Like a classic infiltration, their first step was to avoid the eyes of the guards—and fortunately, the route provided by the informant proved invaluable. The surveillance gap opened only twice every half hour, and during that brief window, no one stood watch at the gate.
Khan led the way, his movements fluid like a night predator. Behind him, his four companions spread out in the formation they had drilled dozens of times. As they reached the garden flanking the tower, two guards were seen lounging beneath an oil lantern, talking quietly while smoking dried leaf rolls.
Without a sound, one of Khan's men—a tall, sharp-eyed man named Qasim—moved in from the right. In an instant, he clamped a hand over one guard's mouth and jabbed a tranquilizer needle into his neck. The man collapsed with barely a whisper, his body dragged into the bushes with surgical grace.
