Page 2 of Shadow Target

“Not enough men or equipment, and there’s little intel on where Tefere David will hit next. He’s wily and he’s careful on cell phone usage. The CIA only got lucky when they intercepted that one call between the two slavers six months ago,” Alexa added.

“I’m getting the picture that me and my team will be in the midst of David’s war campaign of attacking Delos schools,” Shep said, giving Tal and then Wyatt a look.

Tal nodded. “That’s why you’ll have a full security team from Shield Security of fourteen fine men and women. Right now, we have a Delos C17 Globemaster transport on its way over to Bahir Dar with them on board. Lucky for us, they have airport runways long enough for a bird of that size. The Shield tactical team is also on board, and so are their vehicles, supplies, weapons, and anything else they need. We’ve invested heavily via Shield, to raise the level of protection for our charities. We’ve asked them to go undercover, and for all of them to wear the Delos insignia on their uniform even though they aren’t really a part of our organization. I don’t think it would go down all that well if every man and his dog knew they were the cream of the crop of ex-military people we’ve hired from one of the best global security agencies in the world.”

“The Ethiopian government has given their blessing on our mission into their country with our undercover Shield Security people,” Wyatt told him. “Major General Iskinder Hakym, the Northern Command boss, has approved the Shield weapons, vehicles and people. We’ve put signed orders on every Shield Security person so that if they’re ever challenged by the ENDF, the Ethiopian National Defense Force, we won’t have any of them arrested and thrown in the brig. They will be carrying Delos orders on them, as well. If anything goes south, Shield Security will become directly involved in getting their people out of danger.”

“I would imagine, under the circumstances,” Shep said, “the general would welcome those Shield Security people with open arms. Maybe a parade?”

A sour grin crossed Wyatt’s mouth. “Damn good thing you’re a Marine and you know the military, Porter.”

Shep nodded. “It helps. So, am I putting this together correctly? I’ll have my undercover U.S. Navy Seebee construction team, posing as Delos employees, any equipment and supplies I need to upgrade the Delos charities, plus this robust security detachment from Shield, also undercover, because David is out to plunder any Delos charity he can?”

“Damn,” Wyatt drawled, “you’re the brightest bulb in the pack, pardner.”

The whole table broke into chuckles, everyone trading grins. Dry and black humor were a necessary component to every military vet and branch.

“No half-watts in here,” Shep intoned, bringing another round of good-hearted laughter. It broke the seriousness of the assignment for a moment.

“I’m going to hand this briefing over to Cav Jordan,” Wyatt said, motioning to the ex-SEAL. “Cav? You’re one of our best Middle East and Asian experts. Fill him in on the political drama going along with everything else Shep will have to contend with?”

Cav nodded and slid a thumb drive toward Shep to add to his growing collection. “The Blue Nile is one of the most vital, life-giving rivers in Africa.” He flipped a map up on the screen showing Khartoum, Sudan and a blue line moving like a lazy snake across Africa, into Ethiopia and eventually connecting to Lake Tana at Bahir Dar. “The Blue Nile originates from Lake Tana, moves up through Ethiopia, into the Sudan, merging with the White Nile, becoming known as just ‘The Nile’, which flows through Egypt and completes its journey at the Mediterranean Sea near Alexandria. The Ethiopian government decided to build a dam just inside their border with Sudan. It’s called the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project. They wanted to harness hydroelectric power for their people. The project started in April 2019 and is slated to come online in 2025, providing there are no major construction setbacks. The President of Egypt had a secret discussion that got televised live in what may have been a hot mic flub, or maybe intentional. He was aired discussing ways to destroy the dam, including the harnessing and supporting of anti-Ethiopian-government rebels. The governments of Egypt and Sudan are worried that this new Ethiopian dam coming online will hurt water resources in their country. Of course, Ethiopia says it won’t.”

“But we have drought in Africa,” Matt Culver said. “And by damming up the Blue Nile, Ethiopia may well cause the lowering of water levels and the depletion of the underground water table in the region during low rain years. Isn’t that right, Cav?”

Cav nodded. “Yes. It’s a real issue. Ethiopia is trying the hard sell to its own people that this dam is a good idea. Countries to the north, however, feels it’s going to hurt their water supply, especially during this unprecedentedly long, ongoing drought brought about by climate change.”

“So, it’s a flashpoint,” Shep gathered.

“Yes, and a number of the northern villages where Delos charities operate are within twenty miles of that dam project.”

Studying the map before him, Shep said, “So that means the Shield Security team has to be aware of ‘other’ domestic terrorists or mercenary soldiers, who may be Egyptian or Sudanese in disguise, who are really in the area to scuttle the dam project?”

“Bingo. There’s twenty-thousand people and their villages that are going to have to be moved before this dam goes online. No one’s happy about it. All the farmers down below the dam in Ethiopia, who need the flood season of the Blue Nile to water their crops, are out of luck. It will put an end to flood seasons. It’s an ongoing destabilizing threat to the Northern Province of Ethiopia. What we care about are the Delos charities in that region. We don’t want our people inadvertently dragged into a war with Egypt or Sudan over water rights. So, we’ve got an Air Force satellite on loan from those good people, and it will be stationed over your area. We want to see who’s around and what’s cookin’,” Wyatt told him. “The CIA, as well as our people, will be monitoring the situation 24/7/365.”

“Are you looking out for Tefere David, also?” Shep asked.

“Yes. We are working with a CIA agent on the ground who is undercover in Bahir Dar. He’s adding David to his watchlist for us and if he picks up any intel, Shield and Delos will both be informed immediately.”

“That’ll make me feel a little safer while we’re stringing ten-foot cyclone fences topped with razor wire all around these charity grounds,” he said, glancing at the blueprints for some of the installations.

“The concertina razor wire, we hope, will act as a decisive deterrent to any attack on a Delos charity building,” Matt said. “There’s only so much we can do in these rural areas, but something is better than nothing.”

“Right,” Shep agreed, “it is.”

“The villages you need to go to all have dirt air strips and nothing more. They’re basic,” Wyatt told him. “The Shield pilots wear a Delos patch on their uniforms, as well. They are flying a de Havilland Twin Otter: a Pratt-and-Whitney-driven twin-engine airplane. These two pilots have been undercover there for one year on this assignment and know the lay of the land and are competent with rural landing situations and challenges like this. This particular plane can normally hold up to nineteen passengers. But we’ve had it specially designed by the manufacturer so that all seats can be removed and plenty of foodstuffs, supplies and construction equipment can be brought on board, instead.”

Cav spoke up. “Shep? These villages are poor. If you ever left any of your tools, supplies or equipment behind? They would disappear. What this means is that each time you move to a new village, those Shield pilots are going to be flying four or five trips that day, to firstly get the security team in place, then fly you and your support team in, and then to bring in all the rest of the tools and equipment you need. It will be a long day.”

“And their security team will be protecting our gear and supplies in the meantime?”

“Yes.”

“You will receive tents and cots for everyone,” Wyatt told him. “This is like an overnight camping trip. You’ll carry your own water and food, as well. We have two cooks assigned to your unit to feed everyone.”

“I’ll have to polish up on my outdoorsmanship,” Shep said, smiling faintly as he studied the pages listing all the tools and equipment that would be flown from one village to another.

“Oh,” Wyatt said, leaning back in his chair, giving him a good-ole-boy grin, “you Marines made rough, challenging missions an art form. I’m sure a tent and cot sound like the Hilton Hotel to you.”

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