The word came back. It took less than an hour; and that was mainly for housekeeping purposes. The pm and his security council had voted in rare unanimity to pursue a more hawkish course of action with regards to Iran and the trouble they kept making. It was time to cripple their ability to wage war before it could happen on such a level that could not be recovered from. Idf, already on high alert, went to full readiness. Sabra was given field command responsibility.

"I'd like you to join my force Steve." He'd seen it coming. And as nomad he could do so readily. "Whatever I can do to help."

They laid out their strategy. The Israelis had always possessed a smaller force by comparison but it was also one of the most advanced and mobile. And the Israelis were used to being outnumbered too. None of this was new for them.

The key, as with anything like this, was to use this battle plan to their advantage. The number of Shia militants in the occupied territories was higher than before. And they now possessed some serious armaments. Iran was several nations away. Sunni allies and moderates were in between Iran and Israel.

In their mobile command setup in Tel Aviv sabra finalized her plans. "We can launch a series of air strikes and idf raids on these groups." It was just her and cap for now. She highlighted the board where she intended her security force to strike the Shia militants.

"Looks solid. Simultaneous strikes will work best. What is the composition of Sunni militants present?" "Not as much as the Shias; we expect. But that could change. Even our border allies could become corrupted to the point beyond our detection." "What're the percentages per ally?" Sabra touched a few screens to bring it up. The corruption figures seemed low to cap. Even shield had better stats on that. Which was odd; Mossad and Wakanda's war dogs were the best spy services in the world. Even better than shield in some ways. They were smaller and more agile. Made a big difference.

"What is it?" Cap's tac sense was already calculating different variables here. "This doesn't smell right Sabra." She frowned a little. "What do you mean?" "I think these figures are off. Corruption levels in the moderate Sunni states was higher even before the American conflict. I could only suspect they'd be higher now in light of what's happened. Shield and allies haven't been watching them like they used to. And the new republic is still fighting the war in America. There are still many rogue elements that will never leave that hydra didn't get rid of. This will pull shield's attention away from anything foreign."

"We're on our own then." "Yeah. But this battle force can still be used effectively. Your plan is good Sabra. Stick to it." "Where do you wanna be?" "That target with the main Shia weapons depot. There are too many civilians around it to used an air strike. No doubt done by design. I can lead the raid there." "Sounds good."

Xxx

Haifa; 0125 hours local

Cap flew in with idf commandos on a stealth chopper. There were two other birds flying in with them. Cap's shield was out and ready. He sat at the door's edge near the door gunner. Scans showed the Shias embedded there were ready to wage war. The target was indeed heavy on weaponry. Likely for their many reinforcements that would come through there at some point. And cap had never ruled out a Sunni Shia alliance. The only thing they hated more than each other was Israel.

Pilot "Two minutes cap." "Copy." Everyone grew extra alert now. This was where things could get crazy. They were now within ready rocket range.

"Bogeys incoming!" Cap saw the rockets launch in the night at the raiders. The birds went evasive while staying focused on arriving at their target. A rocket came in very close. The door gunner sprayed at it but the bird was moving too erratically.

Cap waited a second more then threw his shield at it. It stuck the rocket head on and blew it. The small fireball knocked the chopper around a little but they were okay and back on target. Then the guys saw cap's thought lost shield return to his arm in a flash. That was too cool in their view.

The raiders were near the target now. It was to be a rooftop insertion at multiple key points of ingress. Cap didn't wait for the bird to land. He waited until it was close enough and dropped out. Upon landing on the target rooftop cap sprinted forward at the enemy riflemen that appeared to engage them.

They opened fire. Cap's shield was up to block their rounds in the night. He kept going. The flanking idf birds maneuvered out to provide better cover. Cap's bird fired as well from the central higher position they still had. They shot down a number of the Shia baddies as they pushed the fight forward.

Cap reached the first baddie group and went super soldier on them. His blows were rapid and strong. No mercy was given. They sure as hell wouldn't give any; thus cap would give none. The bastards here had already killed a number of Israeli children. Cap would help put them down for good.

He kept his shield on him as this initial assault phase occurred. It progressed well too. He kept them busy enough for the main bird to land on the rooftop and the idf hitters came out ready to kill. Cap's shield smashed into Shia bodies and broke them. Cap could hear the bones snap from the blows. Israeli rounds entered kill zones of the terrorists as cap went up the middle for them.

Overhead the other birds flew tac orbits and provided support fire where possible. Cap took down another group of hostiles with ease. This punched a hole right through the tangos. The way was clear for now.

Cap was at the locked rooftop door to the interior. He took a moment and focused his power. He then struck the door with the shield. It blasted inward and opened up the hole for them to enter through. The last few baddies up top were taken down by the IDF. Cap was inside and the Israeli raiders were soon behind him. The joint raid continued.