The general finished his third drink and said, “That’s the part that doesn’t make sense to me. Why the lifeboats and the Sea-Doos and all the rest? It’s not like we’d be able to give chase in those. It’s almost as if they wanted to keep—”

The general reached into his pocket. Saad, too, felt a sudden vibration in his. He pulled out his phone and saw he was being notified with message after message.

“Well, that’s good news,” he said. But when he looked at the general, the man wasn’t smiling. In fact, his look was quite the opposite.

Explosions sounded from the bow. The general grabbed Saad’s arm and ran toward the stairs.

Chapter 64

CHAPTER 64

23:48 / 11:48 P.M. IDT

The four quadcopter drones released their payloads of four flashbang missiles, each ten seconds after the one before. The projectiles plunged to the long bow of the yacht and detonated. Every time a new batch hit, the IRGC guards just starting to recover from the last barrage were once again thrown into confusion. Meanwhile, from out of the dark came four rigid-hulled inflatables—two to the bow, one to the stern, and one off the starboard quarter next to the garage.

Nir was in the boat off the port bow. When the boat was alongside, grappling hooks were shot up over the railing on the upper deck. The attached rope was threaded through a powered ascender, and he, Imri, and Dima were pulled up to the deck. Yaron and Doron were at the starboard quarter. After Lahav had shut down the scrambler, Nicole would restore power to that part of the boat and remotely open the garage.

The gunfire began first at the starboard while Nir was still climbing over the railing. Omer Azoulai was leading his team on that side of the boat. Imri took lead, followed by Nir, then Dima. They moved forward toward the bridge.

Bullets whizzed past, and Nir could feel a tug on his pant leg by his calf. The three dropped to the deck. Imri and Dima opened fire. Since Nir didn’t trust his aim, he’d agreed to shoot only if necessary.

“Clear,” said Imri, indicating he’d dealt with the threat.

Nir didn’t feel any new pain in his leg, so he stood, and the three began moving forward again. Upon reaching the stairs to the bridge, they squatted and ascended slowly. Gunfire continued from all around the upper deck, but none appeared directed toward them. When they reached the top step, Imri peeked above the window line. A shot rang out, and his helmet flew off his head. He fell backward into the handrail, and Nir grabbed him to keep him from flipping over. He was out cold.