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By Root 525 0

and his predecessor, Lieutenant Colonel Squires, it was that August advocated team play. Squires invariably broke his unit into heavily armed pairs or individuals, each of which had specific goals in a master plan. If any of the tactical goals were not met, one of three things happened. An alternate plan was shifted into place, a backup team went in, or the mission was aborted. In his years of strike force command, Squires had never had to abort a mission. His infiltration techniques were unobtrusive, effective, and always left the target naked and surprised. But August was different. He preferred to hit hard and keep up the pressure. Instead of causing dominoes to fall in succession, he believed in shaking the table.

Corporal Prementine's A-Team, eight soldiers strong, quickly made their way up the dirt road toward the mouth of the cave. They moved single file behind their submachine guns with orders to shoot first and never mind the questions. By the time they reached the slab of coppery neo-phosgene, it had sunk from waist-high to just below the knees. It swirled thickly as the Strikers walked through--like stirred house paint, Prementine thought. The wiry corporal sent Private William Musicant, the company medic, to find and assist the woman the Kurds had been planning to execute.

Before Musicant could fall out, a voice came from their left, from the side of the slope.

"I will dwell in this land!"

Prementine stopped the Strikers with five fingers held face-high, palm-back. If he closed his fist, it would mean to open fire. The Strikers stood with their submachine guns ready. Though the correct password had been given, Prementine knew that it could have been forced from one of the prisoners. He'd wait for the challenge to be answered before continuing.

They watched as a man climbed up past the cloud of neo-phosgene. His hands were raised. His gun hung by the trigger guard, which was around his left-hand index finger.

"Identify yourself!" Prementine said from under his mask.

"The Sheik of Midian," the man replied.

"Hold where you are," Prementine said. The corporal turned his hand sideways, thumb-back. Everyone was to continue what they'd been doing. Private Musicant went to the slope, while the Strikers pressed along the cliff leading to the mouth of the cave. They were less than twenty yards away.

The corporal made his way through the gas, which was now ankle-high. He stopped a few feet from the newcomer. The man kept his hands raised, but pointed down with his free index finger.

"Another of the hostages is down there alive," he said. "The other five are still inside. I have no idea where your van is. They moved it a few minutes ago. Possibly inside. I believe there's also an area in back to which they could have taken it."

Prementine kept his gun on the man as he looked over. He saw Phil Katzen less than ten feet down. He was painfully making his way up the slope. The environmentalist looked up and gave the Striker an okay sign. Below him, August and his team were just arriving. They fanned out along the bottom of the slope, and four of the eight soldiers began to climb. They would take up positions along the slope. To the right, the Strikers had divided. Three of them somersaulted together through the gas to other side of the cave. No one from inside fired at them.

The corporal regarded the man standing in front of him. "Do you know where the prisoners are?"

"Yes," the man replied.

As they were speaking, Musicant returned. He had set Mary Rose down on the road, clear of the gas.

"Report," Prementine said.

"She's groggy but alive," Musicant replied.

"Take her down to Colonel August's group, then help Mr. Katzen," said Prementine. "And give the Sheik your mask."

"Yes, sir," Musicant replied. He was clearly disappointed not to be going in, but his manner was one of aggressive efficiency.

Musicant handed his gas mask to the man. Falah slipped his gun in his belt and pulled the mask on. As he did, Prementine turned to the Strikers at the mouth of the cave. As two Strikers set up a covering fire into the