“Do you know how many countries in the Middle East would like to see the total annihilation of Israel, Jack?” Shavit breathed noisily as he waited.

“Most of them,” Hammerson replied evenly.

“Yes. We can engage and defeat any army in our neighborhood; we have done it before. But if one of them suddenly had the ability to carry out that desire to totally annihilate us, or to arm a proxy to do it on their behalf, without even having to show their face?” There was a low growl over the line. “Jack, this is a scenario that cannot be allowed to stand.”

“Then we have common objectives. This is not just your problem, General. This is a global problem,” Hammerson said.

“We have two simple objectives – find the current stockpile, and destroy it. Then we must seek the source, and that too must be destroyed.” Shavit breathed raspingly for a few seconds. “And we must seek that source on whatever path it takes us. Are you ready for that, Jack?”

Hammerson knew what Shavit was saying. There were only a few countries in the region that had the technology and capability to supply nuclear material, or perhaps even a fully functioning bomb to the rogue states. Pakistan and North Korea were suspects, but the crosshairs were also on Iran. No one knew exactly what they were capable of, and every time they refused UN inspections, stalled for time, or played politicians for fools, they were suspected of furiously building up their own capabilities in their underground sites.

Hammerson’s mind whirled. If the path led somewhere dark, would he be forced to look away for political expediency? Hammerson smiled with little humor; his role was without politics – Chilton made it that way. In his world, he decided what was right and what was wrong. A threat to the USA or its allies had to be met head on and totally obliterated. And in that regard, his and Shavit’s objectives aligned.

“We stand with you, General.”

“Good, Jack. It is a nasty business, and one we warned would come one day,” Shavit rasped. “I fear these detonations are but the opening act to a much greater performance yet to come.”

“What do you know about them, General?” Hammerson sat forward.

“We know they were brought in by a new type of suicide bomber. But how can this be? Our experts tell us that the first device, detonated at ground level in Soran, would have weighed about five hundred pounds. The next detonation in Iraq was even larger, and the containment and detonation package was estimated to be closer to nine hundred pounds. How can a single man even lift that, let alone carry it for over two hundred miles?”

“They can’t,” Hammerson said. “Or at least no ordinary man can. We call them Travelers, and something isn’t right about them.”