where you stand!”
Tight-lipped, Qorbani spun the wheel and pointed his bow back toward the small speedboat. He was sure the VEVAK agent would order him to ram if they didn’t start getting some hits.
“He’s starting another pass,” observed Fazel. “And he’s coming straight in.”
“Evasive maneuvering, Philly,” Ramey instructed. “Open fire!”
Lapointe fired another grenade. It also exploded near the patrol boat, but this time it roared right on through the plume. Phillips jinked left and then put the helm over into a hard right turn. The Ashura failed to follow in time, but for a split second the Pasdaran gunner had a clear shot at their outboard.
He didn’t waste the opportunity, and let loose with a long burst. He missed the outboard, but not Ramey and Lapointe. The platoon leader was hit twice in his left arm, while Lapointe took a second hit to his injured leg. Both men cried out in pain. Fazel also took advantage of the momentarily stable target and let go with several two-round bursts. The corpsman watched with satisfaction as the gunner on the Ashura patrol boat collapsed and several of the windows on the bridge shattered.
With rapt fascination, Rahim watched as the gunner clearly hit one of the men in the back of the boat — one less American devil to worry about now. He had only a second to gloat before three windows on the bridge exploded inward. A bullet whizzed by his head, so close he could feel the air as the projectile passed. He laughed aloud and bellowed toward the fleeing Americans, “I am blessed! You cannot win! Allah has judged you!”
Qorbani shattered Rahim’s reveling when he shouted, “Replacement gunner!” Looking down, Rahim saw the sergeant slumped over at his station.
“Sir,” yelled a corporal. “The
“It will be over soon,” mumbled Rahim.
Fazel watched as the Ashura backed off, probably to replace the gunner he had hit. Taking advantage of the temporary respite, he turned toward Ramey. The lieutenant’s arm had been badly hit. The bone was obviously broken. The corpsman quickly put on a tourniquet, cinching it tightly. There was no way Ramey could hold a weapon.
“Philly!” cried Fazel. “The Boss is down. I need your gun in the fight. Have the XO take over.”
Jerry jumped up and grabbed the wheel. “I have it!”
Phillips rolled out of the seat and picked up his weapon. He pushed Ramey to the side as gently as he could and took up his firing position. Lapointe waved Fazel off. The round had gone through his foot, and while incredibly painful, it was not life-threatening.
Fazel, being the next senior SEAL team member, assumed tactical control. Taking a quick look around, he saw the third patrol boat closing in from off the port quarter. They were being boxed in. “XO, patrol boat to port!”
Jerry nodded vigorously and drove the boat as well as he could away from both Iranian pursuers.
“Harry! The Ashura is making another run!” screamed Phillips. Grabbing Lapointe’s weapon, Fazel loaded the last grenade and fired it at the rapidly approaching boat. It missed, exploding to port, but the blast caused the patrol boat to swing to starboard.
The relief gunner fired a long burst just as the grenade exploded, whipping the machine gun across the Ashura’s bow, the bullets spreading out in a long arc.
The Plexiglas windscreen in front of Jerry shattered, startling him. A fraction of a second later, he felt a searing pain in his left shoulder. His left hand went limp, and the boat lurched to starboard as he tried to compensate. He couldn’t recall if he screamed or not.
“XO! What the hell?” Fazel shouted angrily. Looking back he could see the bloodstain growing around Jerry’s shoulder. He couldn’t do anything about it now. “Can you still steer the boat?” he asked.
“I’ll manage, Doc,” Jerry yelled back. He looked behind him. They had a patrol boat on each quarter, closing fast. With three shooters down, and no grenades, things looked bleak. He wanted to think of Emily, but his mind wouldn’t let him.
Rahim was elated; another American had been hit. And with the
A loud
“Helicopter gunship!” screamed a panicky Qorbani. He spun the wheel over, taking evasive action.
Rahim stood motionless. “No,” he said softly.
A flash from the dark spot on the horizon testified to the launch of another missile. Rahim couldn’t make out what Qorbani was shrieking. What was happening couldn’t possibly be real.
“No,” he repeated, only louder this time. “I am
Jerry blinked, not quite sure of what to think. The two Iranian patrol boats simply vanished in twin balls of smoke and flames. He felt woozy, tired. He could hear Fazel talking on his radio. Something about wounded team members. He saw Phillips near him. The young petty officer was grabbing the wheel.
“I’ve got it, XO,” he said.
Slowly, Jerry released the wheel and then fell back into Fazel’s arms. The corpsman lowered him carefully onto the blood-covered deck and started administering first aid.
He saw Phillips talking on his radio to the MH-60R helicopter that was hovering near them. Turning the shot- up speedboat westward, they headed toward the
General Moradi hung up the phone in total disbelief. Rahim was dead. The three patrol boats he was leading had been wiped out by the Americans. The traitors and all their information were safely in American hands. Soon the world would know of the farce that was the Iranian nuclear program. There would be no denying that they had lied, repeatedly. Their inability to successfully produce a weapon after years and years of effort, even with consistent covert foreign assistance, would make them a laughingstock. The damage to Iran’s global image was unfathomable.
Worse, the Israeli strike had been intercepted by American carrier aircraft and forced to turn back. The Americans had done the unthinkable; they openly challenged the Israelis and defended Iran. Everything he’d planned, all the careful preparations he had put into play, would now be known as the lies that they were.
He was sure VEVAK would be out for revenge. They had lost two of their most senior agents. Someone would have to be held responsible. There would be a reckoning.
EPILOGUE
They had decided to do everything on the same day A lot of people had to travel from other places, and it simplified the security arrangements. Jerry still marveled at the logistics. WTOP, the local Washington news station, had actually issued traffic alerts for the Arlington area.
