Sword of the Prophet by Jim Case

Author:Jim Case [CASE, JIM]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780446566308
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2009-09-26T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

The prison was still referred to as Chanzer Bayt. The Ayatollah’s forces regarded political dissidents with as much contempt as the Shah and SAVAK had in the past. The walls around the prison were about thirty-five feet high. The buildings within appeared to be little more than concrete blocks with microscopic windows. Guards stationed at the towers at all four corners of the prison were armed with Belgium-made FAL automatic rifles with scopes.

“Special prisoners are kept in cells in the basement level,” Ali Quvam remarked. “At least that was how we used to do it. Nothing seems to have changed about the prison since it fell into the hands of the revolutionaries.”

John Cody did not reply. He scanned the prison with his binoculars as he, Quvam, and Mehmet Kashaf lay prone on a hilltop almost a mile from the Pig House. The American passed the binoculars to Kashaf.

“Which wing of the prison includes the VIP cells?” Cody inquired.

“The west wing,” Quvam answered. “The walls are thicker there, reinforced after an attempted prison escape in 1969. Besides, the basement cells are the worst of the lot. There are no windows. It is unbearably cold at night and like a sweltering sweatbox on hot afternoons. This was effective for psychological reasons. The prisoners in the basement level could hear the screams of individuals being interrogated in the special chambers, which are also in the basement.”

“Torture chambers?” Cody asked with disgust. “No wonder the Iranian people hated SAVAK.”

“You don’t think the Ayatollah’s forces use torture as well?” Quvam said with a shrug. “There are really only two forms of government, my naive American friend. Those that are willing to admit they use torture, and those that deny it. There have been hundreds of reports of torture and abuse by the Ayatollah’s regime—”

“I don’t give a shit,” Cody said sharply. “I’m not forced to work with one of the Ayatollah’s torturers, and I don’t particularly like having to work with a former SAVAK torturer. Let’s change the subject, Quvam, before I forget you’re supposed to be on our side.”

“The guard force doesn’t seem to be very large,” Kashaf declared, more to break the tension between Cody and Quvam than to add anything useful to the conversation. “The communications section appears to be in the headquarters building. A radio antenna extends from the roof.”

“I noticed,” Cody told him. “It looks like we should be able to carry out our original plan with only a few revisions.”

“I can’t say I care much for it, Cody,” Kashaf told him. “We’re rushing this breakout plan. Too much can go wrong when we raid the prison. I wish we had more time to plan this.”

“There isn’t any time,” Cody insisted, taking the binoculars from Kashaf. He trained the field glasses on the prison as he spoke. “Rajaisalam doesn’t have any time to spare. We—”

He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw movement beyond the walls of the prison. Two emaciated figures were being escorted from the main prison block by a group of uniformed guards.

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