Operation Mongoose Deadline

The Deadline Writing Com

999

         Joe Jones was a special forces commander. He was in charge of arranging to get people out of Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul. He was based in Islamabad and worked with a network of operatives in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.

         His work often ended up with a tight deadline. If the Taliban found out about an exit plan, often the plan would go awry, ending with the arrest of the target and their associates working to rescue people from Afghanistan.

         Of all his secret missions, this one was the most personal. It involved his wife whom he married just before the fall but was unable to get her out in time.

         Adela Sayed was a 25-year-old Afghan interpreter for special forces secretly married to Joe Jones just before the fall of Kabul. Stuck in Kabul under constant pressure from the Afghan Taliban to divulge her contacts or to get married to a Taliban commander.

         Joe needs to send her instructions on how to flee the country to Pakistan and India where they would meet up and get her a special visa to enter the US pending his immigrant visa.

          He sends her a coded message in a singing telegram.

         The message reads,

“Violets are red
Roses are red
I love you
My silly valentine
See you soon
By the big rock”

         They both knew what it meant but no one else would

Violets are red means everything is ready
Roses are blue means leave today
I love you means that transportation was arranged and she could trust the driver who was coming to her door in a few minutes
My silly Valentine means do not tell anyone
See you soon means he was on his way and would meet her there
By the Big rock means to go to the pre-arranged spot on the Afghan border
.
         They had worked this out in their last in-person meeting which was a week before the fall of Kabul. He was unable to get her on the plane. Once he got back to the States before setting up shop in Pakistan, he worked with a network of operatives to put everything together but he was afraid that the Taliban commander would order her to marry him, rape her beforehand, and if he knew that she was not a virgin, and was secretly married to an American soldier kill her.

         Time was running out she told him in one of the letters she had smuggled out through the network which was operating all over Afghanistan helping mostly women flee the country, He stressed to his operatives that they needed to work fast and meet the deadline before she is discovered trying to flee the country, along with a few other high-level contacts that they are trying to rescue during what they dubbed “Operation Mongoose”.

         He sent through the network 25,000 dollars in travel money to pay bribes and “facilitation payments” at Taliban checkpoints. She would have her marriage paperwork hidden in an English book. The Taliban not knowing English would glance at the book but not open it at least he hoped so.

         Exit Guard

“          What is this?”

         “Oh, my sister’s marriage paperwork. She married a soldier and is living in India waiting for the visa and I am going there to be with them as she just had a baby.”

         She slipped him $2,000 in cash

         He said,

         “Attempting to bribe a border control officer is a big offense. I could send you to prison where they would rape a pretty young thing such as yourself.”

         She slipped him $3,000 more dollars.

He smiled, and said,

         “ Money solves all problems. Everything is now in order. You may proceed.”

         She had just gotten across the border when the border guard received a message to be on the lookout for her and detain her for interrogation including raping her to ensure compliance. He told his superiors that he had not seen her and slipped him a thousand dollars.

         His superior smiled and said,

“          Okay, we will report she never showed up here. Make sure the record of her visit disappears. But a little recreational rape would have relieved the boredom a bit. Her picture shows she is very attractive, We could take turns raping her.”

         Abdul the driver was waiting for her and took her to her husband. She told him she had escaped just in the nick of time. The commander was after her, she had heard that he had ordered her to be arrested, and tried because he found out that she was married to Joe and part of his network of operations. She was afraid she would have been tortured and raped and forced to betray the operation.
          He smiled, and told her it was all okay, they would be in the States in time for Valentine’s Day and he had a special present for her to be given to her on that day that celebrates true love.

         They drove to the Inn at Little Washington and had the most romantic meal of their life. He bought a wedding ring, and after dinner, while enjoying their wine and cocktails, he slipped the ring into her Irish Coffee. He smiled as she almost drank the ring, but stopped her in time.

         Joe got down on his knees and said,

         “Adela Sayed, I could not give you a proper wedding present or ceremony. because of the collapse of Kabul. Will you accept this ring as a belated Valentine’s Day, and wedding gift?

         “Of course. So when do you want to get married?’

         “ This weekend on Valentine's Day. That way, we will always remember our anniversary. It is all arranged. Friday Night my army buddies who have Afghan spouses and the Afghan community will host a traditional Afghani wedding and on Sunday we will do a Catholic ceremony with my family. Is that okay with you?”

         “Sure”

They celebrated their wedding anniversary every year at the Inn in Little Washington.
         

On February 10th, 1933, the Postal Telegram Company in New York delivered the world’s first singing telegram.

Write a poem or story about someone delivering a singing telegram to somewhere difficult or dangerous. Perhaps into the middle of a gang war, or a seedy space station, or the Winter Court of Faerie ... or maybe even to an ex-girlfriend (of either the sender or deliverer) who's got a jealous new boyfriend.

Bearing in mind the principles of good storytelling, be sure to let us know:
* Who's sending the telegram
* Why it's so important
* What's the danger/obstacle to delivery
* How that obstacle is overcome (or not!)
* What the result is. 


On February 10th, 1933, the Postal Telegram Company in New York delivered the world’s first singing telegram.

Write a poem or story about someone delivering a singing telegram to somewhere difficult or dangerous. Perhaps into the middle of a gang war, or a seedy space station, or the Winter Court of Faerie ... or maybe even to an ex-girlfriend (of either the sender or deliverer) who's got a jealous new boyfriend.

Bearing in mind the principles of good storytelling, be sure to let us know:
* Who's sending the telegram
* Why it's so important
* What's the danger/obstacle to delivery
* How that obstacle is overcome (or not!)
//* What the result is.


NEW PROMPT:

Write a story or poem about someone facing a deadline -- with extremely dire consequences if not met. Use THRILLER/SUSPENSE as one of your genres.

Bringing together my Joe Jones Adela Sayed Kabul Love Stories.