"Limited. One pass before insertion. Real-time feed if conditions allow but don't count on it."
"Jamming authority?" Ghost asked.
"Conditional. Local cellular only. You'll have a five-minute window before telecommunications companies start screaming."
Which meant five minutes to get in, secure Nazari, and get out before every phone in a ten-kilometer radius lit up.
The CIA officer looked at Steele directly. "You will stage from Erbil Air Base. Rotary insertion. Night operation. Seventy-two-hour deployment window. Wheels up in twelve hours."
The words settled into the room. Twelve hours.
Ghost exhaled slowly. "That's aggressive."
"We believe Nazari will move within four to five days," the officer replied. "New intelligence suggests he's preparing to relocate operations. This may be the cleanest opportunity we get."
"Deconfliction?" Hawk asked.
"Select Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service elements are aware. Compartmentalized. They'll hold position at the outer cordon but they won't cross the threshold unless we request it."
Meaning: if it went loud, they were alone until they asked for help.
Steele processed variables in silence. Urban environment. Reinforced structure. Possible tunnel. Civilian presence. Limited air support. High political leash. Twelve hours to spin up.
"Rules of engagement?" he asked.
"Positive identification required on Nazari. Capture preferred for exploitation value. Kill authorized if target presents hostile action or intent. Minimize civilian casualties. Do not engage non-combatants unless they present immediate threat."
Standard language. Heavy weight.
Steele had heard variations of those words a hundred times. They always sounded clean in a briefing room. Always got complicated when you were clearing rooms and had half a second to decide who was who.
"Target typically armed?" Risk asked.
"Affirmative. Handgun. Sometimes keeps an AK in his office."
"And the wife?" Bulldog asked.
The CIA officer's expression didn't change. "No indication of weapons training or hostile intent. Pattern suggests she's confined to the residential wing."
Translation: stay out of her way and she'll stay out of yours.
Bulldog cracked his knuckles softly. "Main breach north gate, secure HVT, clear compound, extract."
"Block western office first," Hawk added. "If there's a tunnel, that's where he runs."
Steele nodded once. "Ghost, prioritize signal suppression on breach. I want every phone in that compound dead before wehit the door. Hawk, overwatch southeast elevation. You'll have eyes on the western office and the main residence. Bulldog, prep dual-entry contingency in case the gate's hardened beyond our initial assessment. Risk, trauma supplies for potential guard casualties. We want Nazari alive if possible. Joker, vehicle stays hot. Engine running."
They all nodded without hesitation.
The colonel watched the exchange carefully. "You're confident?" he asked Steele.
Steele met his gaze without arrogance or false bravado. Just the quiet certainty of a man who'd done this enough times to know the difference between confidence and stupidity. "We'll handle it."
The CIA officer studied him for a moment longer. "You may not get a second shot at him," he said quietly. "Nazari's cautious. If he smells trouble, he'll disappear. We've been tracking him for six months. Lost him twice. This is the first time we've had confirmed location and a viable window."
Steele's eyes stayed on Nazari's face on the screen. Cold eyes. Expensive suit. The kind of man who thought money and walls made him untouchable.
"We won't need one," Steele said.
