Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 05 (60 page)

 
          
White
radioed again in broken Farsi. “Your MiG-29s will not save you.”

           
The Americans obviously had a radar
plane of their own up now, Tufayli thought grimly—but it was no matter. In a
matter of seconds, the tilt-rotor would fly through a hail of bullets. “Range
ten kilometers,” the Mil-8 pilot reported. There was no way to stop him—the
Americans had no fighters up this far toward
Iran
close enough to help. “Eight kilometers
...”

 
          
Suddenly
everyone on the Mil-8 helicopter saw several bright flashes of light and a
brief but spectacular streak of fire race through the night sky. “Missiles!”
the Mil-8 pilot shouted on his interplane radio. “The Americans are launching
missiles! Take evasive action!” Although the Hellfire missile was intended as
an anti-tank weapon, it was just as capable and deadly against flying
targets—and evidence of that came just a few seconds later, as the Mil-8 crew
saw a flash of red-and-orange light and a streak of fire arcing down into the
sea.

 
          
“Khomeini
Five,
Khomeini
Five, this is Interceptor Eleven, I have lost contact with
my leader,” a new voice on the interplane frequency said. “What in Allah’s name
is that aircraft?”

 
          
“It
is nothing more than a fancy helicopter, damn you!” Tufayli shouted in
response. “Get down here and destroy them!”

 
          
The
lone MiG-29 wheeled back and set up for a stern gun pass— but his fate was no
different than his leader’s. Seconds before flying into cannon range, the CV-22
wheeled around, locked its laser designator onto the approaching fighter, and
fired another salvo of Hellfire laser-guided missiles. The MiG-29 exploded into
a huge fireball long before the pilot could press his trigger. The CV-22
wheeled around again and was on the Iranian Mil-8 helicopter in less than a
minute. “You’re next, Admiral,” Paul White’s voice echoed on the GUARD
frequency. “Surrender now or you’ll die.”

 
          
“We
have wounded sailors on board this aircraft,” Tufayli said. “You will not dare
to harm them. That is a barbaric act of a coward! ”

           
“Their blood will be on your hands,
Admiral, not mine,” White said. “Surrender, and I will see to it that your
wounded receive all the medical care they need and are then immediately
returned to
Iran
.” “Go to
hell
_y
filthy American terrorist pig! ” Tufayli shouted in response. “We are in
Iranian airspace, over Iranian waters. If you shoot us down, it is an act of
war! You go to hell! ”

           
“After you, Admiral Tufayli,” White
radioed—seconds before the CV-22’s last two Hellfire missiles plowed into the
Mil-8 helicopter, blowing it to pieces and sending it crashing into the Gulf of
Oman.

 
          
“Oh,
man, that looked
good,”
Paul White
said, uncharacteristically angry, almost bloodthirsty. “That felt
real
good.”

 
          
“We’ll
turn you into a mad-dog killer yet, Colonel,” Hal Briggs added with a wry
smile. “A stone mad-dog killer.”

 
          
“About
as likely as you becoming a chaste monk,” White shot back. “Speaking of which,
where did that charming young lady of yours run off to? I’m sure she’s a
capable agent, and I know the
United Arab Emirates
must have plenty of safe houses in
Tehran
, but do you think it was wise for her to
stay down there?”

 
          
“She’s
not just a capable agent—she’s the best I’ve ever seen,” Briggs said. “And as
much as I want her with me, she’s got a job to do. I can’t wait to see her
again, boss....”

 
          
White
noticed the unexpected intensity in Briggs’s voice. “This sounds serious, Hal,”
he said with a smile. “Is it?”

 
          
“Could
be, Colonel,” Briggs said. “Could be ...”

Tehran
,
Iran

 
          
“Your
incredible incompetence has nearly resulted in bringing this entire government
down, General Buzhazi,” the Faqih Ayatollah Ali Hoseini Khamenei said angrily.
He and the members of the Council of Guardians, the twelve-member legal and
religious tribunal that advised the Faqih on government matters, were meeting
with Buzhazi in the Council’s chambers. “You almost single-handedly managed to
create a third world war, with the military forces of nearly the entire
planet
directed against us—only the
incompetence of your military commanders on board the aircraft carrier saved
the Islamic Republic from disaster. Further, you directly violated our orders
that President Nateq-Nouri not be harmed. Allah and his faithful servants
demand an answer. Speak, General. What have you to say for yourself?”

 
          
“Your
Excellency, I demand to know why you ordered our air and naval forces to cease
their operations,” Hesarak al-Kan Buzhazi said in response, ignoring the
Ayatollah’s demand. “The aircraft carrier
Khomeini
and several vessels in the battle group sustained heavy damage, but our air
forces had the upper hand ...”

 
          
“We
ordered the operations to stop because our armed forces were facing virtual
annihilation,
General,” Khamenei said.
“Our carrier was barely able to return to Chah Bahar, and I now understand that
it is still in danger of sinking, even though several hundred workers are
struggling to save it.”

 
          
“Your
Excellency, I was one or two days away from
completely
eliminating
all foreign threats to
Iran
!” Buzhazi said angrily. “In just a few
hours, my air forces could have destroyed or damaged every military base within
fifteen hundred kilometers of our shores. With no American or foreign military
forces to support them, every nation in the region would have been forced to
sign non-aggression pacts with us. With this cease-fire, we allow the
United States
to deploy more air defense forces to
Saudi Arabia
,
Bahrain
,
Turkey
,
Kuwait
...”

 
          
“Several
bases in the Islamic Republic, a radar plane, and our carrier battle group were
attacked by the Americans—and it is said that it was a
single American bomber
;” Khamenei pointed out. “Our destruction was
imminent. Your failures have angered Allah, and it was his command that this
senseless waste of lives and resources of the Islamic Republic stop immed—”

 
          
Buzhazi
shot to his feet before the Faqih and the Council of Guardians. “Enough of this
religious tripe, Khamenei,” he said angrily. “My war has not ended—it is just
beginning.”

           
Every member of the Council of
Guardians recoiled in horror at Buzhazis words—everyone but Khamenei himself.
“How so, General?” the Faqih asked calmly.

 
          
“
Iran
is suffering under men like
you—small-minded men who actually believe that Allah is going to elevate this
country ahead of all others simply because you invoke his name,” Buzhazi said.
“
Iran
will be powerful and take charge of the
true believers around the world only if its leadership has the guts to do
so—and you need a powerful military force to do it.

 
          
“My
men control the government now, Khamenei,” Buzhazi went on. “I control the
press, the Cabinet, and all telecommunications in and out of this capital. I
have a military force of two million men under arms, and I have begun the
mobilization of the Basij under the direct control of my Pasdaran forces—that
is another million men and women under arms. We do not believe that Allah is
speaking to you, any of you.
Iran
is under attack, and Allah has commanded
me
to lead her, to drive the
non-believers away, and to secure our borders and our future.

 
          
“I
have a suggestion for all you tired, shriveled-up old men,” he said as he
turned to depart. “Finger your worry beads and pray in silence, or stand up and
support me and your warriors. If you attempt to involve yourself in military
affairs again, I will see to it that this Council is disbanded or replaced. You
have been warned.”

 
          
“We
will discuss your suggestion—and your warning—with our military advisers,” the
Ayatollah Khamenei said calmly.

 
          
“Your
what...?”

 
          
“Our
military advisers,” Khamenei said, raising a hand. From a side room, several
men, some in uniform, entered—including one who made Buzhazis jaw drop in
surprise. “I am sure you know the leader of our new military advisory panel:
the honorable Dr. Ding Henggao, Minister of National Defense Science,
Technology, and Industry of the People’s Republic of
China
. He was kind enough to bring along General
Fu Qanyou, Chief of General Logistics, and Vice Admiral Qu Zhenmou, commander
of the East China Sea Fleet of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. The others
with him are—”

           
“What in God’s name is this?”
Buzhazi retorted. “What are they doing here? I did not request this—”

 
          
“These
gendemen are representatives of the Chinese government, come to inspect their
equipment and inquire as to the status of their country’s considerable investment
in the Islamic Republic,” Khamenei said with a satisfied smile. His smile
dimmed dramatically as he went on: “They were very, very disappointed to learn
of the attack and destruction on
their
aircraft carrier and their cruiser.”

 
          
Buzhazi
was thunderstruck. Khamenei, the man who hated all foreigners and disdained
almost anything having to do with the military, had secretly called a
high-level delegation of Chinese military advisers to
Tehran
! Next to
Russia
,
China
was
Iran
’s largest arms supplier; most of
Iran
’s naval and missile technology had come
from
China
, the agreements signed by most of these gentlemen now present and
delivered by these very military commanders. “I am prepared to brief these
distinguished visitors from the People’s Republic of
China
at any time on the nature of the attacks by
the Americans.”

 
          
“Excuse
me, please,” Minister Ding said in Beijing Mandarin, translated into Farsi by
an Iranian linguist, “but it is quite apparent to us and to my government that
any continued plans for the employment of People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels
and weapons by forces under your command would be foolish ...”

 
          
“I
beg your pardon, Minister Ding,” Buzhazi retorted, “but
Iran
is the victim of American treachery. With
all due respect, the Chinese government should be considering sanctions against
the American government for their role in the destruction of your warships. I..
.”

           
“The People’s Republic of China no
longer has confidence in your ability to command, or any confidence in your
judgment, General Buzhazi,” Minister Ding said acidly. To the Ayatollah
Khamenei, Ding said. “The carrier
Varyag
and the cruiser
Zhanjiang
shall be transferred to our control
immediately, Your Eminence. It shall be totally disarmed and rendered
completely non-operational.”

 
          
“This
is not possible!” Buzhazi interjected. “This cannot be done! I forbid it!”

 
          
“We
would advise you not to interfere,” General Fu, Chief of General Logistics,
interrupted. “The People’s Liberation Army Navy has already sent a contingent
of soldiers to Chah Bahar to effect the turnover. These include a security
detachment of two People’s Liberation Army marine battalions.”