It was one more example of the illegality of the unit, because it directly went against EO 12333, an executive order that prohibited assassination signed by President Hannister, like every president before him since Gerald Ford had created it. Wolffe knew the delicate nature of the designation, not the least because he knew how Taskforce operators treated it when assigned.
When it was given, the Taskforce operators colloquially called it “Dead on Arrival,” because it was much easier to kill a man than capture him. If DOA was given, nine times out of ten, the target was going home in a body bag. But that wasn’t what had happened here.
Wolffe said, “Sir, as I said, Pike didn’t kill him. Someone else did, and we think it was precisely to keep Pike from knowing what was in his head. In my opinion, the Israelis may be right on this. There’s something more at play than Keta’ib Hezbollah. This isn’t Iran pulling strings because we killed General Soleimani.”
“The Israelis? They’re breaking down my door through back channels to attack Iran using nothing more than letters as proof. They’re pushing me to a place I don’t want to go. And they’re not the only ones. I have bipartisan commendation of Iran building exponentially. The death of Gabrielle in Italy is going to force my hand, regardless of the truth.”
Wolffe knew the pressure he was under. One only needed to turn on the television to see the massive number of “experts” preening about regime change in Iran.
He said, “I meant the small section of Mossad that gave Aaron and Shoshana the mission. There are some who think this is deeper than just Iran projecting power through proxy forces.”
Alexander Palmer chuckled and said, “Well, that would be good news, if it’s true. Please tell us you have something to prove it.”
Wolffe flipped a slide on the screen, showing the two messages from the courier. He said, “Unfortunately, no, I don’t. All Pike was able to glean was a lead. There’s a linkup planned for the transfer of money to a Keta’ib Hezbollah cell in Bahrain. They’re apparently targeting someone in that country. We don’t know who the target might be, but we do know where they’re going to meet for the transfer of the funds.”
Palmer said, “Another Keta’ib cell? How is this not proof in and of itself? We aren’t talking about a letter here supposedly created by an imposter.”
President Hannister said, “Where’s the money coming from? Who’s the paymaster?”
Wolffe used a laser pointer and went through the two messages. “The cell thinks it’s Iran, but Pike doesn’t. The guy coming is from Bosnia—apparently some sort of trained killer—and the entire linkup plan is strange. If it were Iran, they’d just order the guys to meet. In this case, the first message is asking, not telling, and it’s not some Qods Force trainer like Iran would ordinarily send. It’s a Bosniak assassin.”
The secretary of defense said, “Iran was neck-deep in Bosnia during the war there. A Bosniak involved doesn’t seem that strange to me. Sounds more like plausible deniability.”
Amanda Croft said, “Can’t we track the money backwards? From the guy who was killed?”
“We have his laptop, and the network operations guys are going through it remotely right now, but from what Pike’s seen, the contact had pretty good operational security. He doesn’t think anything’s going to be on it.”
Palmer started to ask another question and President Hannister interrupted, saying, “We’re not going to get anywhere from inside the Oval Office. What are you asking here? What’s the next step?”
Wolffe said, “Sir, let Pike take the team to the linkup in Bahrain. He’s convinced the Bosnian is the key here. Pike wants Omega to roll him up. He’s bringing the money, and he’ll obviously know where it came from. If it’s Iran, at least you’ll have solid evidence instead of shooting in the dark. If it’s not, we’ll have the thread to pull it apart—and Pike’s starting to think it’s not.”
Palmer said, “Based on what?”
Wolffe said, “Based on his intuition. He’s the man on the ground.”
Hannister looked around the room and said, “Put it to a vote.”
Before they did, Palmer said, “Wait, sir, how are they going? What’s the cover status?”
Wolffe said, “They’re going as Israelis.”
“Seriously? Does Israel know?”
Wolffe shut down his laptop, then turned to President Hannister, ignoring Palmer. He said, “Sir, I don’t know who in Israel is read on to this, but Aaron and Shoshana are providing the support, and Bahrain recently signed a peace deal with Israel. They’re sure it’s not an issue, and Pike is game. Trust the man on the ground.”
Palmer said, “That’s asking for compromise not only from the operation, but from Israel. Before, this was just a reconnaissance operation. Now you’re asking for Omega when the last one ended up with a dead target. Given the target was provided by the Israelis, they’ve got to be looking into that, and if they don’t know, and find out an American team was operating as Israelis, they’ll lose their minds. Israel will throw us under the bus as soon as they can.”
Wolffe said, “The Israeli passports Pike’s team is using came from the Mossad. Someone there already knows they’re operational.”
Palmer threw his hands in the air and said, “Someone with power? Or some Mossad lunatic who’s operating outside of its own charter? There’s a big difference between one lone operative going off the reservation to provide passports and the sanctioning of an operation with the blessing of Israel’s version of the national command authority.”
Wolffe said, “It is what it is. You’re afraid of the compromise, but not the impending casualty. If we do nothing, and another American diplomat is killed, what then? We’re out of threads to chase, and looking at war. Even if this is Iran, stopping the assassination in and of itself should be enough to launch.”
Hannister said, “I agree. The benefits outweigh the risks. Anyone else have an issue with this?”
Palmer held his tongue, and the room remained quiet. Hannister gave it a moment, then said, “Okay. Tell Pike it’s a go.” He turned to Kerry Bostwick, the director of the CIA, and said, “Keep your ear to the ground with Mossad. Any hint of them exposing this, I want to know.”
Kerry grumbled, “Fat lot of good that’ll do. So far, they haven’t told me squat.”
President Hannister ignored him, returning to Wolffe. “Tell Pike to get me something. The pressure is growing exponentially. I’ll have to respond to the death of our diplomat in Italy regardless. I can’t let that go even if it’s not Iran. No way can I allow the murder of one of my people. It will show nothing but appeasement that Iran will use even if they didn’t execute the mission. Worst case, Iran sees it as a signal that they can attack with impunity. Right now, I can get away with some air strikes against Keta’ib targets in Syria, but eventually it’s going to get worse.”
Wolffe nodded and said, “I’ll get it done.”
Hannister flicked his head to the SECDEF and said, “I’ve already got the Fifth Fleet on alert. Tell Pike to keep me from using it, because that’s where this is headed.”