The Chase: One Courageous Skipper Battling The Perilous Evil Out To Destroy Him. (Sea Action & Adventure) (8 page)

Everybody worked hard and fast. They only had a basic idea of the construction of the station and the equipment had to be disassembled as carefully as possible in order to be able to reassemble it in working condition back home. They had to improvise frequently as there were no instruction manuals at hand.

The radar station was designated QTR-70 by NATO, but nicknamed Goliath by the Israelis. It consisted of two mobile military shelters, one housed the control equipment, the second contained the transceiver. Each shelter measured 12' by 7'3" by 7' high. The antenna was also the on their shopping list. The control shelter was ready for the chopper well on time. Some items of equipment had to be strapped to the shelter floor. A table, chairs, a tea heater and personal items were unloaded and left on the ground.

The transceiver shelter was too heavy to be lifted by a helicopter in one piece so it was divided into two loads of approximately equal weight. The transmitter and the power supply modules were to be transported in one helicopter and the receiver module by the other. The antenna, which was mounted on a large rotating pedestal atop a thirty-foot tower, was the fourth piece of equipment to be moved across the Channel that night.

This was Avri's domain. It was obvious that the whole antenna system could not be carried home - it was much too heavy. So he decided to take the parabolic reflector and the RF feed only leaving the rotating pedestal behind. Disassembling the antenna system meant a lot of work. Moreover, there were only four of them to carry out the task and not much time to do it. In less than two hours they had to be airborne and out of Egypt. Like a team of well-trained surgeons they neatly disconnected power cables, disassembled waveguide sections, resorting rarely to conversation.

Three of the men reached the generator building on the Western slope of the hill. Their task was to shut down all power to the radar station so that the technicians would be free to handle the equipment without being electrocuted, yet to leave on enough lights in the compound so that work could be carried on easily. Of course, a darkened, deserted, base might not look too natural should anyone be looking that way.

The generator building was unguarded. Two large diesels roared steadily and a third one was silent on standby. The place was a real mess. The floor was a dark pool of oil, the walls blackened from the leaky exhaust systems. Oil drums, discarded parts, used oil filters and pieces of wires were scattered all over the place. On the wall to their right there was a ten-foot long power distribution cabinet. Originally it must have been an intricate masterpiece of switches, dials, gauges and fuses. Now it was more of a surrealistic version of the original.

Missing panels revealed bare wiring, frozen gauges with broken face glasses, handle-less switches and a wild maze of jumper wires. It was impossible to make any sense of that chaos - they would have to shut down both diesels and submerge the whole base into total darkness. So, with a last, hopeless glance at the mass of wires, they walked through the slush of oil to the generators, switched them off, abandoned the building, and climbed back to the camp.

The Russian technicians were sitting closely grouped on the ground watching the hustle going on at the station. They were in total disbelief. Those Israelis were not going to blow up the station - they were about to steal it. It was a robbery happening right before their very eyes. The Russian with the gun motioned to the others that he was armed. They didn't talk at all, after hearing Danny speaking Russian they were sure all the other soldiers did. By now they were ready to believe anything.

Some of the lights on the base turned off as the first generator had shut down. The young Russian was quick to realize that total darkness would follow soon and end his chance of doing anything with the pistol. The moment the generators were turned off, the guard’s attention was drawn to the dimming lights. The armed Russian took advantage at this last chance to aim. He drew his gun and held it tightly, using both hands. He brought the gun forward, sweeping a slow vertical arc through the horizon. For a short second the guard’s head appeared into the Vee of his sight. He maintained a steady sweep and when the chest emerged he squeezed the trigger. They saw the guard hit the ground, and then all the lights went out. They stayed for a while in a total darkness and in complete silence. It seemed like ages.

A few seconds later flashlights started appearing and the soldiers resumed their task.

Avri and his team of two stepped out of the control shelter toward the antenna tower. They each had a flashlight in one hand, a toolbox in the other and an Uzi slung over their shoulder. One of them stayed at the foot of the tower, preparing rope slings for hoisting the antenna. Avri and his comrade climbed the tower to disengage the antenna.

The Russian decided to take action. He ran in the darkness to where the guard lay motionless on the ground. He found the soldier's Uzi, and fired a short burst at the two flashlights he saw on the antenna tower. A stream of tracers rushed toward the lights. The flashlights went out immediately and he hoped he had hit them. He didn't know what to do now; he’d never planned that far ahead.

Avri experienced, simultaneously, a sharp blow on the left shoulder, the distinct sound of an Uzi burst and the muzzle flashes from the open area by the hill. He switched off his flashlight instantly, as did his partner. Softly, he called the man at the foot of the tower to get help. He felt fairly safe in the total darkness that engulfed the hill. From the direction of the shots, it was clear that something had gone wrong with the Russian group. This, and the fact that they were losing precious time, worried him the most as he sat there, on top of the radar antenna, inspecting his wound. It was a rather deep scratch. He could move his arm, albeit painfully, so he assessed that nothing vital was damaged. He, therefore, considered himself still in good working condition. The bleeding was mild and he ignored it completely.

Danny came running over within a minute. He had two men with him. They walked through the darkness like desert cats. Danny stopped at the far end of the tower, taking cover behind the structure as he called to Avri. Together they assessed the situation. They could not afford to halt the work much longer. The Russians had to be dealt with very prudently. One didn’t just go around killing Russian soldiers, especially not in the Middle East so they set out to disassemble the antenna while sensibly dealing with the Russians. One of Avri's men turned the antenna around, using the hand crank, so that the reflector faced in the direction of the Russians. This should give Avri a small measure of protection. That and a lot of luck. He lay low on the bare structure, turned on his flashlight and resumed his work, ignoring the Russians and the pain in his shoulder.

A second short burst was fired. Bullets hit the aluminum tie rods, ricochets whining everywhere. The Russian with the Uzi realized quickly that he was wasting ammunition and waited for a better target. The second burst had, however, helped Danny to pinpoint the source.

There was one last thing to do up there on the tower, they had to disconnect the main plug. Avri crawled toward the rear of the antenna. His hands reached down for the big, round plug which coupled the main cable. With both hands, he grabbed the large knurled ring and tried to loosen it with all his strength. Nothing moved. He waited for a minute and tried again.

He gave a second mighty heave, cursing aloud at the sudden agony that erupted in his shoulder. Nothing moved. His strength was ebbing away and further attempts seemed futile. He would have to use a large wrench and open it from below. Time was running short. Avri had to unscrew that plug now, regardless of the Russians.

He sat down on the aluminum structure and called to Danny below:

"I've got a jammed plug over here. You have to do something about this cowboy before we can finish it up here".

"Got you," came the answer from below. "Give me a few minutes and you'll be clear to work. Are you O.K. up there?"

"Yeah, we are fine. We'll wait it out".

Danny and his four guys moved out swiftly and silently. Two of them went around by the east side while the others covered the rear. They spread themselves out, flanking the Russians. Danny then called over, surprising them again with his fluent Russian.

"Good evening comrades," he said calmly, "you are completely surrounded by a group of very professional soldiers. We know that you are technicians, probably very good ones, but not very good warriors. You have one or possibly two guns in your possession. You have acted very bravely and I commend you on that, but now is the time to behave sensibly and not just bravely. If you keep on shooting you may hit one or two more of us. Yes, you may, and we wouldn’t like it at all, but this will not stop our operation. It would hardly even slow us down. The minute you start shooting, you'll be cut down by the soldiers around you and
nothing
will be accomplished".

He waited for a dramatic pause, letting them understand their situation.

"No harm will come to you. We are not here to hurt you in any way. I am going to step out, into the open, just to prove that I trust your judgment".

Slowly he got up and started walking across the field. His path crossed the line of sight between the Russians and the upcoming moon. They could see him walking calmly toward the small hill, his Uzi slung casually across his shoulder.

For a short moment he presented a perfect target. The Russian raised his Uzi and followed Danny, trying to get him in the sights. He was too slow or maybe not quite resolute. Soon enough Danny was out of the moon and back in the comfort of darkness. He knew they were shocked and about to crack. They just realized they were surrounded and could be killed at any moment. They saw their enemy and they didn't shoot him, thus vindicating his rationale.

For Danny all this was textbook psychological warfare. In their minds he was still exposed, since they "knew" where he was, cool and confident. In fact he didn’t feel cool at all; it was Avri's life he was gambling on. He pulled out a small walkie-talkie from his hip pocket and whispered into it, "Avri, go ahead now, it's Danny".

Then he spoke again to the Russians:

"Before we get out of here, we will take with us the guard you've shot. For your own sake I advise you to give us his Uzi, too. This way you will not have to explain why you didn’t put up any further resistance. I am sure some very wise and brave general will ask such questions. I promise you that we will not mention any of it in our report”.

As he was speaking, he could see lights shining up on the antenna structure once again. Avri and his guys were back at work, at full speed. He had to keep the Russians busy, focus their attention onto himself and keep them contained. He had to tell them interesting things.

"There are fifty five of us here. We will be leaving in four helicopters and we will take most of your radar station with us. Our government will not make public any information regarding this operation - or even the fact that it ever took place. Every effort will be taken to avoid embarrassment to the USSR and Soviet people. Your presence here will never be mentioned".

Avri and his crew were still busy up on the antenna and Danny had to continue his monologue. "I am sure that once you consider the armed conflicts, the wars that have been going on in this region for decades now, this operation will seem unimportant in comparison, just one addition to the endless conflict. Whether you feel sympathetic to whatever cause placed you here or not, you must realize one important fact - there is nothing in this operation which is intended to be against you personally".

He thought he heard a short chuckle from the Russians. He was tempted to ask his captive audience whether they had any questions, but he didn't. There was still the wounded guard to take care of. Danny decided it was time to take his chance on that.

"I'm going to take care of the guard you've shot. It will do you no good at all to kill either him or me. The price you’ll pay will be much too high, and especially if you miss. Won’t it?"

He walked in the darkness toward where he expected the guard to be. He halted for a second and listened. He heard short, fast breathing coming from the left. It was very faint. A few steps further he listened again. And then he found him. The young paratrooper was hit in the abdomen; his pulse was low but not too weak. His breathing was short but steady.
He’ll survive,
he thought as he pulled him onto his shoulder and preceded stooping low, toward the shelters.

The two helicopters from the bottom of the hill landed on the side clearing. The troops rushed in and they took off immediately.

The cargo helicopters showed up with perfect timing. They hovered above the shelters as the slings were being hooked up, shuddering as the cables tightened. The engines roared at full throttle and the hill was amidst a sandstorm. Gravel and sand were flying everywhere and everything was drowned under a cloud of dust.

A few minutes later they were gone, carrying the whole Russian radar station.

Danny, supporting Avri on the helicopter floor, looked satisfactorily at the barren Egyptian radar base and waved
do sveddenie
to the Russians. Avri looked at Danny and said tiredly, "that jammed plug almost got us killed".

A medic jabbed a syringe into his arm and he was out cold before he could hear Danny’s tired reply - "you and your damned plug".

* * * * *