Ryder raised binoculars and scanned the empty road below, then beyond to the steep, rising tussock and scrub-covered ground which filtered into the jagged, rocky surfaces of Kuh-e Mohammadabad less than five miles away. For as far as the eye could see the mountain range spread along the horizon, the twin peaks of Kuh-e Mohammadabad to the left, 11,800 feet high, and Kuh-e Alasahun to the right, 11,200 feet high, twenty-five miles apart, looming large and majestic like sentinels in the clear morning air. He ran the binoculars slowly over the barren, snow-covered left-hand peak and down the craggy features of the mountain's western face, attempting to pinpoint anything that might give a clue to a base, but from this distance he saw nothing. A tarseal road, running almost on an east-west axis, bisected the valley and ran on up into the range away to the left on the western side of Kuh-e Mohammadabad. As it snaked through the lower hills, furrowed snow and darkened slush on the surface indicated the road was used recently by vehicles. Patchy snow covered the slopes, becoming widespread higher up. A strong wind blew sheets of powdery snow off the peaks and buffeted the foothills below. He let the glasses drop with a sense of foreboding; searching to determine if this mountain housed a missile base was not going to be easy.
Using the GPS and co-ordinates given to him by Shiron, Ryder once more verified the bleak mountain mass to his left was in fact the objective. He turned to Sicano, also surveying the mountain through binoculars.
“See anything unusual?”
“Nothing; you sure this is the mountain?”
“Certain.” He handed Sicano the GPS, together with map.
A minute or two later the American looked up and said, “Yeah, I agree.” He then raised glasses to look again at the mountain and muttered, “Sure hope we ain't come all this way for nothin.”
Ryder turned to Shiron. “Does this area match the briefing data?”
The Israeli nodded, “Checks out with aerial shots, including the road.”
“According to this map, the road runs east to Abbasabad about seven miles into the range near the base of the mountain.”
“The silo outlets would probably be on the western side,” Shiron said, glancing towards the peak. “Our experts covered every inch of the aerials, found nothing unusual â rock, scrub, snow, that's all. We were to check overhangs and all tracks on the western side. If nothing was found at the lower levels we were to move upwards.”
Ryder focused the glasses back on the mountain and then down to the road, following until it disappeared into the hills before turning to Sicano.
“You and Clint scout the south-eastern flank; look for tracks and anything else that might be suspicious⦠You two,” he glanced at the Israelis, “will come with me to cover the western flank.”
“And him?” Kellar asked, glancing at Fehed.
“He comes with us.” He turned to Afari. “You stay here and keep an eye on the road. I want to know what comes and goes.”
She nodded.
To Ryder, she seemed suddenly to have lost the lethargy displayed over the past few days; he hoped so. Maybe the closeness of the mountain and the possibility of some action had something to do with it. Anyway, he had more to think about now they were separating into two groups. Would the killer see this as an opportunity to take out another? Keeping the Americans and the Israelis apart might reduce this possibility; although having the Israelis as part of his team was possibly placing himself at more risk.
He continued, “This will be base, get back here in three days max. Watch for patrols, bury your shit and leave nothing to give away our presence. Do as you've been trained. You're looking for anything that could be a penetration point into the mountain: silo head, vent stacks, anything not natural.” He paused and looked at each man, “Any questions?”
Silence.
“Okay, move out.”
Under a mostly clear dawn sky streaked with wisps of orange and white cirrus clouds, the Americans left the ridge and made their way down towards the road and into the scrub beyond, keeping to what little cover there was and avoiding patches of snow to avoid leaving an obvious trail. Ryder held back until they were out of sight then said to Shiron, “Untie him.”
The two Israelis glanced at each other, stunned; Hellmann's brooding eyes boring into Ryder. Both just stood there tensely until Shiron broke the silence, “You can't do that; you want to end up like the other Iranian? Why put us at unnecessary risk?”
He wasn't going to waste time explaining; obviously they had yet to work out that Fehed could not possibly be the killer.
“Do as I say,” Ryder ordered, eyes boring into them both.
The two did not move.
“Do as I say!” he hissed, eyes shifting to the corporal in case he went for the knife. For one moment he wondered if he should confront the Israelis openly right now accusing them of killing Saad, but on reflection decided now would not be a good time; he would wait until he had backup from the others.
Moments later Shiron shrugged, stepped forward and untied the Iranian.
“Give him a rifle and ammo.”
Again an exchange of glances; this time of real alarm.
“Do it!” Ryder spat menacingly.
This time Hellmann did what was ordered.
Then for the sake of the two Israelis, Ryder said to the Iranian, “You make one wrong move and I, or these two, will kill you â understood?”
Fehed nodded.
With that they left the ridge and moved down the slope towards the mountain. To ease the tension, Ryder told Fehed to lead so he could be seen by all whilst he remained at the rear of the file as they began their search in earnest across the steeply rising terrain.
By late afternoon Ryder had covered several miles of the lower mountain without incident. Thick clouds had descended making it difficult, if not impossible, to see the upper slopes. At one point he focused his glasses on a large and lengthy overhang, but cloud blanked out his vision of what looked to be an oddly flat piece of vertical black rock positioned immediately under the overhang for almost its entire length. After a few minutes trying to determine if it was man-made, he gave up; he would take a closer look on the way back â weather permitting. Down to the left as night fell, Ryder could make out the road and, beyond that, lights twinkling away in the distance, which he assumed was Abbasabad. Soon they would need to find suitable shelter. The thought of spending darkness in a dugout did not exactly appeal. At this altitude, constant alert for patrols and searching the mountainside sapped strength and the ability to remain focused. He feared the gruelling existence of the past weeks was beginning to take its toll on him more than expected. No doubt the others would be feeling it too, including the traitor, which gave him some degree of solace.
Eventually, Ryder called a halt and they rested amongst rocks sheltered from the wind. Huddled together silently, chewing meagre rations and listening to the wind whistling across the slopes, they made themselves as comfortable as the cramped conditions would allow. Ryder agreed to take the first watch leaving the Israelis, keeping a close eye on the Iranian, to take the remaining until dawn. He resolved to stay awake for as long possible.
Dawn arrived. Ryder had catnapped throughout the night. After chewing some more meat, the group, cold and stiff, left the boulders and recommenced the search. Now well into the western flank of the mountain, low cloud made it difficult to see much above them, or very far ahead, but slowly they made progress, scouring every yard of the rock and tussock surfaces. By early afternoon the clouds began to lift. The wind that had so far plagued them, eased and they made better headway. Hawks screeched overhead, searching for prey.
Cresting a ridge, Ryder looked out across a narrow valley towards a broad spur, some 500 yards distant. Shiron said the spur looked like the one he had seen on the aerial shots but couldn't be sure. He suggested they should stake-out where the spur met the mountain. Ryder agreed and they headed down the slope towards the long, scrub-covered finger of land.
On reaching the crest the four men could see the surface had been skimmed exposing rock to form a track capable of taking heavy loads. At first glance it could easily be judged natural, but on closer inspection the work of machinery was obvious. Despite boulders and rubble disguising its meandering path, there could be little doubt this track was subject to regular use. This fact energised the two Israelis who now took the lead following the track.
They headed up the spur on the leeward side, keeping to the edge just below the level of the ridge, using what cover they could. Finally arriving where the spur and track met sheer rock, Ryder observed nothing unusual but it seemed illogical for the track to end abruptly like this. From a concealed position well away, he scanned the rock face with his binoculars; if an entrance did exist it would surely be under camera surveillance, or heat imaging. However, no equipment could be detected, but he decided it too risky to make a close-up inspection, resolving to dig-in and wait to see if anything happened before they had to leave the next day.
The night was long, cold and uneventful. No matter how comfortable they tried to make themselves in the narrow, cramped conditions of the individual dugouts none succeeded. When the dawn arrived to the screeching of hawks above, Ryder decided to wait until full daylight before heading back to the base. When a pale sun partly hidden by cloud illuminated the spur without change in respect of the rock face and anyone using the track, he gave the order to move out.
On the way back the overhang observed the previous day was still shrouded in low cloud but Ryder's attention was quickly drawn away at the sound of barking dogs. Focusing binoculars down the mountainside he could see a patrol of several men, in single file, some distance down the slope, making their way slowly between the shrub and boulders. The file, accompanied by a pair of fierce looking Alsatians straining at leads, was thankfully heading in the opposite direction. They hid amongst the tussock and Ryder watched the patrol through his scope until they soon disappeared out of sight; a timely reminder they were not alone in this hostile wilderness and should remain ever vigilant if they were to survive.
As light began to fade on the third day, Ryder arrived back on the ridge with the others, exhausted and hungry, followed shortly by the Americans.
After eating a scant meal cooked by Afari over a small fire, Ryder questioned the Americans. “I guess you found nothing?”
Both nodded then Sicano said, “Pretty rugged ground up that eastern side, nothing but rock, scrub and goat trails⦠nothing that would remotely suggest access, air-vents, comms or the movement of heavy vehicles; the weather was shitty too. We'll try higher tomorrow.”
“No different with us,” said Ryder, “although we did locate what could be described as a rough track capable of taking vehicles. Strange thing is it came to an abrupt end hard against a sheer rock face.”
“Concealed entrance, maybe,” offered Kellar.
“Didn't attempt to go close in case of surveillance eyes, but from what we could see through the bins it looked natural, no firm linear lines that would suggest sliders.”
“Encounter patrols?” Sicano asked, turning to Shiron.
Both the Israelis had said nothing since returning but had kept a close eye on Fehed, now tied up again outside the circle. Ryder had ordered it to avoid trouble at this stage with the Americans. “Yeah, one, but well away,” the Israeli growled.
“Did you?” Ryder asked the Americans.
“No, only wind, sleet and hawks,” Kellar replied.
“Suggests nothing to be found on that side then,” Ryder paused to gather his thoughts. “Okay, this is what we do. In the light of the negative result on the eastern side, we'll now cover the spur on the west. We've sufficient rations to last almost a fortnight, if used sparingly it will allow several days of continuous surveillance before the need to make south for the Gulf. It won't be productive for all of us to spend the time holed up together on that exposed spur, it's cramped and extremely uncomfortable, so I suggest me and you two,” he looked across at Shiron and Hellmann, “and you too,” at the Iranian, “will take the first four days, and youâ”
“You taking the Iranian?” cut in Sicano.
“I am,” he replied firmly. “I want to keep a close eye on him. You have a problem with that?” What he really meant to say was: âI'm not leaving him with you.'
The American shrugged, “Have it your way.”
Ryder was glad he backed off; things might have turned nasty otherwise. “Okay, you and Bear can take the remaining surveillance time. Meanwhile Afari, and those not on the spur, will monitor traffic on the road below.” He glanced around the circle, “Again, anyone have a problem with that?” He had but wasn't going to say. Leaving the two Americans alone on the ridge with Afari was a real risk if one of them was the traitor; the culprit could well kill the other two and take off to Abbasabad.
No response. He looked over at Afari who had just finished feeding the bound Fehed, “Much traffic while we were absent?”
“Several vehicles, mostly sedans and private trucks; some individuals with donkeys but no military as far as I could tell; that's it,” she replied.
Ryder would have expected some military vehicles on the road if a base did exist; but then why that patrol, and why the garrison in Abbasabad? One contradicted the other, strengthening his opinion that they had come all this way for nothing. Silence prevailed after that and fatigue took over; the watch was agreed and finally they all turned in.
The following morning as pre-dawn light began to percolate above the peak, Ryder and his party prepared to leave. The four then made their way down to the road and melted into the semi-darkness beyond. They made good progress, but about four miles out from the spur faint voices were heard on the wind ahead; all dived for a crevasse in a nearby rock outcrop. Waiting tensely in silence with Ryder scanning the terrain through a gap, he suddenly saw a soldier crest the ridge ahead followed by another, then another with dog on a leash.