Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Mission: OPERATION WARLORD

On the Submarine, Hellbent.

The Island of Diego Garcia

0500 hours Local Time Current Date

The morning the Hellbent was set to depart Diego Garcia, Chief Murky Masters woke Dawn and Slover in their separate quarters. After they had completed their early matinal rituals, he escorted them to chow.

As they walked, Slover broke the silence. “So, why are you on the boat, Chief?”

Masters waved toward the Mess Hall, “Let’s get seated together so while we eat, we can talk quietly”

After they seated themselves, Chief Masters began quietly, “There has been a change in operational expectations for your mission. These orders are from the highest levels.”

Slover and Dawn gaped at each other.

Slover objected, “I thought our orders were set.” He pointed at himself and Dawn.

Masters responded, “New orders came down this morning, early. I’ll make this brief. The Secretary of State and the head of a US government agency responsible for international intelligence gathering approached the SECDEF. They told the SECDEF that a sniper agent belonging to the intelligence agency appears to have gone rogue. We have reason to believe he has accepted a contract from North Korea to assassinate a war lord in Somalia and to steal from him a nuclear package, which the warlord has just acquired.”

He glanced at both to see if they were following his revelations, “Once the rogue acquires the nuclear package, the powers that be have learned that he is to pass it off to a North Korean Contact. The SECDEF says you must stop that event from occurring. Your new orders… pardon me our new orders are as follows….”

Slover exclaimed, “Wait…wait a minute! How come Colonel Spence hasn’t sent us a message telling us about the change in plans? I mean he is our boss!”

“Slover, this change has come from the SECDEF. He’s at the top of your immediate chain of command, and mine, I might add.”

“Yeah, but…but…the Colonel always gives us our orders.”

“Spence’s communications are temporarily compromised. Also, I have experience in finding and dealing with this very warlord.”

Slover squirmed in his seat. His pique rising by the second.

Masters looked steadily at Slover. He asked, “Slover, do you trust me?”

 Caught off guard, uneasily, Slover asked, “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Do you trust me? It’s important that you do.”

Concern was etched on Slover’s face as he asked, “What’s this? Are you backing me into a corner? And what does that have to do with your telling us about a change in our orders?” The color rose vin his cheeks.

Masters continued, “Do you trust me? It’s a simple question.”

The red in Slover’s complexion rose from Slover’s neck to the top of his head. He complained, “This is not fair!”

In a soft but firm voice, Masters asked again, “Do you trust me?”

In frustration, his face contorted with confusion, Slover turned to look at Dawn. He raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

The strain of concern marked her face also. Finally, she shrugged. She motioned toward Slover with one hand as if to say, “Whatever you think!”

Slover contemplated the situation a few seconds more.

Masters said, “Colonel Spence told your General that you two could handle this assignment. Your General told the SECDEF that you could handle it. What has changed?”

“Yeah, well, who is this sniper person who’s been added to the mix?”

“I will answer all of your questions when you answer my first question. Do you trust me?”

“Well, maybe! But what did you mean when you said, ‘Our new orders’?”

“Last chance, Slover!”

Slover fought the impulse to hit Masters in the face. Finally, he slumped in his seat, “Ah Hell! Yes, I guess so!”

“Are you sure?”

Glumly, Slover said, “Shit!” He paused, Yes!”

Masters looked at Dawn. He asked, “Aleumdaun?”

Slowly, she nodded her head. Twice.

Masters said, “Let me hear you say it.”

With an exhale of breath, she softly said, “Yes.”

Masters, himself, exhaled, “Okay, here we go.

“I said ‘Our new orders’ because this morning, I received my new orders.

“I am to accompany you two, and I am to supply supporting fire for you.”

Angered again, Slover exclaimed, “Oh, shit! What has happened?”

Masters slowly said, “Intelligence shows that the rogue agent is on his way to Somalia. Also, according to Intelligence, the North Korean contact is on his way to Somalia with a small team.

“I am to back up you two, and I am to prevent you from getting shot while you retrieve the nuclear device from the rogue agent.”

Slover grunted, “Oh, man! How are you going to keep us from getting shot? Most snipers are never seen.”

“Slover, I am a sniper. I know where snipers choose to hide and shoot from for any shot.

“Slover, can you tell where a bullet has been fired from by the sound of it?”

Surprised, Slover shook his head, “Hell, no!”

“Well, I can. I’ve been in combat, and on missions where I have done exactly that.”

“Oh, man!”

“Remember, I asked you if you trust me. You said yes.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, so trust me.”

Slover asked plaintively, “With my life?”

Masters replied, “You said you trust me.”

Dawn intervened. I’ve heard of you!” She asked, “Are you the one everybody calls ‘The Master Sniper,’ the myth?”

Masters pot his forefinger to his lips. He hissed, “Shhh! Everyone will hear you.”

Slover exclaimed, “He’s a myth. He doesn’t exist.”

Masters replied, “Yes, I do exist.”

Slover watched him silently. He looked at Dawn. Finally, he decided maybe Masters could do as he claimed.

Slover said, “Yeah, but her life. My life!”

Masters said, “You said you trust me. I promise I can do it. So, trust me!”

Slover complained, “Oh, man!” He wanted to get up and walk away, but in a submarine, he had no place to go.

Dawn said, “Okay, so you’re coming with us. Now what?”

“Okay, once we find the warlord, we’ll have to watch him for a while to learn his routine. We’ll choose a spot for the shot, and I’ll find the alternate locations for the other sniper, and I’ll cover those locations.

“Then, when the time is right, we’ll take the shots!

“Also, the trip to the Somali coast will take about two and a half days, maybe three days from Diego Garcia Island. So, until we get there…” he shrugged his shoulders and raised one eyebrow, “We train. We maintain our endurance. We keep our lungs built up.”

Slover wailed, “Oh, shit!”

Dawn frowned and crossed her arms across her chest. In Korean, she agreed with Slover. She grumbled, “Daebyun!”

Masters grinned, “Be polite, now!”

For the next two and a half days, following Master’s lead, they ran in place. They performed squats. They did pushups until the sweat rained from them. Masters controlled their lives. Slowly, he brought Slover’s resistance under control. He made them a team.

The submarine arrived off the coast of Somalia at 0100 hours. Masters called them together in the SOF. He spread a map on the floor. Pointing with a scarred finger, he said, “This is Somalia. Right here on the coast is the City of Mogadishu. It is the major seaport of the country, and the city has a population of about two million four hundred thousand.”

Slover remarked, “Holy Cow. I’ll bet that’s why the warlord chose the place…because where the people are, that’s where the money is.”

Masters nodded, “Somalia consists of highlands, plateaus, and plains. Mogadishu in on the coastal plains. Because of its proximity to the equator and the ocean, there is very little variation in its seasonal changes. The temperatures in Mogadishu will vary between 82 degrees and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. For the people who live there, it’s a very comfortable climate.

“During this time of the year, the rainfall will vary between nine and eighteen inches occurring during passing rainfall and torrential downpours. They develop suddenly, and they move on. But overall the country is very arid.

“Out of more than four hundred thousand square miles of land, there are only 720 square miles of arable land located here and here.” He pointed with his forefinger.

“As you know,” he looked at both Slover and Dawn, “It’s important to know the humidity in sniper work. By the way who will take the shot at the warlord?”

Dawn raised her hand.

Slover pointed at her.

Masters continued, “Okay, humidity varies between 45 percent during the afternoons and 80 percent at night.”

They both nodded.

“Okay, then! The people you will be exposed to. A small portion of the populace speaks Italian.”

Slover and Dawn both exclaimed, “Italian?”

“Yes, that’s because of an earlier Italian Protectorate. That language is limited mainly to the older portion of the populace.

“A larger portion speaks German.”

Dawn asked, “Is that because of a German Protectorate?”

Masters nodded, once.

Then, he continued, “A large portion, maybe fifty percent, speak English.”

Slover raised his eyebrows. He asked, “Which English speakers did that?”

Masters scoffed, “Why, the Brits, old chap!”

“Oh, man. Everybody has gotten into the act.”

Masters nodded again, “Almost! However, All the population speak both Arabic and Somali.”

Dawn added, “And that’s the reason we learned Arabic.”

“Yes, that and the fact that about ninety-nine percent are Muslims.”

“Wow!”

“Yeah, definitely ‘Wow.’”

Slover spoke. “Okay, let me see if I can frame our actions. We swim from the sub to Mogadishu.”

Masters interrupted him, “Well…we will not be able to swim directly to the harbor. This harbor is the busiest one on the east African coast. The Captain is looking at sea floor maps now to find a place not far from the harbor that will allow him to park the sub at 300 feet and still be no more than about a mile from the beach.”

Dawn said, “You said ‘beach.’ As opposed to what?”

“As opposed to the harbor where all the ships are moored. Your Colonel thought you would go ashore in the harbor. Too many ships are coming and going to do that. To many people who could be watching.”

Bristling, Slover asked, “Are you saying our Colonel didn’t know what he was doing?”

“No. I’m saying he wasn’t given enough information about Mogadishu harbor.

“Listen to me, both of you. If you swim to the coast, you will be pulling through the water, with you, your sniper rifle case. One of your cases filled with clothing and with money. That’s a real load to manage. That’s why I’m going with you.

“Not only that, but when we find the warlord, you will not try to get him to hire you. We don’t want to do that. We want to observe him and get to know a bit about him to see if we might find a better way to deal with him.”

Their mouths hung open in surprise, and a little fear. The fear was for what more training he might require of them.

He said, “Don’t worry though. I’ve arranged for us to use underwater sleds to transport our supplies. We can move a lot faster that way.”

Dawn smiled a tentative smile and offered, “What a really cool idea.”

Slover looked at Masters and attempted a small smile, “Yeah, that’s nice. What do we have to do to earn this small privilege?”

“Well, since you’re not SEALs, someone has to teach you how to control them!’

“That doesn’t sound too bad!”

“That’s the spirit!”

Slover merely scoffed, “Hmm.”

Masters produced several pieces of paper upon which he had previously drawn pictures of the working controls of an underwater sea sled. In true military style, he began the lesson

He told them what he was going to teach them. He taught them. Then he told what he had taught them. Then he tested them.

He said, “You’re both very adept students. You learned quickly.”

Slover said, “You have to when your life is on the line.”

“Well, yes. Grab your stuff, and let’s go to the exit chamber.”

They filled their cases with their Somali attire, Somali Shillings, their weapons and ammunition, and their personal effects. Slover left his weights on the sub. The group was just entering the chamber area when they met Chief Burleigh coming out.

He said, “Oh, there you are.”

Masters asked, “What’s up Chief?”

“The Captain has located a good spot. He says we should be there within thirty minutes!”

“Outstanding, Chief. Thank you.”

“Okay, team, let’s load these sleds, one for each of us, and let’s get them in the chamber.”

They inserted the underwater sleds into the chamber leaving enough rooms for themselves.

Slover commented, “They are certainly smaller than what I thought a sled would be, but we did get our stuff in then.”

Masters grinned, “Think small! Remember, you’re on a submarine. Think economy of size. However; don’t underestimate their strength or durability.

He pointed at some sailors, “Okay, listen up. These sailors will pressurize the chamber according to the chart for three hundred feet. Once the chamber is pressurized, filled, and we are able to exit, we will need to move surely about removing our sleds. Don’t panic! Just move purposefully. But first, I’ll need to release the Cheryl.”

Slover asked abruptly, “Who the hell is Cheryl.”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot to tell you about that. The Cheryl is Navy speak for TSCRL. It’s a Tethered Single Channel Radio Locator. It’s for when we are ready to return to the sub. It’s attached to the sub. It floats just on the surface. It emits a radio beacon on a discrete radio channel which we can locate with the device strapped to my hip. We can also send messages to the sub if we need to.”

“A Cheryl, huh?”

“However, you want to pronounce it, yes.

“Let’s gear up, get our masks. And tanks on. Get ready to show the fishies how it’s done.

“Remember, swim purposefully to the surface. We will not turn on the sled motors until we near the surface. We will exercise our limbs and work off any possibility of the bends on the way to the surface. Everybody got that?”

With their masks on and their mouth pieces inserted, Slover and Dawn both nodded once and gave Masters the thumbs up signal. He released the TSCRL, and its spool unwound as it rose directly to the ocean surface.

They entered the chamber and checked their regulators as the ocean filled the chamber. When the chamber had pressurized, they swam out. Masters passed the sleds out to them. They all swam for the surface pulling their sleds after them.

The time was 0200 hours when they reached the surface. Masters took his mouthpiece out, said, “Okay, now we turn on the electric motors of the sleds, and I will lead us to the beach. Watch for the little light on top of my sled and stay with me.”

They did as they were instructed, and they followed Masters to the Somali beach. Then, he led them to a secluded cove. They wrestled their sleds ashore to remove their needed items. Out of breath, Slover complained, “Man, these things are a lot easier to handle in the water than they are out of the water!”

Masters grinned, “Truly. Better get everything you need for the mission. When you’re through, I will drive them out a couple hundred yards and sink them to the bottom and leave them until we need them again.

“And. Captain Aleumdaun, if you would, please? Put your outer Somalian robe on first. Then remove your wet suit. That way you won’t have to find a secluded place to change your clothing.”

She smiled, “Why, thank you, Chief. I’ll do that.”

Masters grinned, “The same goes for you, Slover, unless you don’t mind exposing yourself to the world.”

“Well,” Slover grunted in reply, “It’s 0300 in the morning. I can barely see my hand in front of my face. I know most of the world is not watching. I’ll just take the most direct route to solving the problem, and I’ll take my wet suit off, and I’ll put on my Somalian garb.”

Masters, nodded and said, “I’ll change after I’ve put the sleds on the bottom of the sea and have swum back to shore. Why don’t you two start a small fire after I leave to hide the sleds. Use the drift wood in the area. You see in the distance what other travelers have done?”

After Dawn and Slover had completed their changes, they loaded their wet suits into their sleds. Dawn and Masters removed their encased sniper weapons. Slover pulled out the sling with the Somali money and credit cards. He also pulled out a Beretta 9 M pistol. He secreted it in the personal effects sling.

Masters had stripped down to a pair if swimming trunks. He laid his Somali garb in a pile on the beach. Standing close enough to see the outline of the other two, he said softly, “Sunrise should be about 0558, a little over two hours. That should give me time enough to sink these sleds and to dress again.” He turned and silently disappeared into the darkness.

Later, Slover and Dawn were sitting by their small fire when Masters reappeared and dropped down by the fire fully dressed in his Somali garb.

Dawn jerked back as though she had been hit by a spark from the fire.

Slover blurted, “Holy shit! You scared the bejesus out of me.”

Masters grinned across the fire, “Just keeping my stealth skills in shape!”

Dawn expelled her breath and said, “Please don’t do that again!”

Masters grinned into the fire. He said, “Okay, let me send our coordinates to the sub.

In a condescending manner, Slover asked, “You mean to the Cheryl because the sub is underwater.”

Grinning, Masters replied, “Very good Sergeant Slover. Yes, I mean the TSCRL.”

When the sky began to lighten in the east, Masters said, “Let’s get started into Mogadishu. It’s going to be a warm day.”

They began their walk. The path on which they walked was more of a rut than a trail. The path had been worn into a rut by thousands of dusty feet of Somalians walking from the interior of Somalia. Soon, it angled to run along the side of one of the rare paved roads in Somalia. As they walked beside the paved road, they began to see shacks beside the road. Then, they began to see homes. They could still hear the waves rolling onto the shore.

Eventually, they saw a street sign. They were walking on Via Bandar Kasim.

Slover nodded his head, “This is good. The map we studied,” he nodded at Dawn, “said this road will lead us to Stadio Coni.”

Dawn nodded, “I remember it. I any team is practicing there, perhaps we can find a taxi there to take us to the hotel.”

Slover agreed, “The main soccer team should be active today. People should be there watching them practice or play.”

Masters added, “Sounds like a plan. What exactly is your Colonel’s plan for you two in Mogadishu?”

Dawn smiled, “We’re here as manufacturer’s representatives of prayer rugs. That should give us reason enough to be seen in any part of the city where vendors sell their wares. Also, when we locate Nashmi Mazbout, we can blend in with the traffic. We’re supposed to get the nuke from him and kill him if we have to.”

 “Okay! Then, I’ll come along as your goffer.”

Dawn and Slover glanced at each other.

Still condescending, Slover asked, “You’re sure that’s all you want to be?”

“Well, sure. What else would I be? I mean, I’ve got to know what you know about Nashmi Mazbout. I need to know how he thinks, and what his idiosyncrasies are!”

“Okay. Sure! Then, we’re staying at Hotel Shamo.”

“I know the place. It’s built like a fortress. Good place.

“Alright, let’s head for Stadio Coni.”

They completed their walk to the stadium in two hours. As they approached the stadium, they saw several taxis. They saw a line of military vehicles parked next to the stadium. The vehicles had several soldiers with rifles held loosely in front of them. The entrance to the stadium had four soldiers guarding it. They could see a small crowd watching a local team practice.

Slover stopped their approach. He looked at Masters, “You say you’ve been here before?”

Masters nodded once, “That’s right.”

“Okay, why don’t you go over there to where the soldiers are and see what information you can squeeze out of them?”

Masters looked at the soldiers. He raised one eyebrow, “Good idea, although it might be tough getting anything out of this lot without swinging a baseball bat up beside their heads.”

Slover nodded, “The Captain and I will talk to these taxi drivers to see if we can get them to take us to the hotel.”

Masters nodded and stepped out ahead of Slover and Dawn.

As Masters walked away from them, Dawn softly asked Slover, “Are you trying to get him killed.?”

“That’s a thought, but not really. The problem is he’s all but taken over the mission. You’re supposed have OPCON here in Somalia. Let’s see if we can get one of these taxi drivers to take us to the hotel.”

As they walked toward the taxis, Masters approached the soldier group guarding the entrance to the stadium. In Arabic, he asked one of the soldiers guarding the entrance, “Why are so many soldiers here at the stadium?”

A burly, overweight, ill-tempered guard replied, “Who are you? Why do you want to know?”

Smiling, Master addressed the sullen man, “I am an assistant to those two prayer rug merchants, my brother.” He waved toward Slover and Dawn. “I thought we might be able enjoy some time watching a team practice.”

The guard scoffed, “You must pay us, and you must pay the attendance fee.” He looked toward Dawn. He snarled, “And we must search you for weapons.” The soldiers behind him now addressed their glances at Dawn.

Playing his part well, Masters face assumed a confused look. Masters asked, “Why would anyone take weapons into a football practice.”

The guard poked Masters in the chest with a stubby forefinger, “Because the commander is practicing with the team. Someone might want to assassinate him.”

Master pretended ignorance, “Why would anyone want to assassinate an Army commander.”

The guard pushed him away, “Because he is Nashmi Mazbout. You must not be from around here. You would know he played on this team when he was younger! Go away before I shoot you.” He swung his automatic rifle around and pointed it at Masters.

Masters turned away quickly, and hurriedly began walking toward his co