Assault on Iran, page 29
"I'd still like to shoot the fucker," Guy murmured.
"I reckon you'll get your chance," Talley replied, "It was a setup."
He turned to Brooks. "Did you know any of this, Sir?"
"I don't know what you mean, Talley."
"We’ve been going around and around in circles ever since this mission started. It looks to me like NATO discovered the Pasdaran faction inside Iran was trying to snatch power. That would make open warfare in the Middle East almost inevitable, especially between Iran and Israel. Admiral, those nuclear warheads the Rostam was carrying, I noticed they had American trigger mechanisms. Care to comment, Sir?"
Brooks looked away.
"Son of a bitch," Guy murmured. "Are you telling me that we were set up by our own people right from the start?"
"We'll never know," Talley replied. "All I do know for sure is that someone got the idea to mount the biggest smoke and mirrors operation in the history of NATO. It was very clever. Set up the Pasdaran to challenge Ahmadinejad, and send us in to stop them. He had no choice except to support us behind the scenes. So the Pasdaran got a bloody nose, and I’ve no doubt he’s already called for the arrest of their senior people. I’ll bet it’s like the night of the long knives over there. It means Iran doesn’t get nuclear weapons, the Pasdaran is fucked, and Ahmadinejad owes us a few.”
“But the nukes! What if we failed?”
“You remember Anika said Petersen had lied to us about the timer? She was wrong. The timer was already set to explode after thirty minutes, just before the Rostam hit the coast. There was no way those warheads were ever going to reach Iran. It was a win-win. Either we took down Petersen’s alliance with the Revolutionary Guard, or they’d explode anyway and take a few of the bastards with them. It meant a lot of scores could be settled, both on our side and the Iranians. When the dust has died down, I can guarantee the Iranians will start making noises to the West about new trade agreements. That's the way the game is played, isn't it, Admiral?"
Brooks looked at him for long moments and then turned away, but his eyes said it all. At least he had the grace not to lie. Not anymore.
"So who do I kill?" Guy grumbled.
"Right now, I couldn't say," Talley replied, "but as soon as I do know, you'll be the first one I tell. First, I’m going to visit Domenico and Roy at the infirmary. I won’t be able to relax until I know Dom’s okay.
"I'll go with you," Guy nodded. “They may need an incentive to do their best work on Domenico.”
Talley nodded, but he didn't smile. He thought of Anika, of her bleeding and dying in the London gutter.
Once again, I'm alone in this world.
"Hey, Boss, what's the problem? We pulled it off, and we're about to go and celebrate. Where should we go?"
And in that moment he realized he wasn't alone.
I do have a family, a family of the most highly trained and deadliest killers in the world yet they depend on me. Some may call us assassins, true. But we’d give our lives for each other. Isn’t that enough?
"After we’re done at the hospital, and provided Dom is okay, I'll make some calls. We’re going to find the best beer and the best women in this city!" Talley exclaimed.
A chorus of cheers rewarded him. He'd made the right call, and for that night and many nights to come, he wouldn't be alone. So why did he feel the empty hole in the pit of his stomach? Too many deaths, Robert Valois and Anika Frost, and Domenico Rovere may well be on the danger list for a long time to come. Countless civilian and military casualties inside Iran, many of them innocents, men, women and children going about the normal business; all for what? He wasn’t sure, not sure at all.
Talley made an effort to push it all to the back of his mind. Yet there was another huge, gaping hole in his life, his children, Joshua and James. Would he win them back? His thoughts turned once more to the letter, kept safe and hidden in his locker. The lawyer said his wife Kay had asked the court for sole custody of his kids, and would no doubt do everything in her power to justify it. He thought about his wife’s statement.
‘You’re never there, Abe, you’re a stranger to them. And besides, look at the kind of work you do. I don’t want my kids to be brought up by someone who’s little more than a government assassin.’
No, that wasn’t true. Men like him risked their lives to prevent the assassins from turning the West into a bloody warzone. But that was another fight, one he’d give his all to win. There’d be time to worry about that later. Right now, his other family needed him to help heal their wounds.
"The operation is finished. Let’s go.”
Eric Meyer, Assault on Iran
