From the height of the T-Brazed fence I was standing on, I could see the little gray aircraft begin to accelerate. At first he moved slowly, then accelerated (although insignificant in comparison with the initial speed). From a distance it seemed that the Predator was rushing quickly, but it only passed me a minute later. It was as if the plane had fallen off the ground. For some time he flew literally in a few centimeters above the landing strip, while the engine with a tense howl tried to give him acceleration. Above the water, the plane fell into the zone of a cooler air and began to gain a hundredth a little more staid. When the Predator turned south, leaving the area of intense air traffic, the landing gear of the aircraft began to retract. I watched the takeoff until the third bird disappeared in the distance. The sun is merciless. Now the thermometer was 45 degrees. I rushed into the operational tent as the planes took the Kurs to the Gulf of Aden, preparing to join the Reaper over El Jawf. I marked the time and decided to head to Task Force to watch the operation. The course of the operation was displayed on six 50-inch plasma screens hung around the walls of the podium of the commander of the OOC. - Is that him? - I asked the liaison officer of the Predators. “There is confirmation that he was active about five hours ago,” said Toad, without taking his eyes off the monitors, which were video broadcasts from the boards of the Predators. We're still trying to get an eye on him. The video on one of the monitors switched to El Jauf, a small town near Sanaa. The crew of the aircraft, which carried out monitoring of communication networks, intercepted the signal of al-Awlaki’s phone and concluded that the terrorist was moving. At one of the houses in the village stopped two cars. These were white Toyota Hilax pickup trucks with twin cabins designed to move five people. “The target is active,” said one of the army officers stationed at the operation center. - There are signs he's moving. The officer gave the coordinates, and I compared them to the data in the image of the Predators. The location of the two cars almost exactly corresponded to the coordinates. It was safe to say that the Predators were on target. Suddenly, eight figs popped out of the neighboring house and quickly jumped into the cars. As soon as the door slammed shut, the driver of the first pickup truck burst from the spot. A moment later, a second car followed. - Keep them under observation, - the commander of the JSC ordered. Gordon, the leading aircraft, followed al-Awlaki from the city on the highway. The straight section of the highway was the most suitable place to strike. Cars will move at a constant speed along a predictable course. Holmov, which could be in the way of the missile or beam of the laser guidance system, was practically absent.