The Cup

CHAPTER 50

Getting into a city surrounded by enemy troops and under siege was bad enough. The surrounding region was equally hostile and that made it worse. If they went overland they would almost certainly be discovered. Nick had no illusions about what would happen then.

They talked it through and decided the only way in to the target was a high-altitude, high opening jump. Nick and Ronnie had each made one during their time in Marine Recon. Lamont and Selena had never done it.

HAHO jumps were dangerous and difficult and were only used when the risk of the aircraft being shot down on approach was extremely high. For Darraya, coming in over the target low or high was not an option. They would be over enemy territory, lighting up enemy radar. Assad's antiaircraft missile batteries wouldn't miss. They were modern and deadly, courtesy of the Iranians.

The advantage of a HAHO jump was that they could leave the plane some distance away from the target and glide in undetected. They could approach the Lebanese coast without being blown out of the air. The distance from the coast to Darraya was at the edge of HAHO capability, but it could be done.

That left the problem of getting out again. Nick called Hood and told him the Grail was in Darraya and that he wanted to take the team in to get it. He didn't tell Hood about Adam.

"I'm beginning to understand how good Director Harker is at this. I never thought much about how she got us the support we needed or where it came from. I just figured it was part of her job."

"You're the acting director now, Nick, and you seem to be doing rather well at it. You're going to have to learn on the run. Stephanie can help you with some of it. But Elizabeth had all the threads in her fingers."

"I need your help," Nick said. "The only way in there without being detected is a HAHO jump."

"That makes sense, given the situation," Hood said. "Give me a day and I can line up what you need."

"Getting in is one thing. I'm wondering how the hell we're going to get out."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then Hood said, "Let me call you back in about an hour."

Hood disconnected. An hour and a half later he called.

"I had to get your security clearance upgraded before I could tell you this," he said. "You need it anyway since you're running the Project until Elizabeth recovers. DARPA has developed an experimental stealth helicopter for penetration into enemy territory. It's fast, well armed and damn near invisible. It's also quiet. It's perfect for what you need."

"Will the Pentagon go along with it? They're protective of their toys."

"They'll go along with it," Hood said. "It gives them a chance to put it through its paces and see if everything works in a real life combat situation."

"To see if everything works?"

"I told you it was experimental. It's never been tried in combat."

"You mean we'd be guinea pigs."

"In a way. Unless you have a better idea…?"

He left the question dangling.

"Could we use it to go in?"

"I don't think I can persuade them to do that," Hood said. "They'll risk it for an extraction if I tell them it's important. They won't want to make a double run, it's too much to ask."

"Half a ride is better than none," Nick said.