by Thomas Shaw
“I’ll make sure we’ll have something for you by tomorrow,” Hussein conceded, assuring that this issue didn’t develop into a heated argument.
The next morning there was a shiny new Peugeot 205 sitting in their carport. It was the weekend so for the next two days, under SAM’s instructions, they drove all over Tehran to become familiar with the major freeways and cross-streets, noting major landmarks just in case they might need to react quickly. SAM made a point for them to know exactly where a certain bakery was located on the other side of town. In fact they were instructed to stop and buy a couple of loaves of bread and introduce themselves to the owner, Jhameel.
“What was that all about?” Tom said as they got back in the car. “I don’t know but this bread smells really good,” Julie added.
They drove back to their apartment without the help of SAM and settled in for a nice home cooked meal with a couple of glasses of wine they had smuggled in with their luggage. Then it was off to bed because Monday would be their first day at the university and they wanted to get an early start.
13
After a light breakfast of boiled eggs and toast, Tom and Julie decided to walk the four blocks to campus so they could experience what it would be like to mingle with the locals. It was a beautiful spring day and the buildings they walked by reminded him of a trip he and his dad had taken years ago in Cairo. It seemed strange to Tom that almost every building had multiple TV receiver dishes on its roof top.
As they approached the administration building, there was Hussein patiently waiting for them on the steps. After a brief greeting he directed Julie toward the language building while both of them headed toward the technology building. Tom was surprised to find that his host was in the same class he was taking.
“I didn’t realize you were taking advanced computer courses,” Tom said as Hussein sat down next to his workstation.
“I’m working on my advanced Doctors degree just like you,” he replied.
The class was called to order as the instructor talked to his students in both English and Arabic. The first couple of days went by without much intervention from anyone but that was about to change. After Thursday’s class was coming to a close, Hussein asked Tom if he would mind staying behind because the instructor would like to talk to both of them. This is just what SAM had been waiting for.
The instructor didn’t waste any time addressing the topic of how Tom had so easily hacked into the Hilton’s computer system and shut down their elevators and he seemed even more impressed with how he had shut down the internet service in North Korea.
Tom followed SAM’s instructions as he doled out the methodology he had supposedly used to make these amazing computer intrusions; all the while hinting that the special software on his thumb drive was the key ingredient to his successes. After the meeting ended Hussein invited Tom and Julie to join him for dinner on Friday evening. Tom said he would talk to Julie but thought it would be a good idea to get out of the apartment for a while. Hussein seemed to think it was strange that Jim Peterson would need to talk to his wife about a decision to have dinner.
That evening Hussein met with his handlers to talk about the progress or lack thereof they were making with the Americans. It was soon decided that Hussein needed to give up some private information to see if that would loosen up Jim Peterson’s feelings about sharing the information on his “special” thumb drive.
At dinner Hussein asked Tom if there were any questions he might be curious about.
“As a matter of fact I do have one question,” Tom said. “When we walk back and forth to our classes we can’t help but notice all the TV satellite antennas on what looks like condominiums or apartments.”
“Well, actually that’s an interesting question,” Hussein responded. “I’m sure you are thinking that it would be much more efficient to have one satellite dish and multiplex or share the signals with all the people in the building.”
Tom nodded his head, “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“Well, one of the little secrets most Muslims try to hide is the fact that they are hooked on pornography and they think that if they have their own TV dish no one will know what they are watching.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Tom laughed.
Hussein just shook his head.
“Now I have a question,” Hussein said, thinking he had just given up some serious confidential information like his handlers had suggested. “How did you and your Band of Brother as you call them, come up with the algorithms you use to hack into these computer systems?”
“You know, I would be betraying a trust if I handed over that kind of information without the consent from my brothers,” Tom said trying to end this conversation.
“I was just thinking that if I give you some insight into our culture you might be willing to share some of your knowledge with me,” Hussein said still trying to press the issue.
“I could care less if your people want to watch pornography if you think that’s worth a trade for my algorithms,” Tom said as he played along with Hussein’s line of thought.
Tom glanced down at his watch which interrupted the rapport Hussein was trying to establish.
“It’s getting late and Julie has an early schedule tomorrow so we really need to get going,” Tom said as he and Julie stood up.
Julie thanked their host for the great dinner while Tom shook his hand as they went their separate ways.
“What was that all about?” Julie said as they drove back to their apartment.
“I think SAM is trying to fish for some angles that will help us find my dad,” Tom said. “We need to have a conversation with her to find out what information she has come up with.”
Later that evening at their apartment…
Once again Tom and Julie sit down at the kitchen table with note pads and pencils in hand.
“SAM I want Julie to hear this as well; we haven’t heard a word from you as to where my dad is since we’ve started this search,” Tom said initiating the conversation.
There was a long pause, then SAM said, “I think you should hear what we have been doing directly from Dr. Merrill.”
This was the first time Tom and Julie had heard Dr. Merrill’s voice. “I know this has to be frustrating for both of you but it’s imperative that we follow our game plan,” he said in a slow controlled voice. “We were able to track the phone numbers you provided us, which lead to a terrorists group in ISIS. We knew we couldn’t penetrate this group, which by the way we think has your dad, with a direct approach so SAM was able to find that sleeper cell in Australia which turned out to be the key to get you into this ISIS group where you are today. This Hussein guy is a low level player but has been steadily working his way up the ladder. SAM thinks we might be able to manipulate him to our advantage and lead us to your dad.”
“We’ve been here for a week and the only thing we’ve learned is that these people like to watch pornography; how is that getting any closer to finding my dad?” Tom said flatly.
“I can feel your frustration,” Dr. Merrill said “but I can tell you it is not an easy job to find someone, especially in a foreign country when you don’t want to let them know you are playing in their backyard. I can tell you for sure that SAM is trying every avenue possible. She has even contacted some of the most famous psychics and mentalists of our time just to see if they can shed any light on where your dad is. I think it was Uri Geller who thinks he sees Dr. Goodman in a dark room with a window that’s high up on a wall. The amazing Kreskin flew to Quantico to touch some of the items that Dr. Goodman had handled while he was here and couldn’t come up with anything definitive but will let us know if something pops into his mind. Having said all this; you are our best hope for finding your dad. We just need to follow SAM’s lead and do everything we can to support her ideas. You two are doing a great job, don’t doubt for a second that we are going to find your dad.”
For the next couple of day everything went along as
normal as you could expect but all that ended when Hussein approached Jim Peterson after class telling him the instructor wanted to talk to him immediately. All three of the men met in the computer lab and Tom could tell it was ShowTime all over again. The instructor made it clear that Jim Peterson had received his special scholarship because of the unique talent he seemed to possess. So far this instructor had only heard about it from other people and wanted to see it firsthand.
SAM was well prepared for this moment and had Tom suggest that he shut down the power grid in Moscow for a couple of hours. The instructor seemed impressed by this recommendation and pointed to a workstation for him to use. Tom pulled the infamous thumb drive out of his pocket and plugged it into the USB port. Unknown to him, this workstation had special software that would instantly capture all the software on this removable drive. As per instructions from SAM, Tom went about entering the usual string of meaningless code while the other two men looked on with amazement because they didn’t recognize anything he was doing. Twenty minutes later there was breaking news on the Aljazeera TV channel that there was a massive blackout in Moscow which was the exact conformation they were waiting to hear. Without waiting to see any more of their reaction, Tom removed his thumb drive and excused himself from their meeting. After they were sure he was gone the instructor and Hussein sat down at the workstation to bring up the captured software but to their dismay they found that their hard drive had been completely wiped clean. It didn’t even have a functioning operating system which infuriated the instructor who immediately demanded that Hussein seize this thumb drive at all costs.
The next day Hussein approached Tom with an offer to show him something that few people new about and hopefully would entice him to share the information he had, stored on the thumb drive.
That evening Hussein picked up Tom at his apartment to show him a secret location. Julie wasn’t happy about being split up like this but SAM assured her that she would give her a running account of Tom’s whereabouts.
Hussein took Tom to a dilapidated looking warehouse on the outskirts of Tehran. As they approached the building two armed guards approached them asking for identification papers from Hussein. When they were satisfied that everything was in order they were asked to put on a pair of special rubberized overshoes that would eliminate any static electricity that they may generate while walking through this warehouse. As per instructions from SAM Tom was making mental notes of its floor plan. The lighting was poor but Tom could easily make out the long worktable that ran the length of the warehouse. There were chairs on either side of the table spaced about five feet apart. There was a wire connected to a metal strip which ran along the floor that ran up to a wrist band lying on the table at each location.
“This is where we make the explosive vests,” Hussein said casually as he pointed to the long row of tables.
A cold chill of ice water seemed to run down Tom’s spine as the realization of what he was looking at sunk in.
“What are all these wires for?” Tom said stumbling for something to say.
“This is to ensure that no static electricity might accidently set off one of the explosive packs while they are working on it,” was his answer.
“Let me show you some of the other things we have stored in our warehouse,” Hussein said leading him to an area that was covered by several large tarps. As he pulled back the covering, Tom could see rows and rows of ordnance lined up in an orderly manner.
“These are munitions we have confiscated from Russia and the Western collations when they bring their wars to the Muslim brotherhood,” as he pointed to the high explosives.
Tom noticed the other side of the warehouse had tarps covering an area even larger than the one he was looking at. When he looked up he noticed a loft area that looked like it was stacked high with more material, probably the AK-47’s and RPG launchers he had heard so much about.
Hussein abruptly ended the tour as he motioned for Tom to follow him out of the building.
“Well what do you think?” Hussein said when he saw Tom the next day in class. “Is that worth an exchange of information?”
“I realize the trust you must have in me to show me something like that and I feel it is only fair to trust you with some of the information I have about my software,” Tom said following the script. “I am trying to get in contact with my classmates back in Oklahoma to let them know what I am doing. I’m sure it will be OK with them but it may take a couple of days before I get conformation.”
“There is no rush as long as we have an agreement,” Hussein said extending his hand to seal the deal.
That night Tom and Julie had an anxious conversation with SAM. Tom was focused on one thing… how to destroy that building. He suggested an air strike with a smart bomb that would take out the whole warehouse. But Dr. Merrill intervened saying “That would only start World War III”. They tried coming at it from several angles when Tom suddenly suggested, “Why don’t we use one of those electric powered drone helicopters.”
There was a long pause from Quantico.
14
Two days later Tom and Julie were instructed to go to the “bakery” and pick up a cake for Julie’s birthday that weekend. Tom was concerned that if both of them were going to the bakery just to pick up a couple of loaves of bread that it might draw unwanted attention; so on this particular trip Julie went by herself.
Julie exchanged the usual pleasantries with Jhameel who seemed to be showing more and more pleasure with these meetings. She picked up the usual loaves of bread while he loaded the large cake box in her car.
Back at their apartment Tom and Julie anxiously opened the cake box which contained the parts and pieces of a drone helicopter. The box seemed heavier than Tom expected as he removed the lightweight parts to the helicopter and soon realized there was a false bottom to this box. As Tom removed the packing material from the false bottom he uncovered what looked like four CO2 cartridge looking devices with red caps on each of the small ends. He also removed two light weight lithium ferric phosphate batteries but the box still seemed heavy. After he pulled away more packing material he was surprised to see what looked like a brand new .45 caliber Navy Colt pistol complete with four clips of ammunition and a six inch long silencer.
“What’s this for?” Tom said directing his apprehensions to SAM.
“Dr. Merrill is concerned that your safety could be in jeopardy and this might be the last line of defense before we get you out,” SAM responded in a calm voice. “We know you are proficient with this type of pistol from records we have on Dr. Goodman and his involvement with the Gun Club in Tracy California.”
Tom realized he was very comfortable with how to use this .45 caliber pistol and quickly changed the subject, hoping to keep Julie from stressing out. “I know you’ve enclosed a Manuel on how to put this thing together but I would like you to walk me through the process just to make sure,” Tom said.
For the next thirty minutes Tom, Julie and SAM worked together to put this six motor drone helicopter together. When they finished Tom was looking at something he had never seen before. The finished product looked like a big spider with a center mass in the middle with six arms extending out equally spaced so the propellers did not overlap. The electric motors on the end of each arm supported two propellers, one on top and the other on the bottom of each motor, giving this drone additional lifting capability along with more control. The camera mounted underneath the center portion of the drone was designed to connect with Tom’s smart phone with both color and infrared technology. The WIFI signal from the drone was strong enough to communicate with his smart phone from a distance of over a mile. Tom attached the battery and turned the power switch to the on position while the drone was sitting on their kitchen table. The gyroscopic control system was designed to be held with both hands, the two control sticks were to be manipulated with each thumb and the smart phone was attached to the front part of the system. After loading a special app, Tom was able to turn t
he camera on so he could see the flight path where ever the drone was flying right from his phones display screen. He carefully moved the left control stick forward and watched as the drone slowly lifted off the table and hovered there, using its internal GPS controls. With Tom’s ability to fly an airplane he very quickly adapted to the controls of this drone helicopter and after a couple of hours of flying outside in the dark of night using the infrared camera he tells SAM he is ready for the mission at hand.
Tom waited until Saturday to commit to this effort; it was around nine o’clock at night when Tom and Julie loaded the drone into the back of the Peugeot and headed for the location SAM had recommended as their launch point. They pulled into the empty parking lot of a dialect building that had been bombed during the 10-Day War. Tom felt sure that no one had followed them here and quickly set about to load the thermite detonators that looked like CO2 cartridges onto the drone. SAM had designed these special thermite igniters based on a technology that was used during World War II that were called thermite grenades. The basic ingredients involved in these grenades is magnesium, powered aluminum and other components that can be ignited from a fulminated mercury firing device that can be electronically activated. The temperatures that can be reached from this thermite mixture is upward to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit which can burn through almost any metal.
Tom also loaded a special metallic dart into a four inch long barrel that can be remotely fired from his control panel. Once all this was completed he notified SAM that he was ready to start this operation. SAM was busily setting up things on her side of this mission as well and asked Tom to wait for several minutes until he got the go-ahead.
While he was waiting Tom checked and rechecked the drone even to the point of flying it around the parking lot just to get the feel of the fully loaded helicopter. He was just replacing the battery with a fresh one when he received the instructions from SAM to “lift off”.