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“That’s what I mean. The man you’re after is one that the Hezbollah hierarchy cares about. He’s very valuable. They don’t want to turn him over to the Americans, even if it means what you say.”

I segued to my primary mission, one that he didn’t know about yet. “Do you have someone within the hierarchy with you? Because I have a message I want to pass.”

“A message from whom?”

“From the top of the United States. Look, Samir, this shit going on isn’t what it seems. We’re trying to unfold it, but right now we need to let Iran know that we know it isn’t them. We need them to back down.”

Knuckles came to me holding a couple of key fobs, saying, “We’ve got vehicles. Waiting on you.”

I nodded, then heard Samir say, “You want to talk to Iran?”

Off the phone, I said, “Bring them here. We’re leaving now.”

On the phone, I said, “Yes, that’s what I want. Do you have someone who can do that?”

I heard nothing for a moment, then, “I do, Pike, but this is very dangerous, both for me and for you.”

I said, “Yeah, I get that. The last time I saw you I lost my pinky finger to some pruning shears. We’re outside the airport. Where do we go?”

He gave me an address, and I said, “You’re shitting me. You want to meet there?”

He said, “I thought it appropriate.”

I turned to my group, saying, “Jennifer and I are going in. Brett and Knuckles separate short of the location. Anything goes wrong, kill all of them. I mean every single one.”

Chapter 62

Raphael and Leonardo loaded back into the Land Cruiser, now following a Toyota HiLux pickup truck out of the village. They reached a real two-lane highway and picked up speed, driving south.

Tariq said, “So I assume everything went well?”

Raphael said, “Yes, as far as I can tell.”

“You know all of this land is now owned by Hezbollah, right?”

“That’s what he said. Why?”

“Just that you’re now in a different world. This isn’t Lebanon. Or Rome. You cross these people, and you’re going to die.”

Raphael smiled and said, “I’ve been here before. Trust me, I get it.”

Tariq caught his eye in the rearview mirror, but said nothing else. After passing through several small villages, they reached the bombed-out outskirts of Daraa, Leonardo saying, “This looks like Sarajevo after the war.”

Tariq said, “The regime just pounds it with artillery. Like it’s target practice. Nobody wants to be anywhere near the city now.”

They continued south, leaving behind the devastation. After another forty minutes of driving, the HiLux left the paved road and headed out into the desert. Tariq followed. Raphael saw a small compound in the distance, nothing around except for the rocks and small scrub trees. No orchards or other agriculture. The buildings were clearly here for something other than farming.

The pickup truck circled the compound, then pulled up short next to an overhang built of tin. Underneath were four Samad 3 UAVs.

Built in Iran, and used to great effect in Yemen against Saudi Arabia, they were basically suicide drones. With a wingspan of nearly fifteen feet and a payload of forty pounds of explosives and ball bearings, it was like a small airplane. Not controlled by an operator using a tablet or other device, it was fire and forget, with a range of more than 1,500 kilometers. All that was needed was to load the coordinates to the attack point, release it, and it was on its way, like a slow-motion bullet fired from a gun. Developed and perfected in Iran, it was named after a leader of the Houthis, Saleh al-Sammad, who was assassinated by the United Arab Emirates in 2018.

It was used almost daily by the rebel movement in Yemen, the most famous being an attack on a Saudi refinery in 2019 that caused reverberations throughout the oil industry, and by extension, the world. It was a crude cruise missile that Raphael intended to use not as a signal of deterrence against a target with little meaning, like Hezbollah wanted, but as a spark against a lake of gasoline.

Tariq saw the HiLux doors open, and the two men exit. He said, “Okay, this is your show now.”

Raphael slowly nodded, and left the vehicle.

He went to the two men and said, “So you’ve got the Samad Three. Good drone.”