It was still dark but at first light he would have a clear view of the large compound to the southwest. Five minutes later, one of his operatives flashed a laser from atop a utility pole only thirty meters from the main entrance of the objective giving him the exact location. Heat sensing devices the team carried detected thirty-seven individuals in the sprawling compound as well as two dogs and what appeared to be several birds. The assault force arrived in a transport plane two hours ago at an abandoned military airport seventy kilometers from the city. Ten minutes earlier, the advance team activated a portable air traffic control system long enough for the pilot to guide the massive aircraft to the runway recently cleared of a herd of goats and equipped with temporary landing lights that extinguished the instant the wheels touched the tarmac. They made the final approach over the ocean at low altitude to avoid radar detection. Sergei wondered if the wash from the massive turbo engines had managed to dislodge any of the sea of tin roofs they roared over at less than a hundred meters.
