weaponry spread out before him.

“Do you always travel with these?” he stammered.

“Nyet. But because I didn’t know what I’d be up against, I decided to go big or go home. It so happens that I believe I made the right decision.”

Eytan pulled a small black case out of the bag, opened it, and took out three tiny earpieces. He inserted one in his right ear and held the other two out to Elena and Branislav.

“They’re already set to a secure frequency.”

The Czech journalist examined what felt almost weightless and appeared to be a simple earplug. “There’s no microphone,” he said, surprised.

“No need. It picks up sounds. Its only flaw is a short battery life.”

“Impressive,” Branislav said.

“The guys in R&D should be locked up in a loony bin, but I have to admit, they do pretty good work.”

Eytan turned toward the young man.

“Branislav, no matter what you hear, stay put, and don’t move a muscle until we return. But if your earbud goes silent, run into the woods and back to your parents’ house as fast as you can.”

“All right, but do you really think that just the two of you can take on a group of thirty-some military guys?”

“Yes,” Eytan responded as he slipped the magazines into his jacket pockets. “It’s never the army with the most soldiers that wins, but the side that can outsmart the opponent. I’m sure they’ve jacked up their security in response to the disappearance of those three men who were after you. But believe me, there’s no way they’re anticipating an attack. And besides, even the best-trained soldiers are never fully prepared for the unexpected.”

“But still, you’re not planning to kill all those men, are you?”

“After regaling us with your misadventures from yesterday, I’m surprised by your reluctance,” Elena said while attaching an MP5 holster to her thigh. “Did you object when Eytan eliminated those three dudes who were prepared to destroy you?”

“No, obviously, but that situation was more like legitimate defense,” he said.

“I see. Mr. Noble has a highly flexible moral code, depending on his self-interest from one moment by the next.”

Her sarcasm infuriated Branislav. “What the hell is your problem, anyway?”

Elena started walking in his direction. She looked ready to rip him apart. Eytan abandoned his preparations to address the acrimonious pair.

“Cut the crap,” he ordered. “Elena, get your equipment. We’re leaving. Now!” He turned to Branislav. “As for you, I thought you had a little maturity. I thought you were better than this.”

Looking like two scolded children, they both obeyed and silently stepped away from each other. Elena shot Branislav a wicked smile and finished arming up.

Branislav grabbed Eytan by the sleeve before the giant could join her. “Don’t kill those people,” he said.

The Kidon agent leaned in, took out his earpiece, and shushed the journalist. “I think you’re a nice guy, but you’re really starting to piss me off. From now until we get back, I want radio silence, unless something happens.” He pulled down Branislav’s mask.

Branislav held back, sheepish and unsure how he felt about the imminent massacre. He watched as Eytan and Elena headed off to their combat positions.

When the two of them got to their perch above the camp, they stretched out side by side. The giant handed his binoculars to his fellow assassin.

“The command tent is our primary target. I’d like to hear your plan.”

“You’re asking for my input?” Elena replied, clearly surprised.

“So it would seem.”

She observed the location’s layout for a good minute.

“The area is too exposed for a discreet approach. I recommend a frontal attack with heavy weapons, capitalizing on our high position. You enter on the north side so they’re forced to take cover and turn their backs on me. Then I open a second front here, from the south. I shoot at the entrance to the tent to keep them from escaping while you cut the power supply and communications systems. Once the threat is lowered or under control, we enter. How does that sound?”

“You’ve got it all covered.”

“What do you plan on doing with that truck on the right? It’s a mobile quarantine unit, meaning it’s heavily reinforced.”

“That’s not our main objective. I’m not worried about its fortification. I’m more concerned about what’s inside.”

“Yeah, you’re afraid it’s full of contagious corpses, right?”

“The ones that are left, yes. I spotted tire tracks that match the tires on the unit here. That means they’ve already loaded some of the bodies and taken them out. There’s no point in taking the risk of going into that quarantine unit. We should be fine with just capturing a doctor or someone in charge of the operation. Open fire on my signal.”

They looked at each other in agreement. All animosity and mistrust vanished in this acknowledgment of their mutual goal.

Eytan ran to his combat post a few hundred feet to the north. After placing a metal can and three magazines at his feet, he shouldered his assault rifle, adjusted his advanced combat optical gun sight, and took aim at the satellite dishes next to the command tent.

“It’s showtime.”