“It’s a risk, but I will also treat her with tough love. If we don’t, we both will lose her.”
***
What the two plotting men didn’t know was that Kaley had learned to be a very light sleeper at a very early age. She was watching when Simon Stone pulled Malcolm towards the flight deck for a discussion. She was sure it was about her.
As stealthy and as agile as a cat, she navigated around the bodies and equipment scattered about the plane’s hold and headed to the bulkhead to secretly listen.
She was expecting the worst. Kaley assumed she would hear that they were discussing how to trap her and send her to an institution for the mentally challenged, but instead discovered that they talked about how they loved her. At first she thought it was some kind of a threat. That was her normal reaction to any change. But eventually she became overjoyed and vowed to herself to treat the two men better. A warm feeling pulsed through her body as she returned to the cabin.
When she reached her sleeping area, she fell asleep quickly and dreamed her usual bad dream. She had been having the same nightmare for as long as she could remember. In it, she was being chased by a red-eyed demon. No matter how hard or fast she ran, she couldn’t get away from him. The demon always cornered her in a small room. It ripped off her clothes and then stood ready to devour her, to inflict pain and suffering. Her arms were tied behind her back and a gag was in her mouth. She couldn’t even cry out for help.
Suddenly, the demon was vanquished. A faceless hero with a huge sword had dispatched the monster with a single thrust that penetrated through the monster’s defenses and gutted him. The man rushed over to her. He gently untied her arms and removed the mouth gag.
“Thank you Malcolm,” she whispered sweetly as she slumbered. There was a smile on the face of the sleeping beauty when she said it.
***
Meanwhile, Malcolm and General Stone had more to discuss.
“Has the jihadist Dr. Raja taken the bait?” General Stone asked.
“He’s actually not a jihadist,” Malcolm responded. “He’s just greedy and wants to extort money from anybody in a Vortex that he can reach with the Switch.”
“But will he change the settings like we discussed?”
“I don’t know yet. I guess I’d better check,” Malcolm said thoughtfully.
Then he spoke out loud. “Will Dr. Raja use the new setting?” after a few seconds, Malcolm had a look on his face like he had bit into a lemon. He looked at the general with fear and concern in his eyes.
“The idiot Raja is bringing thirty armed jihadists with him,” Malcolm shouted at Simon Stone.
“Uh-oh. That’s a serious problem.” the general uttered. “We’d better get Captain Kane up to discuss what we can do.”
Malcolm rushed over to the sleeping man and woke him up. “We need to talk to you immediately. We’ve got a big problem,” he told the officer.
The captain was wide awake almost immediately He stretched and then followed Malcolm to where the general sat.
“The three people we need to capture are bringing thirty armed jihadists with them this morning,” the general announced distinctly.
“Oh, that changes things,” the captain replied thoughtfully and rubbed his two day old beard.
“Is there time to recruit some more men?” The general asked with a measure of anxiety. They were only two hours away from landing.
“Why would we do that?” the captain asked. “My men are trained to handle an eight to one ratio of combatants. There are ten of us. That’s only a three to one ratio.”
“So you’re comfortable with the odds?” Malcolm muttered in disbelief.
“It’s what we train for — to take on and defeat much larger forces,” the captain responded. “In this case, we’ll also have the element of surprise on our side.”
“So are you suggesting an ambush then?” The general croaked.
“I’ll get working on the plan immediately,” the energized TACP officer said with a smile and saluted. “The boys are ready for a fight.”
“We need to find out exactly what route the jihadists will be taking. Can you find out?” the general asked Malcolm once the TACP officer had left.
“Give me a few minutes,” Malcolm replied.
Chapter Forty-Five
As soon as the pilot signaled that the big plane would land in India in a few minutes, everyone quickly went into motion. They had three hours before the Switch was planned to be activated — the current time was at 6:00 A.M. The MAD team was over thirty miles from expected launch site. They needed to get there and set up an ambush. They didn’t want the earthquake to start.
The TACP captain had arranged for two vans that were big enough to carry everyone and their equipment. They couldn’t use their own vehicles that were on the plane because of diplomatic reasons. They weren’t supposed to be in the country.
There was no camping gear packed this time. They would be returning the same day. The MAD team was in one van and the TACP team occupied the other as they sped towards the remote location just over the border in Pakistan. Malcolm had collected the place from his spirit. They had only traveled a few miles when the discussions began.
“I thought that Pakistan is already fully Muslim?” Kaley asked out loud. “Where did Dr. Raja get all these jihadists?”
“The country is all Muslim, that is true,” countered Malcolm. “But terrorism is everywhere today.”
“But I thought that among themselves the radical Muslims were peaceful? Isn’t that what they are always saying? That Islam is a peaceful religion. Am I wrong about that?”
“Kaley,” Malcolm said with a laugh. “Pakistan is not doing any better in fighting terrorism than anyone else. They have a worse terrorism problem than we have in the US. I just read a report that in 2014 over 5,496 people died in terrorist attacks in Pakistan — mostly in mosques, schools, and religious places. As opposed to about forty something people in the US including the attackers. The final numbers are not in for 2015, but the experts say that it has gone up by over thirty percent and the overwhelmed Pakistani army now says that foreign forces, whoever they are, are supporting the terrorists. The center of the Muslim religion, Saudi Arabia, is not doing much better. But the ‘Kingdom’ is able to suppress almost all the information about attacks and deaths. You can hardly find out anything on the internet.”
“Incidentally,” Malcolm added. The Saudis blame the U.S., of course. They say they didn’t have a terrorist problem until we parked thousands of soldiers in their country for ‘Desert Storm’ back in 1995.”
“Weren’t we there to protect them?” Lisa asked in confusion.
“It’s their spin on history,” Malcolm replied.
“But who the hell are these terrorists?” Kaley asked in frustration.
“Most terrorists are home grown, meaning that they grew up in the same country that they attempt to destroy. Only a few actually travel to another country to kill and die. They almost always die.”
“That makes no sense to me,” Kaley stated flatly. “I can understand why a terrorist would want to kill an enemy in a foreign land, but what rationale can they possibly have for killing their own people and themselves?”
“That’s a loaded question,” Malcolm evenly responded. “I’ll give you the top reasons for becoming a terrorist. Religion is number one. Just because the people are all called Muslims, they may be culturally very different. There are many different sects of Muslims.”
“What do you mean?” Kaley screeched.
Malcolm explained. “The vast numbers of Muslims are Sunni, but there are actually seven more different religious off-shoots. They generally hate each other and any other religion. Religious fanatics are the largest group of terrorists by far. They are usually called jihadists for the holy war they fight.
“So they fight among themselves too?” Kaley said as she struggled with the knowledge.”
“Yes, most definitely,” Malcolm replied. “But there are also social, economic,
political, ethnic, regional and even language differences. Some even blame globalization and science. The terrorists are also inflamed by their own sensitization by the media and their religious leaders.”
“What are you saying,” a confused Kaley asked.
“I’m saying that the media over-sells terrorism because it raises the media’s popularity and means more money in revenues for the media business.”
“So this is all about money?” Kaley asked in disbelief.
“Some is,” Malcolm responded. The religious leaders, like an Imam, live off of donations. The more popular the Imam, the more money he makes. If he is a radical Imam, radical people will flock to him. He can get rich in the process. Cut off their money and they will disappear.”
“Okay, I can understand the money issue,” Kaley responded. “But some of these other problems aren’t going away anytime soon either,” Kaley stated.
“It’s actually worse than you think,” General Stone said as he leaned in to the conversation. “If you look at who the actual individuals who become terrorists are, you’ll find that many have the same things in common.”
“What are you talking about now?” Kaley asked in continued frustration.
“Sigmund Freud believed it’s a mental illness,” the general replied. “Almost all terrorist have narcissistic rage. They want things done their way now. When they don’t get their way they go into rage. It’s a huge factor.”
“And don’t forget a disgruntled and disaffected intelligentsia,” Lisa the college professor explained. “What I mean is the lack of a feeling that a person can influence any part of society. They feel helpless and believe they are led by leaders whose policies actually don’t affect them positively — or immediately. So they want change.”
“This is so complicated. It’s hurting my head thinking about it,” Kaley confessed.
“Don’t feel bad Kaley,” the professor said to sooth her. “That’s why so many are confused or deny that terrorism is a real threat. Almost everyone can identify with some of the reasons for becoming a terrorist.”
“Of course, in today s world,” the general noted. “We have become so afraid of offending anyone that many people don’t want to be involved. They don’t report suspicious characters and ignore neighbors who begin collecting weapons and such.”
“So how can we stop these people?” Kaley croaked.
“Kaley,” Malcolm said and shook his head. “Terrorism has been around since the beginning of time — ever heard of the ‘Spanish Inquisition’, or ‘throwing Christians to the lions’? As long as there are unhappy people, there will be terrorism. The question is this; can we keep it in check?”
“I think the biggest problem is with the religious leaders,” Lisa threw in her two cents. “If they had an organized approached to selecting Imams and other religious leaders, they could require education levels and maybe some physiological testing. It should be a privilege to serve Allah, not a license to say whatever you want.”
“There’s an old saying,” General Stone added. “History repeats itself.”
“It sounds like you are saying that all these people are nut jobs,” Kaley recapped.
“That’s because they are,” the general replied. “Hitler was a nut job and he used terrorism. He also tried quite successfully to create his own religion I might add.”
“So are you saying that the jihadists and the white supremacists are the same?” Kaley questioned.
“They’re both terrorists.” Malcolm replied. “The jihadists see their fight as a holy war and the supremacists see their fight as a cultural war. In essence, that is the same thing.”
“The problem is that most Muslims are more afraid of the consequences of not supporting jihad than the fear of Allah,” Lisa added.
Just then the general’s phone rang. “We’re at the ambush site,” the TACP captain reported.
Chapter Forty-Six
The place the TACP officer picked for the ambush was perfect. The dirt road passed through an area where there were twenty foot hills on both sides of the road. The rest of the area was just plain flat. The TACP team would have high ground in addition to the element of surprise. The MAD team was deployed at the front end of the gauntlet to stop the lead truck. Their goal was to capture the crazed Dr. Raja and collect the Switch. The other two men with the doctor would be expected to surrender, but if they didn’t do that, they would become collateral damage. The general wanted the doctor alive, but would settle for at least getting the Switch. He huddled the team together in the middle of the road.
“You and Malcolm go after the guy named Dax,” General Stone said and pointed to Kaley. “He’s the most dangerous, so respond accordingly.”
“We’ll neutralize him,” Kaley promised as she shook her head and glanced at Malcolm.
“Lisa I want you to attempt to capture the Imam named Mohammed,” the old man continued. “From what we know, he is very old and not really a fighter. The Pakistani government will want to interrogate him about some of his friends, if we can capture him.”
“He’s going down,” she remarked like a soldier and slammed her fists together.
“I’ll handle Dr. Raja and his toy,” the general said. “But if any of you finish first, come and help the others.” It was understood that finish meant kill.
Malcolm had agreed to take the first shots and disable the tires of the lead truck. The TACP team would follow his lead and shoot out the tires on the bus.
“Are everyone’s earpieces in place?” General Stone asked. He believed that a coordinated attack with good communications would be the most effective approach.
Ten people responded with “roger.”
“Then let’s get into position,” the leader suggested.
***
After about ten minutes, a lookout shouted. “I see two vehicles heading up the road. One truck and one bus, the truck is in the lead.”
“Here we go,” whispered Malcolm. “I hope Kaley can hold it together,” he muttered as he looked in her direction.
Chapter Forty-Seven
The attack started at 8:45 A.M when Malcolm, who was on the left side of the road, shot out the front tire of the truck. He had used a silencer, so no one in the truck knew what happened. The front end of the truck immediately dropped down to the ground and the big vehicle slid to a halt on the edge of the road. The bus driver had to slam on the brakes to avoid running into the back of the wounded lorry. The jihadists on the bus instantly began cursing, swearing and waving their guns out the open windows. They didn’t want any delays in collecting their loot. They had no idea that their party had been cancelled.
The driver’s side door of the truck flew open and Dax jumped down carrying a machine gun loosely. He saw the destroyed tire and kicked it like a spoiled child. He spewed out a long list of expletives.
“I need some help here to change this tire,” he bellowed loud enough for the men in the bus to hear. But no one from the bus came to help.
“We’ll be late in getting to the launch site,” Dr. Raja said with extreme alarm.
“Why don’t we just shoot it off from right where we are?” the Imam named Mohammad suggested. He wanted to do his part and collect his money from the warlord. He also wanted to get rid of Dr. Raja.
“I guess that this place will have to do,” Dr. Raja agreed reluctantly. “We’ll get the earthquake started while they change the tire on the truck. We wouldn’t want the warlord to miss out on recouping his investment.
The right hand door opened and the two men dropped down into the middle of the road. It was deadly quiet and there didn’t appear to be anyone around.
***
“Attack,” General Stone whispered into his earpiece.
No one heard the slight noise of the silenced bullets because of all the cursing and swearing, but four well aimed bullets hit the bus tires at once. The big vehicle dropped about a foot when the tires blew out.
“Ambush,” the driver of the bus and the j
ihadist leader screamed. He ordered everybody to stay on the bus and get into a defensive position while he figured out what to do.
Dax turned and was bringing up his machine gun to fire at any suspected target when a silenced bullet slammed into his right shoulder. He lost control of the gun.
The Imam and Dr. Raja heard his scream. They turned and ran off into the bleak countryside with General Stone and Lisa Lange in hot pursuit.
As soon as the gun that Dax had held hit the ground, Kaley came charging from her hiding place behind the small hill. Dax was quickly unnerved, but recovered when he realized that the woman attacking him was half his size. He braced for the collision. A wary grin crossed his face. He was very good at hand to hand combat.
Kaley decided that her strong legs would do most of the work on Dax as he looked big and powerful. As soon as Kaley got close enough to the big man, she dropped to the ground and skidded just under a fierce left hook thrown from Dax. She purposely hit his right leg just above the kneecap with her leg and he went down. He landed on his damaged right shoulder and almost blacked out from the pain.
Round number one of the fight went to Kaley. She didn’t want to fight a number three. So she planned accordingly.
Kaley bounced up and kicked him viciously in his left kidney. He roared in pain, but rolled over and tried to stand up while attempting to grab her with his good left arm. She easily danced away. She dodged several feeble punches from Dax. Then Kaley went on the offensive.
She used her body like a sword foil, moving in and out. Jabbing with her legs, connecting with vital areas, and drawing back before Dax could react. He was not only in severe pain, but he now raged at losing to a mere infidel woman. He screamed like an insane person, but when he looked into the eyes of his attacker he shuddered. She looked more insane than he did. They both had become fighting animals that would kill in the blink of an eye. He growled in anger.
Kaley went to attack one more time just as Dax drew out a long lethal knife. He raised it high in the air and aimed it where he anticipated she would be heading. As he slammed the dangerous knife down, a small red hole appeared on his forehead. Malcolm had stood to the side during the initial fight, but needed to protect Kaley and had shot him from point blank range. Dax dropped to the ground. He was dead.
The Oracle Philon Page 18