Syrian Rescue by Don Pendleton

Author:Don Pendleton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Worldwide Library
Published: 2015-08-14T04:00:00+00:00

9

Damascus International Airport

Brigadier General Firas Mourad had decided not to wait for sunrise, after all. He would surprise Captain Fakhri, arriving early, and they would conduct the court-martial around midnight, which seemed appropriate.

The hour of judgment, when grim deeds were sheltered by darkness.

Mourad was flying in a Mil Mi-8 helicopter, with seating for twenty-four passengers. His party was only one-fourth that size, including himself, his personal aide Major Raed Farzat, three cameramen and Captain Samer Khalil, who fancied himself a film director.

The court-martial was not precisely scripted, but Mourad and Captain Khalil had made notes in advance, considered preparation for reactions from the prisoners, and even sketched the final scene that was the purpose of the whole grim exercise. There was an art to execution, most particularly when a group of six stood up before a firing squad. Mourad was making history, and since he planned to capture it on film, he wanted the result to be historic.

If the world was never given the privilege of viewing his work, so be it. He would file the tapes away until such time as the United Nations or the US State Department voiced concern over their missing “diplomats.” At that time, once they had effectively confessed to their conspiracy against the Syrian Arab Republic, Mourad would unveil proof positive of their illegal actions, including their agents’ confessions of guilt.

Voilà!

The world at large would be amazed, his country’s enemies humiliated in the spotlight of aggrieved public opinion. Following the years of meddling, sanctions and killer drone attacks, Syria would be cast in sympathetic light for once.

The helicopter lifted off at 9:15 p.m. Even flying at a modest one hundred sixty miles per hour, he expected to reach Captain Fakhri’s desert camp by 10:45, plenty of time to set the stage and brief his players on their roles. Mourad expected some resistance from the villains of the piece, which would be only natural, but there were ways of overcoming that initial reticence that left no visible signs of abuse. When the cameras rolled at last, every member of the cast would know his part and would perform on cue.

Or else.

Mourad had a trick up his sleeve, for starters. He would promise the prisoners freedom if they accommodated his needs. Simply confess to entering Syria without permission and with devious intent—a crime of which they were, in fact, guilty—and they regained their freedom. What could be more generous, under the circumstances?

Well satisfied with his decision and arrangements, Mourad settled back and closed his eyes.

He had a long night still ahead of him and planned to look his very best before the cameras.

* * *

Deir ez-Zor Governorate

“WHAT DO YOU THINK we’re waiting for?” Dale Walton whispered.

Beside him, Roger Segrest shrugged. “Beats me. I thought they would’ve let us go to sleep by now.”

Or put us all to sleep, he thought.

The possibility of death had been on Segrest’s mind since the soldiers showed up at the crash site. Scratch that—since the plane fell out of the sky.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.