Crouching, Nir moved forward, and his Kidon team followed him. As they passed the perimeter of the camp, he saw a nearly headless man lying to his right. Nir stepped around the body and headed for the first building.

Chapter 47

CHAPTER 47

SOUTHEAST OF EL SHARAYAH, DARAA GOVERNORATE, SYRIA—03:15 / 3:15 A.M. EEST

Of the five structures at the site, Liora and Dafna had identified two as barracks and one as an oversized storage building. That left two options for finding the necessary evidence. The camp was dark, which was standard practice in the area. No use advertising your location to weaponized drones or F-35s.

At the first building, Nir could see light leaking through the edges of some ill-fitting blackout shutters. Flipping up his night vision goggles, he peeked through. Two men were talking and chopping vegetables at a long prep table. Beyond them, he could see more tables surrounded by chairs.

Nir turned back and shook his head. Then lowering his goggles again, he led the team to the second building. This one had a locked door, which was a good sign. The lock and the latch were poor quality, though, and Dima popped it open with his tactical knife. The men filed in and quickly cleared the building.

Using a red flashlight, Nir and Yaron began looking through documents, while Imri, Dima, and Doron collected items. Three clicks came through Nir’s com, followed by one more. The Sayeret boys had taken care of the remaining guards. They would remain near in case the operation turned upside down.

So far, Nir wasn’t spotting anything interesting. The majority of the contents on the desk were receipts, uninteresting memos, old newspapers, and adult magazines. “Thalatha, you find anything?”

Doron, who was three, said, “Nothing apparent. Maybe on hard drives.”

Nicole spoke. “Wahed, be aware two have left building one and are moving toward barracks one.”

Nir clicked his response. This is not good. This is probably our only shot. If we come out of here empty-handed, the next time intel turns up suitcase nukes, it could very well be too late.

Then a thought struck him. If these men were training with actual suitcases, they wouldn’t do it in an office or a workroom. They weren’t scientists; they were terrorists. Just the delivery system. Offices are for planning. Storage buildings are for training.

“Keep looking. Khamsa, with me.”

Imri followed him to the door. Nir peeked out, then moved. With his weapon up, he passed one barrack and then another, slowly and smoothly approaching the storage building. Upon reaching the door, he saw that it opened out. He tried it and found it unlocked. He motioned for Imri to move to the other side and take hold of the knob. His fingers counted down, three…two…one. Imri pulled the door open, and Nir stepped inside.