Vice President Alex Broome sat to the right of center of the table next to the President’s chair. He looked agitated and nervous. Beside him was Secretary of State, Gloria Benson. Her short black hair was slightly askew, as she had been pulled out of a State Department meeting with no notice. National Security Advisor Jim Crawford was reading from a manila folder. He looked bored. CIA Director Henry Taylor was staring at Speaker Stockman. He clearly detested the man. Attorney General Eric Lovelace was drinking coffee and appeared happy to be a member of the President’s inner circle.
Speaker of the House Gilbert Herbert Stockman calmly sat in an unmarked chair, staring through the window overlooking the White House Rose Garden. He broke the silence.
“Do any of you distinguished gentlemen and lady know the history of the Rose Garden?” Without waiting for anyone to answer, he launched into a scenario detailing the history of the famous location. Stockman prided himself in knowing all the details of the history of the White House. CIA Director Henry Taylor rolled his eyes, but said nothing.
“The White House Rose Garden was established in 1913 by the wife of President Wilson on the site of a previous Colonial Garden established by First Lady Edith Roosevelt, wife of Teddy in 1902. Prior to 1902, there were extensive stables, housing horses and coaches, located on the grounds of the present-day Oval Office, Cabinet Room, and Rose Garden. During the 1902 Roosevelt renovation, First Lady Edith Roosevelt insisted on a proper Colonial Garden to help replace the conservatory rose house that had stood here. In 1961, during the Kennedy administration, Rachael Mellon redesigned the garden. Mellon created a space with a more defined central lawn, bordered by flowerbeds planted in a French style, but largely using American botanical specimens. The present garden follows a layout established by Mellon. Each flowerbed is planted with a series of ‘Katherine’ crabapples and Littleleaf lindens bordered by low diamond-shaped hedges of thyme. The outer edge of the flowerbed facing the central lawn is edged with boxwood. Magnolias punctuate the four corners of the garden. Roses are the primary flowering plants in the garden, and include large numbers of “Queen Elizabeth” grandiflora roses, and the tea roses “Pascale,” “Pat Nixon,” and “King’s Ransom.” A shrub rose, “Nevada Rose” adds a cool note of white. Seasonal flowers are interspersed to add nearly year round color. Spring blooming bulbs planted in the rose garden include jonquil, daffodil, fritillaria, grape hyacinth, tulips, chionodoxa and squill. Summer blooming annuals change yearly. In the fall chrysanthemum and flowering kale bring color until early winter.”
Roy Long walked into the room, interrupting Stockman. “The President will be her in ten minutes.”
“What’s this emergency meeting all about Roy?” Broome asked in a slightly trembling voice.
“There is a credible threat that a major terror event is being planned. Attorney General Lovelace brought it to the President’s attention. His report came from a Special Agent of the FBI. Eric will report on the situation. The President wants this Special Committee to be fully informed of the threat.”
“What’s the Speaker doing here?” inquired the CIA Director in an agitated voice.
“Henry, the President added Gilbert to this Committee. He represents Congress.”
The door opened and President James Helms entered. He placed his six foot four inch frame in the center chair.
“Gentlemen and Lady, I appreciate your coming on such short notice. I’ve asked Attorney General Lovelace to review an urgent matter with you. We’ve been on high alert since the unfortunate deaths of Senator Roberts and Governor Patton. Again these deaths appear unrelated, but we must be diligent in discovering the truth, wherever it leads. There may be a connection to ISIS. They continue to be a major threat to the homeland. They intend to bury us, and our way of life. General Lovelace, go ahead.”
Attorney General Eric Lovelace stood. He had an oblong face with a defined, slightly pointed chin, and a sturdy jaw line. His dark eyes were small and spaced evenly apart. He kept his mouth closed in a thin, straight line. His face was held forward in a fixed gaze, and he had an air of authority that was palpable.
“We are facing an unprecedented time in our history. ISIS is in the USA and ready to strike. An imbedded FBI undercover agent unearthed this information. ISIS is not going to permit the U.S. strikes against them in Syria and Iraq to go unnoticed or unpunished.
The undercover Agent alleged to the FBI Director that the fanatical Islamist terrorist group is planning to carry out major horrific attacks against targets in the United States. ISIS has sleeper cells around the world, including in America, whose goal is to gain a greater foothold in the Islamic world, politically and militarily. Devastating the USA politically and morally will be the gem of their destiny, and carry them to worldwide domination.”
He hesitated and took a deep breath.
“It was reported by the undercover Agent that recruiting is taking place in DC and that a weapon of mass destruction is already in this country. We agreed on a secret meeting where the Agent would provide the Director and me with explicit details. The next day, prior to the meeting taking place, his body was discovered, mutilated and burned, in a shallow grave in Rockville, MD, only twelve miles from the Capital. His corpse was so destroyed that DNA was the only method of identifying his body. The threat is real, and we will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of this. I personally believe that the deaths of Senator Roberts and the Governor Patton are associated with this danger.”
There was a placid silence in the room. “Thank you Eric,” the President murmured. “The floor is open for discussion.”
Speaker Stockman was the first to talk. “Do you seriously take this as credible? What physical evidence do you have? We can’t go off invading all the mosques in the DC area based on a conversation. Give us some evidence aside from one conversation. What is the background of this informer?”
CIA Director Taylor abruptly stood up jabbing his finger at Speaker Stockman.
“It’s attitudes like yours that made 9/11 possible. If it takes securing a warrant for every mosque in the USA, we should do that immediately. This country is in grave danger and action is required now!”
Before Stockman could reply, President Helms interceded. “Gentleman, angry disputes will get us nowhere.” He hesitated for a moment. “Okay this is want we’re going to do. Eric, I’m appointing you to chair a special select committee to spend full time on this issue. I will seek immediate approval from Congress to give you complete subpoena powers.” He looked around the room at the anxious faces. “Speaker Stockman, you will serve as Vice Chairman. Director Taylor, you will be on the Select Committee along with Director Stancil of the FBI. Vice President Broome will operate as an advisor to the group and serve as the liaison directly to me on your progress. Each of the committee members has the authority to name whatever staffs you need to support you. This meeting is adjourned. Gentlemen I expect you to get to work immediately.”
The President and his Chief of Staff left the room. Attorney General Lovelace stood. “Members of the Select Committee remain, the rest of you can leave.”
Secretary of State Benson stomped out of the room. She was clearly angry for being left off the Select Committee.
General Lovelace picked up the conference phone located at the center of the table. “This is Attorney General Eric Lovelace. Get FBI Director Harold Stancil on the line and ask him to come to the cabinet room immediately.” He hung up the phone.
“As soon as Stancil gets here, we’ll get an update from him and plan our strategy. We need to get our ass in gear before those terrorist bastards blow us all to hell!”
Chapter 28
The Chosen One, Aalim Mohammad Alam, listened to what he considered the most beautiful sound in the world, the evening call to prayer. He knelt on his prayer rug at the Washington DC mosque.
The Muslim is called to prayer five times a day. The call to prayer is heard at dawn, at the midday, about the middle of the afternoon, just after s
unset, and at nightfall about two hours after sunset.
The muezzin, a man appointed to call to prayer, climbs the mineret of the mosque, and he calls in all directions, “Hasten to prayer.” Many mosques no longer require the muezzin to climb the mineret. Instead, a loud speaker carries the message.
Responding to this call on Friday afternoon, praying in the mosque, and making the pledge to Allah, is the only thing needed to become a Muslim. At this point one crosses over from Dar ul Harb, the house of the pagan, into Dar ul Islam, the house of Islam (submission). The slave can no longer be beaten carelessly, and the Coptic Christian must hereafter be given work and treated with respect.
This is a very simple, faithless, and almost mindless exercise. The emphasis is on not making a verbal mistake rather than on believing something. If the Muslim makes an error in the word sequence of prayer in the mosque, he will at once rise and quietly exit in shame.
The Muslim carries the prayer carpet when he travels abroad. At the times of prayer, he will determine the direction of Mecca, roll out his prayer carpet, and say his prayers to Allah.
Aalim never made a mistake in the word sequence of his prayer. He was fully committed to Allah and his belief that the Quran dictates to convert or kill the infidels. His interpretation of the Quran was literal and extreme. Moderate Muslims have a different interpretation of the holy Quran.
Aalim prayed and quoted passages from his beloved Quran. “Allah, I will obey your commands with ever breath in my body. I will slay the unbelievers wherever I find them, and make war on the infidels living in my neighborhood. When opportunity arises, kill the infidels wherever I catch them. I will kill the Jews and the Christians if they do not convert to Islam or refuse to pay Jizya tax. Any religion other than Islam is not acceptable. The Jews and the Christians are perverts. I will fight them. I will maim and crucify the infidels if they criticize Islam. The infidels are unclean. I will not let them into a mosque. I will punish the unbelievers with garments of fire, hooked iron rods, boiling water; melt their skin and bellies. I will not hanker for peace with the infidels. I will behead them when I catch them. Oh my Allah, the unbelievers are stupid. I will urge all Muslims to fight them. Muslims must not take the infidels as friends. We must terrorize and behead those who believe in scriptures other than the Quran. All Muslims must muster all weapons to terrorize the infidels. This I commit to you with my life.”
Aalim was a far cry from Anthony Martin Jones. He now had a divine purpose in life. He was committed to be a martyr for his Allah and to live in heaven with his 72 virgins.
After his prayer session, he left the mosque and proceeded to his small studio apartment. The Controller provided him with funds for his living expenses, and plenty of money for recruiting and helping his apprentices to become experts in bomb making, suicide bombings, and keeping under the radar of authorities.
Aalim’s studio apartment consisted of a single room plus a bathroom. The single room of the apartment functioned as the kitchen, living room, and bedroom. The kitchen area was divided from the main living area. The bathroom was the only separate room. He deposited his prayer rug carefully on the closet shelf, and went to the kitchen to prepare a dinner of fresh olives, cheese, bread, and humus with avocados. When he sat down to enjoy his meal he prayed, “Oh Allah! Bless the food you have provided us and save us from the punishment of the hellfire. In the name of Allah.”
When he finished his meal, another prayer was required, “Praise be to Allah who has fed us and given us drink, and made us Muslims.”
Aalim sat on the couch and opened the Quran. The ringing of his cell phone interrupted his studying. “Salaam,” he answered.
“Ouzibillahi Mina shytan Al Rajeem Bismillahi Al Rahman Al Raheem,” replied the Controller. My son, the infidels in DC are aware that something is being planned. They know nothing specific thanks to your elimination of the spy in the mosque. How did you discover that he was an undercover FBI Agent?”
“Actually I attempted to recruit him. He was particularly curious about what the specific plan was for our cell. I was very evasive as I am with all recruits until they are fully accepted. Also he was especially interested in Aadila, one of my female recruits. I informed her that I was suspicious of his behavior. She pretended to be infatuated with him, and went on several dates with him. During the last one, they had dinner at a local restaurant. When he went outside to make a call on his phone, she followed him and heard him giving information to his bosses. He was setting up a meeting to provide material evidence. She reported this information to me, and we captured him the next morning as he was leaving his home. He was put to death in the manner that the Quran requires for infidels, and as you ordered for spies. He deservedly suffered greatly for not being loyal to the words of the Prophet, and to Allah.”
“You continue to fulfill my confidence in you,” the Controller replied. “When the time is right, I will put you in touch with the keeper of the nuclear bomb and give you the target and the date. I am in a position to get you into the building where our targets will be meeting. Together we will shock the world, and put ourselves in the position of world domination.
“I am ready to follow you my leader,” Aalim said. “It is my dream that Muslims should abolish national boundaries in the world and return to a single Islamic state, “The Caliphate.”
“Yes my son,” the Controller responded, “Our dream and mission remains to achieve a global political order in which all humankind will live under Muslim rule as either believers or subject communities. In order to achieve this goal, it is incumbent on all free male adult Muslims to carry out an uncompromising struggle in the path of Allah, or jihad. This in turn makes those parts of the world that have not yet been conquered by the House of Islam an abode of permanent conflict (Dar al-Harb, the house of War) which will only end with Islam’s eventual triumph. Aalim you will be an important key to establishing our Caliphate. The house of war resides in the United States. We will conquer it in the name of Allah.”
There was a moment of silence showing Aalim’s respect for the Controller’s words.
“As sala’amu alaikum,” Aalim whispered respectfully.
“Walaikum as sala’am,” replied the Controller.
Once hanging up the phone, Aalim sat peacefully. He knew that his mission would be considered a turning point in the jihad. He was determined not to fail his Allah and his Leader.
The Controller placed a call to the Organizer assuring him that everything was proceeding according to plan.
Chapter 29
Untying Lisa and placing her on the floorboard, Macy left her purse on the seat, exited the SUV and locked the door. She walked to the motel entrance and spotted Sonny at the front desk. The Clerk was handing him the cardkey. There was a huge grin on the big man’s face when he waked out the door.
“Is the girl secure? We need to hurry. Sturgess will get antsy if we’re gone too long.”
Macy knew she needed to stall. Director Stancil promised an Agent would be there a.s.a.p. “I’m ready. Where is the room?”
“241, second floor just around the corner.” Sonny replied.
Macy took his arm and began walking toward the outside entrance. They proceeded to the elevator and moved to the second floor. Room 241 was four doors down from the elevator. Sonny inserted the key card and they entered. Sonny went straight to the bed and began undressing.
“Baby I’ve been looking forward to this. Come to daddy.”
Macy smiled and walked toward the bed. Sonny grabbed her ass and jerked her against him. A low rasping sound emanated from his throat. Macy gently bit his ear.
“I need to use the restroom,” she whispered. Macy wiggled out of his grip and went to the bathroom. Inside, she locked the door. At least twenty-five minutes had passed since she called Director Stancil. She was out of stalling techniques.
Macy opened the door. Sonny was lying naked on the bed. “Honey just one more thing,” she said. “I left my purse in the SUV. I have con
doms. It’ll only take me a few minutes to get it.”
“Just hurry up,” Sonny grunted. It was apparent that his patience was running out.
Macy left the room, took the elevator to the ground level and went to the parking lot. She looked around hoping to see someone who may be the man that Director Stancil called. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she proceeded to the SUV and opened the backdoor. Lisa was cowering on the floorboard just as she had left her.
“Honey I promise there is someone coming for you to take you to safety. Just stay as you are.”
Lisa opened her eyes and sat up. “I trusted you, but I think it’s time for me to just run away. I’m sure that I can find someone to help me.”
“Just give me thirty minutes and if my contact isn’t here, I’ll come up with another way to take you to safety.”
Macy went to the side of the building and waited. If she returned to the room, the she knew that Sonny would ravage her. Fifteen minutes later, she walked back to the parking lot. Still there was no sign of any help. She felt that she now had no choice but to take the SUV and escape with Lisa. That would blow her cover with the Russian Mafia and render useless all that she sacrificed to gain their trust. She knew that something enormous was brewing, but she couldn’t bear to see the young girl raped and sold into the sex slave industry.
Just as she approached the SUV, a red pickup truck pulled alongside. Inside were a white haired man in the driver’s seat, and a dog sitting in the passenger seat. The man cut the engine, opened the door and got out. He was a very tall intimidating man, and Macy backed up a couple of steps. She had confidence in her ability to defend herself, but this man was huge.
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