“Ladies. Gentlemen. Welcome to Operation 8. I am not going to waste time talking about our importance, what we do, or why we do it. This isn’t some welcome aboard pep talk. That was all a part of why you decided to be here, you know these things. First I’ll talk about what our goal is, in the most general sense. In short: We’re changing the landscape of how we operate, we being the countries that vie for peace and order. We will not be securing resources for the financial benefit of a leader. We will not be destabilizing countries to open way for financial mining. That’s all going on.

We are changing the landscape at this level. We need enemies of peace to know that when something just is to be done, and our militaries and politics will not allow it, or heads of state spend months jockeying for position and that leaves people open to harm--something will be done.

You will not be doing this for praise, or awards, or to see yourself in the paper. Some of you will die and never be spoken of. Your families will be told you died in an exercise, or in combat fighting for your respective country. That is what you signed on for.

While this does sound noble, rest assured, it is not going to be easy. Some of you will be embedding yourselves among the people you despise to do deplorable things. You’ll be in places you loathe, in conditions that are awful, sometimes doing things for reasons you are not, nor will ever be, aware of. Contact may be limited to the point you doubt what you’re doing or wonder if you’ve gone too far.

Nothing I can say now or then will make those thoughts or realities go away. So. I won’t speak of it.

In closing, we’re a team and on the subject of teams, I want to introduce a handful of people. First, myself. I’m Lieutenant Colonel Pete Bitterns, United States Army. In short, I’m calling the shots, you all answer to me. All orders come from me.

Second in command and field officer is Major Ed Myong. He will speak for me, be informed and involved with decision making and debriefs, and also occasionally deploy on ground when necessary. He is a Major with the South Korean Military and has been involved with police actions there as well.

Next, we have out intel officer, Lieutenant Jain Ogranda, South African Defense Force.

This is Lieutenant Yuri Bragamov, formerly with the KGB and Ukrainian Airborne and he’s the comm officer.

We then have Sergeant Cedric Pines, United States Army, Airman First Class from France Julia Moreau, and Corporal Makkid Mawlik, United States Marines. These individuals we be manning comm traffic, intel, gathering data and monitoring maps and feeds.

Behind you, you see The Den. This is where we’ll be while you are all out in the shit. We have 2 vans to go mobile, we have air assets for when we need to move and access to everywhere we need to be...or at least very close to where we need to be.

Lastly. We’re obviously a small group. This is borderline a breach of what I should be sharing with you, but Operation 8 is a pilot initiative. Depending on results, other teams may be instituted in hopes of being able to deploy assets to multiple theaters at once. As we are only one team, we are limited to one theater of operation at a time. So don’t fuck this up.

Ladies, gentlemen, have a look around, get familiar with one another. Dismissed.”

Lieutenant Colonel Bitterns went through his papers for a few moments more before raising his head to look out at the group assembled at the table, recently dubbed “The Horseshoe” due to its shape. His office was about 20 feet from the “head” of the table and his seat at the head was empty. Stepping out, he noticed everyone else was seated or at their stations. The officers spread out on either side of the table, followed by some of the staff and then the ground pounders--the men and women of Operation 8.

Off to the sides of the table’s sides, along the walls, were a series of gear lockers with weapons and ammunition on one side, then things like explosives, vests, body armor and medkits on the other. In between the Horseshoe and the weapons were the work stations which was made up of a variety of desks with computer equipment, wires, and things of that nature. While this was the first meeting point, this room itself was not any type of home or base. After this point, they’d be flying around place to place, setting up the Horseshoe either in buildings allocated to them, or sometimes even in vehicles. For the most part, this was all cutting edge and all of that coupled with the access to private military jets, intel, sources, comms, and even satellites. Access to these things will take a vastly different amount of time based on locale, but they had staff available to liaise with local sources as best as possible.

Bitterns moved to his chair and sat down, thumping the files in his hand down on the table to align them before setting them down and clearing his throat. “Ladies. Gents. We’re officially in business. Welcome to FOB Hammer, Northern Iraq. A handful of you have been here already so to you, welcome back. We’re about 20 miles out of Mosul and while things are peaceful there, have been for a while, what most you do not know is that as of several hours ago, Saddam Hussein suffered a heart attack and is not likely to survive. In light of this, several things have happened of importance. For one, his son Uday has stepped in in place of his father in control of the Baath party. Second as per usual, several groups look at this as a way to break away from the Hussein regime, some look at it as a chance to focus on more low key, tribal wars that have been squashed for a time, and others simply look to make some form of profit. In short, things are tense and in some places, it is like a powder keg ready to go off. It hasn’t been officially released that Saddam is hospitalized, but slowly it has been coming out.

Our operation involves a United States CIA agent imbedded into a Sunni separatist group in Mosul, codename Teapot. Don’t laugh, I didn’t pick the name. Anyway, the CIA has been trying to put a shipment of chemical weapons into the hands of the Sunni group. Oh, the group’s name is the Sunni People’s Front, if that is of any importance. So. Teapot knows where the exchange of these weapons is taking place between a buyer with the Iraqi Republican Army who is dealing with Sunni sympathizers.

Right now we need to get into this 2 story building and get Teapot extracted. In typical fashion, we are attempting to buy our way in. We have a case of 10,000 US dollars to offer pay SPF to allow us to take Teapot in for interrogation. Generally, as we are not at war with Iraq, or the SPT, and they know what we can bring to the table, they should give him up. It’s not uncommon for us to scoop up targets out there for interrogation and they know we aren’t in a position where we need to play hardball. We knock them around a bit, maybe get some intel on some other tribe or faction, set them free and we move on.

We’re going in appearing as a part of a UN led joint taskforce. Nazari, Yolish, Drachmann, you all are going in. You’ll be taking the role of civilian contractors there to take Teapot in, assuring them he’ll be back tomorrow after first prayer. We have credentials for you that will pass a basic test if no one looks too thoroughly. On the monitor behind me is a picture of Teapot, use this name to assure him all is well. He’ll recognize it.

After we extract him, we’ll hot tail is the hell back to FOB Hammer and send him on his way.

Erikson, you and Haoi will be across the street from the target building. You will be overnighting in a room under the identities of a group of civilian workers on the power grid. You have the bios in front of you along with passports. We will contact you before the group is going in, at which point you will go eat in the diner that will give you a clear visual on the front of the building. Make sure that your firearms are concealed. You’ll be inserted tonight.

Captain Kagan, you and Emmanual will arrive on the opposite side of the building from Erikson and Haoi about 10 minutes prior and be in a tactical vehicle ready to react if necessary and give the main group an escort and security. You’re to be fully armed and prepped in case things to south.

Again, the man behind me, Teapot, is the priority. We need him alive so he can supply the information we need to allow the United States to intercept the weapons and also the buyers. That’s not our business or our show. We just need Teapot. In the event there is any resistance, you are authorized to engage forces necessary to extract Teapot. Again, keep in mind, he does NOT know we’re coming, so he will not trust you or be accepting until he hears Teapot.

This should go smooth and easy, about as routine as you’re going to get here. Any questions?”

The screens showed maps, two pictures of Teapot, and then several pictures of the building and positions that the operators were to take. One photo showed a relatively new housing building that had several large apartment homes with a large center court yard in the middle. It then showed a view of the building from both the hotel and the position behind the building. There were several pictures on a rotation of armed guards in the buildings at various points but they didn’t seem to be military or police--just guys with guns. There was a mud concrete wall about 8 feet high surrounding the complex with an exit on all 4 sides.

On the table in front of the individuals was a list of equipment they had access to, including SAT phones, and in-ear comm links. The weapons the individuals took would be chosen personally, as what attire. Bitterns waited a moment while they digested the information on paper and that was just spoken.

"Now all I'll say is that I don't feel too sure about that briefing we got", Ravid said. "None of it makes sense to me." Sitting in the passenger seat of the car, he checked his pockets for everything he needed. False ID as Irish embassy staff, check. False documents to insinuate him being a US special forces operator, also check. The many Sayerets took good care of those on their payroll - no Iraqi would know there's Israelis moving around even if they tried. Cigarettes, Browning Hi-Power, and sunglasses on his person and a CAR-15 at his feet.

"Why is a Sunni group revolting against a Sunni government? If anything shit's going down in the south. And it'll go down real soon." Kagan took another drag of his cigarette and threw it out of the car. "And we're here. If I got it correctly, we're going in, get an informant, and drive him out? That seems way too easy."

---

Drachmann, meanwhile, had undergone a makeover. Wearing a hijab, glasses, and loose-fitting clothes she was supposedly the head of a UN group sent in to negotiate something or inspect something. The cover wasn't exactly clear but she'd bullshit something if need be. If anything, the other guys would know it better. "So we're just walking past these guys? I mean, they have no training that's worth noting I guess....That's what they look like. Who's to say they aren't army? Or Republican Guard? Fuck...So, who's gonna approach this guy? Me?" That could be a problem, as she was unarmed except for a Swiss army knife, the other guys pretending to be security. "Besides, if they're not army, why aren't we just gunning these guys down and running for it? Not like the Iraqi Army will complain."

Ricardo tapped his hand on his knee absentmindedly as Kagan went on about the mission. While what the officer went on about was not untrue by any means, he dismissed it for the most part. Ricardo himself was not "military" persay as a large portion of the police in Mexico were federalized but still police. Their jobs tended to be more localized and didn't involve them flying to countries and going to war.

Why fly an ocean away when you can arrest a cartel member and start a war right close to home?

However, one thing that Emmanual realized after after working with actual military both locally and otherwise is that they always complained about the mission, they never liked it. It was too fast, too far, too hot, pointless, it was always something.

He chuckled to himself as the man next to him complained, literally, about the deal being "too easy" as it was just amusing. He sighed and fished out a cigarette, cursing to himself as he was trying to quit but failing. He lit up and took a drag before responding.

"Hey, I can deal with a little bit of easy man. Anyway, from what I hear, and I'm no expert on Arabic national and religious relations, a lot of shit here is less religious and more tribal. Some of these hajis have been at war with this clan and that clan for so long that the last thing they care about is what side of Allah you claim. They care more about how 400 years ago, they went to war because someone stole someone's fucking camel or whatever."

He took another drag, checking the mirrors and listening to a radio check over the earpiece. "This is Hammer 2, radio check Lima Charlie. Anyway, then, there's money. I'm not sure about your view on God or whatever, but the fact is that the more people are exposed to money and all that shit, the less they care about God. Especially these fuckers. They can live a fucked up life of depravity and all that, and just blow themselves up next to an infidel in the name of Allah the Merciful and get into paradise, not missing a beat."

He adjusted in his seat for a moment and took care of his own firearms. He had a Rockford Arms 1911 in a side holster and a Benelli 12 gauge tactical shotgun pressed between his leg against the door. It was modified to hold 7 rounds and one in the chamber, the first of which was a non-lethal beanbag round. The other shells loaded were good old fashioned buckshot--7 rounds of 12 gauge buckshot in under 4 seconds was an amazing sight to behold...unless you're on the receiving end.

"I just hope it ends easy, we all could use that I'm sure."

"I can tell you've never faced down Hezbollah. These guys may be tribal, but they've got a knack for setting their differences aside if somebody from a different sect emerges. The Shia especially. And the Sunni know that. This country is Shia majority. Officially it's not, they cook the statistics, but everyone knows it is. But the Sunni rule, and they're scared shitless of the Shia. Why would they be breaking up? These guys hate the Shia, they hate Iran, and they hate the Kurds. I don't trust it man.", Kagan rattled without breathing and recited a few verses in Hebrew. "So, when are we going in?"