CHAPTER 14

David sat in his hotel room attempting to put together what he had deduced from the car ride and his time at the base to locate Commander Bob’s position. He had written a list of what he thought were facts.

They used goats to block the road--fact. The camp was at least five hours south of town--question. They had a vehicle in town that made regular trips to the camp--fact. Bob had said they delayed someone following them by a half hour--fact. He believed they had driven twenty to twenty-five minutes off the road at ten miles per hour max--good estimate. This would put the bunkers no more than five miles from the road--good guess.

What would be the best way to use this information? He decided to watch the alley in back of the pharmacy first. If he could identify the car that was used, he could then drive three or four hours south, hide his car, walk up a dune and wait and observe. Each time he saw the car, he would move further up the road. If he no longer saw it, he would know that he had gone beyond the base and would work his way back in smaller increments. It would take time, but eventually he should be able to spot where they had turned off the road.

He picked up the phone and called Terra. “Hi, honey. Everything OK?”

“David, I was beginning to worry about you. I’m fine.”

“I’ve just been traveling near the coast.”

“Are you coming down this way soon?”

“Well, that’s one reason I called. Would you like a house guest?”

“David, I can’t live with anyone that I’m not married to!”

“Honey, I’m not suggesting we live together as man and wife. I would sleep in your father’s den. I promise I’ll never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Why don’t you come down, and we’ll talk about it. I really miss you, but I have principles to uphold, too.”

“And I’ll always respect them, Terra. I’d never do anything that would spoil what we have. If you think it’s best, I won’t come.”

“Would you be angry, David?”

“I’d be disappointed at not seeing you, but not angry.”

“Please come. We’ll work out the details when you get here,” Terra said, her desire to see him overcoming her hesitance.

“I should be there by 2:30, if everything goes well.”

“Would you like something to eat when you arrive?”

“That would be nice. I’ll see you then. I love you.” They hung up. To David, saying I love you to Terra felt very natural. To Terra, hearing him say it sent shivers down her spine. She’d just recently faced two gunmen on a bus with less emotion than she felt from those three little words. David, you better behave yourself, she thought, because I don’t think I could offer much resistance.

David arrived at Terra’s almost an hour late. The drive had started out well enough, but was thwarted at three different points by sheep blocking the road. One incident, in particular, caused a lengthy delay because the flock kept milling back and forth across the road. The herder had no dogs to keep them moving forward. He would get some off the road, and then half of them would double back.

David had given serious thought to driving off onto the sand to get around them. The only problem was he might have become bogged down and unable to get loose without help. So, he had waited. At one point, he had gotten out and tried to help, but the sheep just scattered, creating a bigger mess than before. After awhile, he started to drive slowly into the flock, but immediately the sheep bunched up against his front bumper and just stood there. He blew his horn to no avail. Sheep sure are dumb, he had thought. At length, the sheep thinned out enough for him to move forward in small fits and starts until he was through them.

He bolted up the steps into Terra’s waiting arms. She’d opened the door before he had gotten out of the car. He kissed her passionately. When they broke loose, Terra laughed. “Not a good start,” she said, as they headed into the kitchen.

“What smells so good, besides you?”

“David, stop it! I’m not as strong as you think. That kind of talk makes me all weak-kneed.”

Now David laughed. “Terra, I promise to behave. You’re so beautiful, the words just came out.”

“I said stop it, David!” She stamped her foot in mock anger, then took his hand in hers. “Let’s eat before the sauce gets cold.” She served the spaghetti and salad. “Would you get the tea, while I rinse this pan?”

David poured them tea, while Terra fussed with the sauce pan. “David, do you know that almost everyone in the world puts sugar in their tea except you funny Americans?”

“Do you know why, Terra?”

“No, I’ve never understood.”

“Well, most of the world was colonized by the British. They drink tea with their sugar! Anyway, after we won our independence, sugar became very expensive. People became used to drinking tea without it. Then, the Second World War caused a shortage of both sugar and tea. Green tea was introduced to the public. I’m not sure why we could get green tea and not regular tea. During the four years of sugar rationing, many people gave up putting sugar in their tea and coffee. After the war was over, it just stuck.”

“David, I love you!”

His fork stopped halfway to his mouth. “What was that for, Terra?”

“I don’t know. I was feeling it, so I said it. I’ve never said that to a man before, except my father.”

“Terra, I’ve never said this to anyone before--will you marry me?”

“David, I was being serious.”

“So am I, Terra.”

She sat looking at him, trying not to cry. A couple small tears escaped and trickled down her cheek. “Yes, David, yes. I can hardly wait, but we must. I want to be married in America, so my family can be there. But first, I have to keep my word to Diad. And you--you have to finish your job. I don’t want you to get in a hurry, David. You could make a big mistake.”

“I’ve waited all my life for someone like you. It will be difficult, but I can wait a while longer. It’s a deal, Terra. As soon as we both complete our missions, we’ll go to Michigan and get married. Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m very sure.”

David told her about his plan for finding the base.

“I found some topographical maps of this area in my dad’s desk. Maybe they would help. Let’s go in the den. I’ll show you what I saved of my father’s things. Maybe something else will be useful to you.”

She pulled out the maps and began unrolling them. David picked up a handful of the pictures lying on top in the box and absent-mindedly began thumbing through them. All of a sudden, he exclaimed excitedly, “This is the Commander! Look, there’s writing on the back. What does it say, Terra?”

“That’s his name and rank,” she said, pointing to the Arabic script.

“Is any of this writing a date?”

“Yes. It’s dated July 17, 1985, and his name is Abolhassen Bani-Sadr. He was a colonel then. I have a good friend who can find out where he is stationed.”

“That would help a lot. What if he’s not in the military any more?”

“She could tell me when he was discharged.”

“Great. The more information, the better. If he’s still in the army and running a terrorist group, it could have dire international consequences.”

“David, an atomic bomb going off somewhere could have dire consequences!”

“That will never happen, Terra.”

“I think you might also like to see some of the lists my father left.” She read through four pages, then stopped. “Look, David. This is Hamid, the pharmacist. He was a captain in the air force.” She scanned down the next page, and near the bottom she spotted both Hosein and Isa’s names, Hamid’s assistants. They, too, had been pilots in the air force.

“What are these lists, Terra?”

“I don’t know. Go to the last page and see if there is an explanation.” David saw immediately, when he flipped to the last page, that there were two paragraphs with signatures beneath them.

“David, this is a pledge of loyalty to the Shah. That’s why each man signed underneath. I know, for a fact, that both generals who countersigned this, and some of their officers, were executed for treason. Six months after the Shah was deposed, the armed forces were purged of Shah supporters. If they’d have gotten their hands on this list, Diad would still be alive. Everyone who was purged was executed!”

“Why would your father leave a document like this just lying around?”

“At the time he received it, it was harmless. Most likely, since it didn’t implicate him, he forgot about it when the Ayatollah took over. I wonder why my dad’s name isn’t on this list.”

“Maybe there was another list for general officers,” David suggested.

“You’re probably right. The highest rank on the list is colonel. The only generals on the document are the counter signatures. We’d better take some time and go through all my dad’s stuff, because the police could very well come snooping around.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I meant to tell you earlier, but you kept distracting me by saying you loved me.”

“I do, Terra.”

“David, please! When I was coming back from Tehran yesterday, two gunmen boarded my bus.” She told him the whole story. “The police said if they had any further questions, they would come here to ask me.”

“Terra, please don’t play hero any more.” There was a touch of anger in his voice.

“I’m sorry, David. I couldn’t sit there and do nothing. They killed our guard for no reason at all. Diad was killed for nothing, too. I guess I just lost control.”

“Let’s find a good place to hide this list, and anything else in here that might endanger you,” David said.

When they were finished, David brought his overnight bag into the den. The next few days are going to require extraordinary self control, he smiled to himself.

The next morning David parked the old car he had purchased in the wide alley that ran behind the pharmacy. He was lying on the seat, dressed in old ragged clothes, appearing to be homeless. At 7:30 a car drove past him. He sat up and wrote down the license plate number. The car slowed, then stopped behind the pharmacy. Three men dressed in military uniforms got out. They quickly glanced around the alley, and seeing no one, entered the back door. So far so good, he thought.

Fifteen minutes later, all three came out chewing on sweet rolls. One was carrying a briefcase. Maybe they had a daily courier for the base. David decided to watch for two more days to make sure there wasn’t more than one vehicle.

As the car left, he noticed the direction it turned onto the main street. Damn! Their base was probably north. Maybe the car was facing the other direction when they took me to the base. “First things first,” he told himself. “That won’t be hard to prove.”

David reached over and picked up his thermos of tea and drank some, then waited until noon before leaving. He drove down the street that ran behind Terra’s house and parked in the bushes. He stayed in the car awhile before getting out, to make sure he hadn’t been followed. Satisfied it was all clear, he walked through the bushes into Terra’s backyard.

* * *

Terra walked upstairs to her bedroom. Two strong hands grabbed her as she went through the door, pinning her arms to her side. “David, you startled me,” she said relaxing.

“We are not David,” an accented voice answered.

Terra stiffened, struggling to free herself, with no success. “What do you want?” she asked.

“Abraham, go downstairs and watch the doors,” the man holding Terra ordered. The strong arms pushed her away, spinning her around to face her captor. “Now, you will answer some questions, or it will get rough.” He reached behind his back and came up with a long slim knife. “Now tell me who you’re working for?” he ordered.

Terra stood absolutely still, smiling at him. He was somewhat distracted by her beauty. “We are not playing games here,” he said in a very cold voice. “One last chance before I cut your pretty little face.” He raised the knife menacingly.

Terra’s leg shot straight out. The man gracefully moved to the side, and she caught him with a glancing blow on his hip.

“No more nonsense,” he said, moving back in front of her. She took a quick half step forward and hit him hard in the rib cage with a straight right. He winced in pain, but countered with a lightning right fist aimed at her left cheek. Terra deflected the blow with the top of her head. Stars and white flashes passed in front of her eyes as she landed on the floor. She lay on her side looking up at the knife.

“You’re not taking me seriously,” the man said, “so I’m going to show you how serious I am.”

“Stop,” Terra said. “You’ve convinced me.” She reached under her chador to rub her sore shoulder where it had hit the floor.

“It’s too late,” he said. “You’re going to get cut.” The man very deliberately moved the knife down towards her face. Without unholstering her gun, Terra pulled the trigger and the bullet came through her chador, catching him square in the collarbone. He fell to the floor, squirming and writhing in excruciating pain.

Terra heard footsteps coming fast up the stairs. She quickly got up and stood beside the door. Abraham burst through, gun drawn. As he ran by, Terra grabbed him by the belt and back of the shirt. His momentum, and her assistance, was too much for him to stop himself from sailing out the second story window.

David was just coming around the corner of the garage when he heard the sound of glass breaking. He looked up to see, in what appeared to be slow motion, a curtain, followed by a body, silently floating out Terra’s bedroom window. Before the man hit the ground, David was running at full speed into the house. He pulled his gun as he came through the door and ran up the stairs.

“Terra!” he yelled, entering the hallway to her room. Terra lowered her gun when she recognized David’s voice. He came into the room, breathing hard. “Are you all right?”

“Just a knock on the head, but I’m fine.”

David bent over the man moaning on the floor. He undid a button on his sport jacket and pulled out a nasty looking 22 caliber pistol with a silencer on it.

“I think these guys are from Israel, Terra. They’re the only agents that I’ve heard of who carry this kind of weapon.”

“What are we going to do with them, David?”

“We’d better drop them off at the hospital and leave.”

“No, no,” the man managed to mumble. “The Iranians will torture and kill us. Please! Don’t turn us over to them.”

“You speak English. Are you Americans?” David asked.

“We’re Israeli agents. We’re looking for a bomb that’s supposed to be detonated in the United States or Israel. We heard the girl here knew who had it. We just wanted to ask some questions.” He shook his head, fighting the pain to remain conscious.

“By breaking into my house and assaulting me with a knife?” Terra responded angrily.

“We just wanted to scare you, but you got rough.”

“I’ll go down and look at the other one,” David said.

“His name is Abraham. Do you have a name?” Terra asked the man on the floor.

“Yes, my name is Solo.”

“Well, Solo, I’d better see if I can stop some of this bleeding.”

David walked outside to check on the second victim. As he approached, gun in hand, Abraham sat up. His right arm hung limp at his side, and he was holding his knee with his left hand. His face had a few cuts on it that weren’t very serious-looking.

David pointed his gun at Abraham. “Can you walk?”

Abraham looked like a doe caught in someone’s headlights. “Can you walk?” David repeated. Abraham just shrugged his shoulders and said something in Hebrew.

Shit! David thought. He doesn’t speak English. He walked around behind Abraham to check for weapons and, finding none, helped him to his good leg. Supporting him, David guided Abraham to the house. “Terra,” he called. “Can Solo make it down the stairs?”

In a few moments, Solo appeared at the top of the stairs with Terra assisting him. Finally, both men were propped up in the living room.

Terra put a heavy bandage around Solo’s shoulder and began cleaning Abraham’s face. “Well, now,” David asked, “how are we going to get you two back to your people? How did you get here anyway?”

“We have an old Iranian Army helicopter that dropped us off. We have a prearranged time for pick-up. If we’re not there, they won’t wait. They’ll come back an hour later tomorrow night. If we’re not there by then, they won’t return again.”

“Where does the chopper come from?” David asked.

“We don’t know,” Solo answered.

“It’s not we, it’s I,” Terra interrupted, smiling at David.

“You don’t know, or you can’t say?” David asked.

“Whatever,” Solo said.

“How much time before your pick-up?”

Solo looked at his watch. “Four hours.”

“Good. Then you have time to answer some questions. For starters, what bomb are you talking about, and how did you get Terra’s name?”

“The bomb is very powerful. We heard through some very reliable contacts that General Tehrani’s daughter was helping to acquire it.”

“What reliable contacts?”

“Who are they?” Terra chimed in.

“We--I really don’t know,” Solo said glaring at Terra. “I were given your name, told where you lived, and dropped off to find and question you. That is all I know!”

“It’s we were, not I were,” Terra said, smiling at Solo.

“Now, listen good, Solo,” David said. “We are on the same side here. Terra’s not trying to find a bomb. I am. She has nothing to do with this, so leave her out of it. My country suspects the same thing. We’ve picked up rumors that a terrorist group plans to bomb either an Israeli or American city. I suggest your intelligence contacts ours and work together on this. What happened here was totally unnecessary.”

“Are you an American agent?”

“Whatever,” David answered.

“We’ll relay your suggestion,” Solo said.

Terra chuckled at his word usage.

“How far away is your pick-up point?” David asked, handing their weapons back to Solo.

“About ten miles east of here on the road to Damghan.

“Good. There isn’t much traffic in the evening. I’ll drop you off there.”

Terra turned and went into the kitchen. She soon reappeared carrying a tray piled high with sandwiches.

“Would you like some tea?” she asked.

“Thank you very much,” Solo said. “We’re sorry about the way I treated you. This bomb thing can’t be allowed to happen, no matter what cost.”

“I understand,” Terra replied.

Just before dark, David and Terra helped both agents into the back of David’s Range Rover and drove them to their designated pick-up point.

“Good luck,” David said to them, then they headed back to Semnan.

* * *

As the helicopter sat down on the road, Solo and Abraham shielded their eyes from the dust and staggered toward it. Two men jumped down into the blowing dust to assist them. Both injured men yelled out in pain as they were hoisted inside. The helicopter left immediately.

“What happened?” the medic asked, as they headed northeast for Afghanistan.

“We ran into more then we bargained for,” Solo answered.

The medic gave them both a shot of morphine to kill the pain, and after a few minutes they were sound asleep.

“Joseph,” the pilot said. “Keep an eye out for obstructions. I’m staying down as low as possible.”

Joseph slipped on his night vision head gear, scanning for anything that could cause them to come to a sudden stop. All at once, tracers arched up from the desert floor, searching them out. The pilot took evasive action, maneuvering the helicopter behind a large sand dune and dropped even lower.

“Captain, there’s a radar unit straight ahead. Pull-up,” he yelled.

“I see it, Joseph. I’ll turn left around that small dune,” the Captain advised him. “Gunners, don’t return fire,” he ordered over the intercom. “Our tracers will give them a better target.”

The helicopter emerged from behind the small dune ten feet off the desert floor. Tracers streamed overhead. They were flying so close to the ground that the gun crews were unable to depress their guns sufficiently to hit the chopper. As the helicopter made its escape, a few popping sounds were heard on board when bullets ripped through the outer skin.

“I don’t think we lost anything vital,” Joseph said. “All gauges are normal.” Just then, there were three loud bangs.

“What the hell was that, Captain?” Joseph asked.

“We almost ran over a patrol. They got a few shots off at us.”

Joseph checked the gauges once more. “Nothing, Captain. Everything is normal.”

“Captain,” a door gunner called over the intercom, “it smells like fuel oil back here, but I don’t see any leaking.”

Ten minutes later, the gauges indicated they were using an exorbitant amount of fuel.

“You guys want to walk or try to get to our fuel dump? If we don’t blow up, we might make it. I can radio for pick-up, if we can’t fix the leak,” the Captain said.

“Let’s go for it,” the crew answered, almost in unison.

“Captain,” Joseph said, looking at the map, “that missile site isn’t on our chart, if we’re heading in the right direction.”

“Joseph, look at the compass. Now, see the big dipper. We’re headed northeast.” The Captain gained altitude, then pulled back on the throttle all the way. He figured the leak was worse than the added fuel consumption.

“Joseph, pinpoint that base as accurately as possible. Intelligence will be interested in that information.”

They flew on, hoping they wouldn’t have to trek too far. An hour later, the Captain flashed his navigational lights on and off. Seconds later, three flashes came from a quarter mile ahead and a little to their left.

“We made it, Captain,” Joseph said, looking down at the fuel gauges. They registered empty.

“Nice navigating, Joseph,” the Captain congratulated him.

* * *

The next day, after his stakeout in the alley, David entered Terra’s back door. She was sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch.

“Ah, the man I love, home from work.” They both laughed. “Could I give the beggar something for lunch?”

“You could, but you won’t.”

She grinned at David. “Someday I might.”

“What do you mean you might?”

“Well, that depends on whether you get a job.”

“Terra, you’re terrible! You mean you wouldn’t love me if I didn’t have a job?”

“Why should I? I’m only marrying you for your American money.”

“I have a big problem, if that’s the case.”

“Well, David, if you behave yourself and are kind to me, I guess I could live in poverty. Maybe, just maybe.” They stood, looking into each other’s eyes, smiling.

“Well, I can be kind, Terra. Behave, I’m not sure.” She gently slapped his face. David grabbed her, holding her in his arms. She giggled, breaking free.

“I have lunch in the refrigerator for you. Go change while I get it out.”

David hurried into the den. While Terra busied herself setting out his lunch, she daydreamed about how life would be when they were married. She gave a start when the phone rang, and walked into the living room and answered it.

“Hello, Terra Tehrani speaking.”

“Hi, Terra. This is Mary. Mom’s here.”

“Did her trip go all right?”

“Yes, she was tired, but it went very smoothly. I’ve got the house all set up. Mom really likes it. She said the green reminds her of Italy when she was a young girl. I didn’t know if you were going to ship our furniture, so I bought all new stuff. I had no idea what to buy, but Margaret helped me. She’s been very supportive.”

“Mary, Jamil and Margaret’s anniversary is June 30th. Why don’t you buy them a trip to Hawaii. They’ve done so much for all of us. Don’t let them say no. Go to a travel agency and book the whole thing--hotel, plane tickets--and get $5000 in travelers checks. Oh, and be sure to rent them a car, too. Just hand them the package and tell them ‘No discussion.’ Margaret has always wanted to go there. She used to talk about how awesome it would be to watch all the huge waves crashing on the beach. Set it up as soon as possible so Jamil can plan his vacation time.”

“Wow, Terra, that would be great.”

“Are you doing all right, Mary?”

“Yes. I’ve gotten over the shock. Now that Mom’s here, it will be better. Will you be coming soon?”

“It won’t be too long. A couple of months, most likely.”

“That’s long, Terra!”

“It could be sooner, depending on when the house sells. I’m going to ship your things next week, Mary. I’ve packed everything. You can keep what you want, when it gets there.” Terra talked with her mother for several minutes, then hung up.

She returned to the kitchen. David was there waiting for her. “That was Mary,” she said.

“Did your mom get there OK?”

“Yes, everything’s fine. I’ll be so glad when we can join them.”

“Sweetheart, it sounds so nice when you say we.”

Terra walked over and put her arms around him. They stood that way for a long time, enjoying the closeness. She finally stepped back and asked, “Is this why people dance?”

“Do you know how to dance, Terra?”

“No, will you teach me?”

“I’d enjoy teaching you!”

“David, I called my friend this morning about our Commander Bob. She returned my call just before you came in. It seems “Bob” was a general, but was discharged in 1995. He was then put in charge of Special Units, answerable only to the Minister of Defense.”

“What are Special Units, Terra?”

“I asked that, too. Jamila said they’re units not under military control--border guards, special police units, cus-toms, and ranking officers’ personal body guards.”

“Wow! He’s a big fish.”

Terra looked at David. “A what?” She had a good command of the English language, but certain figures of speech were beyond her understanding.

“It means big deal or top dog.”

“Now you’ve really confused me.”

“Well, let’s say he’s at the top of the food chain,” David laughed. “It means he’s a very important person.”

“Top dog, huh.”

“Well, Terra, he could also be top banana.”

David told her about the car that came into the alley. You know, I thought it was curious that nothing else came into the alley all morning. No people, dogs, cats, or cars. Would that be normal, Terra?”

“It just might have been a slow day.”

“Well, I’ll see what happens tomorrow?”

“Do you want to use my car tomorrow?”

“No. If someone is watching the alley, it could lead them to you.”

Early the next morning, David was in the alley again. The routine was the same. The car pulled up, and three men went into the pharmacy. They came back out eating sweet rolls, and one man was carrying a briefcase. Somebody has a pile of briefcases, David thought, unless they’re going full circle. He waited until 2 o’clock before leaving this time.

The next day he parked on the corner across the street from the pharmacy. At 7:30 a.m., the car came from the west, turned and disappeared. David hoped it had gone into the alley. Fifteen minutes later, it came out of the alley and turned east on the street in front of the pharmacy. “That settles it,” David said to himself. “They definitely drove north the day they took me to the base.” He decided he would park on the corner by the north-south highway the next day to double check.

The next morning, as he sat waiting, David counted fifteen cars going north, and only seven going south. Not many cars in a little over an hour. At 8:05, the courier car stopped at the corner and turned left, heading north on the main highway. This confirmed what he had come to believe--they most likely had driven into the alley from the other direction to confuse him. They almost succeeded. He waited 20 minutes, turned the car around, and headed back to Terra’s. He parked in the vacant lot, waited to make sure he wasn’t followed, then disappeared into the bushes.

Terra was sitting in the living room, talking on the phone. She smiled at David, signaling she would be through in a minute. He walked into the kitchen for a glass of tea. She quickly came in and joined him.

“Who was on the phone?”

“Just a friend who heard about the incident on the bus.” (This was the only time she ever lied to David.) “She wanted to make sure I was all right. She gushed on about how brave I was.”

“You were, Terra.”

David explained about the car going north. “Ill begin watching the road tomorrow,” he told her. “I may be gone awhile.”

“I packed your Range Rover,” Terra said. “I believe I thought of everything--food, water, sleeping bag, tent, matches, and a flashlight. It was my dad’s field gear.”

“Thanks, honey. I’m going to miss you. I’ve gotten used to your cooking.”

“Is that all?”

“Well, maybe a few other things.”

“You’re a tease, David.”

“As Solo would say, we only tease people I love,” David laughed.

He left early the next morning. They parted with a long, lingering kiss. “Good luck, sweetheart. Be careful. There are a lot of loose women running around in the desert.”

David drove off, hoping the wait wouldn’t be too long and knowing he would miss her terribly.

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