'If Striker goes in after the cell we can also keep an eye on Friday.'
'I want to emphasize here that we have not yet made a final determination on the mission. Colonel,' Hood said.
'But if we do try to help the Pakistanis the key to success is a timely intervention. Bob, you've been in contact with HQ Central Air Command.' 'Yes,' Herbert said.
'We're dealing directly with Air Chief Marshal Chowdhury and his senior aide. I told the ACM that we may want to change the way we insert Striker.'
'You're thinking about an airdrop,' August said.
'Correct,' replied Herbert.
'I asked the ACM for jump gear. He said it will definitely be on the Himalayan Eagles squadron AN-12. But I did not tell him what we may be asking you to do in the region. The good news is, whatever you do will be well shielded. The Indian military continues to be ultra secretive about your involvement. The SFF and the other people behind the Srinagar attacks do not even know that Striker is enroute to the region.'
'What about the Indian officer who is with Mr. Friday?' Colonel August asked.
'Are we sure we can trust him?' 'Well, nothing is guaranteed,' Herbert said.
'But according to Friday, Captain Nazir is not looking forward to the prospect of a nuclear attack. Especially when he and Friday are headed toward Pakistan.'
'I was just thinking about that,' August said.
'Do you think you can include lead-lined long Johns in the Indian requisition form?'
'Just get behind Mike,' Herbert said.
'Nothing gets past that sumbitch. Not even high-intensity rads.'
There was anxious chuckling about that. The laughter was a good tension breaker.
'We've got Friday and Nazir enroute by chopper to a town called Jaudar,' Herbert said.
'I know where that is,' Colonel August said.
'It's southeast of the region we were supposed to be investigating.'
'If we decide to move forward with a search and rescue, you'll be hooking up in the mountains north of there,' Herbert said.
'That's where we've pinpointed the cell.'
'Colonel August, if we decide to go ahead with this mission you'll have to jump your people into the Himalayas near the Siachin Glacier, link up with the cell, and get them through the line of control,' Hood said.
'This is an extremely high-risk operation. I need an honest answer. Is Striker up for it?'
'The stakes are also high,' August said.
'We have to be up for it.'
'Good man,' Herbert muttered.
'Damn good man.'
'People, one thing I have to point out is that the Indians are not going to be your only potential enemies,' Liz said.
'You also have to worry about the psychological state of the Pakistani cell. They're under extreme physical and psychological duress. They may not believe that you're allies. The nature of people in this situation is to trust no one outside the group.'
'Those are very good points and we'll have to talk about them,' Hood told her.
'There's something else we'll have to talk about, Paul,' Coffey said.
'According to your file, the Free Kashmir Militia has acknowledged its involvement with at least part of this attack and with all of the previous attacks in Kashmir.
Striker will be helping self-professed terrorists. To say that leaves us vulnerable legally is an understatement.'
'That's absolute horse shit,' Herbert said.
'The guys who blew my wife up are still hanging out in a rat hole in Syria somewhere. Terrorists of warring nations don't get extradited.
And the guys who help terrorists don't even get their names in the papers.'
'That only happens to guerrillas who are sponsored by terrorist nations,' Coffey replied.
'The United States has a different form and level of accountability.
Even if Striker succeeds in getting the cell to Pakistan, India will be within its rights to demand the extradition of everyone who had a hand in the attack on the bazaar, on the SFF commandos, and in the escape.
If New Delhi can't get the FKM they will go after Striker.'
'Lowell, India doesn't have any kind of moral high ground here,' Herbert said.
'They're planning a goddamn nuclear strike!'
