by Frank Perry
the beginning of a good book someday.
After lying awake for a few hours, he was back in the office by seven o’clock in the morning, researching information about threats of missile attacks on aircraft inside U.S. borders. The missiles were somewhere on the mainland, and it was time to elevate the threat..
In his research, he discovered that in 2002, The FBI notified the U.S. aviation industry that it was a target for al-Qaida. Executives of the NSA met secretly with airline executives to discuss terrorist plans to use man-portable missiles against U.S. commercial airliners. The meeting was chaired by the Chief of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and attended by two-dozen airline CEOs. They reviewed the real threat that shoulder-fired infrared-guided missiles would be used against jets taking off and landing. Many of the world arsenals for these deadly SAMs (Surface to Air Missiles) were uncontrolled or looted. The FBI issued a bulletin dated May 22, 2002 via the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, warning that al-Qaida was planning to use shoulder-fired SAMs in the United States.
The public wasn’t informed of the danger, fearing economic disruption. Commercial planes had no defensive systems installed, yet the technology had been proven for decades on military aircraft. The cost of adding such systems to airliners was considered too high. The only commercial planes with a full complement of defensive weapons were the President’s fleet.
Captured al-Qaida training videos showed the real danger these missiles from these missiles. SAMs had already been used to shoot down commercial aircraft in Central America. The CIA issued reports that shoulder-fired missiles had hit at least forty civilian aircraft around the world, killing over a thousand air travelers.
The first thing Brennan did was talk to his boss, Special Agent in Charge (SAC), Sandra Ryan. With her concurrence, he issued an FBI intelligence bulletin to all field offices, headquarters and the intelligence agencies. These bulletins have restricted readership and are not published on the FBI website.
FBI Intelligence Bulletin:
FBI FIELD OFFICE IN MIAMI HAS RELIABLE INFORMATION, WORKING WITH ARMY INTELLIGENCE, THAT SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES HAVE ENTERED THE U.S. THROUGH PORT CHARLOTTE, FL, WITHIN THE LAST TWENTY FOUR HOURS. NO INFORMATION REGARDING WHEREABOUTS OF THE MISSILES. FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT SA BRENNAN, (305) 944-9101, OR [email protected].
Peter Shields
Rachael was in her office earlier than usual on Friday, with her bagel and tea. As soon as she sat down at her desk, she called a familiar number in Springfield, Illinois, Headquarters of the Illinois Military Department (National Guard). She asked for Major Peter Shields.
The phone range once. “Major Shields.”
“Hey, did you miss me yesterday?”
“Hi! You know I did.”
“Guess what I did?”
“You mean besides forgetting to call me?”
“Yep. I flew a plane at two times the speed of sound! It was an F-15.”
“Okay, now I’m a jealous man! I was going to tell you what I did, but what could possibly compare? So, tell me about it.”
Rachael told him all about the flight.
He responded, “Wow. I will be eternally jealous! I guess that explains why you were too tired to call me last night!”
“I had a lot on my mind, not more important than you, just different,”
He sensed something was wrong, “You don’t usually call during work hours. So, tell me what’s got you worried?”
“Tell me what you know about SA-18s.”
He responded, “This isn’t a social call, is it?”
Major Peter Shields met Rachael Aston almost a year before. He was an Army Ranger who had been assigned to help an FBI counter-terrorism team in Chicago. Together, they helped stop a terrorist with several small atomic bombs, and both were severely wounded in the process. Having been bloodied together, their relationship continued to strengthen through recovery. Their careers had advanced since then, and Peter was planning to move to Washington for a position at National Guard Bureau Headquarters. He had thoughts of asking her to marry him. Her prodding wasn’t as necessary as he pretended. He was an old-fashioned boy from a Pennsylvania coal town, while she was gentry from Connecticut. He was a night school graduate suited to Army life, while she was Ivy League. He shied away from social forums, while she loved the Washington limelight. Everything about her enchanted him.
He was one of the best and brightest Army officers, yet preferred duty out of the mainstream military professions. Peter had migrated to the Special Operations forces early in his career, which suited him ideally. As a “Green Beret,” he worked in small units of soldiers and members of elite forces from other branches of the military. They operated in small teams that bonded closely together. He appreciated the intimacy of his profession more than being a number in a regular Army unit. He was good as a secret warfare practitioner, highly decorated, and didn’t have to deal much with bureaucracy.
Before working with the FBI and meeting Rachael in Chicago, he had been on the brink of a breakdown. He had resigned from the Army months earlier after an extremely bad mission, when support was withheld and his men all died. Out of the Army, he migrated around various menial jobs as a laborer, virtually invisible to society, only to be drawn back into service by the national emergency. Out of the mainstream Army, his route back had been through the National Guard.
Rachael was a government Intelligence Analyst who would have been untouchable to him socially, yet fate brought them together under terrifying circumstances. Meeting her gave him renewed reason to go forward with his personal life and career. He knew he loved her, yet still felt undeserving, despite the ordeal they had survived together and the countless people they had saved from nuclear holocaust.
Peter was working in Illinois as a laborer at a country club when re-activated as a reserve officer because he had experience against this particular Islamic terrorist. During the Chicago crisis, the department of defense had given him the brevet (temporary) rank of Lt. Colonel, which he kept until recuperated from wounds. After that, he had accepted a military post as a Major with the Illinois State Adjutant General as his Deputy Commander, Operations (DCS/OPS). Although this was a position for a Colonel, or LTC “promotable,” the National Guard Bureau made an exception for him after the success in Chicago that brought Presidential recognition. After defeating the terrorists, he received an open offer from the Chief of the National Guard to come to Washington.
SA-18
As they talked, Peter began to recite facts about the SA-18. He had encountered the nasty things in Afghanistan and had used one when escaping during a mission.
The SA-18 was a shoulder-fired surface-to-air heat-seeking missile, used to shoot down airplanes at low and medium altitudes. It was designed in Russia and produced in China and North Korea as well. It was an outgrowth of the SA-7, first encountered by the U.S. military in Vietnam. It had aerodynamic improvements over the SA-7 for better range and speed. It weighed about 40 pounds and could be launched within twenty seconds from the time it was lifted from its shipping case. It can reach aircraft at eleven thousand feet with a slant range of seventeen thousand feet. It has a 4.6 lb. high-explosive warhead, capable of destroying the largest jet engines in the world, while causing extensive structural damage to the wings and fuselage of the plane. It uses an infrared guidance system, and can engage targets traveling up to 900 MPH.
In 2002, it was revealed by the Russians that thousands of SA-18s had been smuggled out of military arsenals during the 1990s. On the black market, the SA-18 could be purchased around the world for $100,000 apiece. They were available from Libya and many rogue states anxious to sell arms for revenue and from unsavory arms dealers with even less altruistic goals.
Following the technical description, Rachael commented, “So, when can you be here? I have a place for you to stay.”
Warning
Mark Brennan began receiving emails and phone calls almost immediately from his a
lert message. Those that came from law enforcement were his responsibility. The messages from intelligence agencies were referred to Rachael Aston.
Most of the inquiries questioned the source of missiles, transporting, and any information about the threat. In all cases, he responded with what was known, which wasn’t very much. Late in the day, he got a telephone call from Sheriff Kowalczyk saying that they had checked the vehicles by the pier and all belonged to the crew. His team had also checked with local truck rental companies that might be used to transport contraband, and had a lead. There was a large delivery truck rented to a man with a beard and foreign accent. It was found abandoned in a condemned hotel parking lot a couple miles from the rental office. It was still under the lease period, but it was clearly abandoned. In the back of the truck, the deputies found piles of rubber and some rope. The tires were covered in mud and the chassis looked like it had been taken off road. It was a familiar scenario in South Florida. Drugs are often distributed into multiple cars and trucks before being driven north.
Atlantic Airlines
Gerhardt Adler arrived at his office at Atlantic Airlines at eight o’clock in the morning. As CEO, he expected everyone in the office when he arrived. The headquarters building was spacious and modern, appropriate for the country’s rising star among