CHAPTER 6 OPERATION SAVIOR

 

CHAPTER 6

OPERATION SAVIOR

 

     Mabior leaned against his cell wall's far corner, and the primitive bed was moved to give access to that particular area. He had searched for a location that could be hidden from view when not being used. In preparation for his plan, he had covered the sliding opening for the guards to check on the prisoners with the single blanket provided for the metal bed minus any form of mattress. He had mused in the beginning that being without a mattress meant no body-devouring pests to make life even more miserable.

     Over the past week of imprisonment, Mabior had managed to drill a tiny communication hole into Dok's cell next to his. This was accomplished with a pointed metal 4" probe Mr. B had required them to hide in the hidden compartment of their sandals. In turn, Dok had opened a similar portal into Thon's cell. The three men passed information through the tiny holes almost soundlessly. A best-time was worked out. A best-time was whenever the guards were rattling the metal meal dishes covered in a mysterious and disgusting material referred to as food or shouting obscenities at one another during frequent arguments.

     All three men were beaten severely, but, being very fit and trained, looked worse than they were in reality. The three played the game of being weak and scared as they had been trained. Always on the lookout for opportunities to feed false information to their interrogators. In their communications through the holes, info was passed to keep their stories similar.

     Their quizmaster looked down on them as illiterate Sudanese. Mabior and the others read the notes taken by the unsuspecting quizmaster and passed them on to one another. Interrogations were more controlled by Mabior, Thon, and Dok than by the Iranians.

     The three Team members prayed for strength and perseverance. Paul was their example. Dok told them that Paul had accomplished almost as much in prison as outside. They treated their guards with great courtesy. Regular inquiries were made about the welfare of their families. Meals were noticeably improving. Guards quit kicking and hitting the prisoners with their rifle butts. When the cell doors were opened, if the three were in the middle of prayers, the guards respectfully waited for them to finish.

     Eventually, one of the guards asked, "Why do you ask your God to bless us and our families when you are beaten and imprisoned?"

     Thon replied, "Because our God is a loving God. He loves you and your family and asks his followers to love you just as he does. He tells us to love even our enemies. Doesn't your God, Allah, love you?" That answer left the guard perplexed.

     On the fifteenth day of imprisonment during interrogation, Mabior asked during a pause of the frustrated quizmaster, "Do you think I am a Mossad agent come to steal information and destroy your facilities?"

     The man's eyes opened wide as he replied, "You - Mossad? Hah!" He let out a loud and belly-shaking laugh along with the two guards assisting in the room.

     Mabior joined in on the laughter. If only Mr. Quizmaster and his guards knew the reality of the situation, they might not be laughing so hard. Mabior wasn't laughing at himself. He was laughing at what the Iranians were unaware of right under their noses.

     The two guards escorted Mabior back to the two guards working the cells of the three Team members. One of the escorting guards commented to the new replacement guards, "You new guards need to be tougher on these animals than the old guards."

     The new guards just grunted in reply as they locked the prisoner in his cell.

     Having delivered their human parcel, the guards disappeared around the corner, clomping down the narrow stone steps chattering about nothing. Certain that they were alone, the two new cell guards turned to one another and smiled.

     The guards slid open all three small observation doors. The Team members inside all let out a chuckle. Mabior commented quietly, "Artie and Giff, you two are a sight for sore eyes."

     Artie answered with, "As are the three of you. God has taken good care of ya, and he'll be taking even better care shortly. Listen carefully..." He and Giff explained the plan in methodical detail.

     Mabior, Thon, and Dok had been imprisoned due to their being caught praying - to a Christian God. It was part of the plan to work operatives into position to take over the local police force guarding the Talleghan 2 nuke sight attacked by the Israeli Air Force on October 27.

     Mossad, through Unit 8200, had devised this plan to work at the site with near immunity from discovery by the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) or Artesh (Includes the army, air force, and navy). The IRGC's duty is to protect the regime and is in charge of national security, internal security, and law enforcement.

     Internet, satellite, radio, and phone line communication would be controlled (would be the best explanation due to secrecy) during the plan implementation.

     The quizmaster received a phone call informing him of a visit from an IRGC rep with visiting officials from their Russian ally to inspect the facility. The inspection was to determine if the facility would be secure enough to house a group of war prisoners from Syria. Also, a convoy of IRGC trucks would be bringing in a group of reinforcements to reconstruct the Talleghan 2 nuke facility.

     Mr. Quizmaster was in a nervous tizzy with this sudden intrusion of his fiefdom. It was all designed to cause confusion and havoc. Later, Mossad showed me a dossier on the quizmaster. He was a punctilious little bureaucrat who became flustered at the least blip in his routine. Brother, he was about to experience a large blip in that routine that would bring nerve-wracking havoc with it, and just what Dr. Mossad ordered.

     A policeman rushed into the quizmaster's office shouting, "They're here! There are five trucks filled with men and IRGC soldiers. What do we do?"

     Right behind that man's announcement came another, "Sir, there are many men, Russians, and IRGC, I think, coming in the front entry! What shall I do, tell them? Where do I send them?

     Behind all that, came, "Sir! All the landline phones are down, and I'm not able to get anything on my cell phone. Is your phone down, too?"

     As if that wasn't enough, "Sir, something happened to the radios in the police cars. All those IRGC officials with the trucks and workers are waiting to talk to you about specifics the home office supposedly gave to you. Did you talk to them about this? Sir, I need to tell them something."

     Mr. Quizmaster was red-faced and breathing hard. He was not in charge of the situation, but he was the man in charge. Without his okay, the Russians and officials crammed into his tiny office with all the other people yelling and panicking. It was a glorious sight.

     You could see the poor man's future fading before his eyes. At wit's end, he quietly commanded all the policemen to exit his office. After that, he turned his attention to the IRGC officials with the visiting Russians. Clearing his throat and with a defeated tone he asked, "How may I be of assistance to you gentlemen?"

     With a condescending expression and tone, the lead IRGC man inquired, "Is this how you run your district, sir? The Khamenei will hear of this."

     Defeated, the man just shrugged and sheepishly smiled.

     The IRGC official struggled to turn in the crowded room to introduce the Russians. "I have the pleasure of introducing Colonel Petrov who is escorting Major General Sokolov and Colonel General Popov."

     Mr. Quizmaster graciously shook the hands of each officer. Immediately after, he shouted for someone in the outer office to bring chairs for the officials and officers, but they deferred to making the tour of the prison due to time restraints. The quizmaster was sweating profusely as he motioned for the group to follow him.

     Stiffly the entourage trudged behind the boss bureaucrat down the narrow halls, around sharp corners, and up steep steps toward the cellblocks where prisoners were held in dilapidated and filthy quarters unfit for swine, much less humans. Upon reaching the cells containing Mabior, Thon, and Dok, the boss ordered the cell door viewing holes slid open for inspection. To his surprise, the doors all swung open from the force of those inside.

     Bewildered, the quizmaster turned to the guards with his mouth open but no words coming out. The guards had their AKs pointed directly at him. As he turned to attempt an escape, he saw the men behind him, the Russian officers, with their side arms drawn and pointed at him. The end-all was the IRGC official informing him, "Sir, you need to hand me your phone and sidearm, and enter the cell, promptly."

     The quizmaster stood there obviously thinking about a way out, but all his horrid and small mind came up with was, "Or?"

     The IRGC official smiled as he answered, "Or - we shall shoot you."

     Mabior shoved the man in the cell not quite as hard as he wanted, then began a contagious laugh that the entire group caught. The stress was being laughed away as the cell door was locked. Afterward, the group walked single file down the narrow hallway laughing till their sides hurt and tears streamed down their cheeks. Every time Thon repeated, "Or," and Samuel responded with, "We shall shoot you," the laughter intensified.

     As we came to the occupied cells, I checked the paperwork listing the prisoners and crimes committed. We unlocked all the cells as we were assured of their being with us due to their crimes being political in nature, and by their families having been vetted previously.

     With the Christians gathered up by the other three units of The Team and the political dissidents released from jail, we had a sizable little army on hand quite capable of completing this mission. The few residents/workers at the nuke facility had been detained with only minor effort. We had a small but achievable interval to complete our evidence gathering to get it shipped safely away.

     That was until an Artesh army unit walked into the mix.