Seven Ancient Wonders - Matthew Reilly [68]
‘He’s an assassin,’ Stretch spat, ‘responsible for the deaths of at least twelve Mossad agents. Zaeed’s been on the Red List for fifteen years.’ The Mossad Red List was a list of terrorists whom any Mossad agent was permitted to shoot on sight anywhere around the world.
‘If the Mossad can’t find him, how on Earth are we going to find him at such short notice?’ Zoe asked.
West looked to Stretch as he spoke: ‘Oh, the Mossad knows where he is, they just can’t get to him.’
The tight-lipped expression on Stretch’s face said this was true.
‘So where is he then?’ Pooh Bear asked.
West turned to Stretch.
Stretch practically growled as he spoke. ‘Mustapha Zaeed was picked up by US forces during Operation Enduring Freedom, the invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11, the one that toppled the Taliban regime. In early 2002, Mustapha Zaeed was taken to Camp X-Ray, the temporary terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He’s been there ever since.’
‘Guantanamo Bay,’ Zoe repeated. ‘Cuba. The most heavily guarded, most secure military compound in the world. And what— we’re just going to stroll in there and walk out with a known terrorist?’
West said, ‘Naval Station Guantanamo Bay is designed for two things: to keep the Cubans from retaking it, and to keep prisoners in. Its guns are pointed landward and inward. That leaves us one open flank—the sea side.’
Zoe said, ‘I’m sorry, but are you seriously thinking of sneaking into Guantanamo Bay and busting out one of its inmates?’
‘No,’ West said, standing. ‘I’m not planning on sneaking in at all. No, I suggest we do the one thing the Americans least expect. I suggest we launch a frontal assault on Guantanamo Bay.’
GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA
17 MARCH, 2006
3 DAYS BEFORE TARTARUS
NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY
SOUTH-EASTERN CUBA
17 MARCH, 2006, 3:35 A.M.
3 DAYS BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF TARTARUS
Naval Station Guantanamo Bay is a true historical oddity.
Born out of two treaties between the United States and Cuba made in the early 20th century—when the US had Cuba over a barrel—Cuba essentially leases a small chunk of its south-eastern coast to America at the obscenely low rent of US$4,085 a year (the actual price mentioned in the treaty is ‘$2,000 in gold per year’).
Since the treaty can only be terminated by the agreement of both parties—and since the US has no intention of agreeing to such a termination—what it amounts to is a permanent US military outpost on Cuban soil.
The Bay itself is situated at the extreme southern tip of Cuba, opening onto the Caribbean Sea, facing away from America. Occupying both of its promontories is the US base, and it is very very small—maybe six kilometres deep by ten kilometres long, its twisting and turning landside fenceline barely 25 kilometres in length.
After all that, its most well-known feature (apart from appearing in the Tom Cruise movie A Few Good Men) is its status in International Law: for as far as International Law is concerned, Guantanamo Bay does not exist. It floats in a kind of legal limbo, free of the constraints of the Geneva Conventions and other troublesome treaties.
Which was exactly why the United States chose it as a prison for the 700 ‘stateless combatants’ that it captured in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
The Bay itself bends northward like a fat slithering snake, bounded by dozens of inlets and marshy coves. Its western side is known as Leeward, and it contains little of interest except for the base’s airstrip, Leeward Point Field.
It is on the eastern side of the Bay—Windward—where all the real activity takes place. This is where the various Marine barracks and prison complexes are situated. An inactive airfield, McCalla Field, occupies the eastern side of the harbour entrance. Further inland, there are administrative buildings, a school, shops and a housing estate for the Marines who live on base.
Further inland still, at Radio Range, in the dead heart of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, you will find Camp Delta. (Camp X-Ray, with