Free The Keepers of the Persian Gate by Sydney Maurice Page B

on high alert since last night’s debacle. Chavez has sent in reserves to help with the search. He’s desperate for proof that this was an American-led operation. However, so far he’s got nothing. Our plan is to keep it that way.”
    Unfortunately, an air extraction was completely off the cards. The Venezuelan air force was patrolling the skies and they were being assisted by patrols on the ground. Moreover, a sea extraction was completely impossible from the north. The only option was a sea extraction from the south.
    “Mr. Trimble, this may not be like anything you’ve been used to,” warned Jorge.
    “Jake, we know you are SEAL and you’ll be trained for what we are about to suggest next. Paddy, how are you with swimming?” asked Santiago. Given the situation and the level of surveillance, it was decided that an extraction by boat was impossible. Paddy wasn’t an excellent swimmer, but he wasn’t bad either. He used to teach dinghy sailing on the shores of Belfast Lough when he was growing up.
    “Our proposal is that tonight you will swim from Boca de Rio to a precise set of coordinates one and a half miles off the coast. Once you reach those coordinates, you are to face south and tie a line between the pair of you, separating to a distance of roughly one hundred feet from each other. I’m afraid I can’t go into any further detail,” explained Agent Gonzalez.
    Paddy and Jake were each supplied with a small US Navy Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. They were much smaller than your standard EPIRB, only about the size of a set of keys.
    “You will attach these round your wrists, like so. These will be traceable by the tracking equipment on your extraction vehicle,” explained Jorge.
    “What time do we head off?” asked Paddy.
    “We expect you to be ready to leave here around 2030 hours, local time. You will be collected by your extraction vehicle at 2115. That should give you forty-five minutes to swim to the coordinates and position yourselves accordingly. The tide is on your side and you will have a current of about one and a half knots moving you in the general direction.”
    The pair were also each supplied with custom wetsuits with built in buoyancy to help them stay afloat.
    “The water temperature at this time of year shouldn’t be an issue,” explained Santiago.
    After that, Agent Angel and Gonzalez kept watch while Paddy and Jake went off to the other room to get some rest prior to the swim. They had plenty of time to kill. Paddy took the floor, allowing Jake to take the couch.
    “How’s your ankle?” asked Paddy.
    “Fine now, actually,” replied Jake.
    “Really, you sort of looked like you were limping as we came into the room there,” said Paddy sceptically.
    “Well, in water it won’t matter much,” said Jake.
    ***
    Several hours later, they awoke to Jorge and Santiago coming into the room and turning on the lights.
    “Wakey wakey!” shouted Agent Angel.
    “You missed all the action,” said Agent Gonzalez.
    “What action?” asked Paddy.
    “The Venezuelan army knocked on the front door looking for you guys,” replied Agent Gonzalez.
    “But don’t worry, Father Hernandez sorted it out and sent them home with their bags packed,” said Agent Angel.
    “And you didn’t wake us!” said Jake.
    “Ha, ha, we’re just messing with you,” said Agent Gonzalez.
    “Oh ha, ha, very funny indeed,” replied Paddy.
    Jorge and Santiago threw two bags on the ground. “Right guys, we have your wetsuits and gear. You’re also each getting a set of flippers and a small cylinder with five minutes of oxygen in case you need to go under the surface for whatever reason,” said Jorge.
    Paddy and Jake had a look in the bags to survey their new equipment. They each contained a variety of further inventory, including a torpedo rescue buoy.
    “Additionally, you’re each getting a waterproof GPS to help position yourselves appropriately. I’ve taken the liberty of inserting the