The Customer (Dexter's Saga) Ch. 43

"Alright, I'll do what you ask, but there is a time factor. You have only seven days to tie up your end of the deal. After that..."

"How dare you! Who do you think you are? You are now issuing ME orders? It is not you that issue orders to me but I that gives them to you! No! Dawud, for once, you will do as I say! And as of this minute, you are no longer in charge. I have ordered the Captain to place you under arrest and put you in chains."

"Why, I have done everything you wanted?"

"No! I demand unquestioned loyalty and obedience. I am tired of fighting with you. Let me remind you again that a commander must be able to control his urges at all times. And you have shown me you are not willing to do that. Now, let me talk to the Captain."

"Here he wants to talk to you," Dawud ranted and handed the phone to the Captain and started to stomp out of the tent.

"Hold on there, Commander," he said drawing his pistol and calling his own guards, "You are under arrest."

Taking the phone from Dawud, the Captain told the Caliph he had placed Dawud under arrest and asked if there were any additional orders.

"I am sorry to say that it looks as if Dawud is becoming a bit unstable," he said, "I want this woman in good condition until I tell you otherwise. This may take a week or two to arrange. However, until you hear from me again neither the Commander, you nor any of your people are to molest that girl. Is that clear? If anything screws up this operation, I will be extremely unhappy and you do not wish to know me when I'm unhappy! By the way, you are now receiving a nice promotion, Commander. Do you understand?"

"Yes, your Excellency. And thank you!"

(And aboard ship)

"Look, this is my ship and my command. Just who does this Allwadii guy think he is? I run this operation and I don't care if he is a Governor's son. I will not have amateurs coming here and dictating to me how to do things. A night operation would be best. We cannot afford to wait until he arrives. This sand storm presents us with too great a golden opportunity to let slip by. We must go tomorrow night at the latest whether he is here or not. We can wipe out the entire nest of cockroaches and save the Egyptians the effort. The Egyptians always say they are looking for an opportunity to take the Sinai branch of Isis out. Well, this is it! The storm has left them sitting ducks. We may never get this opportunity again, but I'll bet Cairo doesn't do anything about it."

"They are on Egyptian land. Our just going in there and shooting up the place is taking the law into our hands. It could cause an international incident!"

"Fuck that crap! We can't wait for them to stage a raid. You know how long it takes them to make a move. By the time their army gets off their asses and moves, every street beggar from Libya to Iran will know all about it. Besides, there is that girl to consider. She is engaged to an American, the son of one of our State Governors and she was kidnapped off the streets of the United States. It wasn't as if she was picked up off the streets of another country. We have every right to rescue her no matter where they take her," the Colonel said, "Add to that the fact that there might be some Mossad agents in that camp who will help us. That increases the likelihood of success."

"Are you sure they are in the camp and are we in touch with them?" the team leader asked. "Maybe we can have them secure her and then send in our team to clean out the mess. Will they work with us?"

"Yes, I'm sure they are right there. From where do you think we are getting our intelligence? Look at the layout before you. Almost every tent, truck, artillery piece and the location of the command HQ as well as the radio tower is shown. Every time a truck is moved it is reported to us and then our satellite confirms it. I have been in contact with Jerusalem and they are willing to provide us with men and personnel providing we give them first shot at any of the prisoners we might take for interrogation afterward. It would appear they have been watching this group for some time now as they believe this is one of the many groups involved in the digging of those smuggling tunnels into Israel as well as other activities. When I told them about the girl they confided that they had a number of operatives in the encampment and they will be happy to work with us. But, like everything in the Mid-east, it has a price."

"In this case, if it destroys that unit and we can save this girl, I say we pay it. They can have them. If we take out this load of scum it would be better to turn over any survivors to them rather then the Egyptians, who just might release them. Of course, we could just take them to 'Gitmo' but that would cause an international uproar, to say nothing of the expense of jailing and feeding the bastards for God knows how long. Yes, let's get in touch with that team and set up a meeting A.S.A.P. I want that leader and some of his men aboard this ship so that we can be ready to go the day after tomorrow at 12 mid-night. I want twenty helicopters and fifteen men per. Night gear. And we go with or without the Governor's son. This job will be hard enough without having to baby-sit him. See to it now!"

"Yes, sir. I'll see about having their leader and a few of his men flown aboard this morning. Is there anyone aboard who speaks Hebrew?"

"Oh shit! Another problem!"

"That may not be necessary. I understand that English is their second language, but if need be we do have a Jewish Chaplain on board ship and he might help."

"Good, make it so!"

Later that day both the Mossad commander and a few of his agents arrived and later Jesse arrived. Jesse was taken into the planning sessions and was glad to learn that the Mossad reported that Ronnie was in the camp and all things considered, she appeared to be in good shape.

"We were able to get a few of our best men into the camp and they are among the two guards assigned to guard her." Pointing at a large detailed photo of the encampment he said in perfect, although British-accented, English, "We have it on good authority that she is being kept in this tent over here and that for some reason she is no longer under the control of that Dawud guy. He is not even allowed in the tent with her anymore. Two soldiers are now guarding her. We have been trying to isolate her and protect her even more, hoping that we can take her even before your raid. However, this would require her complete trust and cooperation. We are afraid she might not trust us. These operations are always tricky and dangerous. Unless she is sure that we are the good guys and have come to rescue her, she might think we were perhaps from another band of Bedouins on a raid to steal her for themselves or maybe going to kill her."

"Well if I were to go with you she would not think that," Jesse said, again trying to force his way onto the mission. "By the way, your English is excellent. How many languages do you speak?"

"I speak four, Hebrew, several dialects of Arabic, French, English and also some Yiddish. By the way, what language does Miss Suleshah speak?"

"English and Syrian Arabic. Her English is good and you should have no problem as far as her understanding what you mean. Please let me go with you." Jesse begged.

"I'm sure you would help and not be in the way, but, no disrespect intended, unfortunately, we have been forced to be involved in too many of these types of operations before. One thing we have found is that unless the victim has prior knowledge that we are coming, they do tend to freeze and cause all kinds of weird problems. There have been some cases where they even try to protect their captors. While I never could understand that and it sounds really crazy, the 'brain people' tell us it has happened and even have a special name for it, the 'Stockholm Syndrome'. Unless your girlfriend is prepared, she might even try to run and get caught in the crossfire. Mr. Allwadii, I know you want to help, but in this instance I think you might be a hindrance. Like I said before, each member of my team has personal experiences with these types of operations. It could be tricky."

"I know what you are saying but..."

"BUT, NOTHING! You are not going on this operation and that's final," the Mossad agent screamed as he almost lost his cool. But, after a bit of cooling down he continued in a calmer voice, "If this girl were close to me, say my family, I too would be forced to stay on the sidelines. However, there is one way you can be of great use to us. Only you can give us the tool we need to carry this off. If you do, I can see to it that you will be one of the first guys she sees when and if we free her."

"Tool? Great anything! What do you need?"

"As I told you before, we have operatives in and outside of the encampment for a long time. A few have worked their way into the team guarding her and are ready to grab her and take her, to safety, if possible, before there is any shooting. The only thing they need is some bit of information that would assure her that they are not one of those out to harm her and that you sent them! Some personal phrase or thing whereby she will know they come from you and only you. Think about it and let me know. If it works, we may be able to free her and bring her to one of the helicopters where you will be waiting. Once she is clear of the encampment we can take out these 'Momzarim' (bastards) without fear of hurting any innocent people. Now think about it and let me know. It should be some personal thing, something that only the two of you might know. The more personal the better."

Jesse thought awhile and then a smile came over his face as he said to the agent, "Well not too many people know it but Ronnie and I are planning on building a cabin on my father's property. The only problem we had was her grandmother. The old lady is getting too old and we were talking about installing a chairlift so that she will be able to get up to the children's room... If you mentioned that, I'm sure she will know that your agent is from me... We have only talked about that to the builder and never to anyone else."

"That sounds wonderful and it should work. I will send word out right away and let you know how she reacts. If it doesn't work, we might need you to go along with us," then turning to the Seal Commander he said, "Now, about the rest of this operation. Number one, the number of helicopters and personnel. I think it is too much. After all, we are not going to liberate Europe. In the beginning, the fewer copters the better. The less chance of them being seen or heard. Secondly, after the rescue of the girl, our top priority is to have one of my men take out the radio tent. This will isolate the encampment from any outside help. Also, most of the records as well as the computers are kept there. Once the encampment is secured, you can send in others to pick up the prisoners as well as captive documents. I would also suggest that you land about a half mile from the encampment at this point," he said, pointing to a spot on the photo. "It is a short distance to the target and my men will have secured it by the time you land. The men can then proceed to encircle the terrorists. One of those copters should have a medical team on board, in case we need it. Hopefully by that time we will have extracted the girl and then the men can mop-up and wipe out that nest of bastards. Any Egyptian forces in the area will be too busy trying to dig out of that sand storm to bother with what is going on and, hopefully, will think that this is just one Bedouin clan trying to take advantage of the sand storm to even up an old blood feud. Things like this happen all the time. We could spread the rumor that it's about water rights. This is plausible as this group has a spring in that oasis and Bedouins have been known to fight over water. Anything that would prevent the Egyptian army from acting for the few hours will help. After the girl is free and this is over, don't be shocked if Cairo claims all the credit. It has happened before."

"I hope you are right. Everything you said makes sense. I would still like to have more troops, but I can see your point. We can always send in more if they are needed. Is there anything else you need?" asked the Seal Commander.

"No nothing else as of now, Colonel. Now let's go over it again. We have to make sure your men and mine know each other and can work together as well as keep out of each other's lines of fire. We will rehearse this over and over on the deck of this carrier until we can do it in our sleep."

The men formed up tactical groups and each group was told what its mission was and how to accomplish it. As much as possible, a Mossad agent was included in each group and methods of operation, passwords, landing signals etc were set. Jesse was to be sent with the Medical Chopper and was instructed not to try and be a hero. "Just stay with that chopper and we will bring her there to you. We don't want to have to search around for you once we have her. As soon as they say she is in condition, the two of you will leave for the carrier on another chopper. We will need the medical unit to care for any of our wounded." Zero hour was set and when it arrived the Mossad agent came to see Jesse off.

"Good news," he shouted over the chopper noise. "My men have secured the landing site and your girlfriend has been contacted. At first she could not believe a rescue effort was on the way until she was told about the chair-lift. Our man said she went ballistic after hearing that but realized you sent him. After that she was ready and willing to cooperate. The two of them are now waiting for us. So let's get going!"

As soon as the choppers landed the units went out and secured the perimeter and some went into the encampment. Jesse had waited and watched the men move into the encampment and begin to wipe out the resistance and was watching as Ronnie was brought to his station. She fell into his arms as he lifted her up and kissed her. The two of them were herded into a chopper and strapped in. "Get them the hell out of here and come right back. Report that we might need more men to finish up here. We were able to capture a lot of files, computers and disks as well as some officers and men, including the commander and I think the guy that took her in the first place."

"You make sure that that guy is kept alive for now. I want him." Jesse ordered. "You can have what's left of him when I'm through with him."

"Just get her back to the carrier and the doctor and have him check her out. She needs your love and care right now. We'll take care of him. He is a really big fish and close to the Caliph. He must have lots of information and we want him alive at this point. After we finish questioning him, he's yours!" The Colonel shouted above the whirl of the chopper blades as he shut the hatch and signaled the pilot to take off.

At this point Ronnie fell apart and Jesse held her sobbing body in his arms all the way back to the Carrier where they were met by a group of medical personnel and a chaplain who put her on a stretcher and rushed her to the ship's doctor who was waiting in the sick bay. Jesse was forced to wait outside as the Doctor and his staff took over. A short time later he came out to Jesse smiling, "You have one remarkable young woman there, Mr. Allwadii. "Aside from a bad case of shock, she is in good shape. There are some bruises and teeth marks that are superficial and should heal soon. From what I can see and from what she tells me, she wasn't raped, and aside from the psychological damage, she appears to be in good shape and, as I said, she should heal quickly. I can see no evidence of rape. I do suggest that both of you seek professional help when you get home. Ms. Suleshah has been through a very rough time and she will need you as well as her family to help her. She is worried about what her family and you will think about her. She wants me to assure you that she still is 'worthy' of being your wife."

"That silly girl. It's so typical of Arab women. It's hard to convince Arab women that their so-called 'honor' is not important to me. The only thing that matters is that she is well. Can I see her now?"

"Yes, I will let you see her now. She is under medication; so don't be worried if she falls asleep now and then. All she needs now is to have you holding her hand and not leave her side. She seams to want you and someone called Jida..."

"She must mean her grandmother. Her Parents were killed in the war. I already have notified her Uncle and Grandmother and they will be waiting at the airport for us to arrive. Do you know how the mopping up is going? Have we taken any casualties?"

"A fantastic, textbook operation! It looks like we got lucky this time. We caught them with their guard down. This was better than the Osama bin Laden operation. Only three people with slight injuries and all the choppers came back.. They are coming aboard the ship now along with the few remaining live captives. We have the Commander and Captain and a few others. The others are all dead. This time we did good!"

"Is that Commander named Dawud?"

"Yes he is? Do you know him?"

"Yes, I know the bastard. I want a few minutes alone with him. But first, I want to see the wounded and thank each of them personally. Can you take me to see them?"

"Seeing the wounded men I can arrange, but the Commander and Captain you may see only under guarded circumstances. The Mossad wants to question them back in Israel first and I doubt that there will be much left to question after they finish. Your job now is to take care of that girl, get her well and make her forget about this shit. No one else can do that, only you and her family can give her the love she needs now."

"Sir, I see you like most Americans, don't know the Arab mind. She and her family are Arabs, not only Arabs, but from the 'old school'. They think her honor as well as that of her family has been destroyed. It makes no difference that she was not raped. Everyone will think that she was and only by the taking of his blood can that honor and that of her family be restored. I am willing to let the Israelis do the job for me, but I must tell him face to face that they are my "Agents". Only then will he understand that whatever they do to him will be blood libel payback for Ronnie. And only then can she and her family's honor be restored."

"That's barbaric," quipped the Doctor. "Besides it makes no sense at all."

"That may be, but then some might say that to have to go through the pain and long sessions with a head doctor is not only barbaric but expensive. The Arab way may be barbaric but it is faster and cheaper. I'm sure that the Israelis know this and understand. I promise that I will not kill him and that he will be able to answer whatever questions they might want to ask him, but we must do it this way."

To be continued...