We quietly readied ourselves when we neared the Libyan coast. On deck, we said little as we gathered our thoughts along with our weapons. The febel made a final pass through and ensured all the weapons were ready. Given the mission's constraints, we carried only rifles, side arms, a limited number of grenades and our combat knives.

All of us understood that we would not last long in a heavy or a lengthy firefight with the British.

We had received little rest during the voyage. Several of the men had suffered from motion sickness, and had to vomit over the rail. I had silently cursed von Graff and his secrets. All the men I had chosen were good, but I could have selected different soldiers who were not inflicted with the malady if I had known more details. No matter what their condition, they would be forced to continue.

"We're soldiers, not sailors. This god-forsaken boat doesn't bother you?" Hahn had asked me between retches.

"No," I laughed. "I crewed at the academy and have frequently sailed on lakes. I love the water. You'll become acclimated to the motion quickly," I assured him.

Even though I had had the men rotate off duty, there was the heightened tension of the mission which had prevented us from actually sleeping. I myself had only dozed on and off for a few minutes. My men were holding up well despite the motion sickness and lack of sleep.

I could feel the adrenaline begin to surge within me even though my mind remained deadly calm. I reiterated my final orders to Hahn. He would remain on the Athene along with two other men. I normally avoided dividing my team, but the situation required it.

I did not trust Donis in the slightest.

I could not take the risk he would strand us or betray us to the British to receive a higher compensation than what he was receiving from the Germans.

I glanced at my watch. "The guard and the boy should be appearing within thirty minutes," I confirmed to Hahn. "We want to avoid any suspicion as to why the Athene is in these waters. Ensure you and your men remain out of the guard's sight or anyone else on shore."

Hahn's face was serious as he gave me only a short nod in reply. We both knew that it wasn't necessary for me to iterate that the sighting of a single German soldier would compromise the mission, dooming us on the shore.

My next orders were brief and clear to Hahn. "You are to force the Athene to remain here at all costs," I ordered. "My orders include eliminating the captain and crew if necessary to prevent her from leaving."

Hahn gave a brief nod again. "Jawohl, Herr Hauptmann."

I gave Hahn my final order without hesitation. "You are to leave the raiding party and immediately depart if it becomes obvious that the mission has failed. You possess enough experience and knowledge to know if the final step will become necessary."

Hahn began to protest, but I immediately silenced him with a stern look.

"Leutnant, I have already discussed this with you during the planning stages. We will already be lost. There is no reason for all the men to become casualties. Seize the opportunity to save the remaining men to fight again."

His eyes met mine and I could see the strength grow behind them. "Understood, Herr Hauptmann."

"Good." I gave him a faint smile. "Carry on."

Hahn gave me a sharp salute.

I closed my eyes for an instant and gave a silent prayer:

"Imaginative God, creator of all that is, inspire me who is overwhelmed by the complexities of life. Send through me the great rushing wind of your spirit to stir my hope and breathe into me new life. Rekindle in me the flame of your spirit, that with energy and enthusiasm I may rise to meet the challenges of my life. I pray to you for the safe deliverance of my men and of the young boy, and to minimize the taking of any lives."

I then departed with the three remaining men.

The four of us climbed down to the large inflatable raft. I had decided to use a single raft; multiple rafts would split my men further and it would be too difficult to contain the boy.

Hahn gave a slight wave along with a forced grin as we shoved off. I looked up at the sun briefly. As I had predicted, the sun would be in the eyes of anyone on shore looking out over the water. The raft would be difficult to spot, especially if we remained low in the water.

We began paddling, our eyes fixated on the rocky shore. We were calm and orderly with a clear sense of urgency but without any evidence of rushing. To rush would lead to sloppiness and mistakes, a luxury which we could not afford.

We easily made the beach within fifteen minutes as Donis had predicted. We grounded the raft and waded the remaining few feet through the surf. The men quickly hid the raft under a rocky alcove where it would remain out of sight.

I checked my watch again. We were perfectly on schedule.

After a final weapons check, I led my men away from the cove.

The rocky cliffs formed a natural pier. According to the reconnaissance report, the boy would fish from the farthest southeastern rock jutting out into the sea. We would approach from the northwest, to easily corner him. His only escape would be to leap into the sea, an action I seriously doubted he would do so given the height and heavy surf below.

We silently climbed the large rocks, taking care not to dislodge any of the smaller loose stones. It was unlikely the guard would be able to hear anything over the roar of the surf, but I wanted to avoid any curiosity or suspicion.

I halted my men when we neared the top. We would still be out of sight from above. We remained crouched down and waited for the boy and the guard to arrive.

It took only a few minutes for them to make their appearance.

From our hiding place, I could hear them approach, the guard calling out to the boy for him to be careful on the rocks. The guard's voice soon faded away and I assumed he was leaving for the watchtower.

We waited for five minutes to allow the guard sufficient time to reach the top of the watchtower. I then gave my men the signal to commence.

We climbed to the top of the rocky jetty and there was the boy, quietly fishing. He was unmistakable from the photographs I had been given. The boy was so unbelievably blonde. He was the personification of the perfect Aryan boy so obsessed upon by the Nazis.

Still crouching down, I maneuvered into position. The guard had not seen us. I counted on him being bored and not focusing on his duty. He would probably consider such duty a mundane responsibility with nothing to expect. What could possibly happen when guarding a young boy fishing?

The boy unexpectedly turned to look back over his shoulder. I immediately halted and crouched down again, melting into the rocks.

He had not seen me.

The boy looked up at the guard. He then smiled and jauntily waved at him.

I relaxed and emitted a sigh of relief. I slowly began moving forward again but stopped suddenly, concerned at the guard's next unanticipated action.

The guard had begun climbing down the watchtower. I melted into the rocks to conceal myself. My team men noticed my action and quickly did the same.

My mind quickly began anticipating his actions and how I would react. Why would the guard leave the watchtower? Had he seen us? I dismissed the possibility. It would have been impossible for him to have spotted us since we were maneuvering from out of his sight line. No, there must be a different reason. Had the Athene possibly triggered his suspicion?

The guard wasn't hurrying so there appeared to be no urgency on his part. He slowly began walking towards the boy and returned his friendly wave. I again relaxed.

And then the boy spotted us.

The look of alarm on his face was unmistakable. It would be impossible for the guard not to understand its meaning. There was not time for us to reach deeper cover.

I acted immediately, my training and instinct taking over.

I quietly pulled out my knife and threw it hard at the guard. The knife caught him squarely in the middle of his back, piercing a vital organ. He unsuccessfully groped for the knife, but it was futile. He crumpled and fell off the rocks into the cove, never uttering a sound.

I returned my attention the boy.

The boy shrank back in horror at what he had witnessed. Why didn't he call out? Was his silence due to shock? Or, we would be the only ones to hear him and he realized such an action would be futile? Speculation had no purpose and would add no value and I shoved it aside unanswered.

I motioned for my men to seize the boy. They immediately moved forward and grabbed him by the arms. The boy was no match for them and they began pulling him back down the rocks despite his struggles.

And yet, the boy still did not cry out. My mind registered this odd fact a second time. Why did I keep returning to this anomaly? Finally, I decided to place it aside once and for all. It was irrelevant to the success of our mission. I would not dwell on it again.

We had what we came for. It was critical for us to now escape. Every second we remained in Libya exponentially increased the odds of us being captured and the mission failing.

I quickly led us back the way we had come. The raft was pulled from its hiding place and dragged to the water. The boy was placed in the raft's center and we shoved the raft into the surf. We leaped unto the raft and began strongly paddling. We passed the guard's lifeless body, already being pulled out to sea by the tide. The boy brought his fists up to his eyes, shielding himself from the grisly sight.

We steadily paddled back to the Athene. I kept an eye on the boy, not wanting him to interfere with the paddling or to throw himself overboard. Instead, he sat there quietly and appeared to still be in shock.

Donis had already casually maneuvered the Athene closer to the shore as to not draw any suspicion. The maneuver shortened the distance by a few minutes, critically assisting us. We gratefully reached the Athene and brushed up alongside it.

Hahn instantly appeared and I handed the boy up to him for safekeeping. A crew member placed a short ladder over the side. My men clamored up it reaching safety. Before I followed them, I withdrew a second knife and made several slashes to the raft, deflating and sinking it in just a few seconds. The raft had served its purpose. There was no time to retrieve it and I did not want it to potentially provide any clues to the British.

I saw Hahn take the boy below deck for his safety. I silently indicated to Donis to immediately depart. The boat did so calmly as not to draw any attention to her. It was as if she had completed her haul of fish for the day and it was time to return to port. It was only when we were out of eyesight from the coast did Donis increase our speed. Now it had become a dire race for us to quickly return to Rhodes.

I watched without emotion as Libya quickly retreated into the distance.

I had been on African soil for less than sixty minutes.