The Unsung War Pt.3 - Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Replies:
@Schulmanator: Thank you my friend!
@Mama Luigi: Thank you very much Charles! 
@RepublicMaster: Thank you Will!
@111222333444: Lol, thanks Carl!
@dubaidude303: Thank you! I appreciate your dedication to this CJ 
@ggamgus: Thanks for the tips Emir! If you think it looks like the Greater L.A though, I've achieved what I was going for. I wanted to give it kind of a financial-commercial center look. You'll see plenty of mosques in the rural regions though (I'll make sure to include one somewhere in Kabul lol).
@Hazani Pratama: Thanks man!
@ThomasSimpson: Thanks for the kind words Thomas!
@TekindusT: Lol, thanks Daniel!
@Forthwall: Thanks Shub. We'll have to see about that New Holland building. It may undergo foreclosure... 
@Hellken: Enjoy, and thank you! (:
Quick Note:
Hello everyone! I see it has been almost two months since my last update (which was on AFD). I seem to sadly be closing this CJ ![:]](https://community.simtropolis.com/assets/emoticons/default_16.gif)
, but I hope you've enjoyed Atlantsia as much as I have. It has been full of twists and turns, and I don't think I could have ever imagined it becoming the CJ it is today without the support of the viewers. So thank you once again. Of course, the closing of one book is the opening of another. I hope you'll join me again this summer as I attempt to recreate the great Hellenic Republic (Greece). For now though, enjoy the last set of Atlantsia updates. You may remember the Unsung War series that was going on earlier. Here is the closing!
Sector 5 of the Atlantsian Military Intelligence (AMI) handles all reconnaissance operations for the Atlantsia. The airbase that serves as AMIS5’s HQ is hidden deep within the Atlantsian desert, and is protected by several levels of security fencing. Of course, the fencing is just for formality. If one wanted to traverse within a 5-mile radius of the facility, one must go undetected by radar, thermal scanners, infrared night vision equipped drones, and of course security guards. Only top-level military personnel are granted access into the base. It made America’s Area 51 look like a public park.
It is here that the Atlantsian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Khalil Shinwari, found himself seated in a Black Cadillac Escalade waiting access through the AMIS5 HQ gate. Apparently there was some sort of breakthrough with the Rodina Terrorist Attack Case, and it involved him. The SUV was cleared through security. It had been a four hour drive through the heart of the Atlantsian desert to get here, and Khalil was worn out. He sort of stumbled out of the passenger seat onto the hot pavement of the airbase. A young man, probably still in his teens, dressed in a black suit wearing aviator glasses came to greet him. “Welcome to the hell on Earth Mr. Shinwari! I am Haresh. Follow me; I’ll introduce you to Satan himself…” Khalil squinted as the sun came out from behind the clouds. “Where do they get these people?” he wondered.
He followed Haresh through the lobby and then into the elevator. Haresh swiped his card through a small slot on the side of the elevator. There were no buttons or dials. Clearly they didn’t want you to know what floor you were going to. Khalil judged however by the twenty seconds he spent in the elevator before the doors opened, accompanied by the lack of windows on the floor they arrived at, that the elevator had in fact taken them deep underground. Haresh read the expression on his face. “The building is just for looks. You surely wouldn’t think we’d store our data in such a vulnerable location?” Khalil simply smiled. That’s what the Emir had told him to do during their earlier discussion. “Vulnerable location my ass.”, he mumbled under his breath.
This time a larger man, perhaps in his thirties, came and introduced himself to Khalil. Khalil judged by the desert camouflage uniform, along with the numerous medals and patches that were on it, that the man was probably a very high ranking officer. “Pleasure to meet you Ambassador. Allow me to introduce myself, I’m General Ramid. I will get to the point quickly as your flight leaves at eleven.” Khalil looked at him in confusion. Ramid lauged, “Surely you knew they were sending you back to Afghanistan.” This shocked Khalil. He had only arrived in Atlantsia a few days ago after receiving a telegram from the Emir. He guided Haresh and Khalil over to a small room that looked like a control center. A large screen at the center displayed projected images. There were about forty small desks lined up in rows facing the screen, all filled with military officials. Khalil assumed he wasn’t the only one being briefed. Ramid waved his hands, and the lights dimmed. An image displayed on the screen.
“As you know the Rodina Tower was attacked last November.” Ramid said. “Atlantsia was framed and originally suspected of the attack by Hiigara, but as you all know, we were able to trace the culprits to Afghanistan. We believe they are currently funding themselves through illegal opium trading. Here we have images captured by recon aircraft in the Afghanistan desert. We believe that the two men in the pink keffiyehs are the leaders of the groups, but we are unconcerned with the camel-riders. The men near the automobiles are who we believe were responsible.”
The next photo was clearer. Ramid continued with the briefing, stating how they were able to track down the men through Kabul to a compound located about thirty miles from the Atlantsian-Afghanistan embassy.
Khalil realized this would be an ideal location for the attackers since it would allow the group to intercept Atlantsian military messages. Ramid glanced at Khalil midway through the presentation. “This is where you come in Ambassador Shinwari. You’ll be sent to the Kabul embassy an undesignated amount of time prior to the planned seizure. Familiarize yourself with the location near the compound. You’ll be expected to guide the team to the compound when we order you to. The embassy will have further instructions. You’ll be departing shortly from Badi al Zaman International to Kabul. Haresh will take care of you from here.”
Haresh, the kind gentlemen that he was, carried the duffel bags filled with belongings that Khalil had quickly packed through Badi al Zaman’s airport terminal. This would perhaps be the last time he would be on familiar soil for another month, which is how long he estimated the operation to be. He had only recently returned from the embassy, and he wasn’t quite ready to go back yet. Haresh seemed to understand his concern. He smiled at Khalil and asked if he had a family. Khalil told him he did, and that they were back in Masel. He noted that Haresh looked almost like a teenager without the aviator glasses he was wearing earlier. He felt sorry for the young man.
The plane was delayed almost an hour at the gate. Flights to Afghanistan often were due to the security threat. The plane was heavily filled with passengers, but luckily Haresh and Khalil were booked business class seats. The flight was hazy for Khalil. Previously, when he had been stationed at the embassy, he spent most of his time in the security of the Atlantsian embassy, running messages and forms to the US embassy. Now he would have to venture out into the heart of Kabul to familiarize himself with the city before the attack team arrived. It had all been rushed, and he hadn’t had much time to think about what was actually happening. The plane landed in Kabul an hour or so after midnight. “Welcome to Kabul International Airport.”, said a stewardess over the intercom, “The time is 1:32 AM, and the weather is partly cloudy. We hope you enjoyed the flight, and will be flying with us at Emirates again soon.” Khalil glanced out the window. In the distance he could make out the silhouette of the towering Hindu Kush mountains. The city seemed to be tucked away from the rest of the world, void of all that was familiar.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
That's all for now folks. I'll see you again soon! (Definitely not in two months this time, it's summer!) 
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