hashed out at the Bonhomme Richard Club.'
'Well done, Carl!' Arlene exclaimed. 'How in the world did this come about?'
'Saviz Kahnani contacted me about wanting to make a deal,' Joplin explained. 'He had left a message that I received upon my return from Moscow. Tehran wanted to wrap up this whole brouhaha. I can only assume they sensed they were headed for a disaster and decided to negotiate an end to the affair.'
'At any rate,' the President said, 'the deal was so secret that the Iranian Ambassador didn't know a damn thing about it.'
Bellingham was slightly miffed. 'And neither did the American Secretary of State. That is who I am, just in case anybody forgot.'
'Now, Ben,' the President said with a wink, 'you and I are only temporarily in Washington until the next administration. Our dear Dr. Joplin is a permanent resident and a career diplomat.'
'Our timing was pretty bad, though,' Joplin said. 'But it couldn't be helped. When the message was sent out, the SEAL team was already heavily engaged in the interior of the enemy mountain fortress.'
'The order to cease fire must have surprised them,' Arlene commented.
Colonel Turnbull nodded to Joplin. 'What's the procedure from this point on, Carl?'
'The idea of the cease-fire was for Iran to make a withdrawal from the border under certain conditions,' Joplin replied.
'What about us?'
'Our situation goes on as before,' Joplin explained. 'We and our partners in the coalition are deeply involved in complicated military operations in Afghanistan. Therefore we gave no quarter.'
'Way to go, guy!' Turnbull exclaimed.
'And best yet,' Joplin said, 'the Iranians have also agreed to negotiate an end to the Persian Empire scheme as well as to begin discussions regarding their nuclear program. It appears they've realized they're going nowhere.'
'The UN sanctions didn't hurt,' Arlene added. 'But what about their dealings on Hezbollah?'
'They're not bringing that to the table,' Joplin said.
'Ha!' Turnbull remarked. 'That's gonna really piss off the Israelis.'
'Yes, it will,' Joplin said. 'My friend Kahnani gave some strong hints that Tehran may wish to discuss the Israeli situation with us.'
'And there we are,' the President said, pleased. He glanced at Benjamin Bellingham. 'Well, Mr. Secretary of State, are you ready for a trip to Geneva for a tete-a-tete with your Iranian counterpart?'
'I'm happy to go,' Bellingham said.
'There is one very sad aspect of this great accomplishment,' the President observed. He had obviously quickly sunk into a somber mood. 'Late last night I received a call from the Pentagon. They informed me that the SEAL detachment that took such an active part in this operation suffered almost twenty-five percent casualties.'
Colonel Turnbull nodded. 'It's called soldiering, Mr. President.'
'It is also called a tragedy,' the President quietly commented.
CHAPTER 19
USS DAN DALY
PERSIAN GULF
BRANNIGAN'S Brigands were back aboard the Daly, battered but proud. The detachment was battered by the intense combat and casualties they had endured in Operation Battleline, but proud they could honestly proclaim those words most respected in the world of military professionalism: Mission accomplished.
When they evacuated the Zaheya fortress after the astonishing order to cease fire and withdraw, they made their way to the LZ for the rendezvous with the USAFSOC helicopters. They even had time to secure the parachutes off the DZ, and this included a few from the first jump. True to SEAL tradition, the Brigands left no one behind. Their seven dead came out, borne among the twenty-seven living, and were respectfully and lovingly placed aboard the choppers to begin their somber journey back to hometowns and families, to be honored and mourned.
They weren't at Shelor Field long before another aircraft came in, to retrieve them for a surprise flight back to the Daly that same day. Twenty-four hours later, the detachment was assembled in their usual briefing room aboard the ship, where they learned from Commander Tom Carey that the reason for the cessation of hostilities in the OA was that the government of Iran had capitulated, willing to give up their goal of a Persian Empire as well as enter into serious negotiations with the West in regard to their nuclear ambitions. The mountain fortress in which the fiery battle had been fought in its interior was to be abandoned, and all Iranian troops and their Arab volunteers had been withdrawn from the Afghanistan border. The Zaheya fighters were back in garrison in northwestern Iran, their unit now deactivated.
There was no cheering among Brannigan's Brigands, only a quiet acceptance of the outcome of Operation Battleline. Now they needed some time and space to catch their breath, and work themselves back to their premission way of life. The grinding of a few administrative wheels brought about some transfers of the newer men, since there was no longer a lot for them to do aboard the Daly. James Duncan, Lamar Smith, Tom Greene, J. T. Snooker, Chuck Betnarik, Tiny Burke, and Hump Dobbs said their good-byes and were carried away via a U. S. Navy Seahawk chopper to the nearby CVBG for further transportation to other duty stations. That left twenty-four total members of the detachment; five more than they had before the onset of Operation Battleline. Some of the other new men--Ensign Taylor, Matsuno, Benson, Sturgis, and MacTavish--were now permanently assigned to the detachment.
These unexpected reinforcements made the Brigands slightly suspicious. Perhaps the powers-that-be had some future heavy-duty plans for them. Anything could happen in that part of the world.
.
8 SEPTEMBER 1400 HOURS
ONE sign that the SEALs were ready to get on with things as before was that the BVBL--Brigand Volleyball League--was back in business, reorganized and ready to play its particular brand of the sport. That meant outrageous bad-mouthing, charging under the net and tackling opposition players, refusal to give up the ball when a side's service was ended, and other irregularities that added so much charm to the contests. The two permanently organized teams had no names other than those given them by their opponents, such as the Dickheads, Candy Asses, Ass Faces, and a colorful one from the mind of Chad Murchison who christened the other team as the Ignoble Flaneurs. Bruno Puglisi like the sound of the name until he learned it meant Despicable Loafers. Even then he wasn't quite sure if it was really an insult.
Now, in the second game of the new season, a particularly competitive contest was under way, with a nothing-to-nothing tie score that had held for quite a while. This impasse had occurred because of things such as taped rolls of gasket material being thrown at the servers while they tried to hit the balls over the net. The gaskets were stolen from the engine and maintenance compartments on the vehicle decks forward of the launching dock, and rolled into projectiles that weren't heavy, but stung sharply when they struck anybody. With a little creative effort, the duct tape used in the construction could be fashioned into sharp edges.
Ensign Orlando Taylor thoroughly enjoyed the rough-and-tumble version of volleyball. He found this disregard of any sort of rules or discipline refreshing and stimulating after the strict upbringing in his father's house, where obedience to decorum was paramount. This included forbidding participation in sports because Mr. Taylor considered them detrimental to getting a good education.
The scoreless game that day followed the usual procedures, but things went even more awry when Bruno Puglisi punched Monty Sturgis through the net after he spiked the ball. Sturgis went ape, charging through the stringed barrier so hard that he ripped it in two. He and Puglisi went at it, swinging hard punches and counterpunches viciously as the melee developed. They eventually began kicking at each other amid bellows of encouragement from the other players. The two-man riot could have gone on for a lot longer until a bawling voice drowned out the noise of the ruckus.
'What the fuck is going on?'
The sound of the Skipper's bellowing brought instant peace over the scene. Everyone turned his way, seeing that SCPO Buford Dawkins was with him. The senior chief walked up to the damaged net. 'You heard the commanding officer. Answer the question.'
Taylor felt it was his responsibility, since he was the senior ranking man present. He stepped forward with a
