More Than Courage (31 page)

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Laporta, each and every man who had a role in planning the next operation saw their return as nothing more than a down payment.

To that end the commanding general of CENTCOM

arranged a private briefing for all the family members of RT Kilo.

Before launching into well-rehearsed briefings put together by his staff for the wives, children, and parents of the men still being held or missing, the general addressed the gathering in an effort to set the tone. "While our purpose here today is to welcome home two soldiers, let no one forget those who cannot be here with us today. Our goal continues to be to bring all of our people home as quickly and as safely as possible." Had the general been totally honest with the gathering he would have added, "without doing any further damage to our already tarnished reputation."

Such candor, however, was not advisable even when dealing with those who understood and felt the true cost of maintaining their nation's place in the world.

Ever mindful of the need to protect the family members of its soldiers, entry into these briefings was restricted to immediate family only. Enforcement of this policy was handled by polite yet unyielding personnel from Fort Bragg's office of public affairs and the post's protocol officer. Only those who could prove that they were related by blood or marriage to one of the men still being held by the Syrians were granted full access to all the briefings.

Everyone else, including in-laws and one woman who claimed to be the fiancee of Lieutenant Joseph Ciszak, had to wait in a vacant office that had been hastily converted into a temporary lounge. Among this assortment of second-tier relatives, lovers, and friends was Karen Green. When asked by Fort Bragg's protocol officer what her relationship was to Elizabeth, Karen had been as truthful as she dared. "I'm here to lend her my moral support."

If she had been totally honest, she would have told the protocol officer that she had come to spare Elizabeth the agony of going there with her mother, a woman who was determined to do all she could to comfort her poor baby.

For Karen, Fort Bragg represented a sinister side of America 240

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that she and her friends delighted in disparaging and denigrating over five-dollar cups of cappuccino. Everything about the place and its people alarmed her, from the presence of gun-toting soldiers in uniform to the high fences and barbed wire that surrounded restricted areas. Never having taken the time to understand the role of the military in keeping democracies free, Karen found that she had nothing better to draw upon to regulate her experience than the popular imagery of Nazi concentration camps that the entertainment industry was so fond of perpetuating. This particular comparison had become so ingrained in her psyche that she found herself looking for MPs with snarling German shepherds to appear shouting "AchtungT as they moved about the edge of the crowd. By the time Elizabeth had to part from her side in order to attend the family-only briefings, Karen had managed to work herself into such a state that it was becoming a question of whether she was providing moral support to Elizabeth or vice versa.

In the waiting area where everyone who was nonfamily gathered, Karen found herself alone and feeling quite vulnerable. If ever there were a time when she needed a cigarette to calm her nerves, this was it. Unable to escape, she did her best to be as inconspicuous as possible by tucking herself away in a corner of the room.

With nothing better to do while she waited for Elizabeth to appear, Karen tried to forget about her paranoia by studying the comings and goings of the others who filled the anteroom. Having shared Elizabeth's ordeal since the beginning, more than a few of the faces around her were familiar. Off near the door that led into the auditorium where the briefings were taking place Karen spotted the woman who was engaged to the air force ofhcer.

Sitting patiently against the wall with her feet drawn up under her chair and hands folded in her lap, the woman looked perfectly composed as she waited for her fiancee's sister to emerge from the briefing. I wonder, Karen found herself wondering as she looked at the woman's calm demeanor, if the military has special pi"<>~

grams designed to prepare the families for times like this?

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As the savvy New Yorker was pondering this question one of three chaplains who were circulating throughout the room came up to Ciszak's fiancee. Like everyone she and Elizabeth had come into contact with since arriving at Fort Bragg, the chaplains were doing their best to calm the fears of those who found themselves on the fringe of the crisis. Never having reconciled her lifestyle with the faith of her parents, Karen distrusted rabbis almost as much as she did anyone wearing a uniform. When one of the chaplains threatened to make his way over to where she stood, Karen began to look for someplace to escape to.

Just before she made her move a woman her own age whom Karen didn't recognize approached her. At first glance the stranger appeared to be a professional of some type, a lawyer perhaps, or maybe a businesswoman. Even the easy confident manner with which she carried herself reminded Karen of the sort of person that she enjoyed being around. When she was but a few feet away, the woman gave Karen one of those knowing smiles.

Without hesitation she leaned forward and whispered as if they were old friends, "I could tell by the way you were watching that chaplain that you were desperate for a savior of a different sort."

Without thinking, Karen returned the smile, reached out, and took the proffered hand of the stranger. "You don't know how right you are. How did you guess?"

While still lightly grasping Karen's right hand with her own, the woman waved her left hand about. "Oh, having been around these GI Joe types before, I had a hunch you were new to this sort of thing."

Pleased to see that this woman wasn't wearing a wedding band, Karen felt whatever anxieties she had about her surroundings slip away now that she had found someone with whom to share her plight. Reaching up, Karen placed her left hand on the Woman's upper arm in order to steady herself as she leaned over to whisper in her ear. "If I have any say in the matter, this will be my first and last foray into the cave of the Bear Clan."

The woman's laughter, her light feminine scent, and the feel 242

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of a soft warm hand had an almost intoxicating effect on the nervous woman. Easing back she introduced herself. "I am Karen Green. I'm here with a friend of mine, Elizabeth Stanton."

With measured ease, the stranger gave Karen's right hand a friendly squeeze. "Hi, Karen. I'm Ann."

Karen returned the gesture by placing her left hand upon their clasped hands. For several long seconds the two women stood there in silence, neither making any effort to let go. Finally Karen managed to clear her throat and speak. "I don't know about you, but I feel like a chicken on Colonel Sanders's plantation.

Let's find someplace that's less crowded and a little less green, army protocol be damned."

Laughing, Ann nodded. "I know what you mean. Since this sort of military briefing and the questions that inevitably follow tend to take forever, I doubt anyone will miss us."

Thrilled that she had found someone who shared her feelings and was willing to go along with her, Karen didn't bother to ask how it was that Ann knew about briefings like the one going on.

Even if she had, the woman who called herself Ann would not have told her. She had no intention of letting on that she was a journalist for a national tabloid who had been following Elizabeth for days in the hope of finding a fresh new angle that no one else had yet uncovered.

Damascus, Syria

00:25 LOCAL (20:25 ZULU)

Concerned that the Syrian government could no longer guarantee them unfettered access to the American Air Force officer, the Chinese colonel who served as the unofficial military liaison between the government in Damascus and the People's Republic insisted that First Lieutenant Ciszak be turned over to them immediately. This led to some bitter infighting between senior Syrian officials. On one side there were some who had no desire MORE THAN COURAGE

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to part with any of their captives. To those responsible for generating propaganda and anti-American sentiment on the fabled Arab street as well as abroad, each and every American was a priceless gift from God whose value increased with each passing day. Like an exhibit in a private museum, profit could be reaped simply by displaying the American servicemen, especially one who was been wounded as Ciszak had been when Kilo One had blown up. Already the Syrians had recorded hours of film showing their doctors and nurses tenderly caring for Ciszak's numerous burns.

Time and time again the Syrian minister of information tried to point out that they had nothing to gain by giving in to the Chinese demands and everything to lose. "By releasing our footage showing how we are caring for the* wounded American we will put to the lie the rumors the Americans are spreading about the manner in which we are treating their soldiers," the minister insisted. "We have much to gain by keeping him and selectively granting access to those sympathetic to our goals or prominent figures whom we can exploit. In time I am sure we can use the wounded Air Force officer to extract concessions from the Americans they might not otherwise have granted."

The military leadership however had an entirely different perspective on the issues concerning Ciszak and the others. They saw the remaining Americans as little more than poker chips to be played when the time was right. Already they had made their influence felt in the matter concerning a trial and public execution for a Syrian traitor who had been captured. "So long as the Americans believe that time is on their side they will hesitate to take direct action to resolve the crisis. On the other hand if they feel that they have no choice but to act and act quickly, we may be able to stampede their political leaders to taking action before

their military is fully prepared. By bringing on battle sooner rather than later we increase the likelihood that their attempt to rescue the others will miscarry, a disaster that will enhance our national prestige and humble the arrogant Americans." Despite 244

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I

the fact that those who were against trading away their captives continued to point out that battles were notorious for yielding unintended results, the hard-line military faction won.

It was in this manner that the life of First Lieutenant Joseph Ciszak was reduced to that of a commodity. In exchange for state of-the-art-missile guidance systems for surface-to-air missiles the Syrians so desperately needed to counter American air power, the People's Liberation Army gained an intelligence asset that could be exploited in secret and at their leisure. Having done this sort of 1

thing during the

Korean War and Vietnam, the Communist Chinese

understood that the knowledge Ciszak possessed concerning techniques and technologies used to coordinate air strikes was perishable.

The sooner they had him in an environment that they controlled, the more valuable the information he yielded would be when it came time to hone their own tactics and countermeasures.

The transfer took place at a military airfield just outside of Damascus. Had anyone been aware of it, they would have found it ironic that the very building and room where Syrians turned the stretcher-borne American Air Force officer over to the Chinese was the same one that Robert Delmont's plan had set aside to be

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the operations center of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Rangers while they were on the ground executing Operation Fanfare.

Arlington, Virginia

07:15 LOCAL (11:15 ZULU)

There seemed to be no end to the surprises that awaited Dulmont upon his return to the United States. The first could only be described as an absolute bolt out of the blue. With his mind still trying to adjust to the shift in time zones and cluttered with a number of unresolved issues, Dclmont had not bothered to look at the newspaper he picked up in the cafeteria along with his morning coffee. It wasn't until he was standing in line waiting to

pay when he caught sight of a photo of First Lieutenant Ken Aveno sandwiched in between photos of two women. Above MORE THAN COURAGE

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them the headline proclaimed "Wife Dumps Army Officer for Lesbian Lover."

Normally the special operations plans officer was able to control his response even when handed orders that were by any measure farcical and outrageous. This revelation, however, struck Delmont with all of his normal safeties off and guards down.

Without thinking, he let out a groan. "Jesus fucking Christ!"

A Marine colonel waiting in line behind him glanced over his shoulder at the headline Delmont was staring at. The Marine chuckled. "I second that."

Embarrassed, Delmont turned to apologize. "I'm sorry, sir.

It's just that ..."

The Marine smiled. "No need to! I'm just glad my wife wasn't in the room this morning when I heard that tidbit on the radio."

"Well," Delmont mused as he shuffled down along the counter as the line advanced to the cashier, "I hope that young Lieutenant Aveno doesn't get wind of this, just in case he wasn't aware of his wife's choice."

The Marine sneered. "Oh, please. Be real, Colonel. Do you for one minute think that those bastards in Damascus are going to shield Aveno from this? By this evening I imagine that they'll have clippings from every English-language newspaper they can lay their hands on plastered all over his cell." Then after taking a moment to think about what he had just said, and composing himself, the Marine added with a whimsical glimmer in his eyes,

"I know that's what I would do."

The others waiting in line who overheard this conversation were not shocked by the Marine's statement. They were professional soldiers, most of whom still managed to remember that their primary duty was to kill people and break things. Statements such as the one just uttered by the colonel were nothing more