One Rough Man

by Brad Taylor

  “... So we were forced to exfil without terminating either target. From there we regrouped, waiting on contact from the asset’s phone you gave me ...”

  Holy shit. He did the drive-by shooting in Clarendon as well? That can’t be right. No way is that right.

  “Wait ... wait. Are you telling me you’re also responsible for the shootout across from the Arlington Courthouse? You actually opened fire on a bunch of civilians?”

  This time Lucas didn’t shout. He spoke in a calm, deliberate manner. Standish recoiled from the venom he felt coming from the phone.

  “I’ll say this one more time. You gave me my parameters and my mission. I’m executing. You told me to ensure the hit wasn’t traced to you, and that’s why we did the drive-by. I’m following your lead. Don’t question my methods again.”

  He thinks he’s in charge. I’m losing control.

  “Bullshit. You’ve exceeded my parameters. I told you that collateral damage had to be five or less. You killed four at the house in Herndon, then shot at least two at the courthouse, maybe more. You’re outside my guidance, and my guidance stands. Is that understood?”

  “Standish ... there are two targets. A collateral damage of five per. That means I still have four to work with. Anyway, two of my guys are in the hospital because of your target, so I really don’t give a shit about your damn guidance anymore. It’s getting personal.”

  Standish couldn’t believe how quickly the violence had escalated. He thought about telling Lucas to stand down but was afraid of his response. He might ignore me altogether.

  “Okay, okay. I can see the miscommunication, but I’m the one in charge. I’m still the one funding this. You want to get him, the only way you’ll do it is with my money—and that comes with my oversight. Got it?” He waited on a response, the silence making him wonder if he’d already lost control.

  “All right,” Lucas answered, “as long as we understand each other.”

  “Continue with your report.”

  After Lucas had finished, Standish gave him the go-ahead to execute—even on foreign soil—but told him that no more collateral damage was to be tolerated. He hung up the phone, wondering if Lucas would bother to listen to him. I’m going to have to do something about him when this is over. Too much exposure. Too much of a threat.

  80

  After a solid day and night of heading inexorably eastward, Bakr exited the train station at Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Weary down to his bones, he gathered his meager possessions and walked to the first taxi he could find. Speaking in halting English, Bakr asked for a cheap hotel somewhere downtown. The driver held up a finger, saying he knew just the place.

  Driving east, toward the heart of downtown, the taxi traveled about two miles before stopping in front of a nondescript four-story concrete building with a Cyrillic sign in the front.

  “Here. They treat you well here,” he said.

  Bakr thanked him and was surprised when the man butchered the phrase Allahu Akhbar in return.

  Bakr stared at the man, smelling of liquor and smoking a cigarette, thinking surely he was not one of the faithful.

  “Are you a man of the book?”

  “Yes, yes.”

  Bakr said, “Allahu Akhbar,” and exited the cab. He knew that the horrific civil war that had occurred in Bosnia during the 1990s had been primarily between the Serbian Christian population and the Bosniak Muslim population, but had never stopped to think that a “Muslim” in Bosnia was as far removed from his version of Islam as the far enemy itself.

  Bakr entered the lobby of the hotel, seeing an establishment dating back possibly to the 1940s, solidly built of quarry stone, decorated with heavy drapes and dreary colors. The long registration desk, complete with old-fashioned boxes mounted on the wall behind for the guest to place his or her key, was manned by a thin, acerbic-looking man wearing the ubiquitous black leather jacket found all over Bosnia. Bakr checked into his room, happy to see that, although old, it was clean and tidy. The primary concern he had was that the door had a shabby, cheap lock, without a secondary locking mechanism. That would force him to take the weapon everywhere he went.

  His first order of business was to check the prearranged e-mail account with Sayyidd. He had made initial contact twenty-four hours ago after leaving the ferry in Kiel, Germany, but that e-mail had been disappointing, with Sayyidd saying he was still waiting on a message from Walid. On the plus side, at least he appeared to be following instructions. The message referenced Fallujah and said that he had checked out of the Muslim section and moved closer to the city center.

  Getting directions from the front desk, he found an Internet café four blocks away. Logging on to the account known only to him and Sayyidd, he was relieved to see the reference to Fallujah, then excited when he saw that Walid had sent the instructions for the next meet. It would occur at one o’clock today at a coffee shop in Oslo. Sayyidd ended by saying he would relay what had occurred later on, as soon as he was done.

  Bakr leaned back in his chair, satisfied that their planning was still on track. His shift to Bosnia might have been unwarranted, but it was still the prudent thing to have done. It might also have removed one burden from Walid’s back, as he thought he could get explosives and detonating material from a contact inside this country. He wasn’t convinced that Sayyidd had the expertise to ensure the correct materials were taken from Walid, and there was no way they would return to Norway to remedy any mistakes. Better for him to see if he could gather the materials here.

  While still a fighter in Iraq, he had been given the name of a person who was very active helping out Chechen rebels in their fight against the Russian infidels. All he knew was his name, Juka Merdanovic, and that he lived somewhere around Tuzla. He had never met the man but had been told he wouldn’t turn away a Muslim in need.

  81

  As I was pulling into my fourth parking spot, my phone rang.

  “Yeah, what’s up?”

  “Pike, he’s waiting at a bus stop. I think he’s going to get on. What should I do?”

  Shit. I couldn’t believe I had failed to plan for a Metro or bus scenario. That was absolutely what would be expected, since the terrorists more than likely didn’t have a car. Chalk one up to fatigue. You’d better pull your head out of your ass, or you’re going to fail. I told her to hang on a second, rapidly running through courses of action in my mind.

  “All right, board the bus with him. When you see him get up to leave, give me a call. You stay on the bus. Getting on with him can be a coincidence. Getting off is asking to get burned. You exit at the next stop and head back to the one where he got off. I’ll call you when I either find out where he’s going, or I lose him.”

  “Okay. I can do that. Sorry I didn’t see this coming and call earlier.”

  I smiled at her taking the blame. “I’m the one who should have seen this coming. Don’t worry about it. We’re still good to go.”

  We had landed in Oslo a couple of hours ago and had immediately checked Jennifer’s e-mail account for a message from the Taskforce. Sure enough, the terrorists had received another message directing a meeting at a coffee shop at one o’clock in the city center, which didn’t give us a lot of time to set up. We located the shop with only thirty minutes to spare. I’d put Jennifer inside, with me outside as a spotter, since I was the only one who knew what they looked like. Of course, that meant I couldn’t conduct the actual surveillance because they would spot me.

  When Jennifer found out she’d be in the coffee shop alone, she seemed to realize for the first time this was for real. I had reassured her, reminding her of the surveillance classes I’d given on the flight over, stressing again that it wasn’t some arcane skill reserved for spies, but just common sense. She didn’t seem to buy it, but she’d exited the car. At precisely one o’clock I’d recognized the shorter of the two guys who’d mugged me in Guatemala. I’d almost missed him, because I was looking for a pair. His friend was nowhere in sight, which could m
ean he was conducting countersurveillance like I had in the mall. No way to tell and nothing I could do about it anyway. I called Jennifer and triggered the surveillance.

  After the meeting broke up, Jennifer had managed to track him for five blocks to the bus station, but she was now out of play. That was going to leave me doing the dismounted work, which would be hard to do without getting burned. I pulled out, driving slowly until I saw the bus ahead of me. Picking up the pace, I trailed the bus to the next stop, seeing both Jennifer and the terrorist waiting to board. Four stops later, she called.

  “He’s standing up. He’s getting off.”

  “Got it. You go to the next stop and head back here.”

  I immediately scanned for a parking spot, whipping the car around and cramming it into a space barely large enough to hold a moped. I waited for the terrorist to commit to a direction before falling in behind him. The sidewalks in this area were much less congested than in the city center, with only a few couples using them. I knew that if he turned around there was no way he would miss me, but there was nothing I could do about it. I stayed as far back as I dared, praying the terrorist had no reason to feel he was being followed and would walk straight to his destination.

  Luckily, that’s exactly what he did. Striding with a purpose and ignoring his immediate surroundings, he entered a five-story building. I gave him a few minutes, then approached.

  It was a youth hostel, a cheap hotel catering to college students and wandering backpackers. It was clean and neat, although a little threadbare, with a throng of young men and women coming and going.

  I went across the street to a small restaurant/bar, took a table in the corner that had a view of the entrance to the hostel, and gave Jennifer a call, telling her where to find me.

  SAYYIDD FLEW UP THESTAIRSof the youth hostel at a rapid clip, anxious to e-mail Bakr the good news. Walid had not only told him he could get “proof” of Iranian complicity for the WMD attack, along with the necessary explosive material, but he could get them into Israel proper with little trouble at all. In fact, he wanted Sayyidd to come with him tomorrow to the hinterlands of Norway to meet the man who would facilitate their travel. Unfortunately, the location of the facilitator was outside the footprint of the satellites for the Thrane M4 phone. While they covered a broad swath of the world, it wasn’t 100 percent coverage. It meant he would be out of e-mail contact with Bakr for forty-eight hours, but he felt that was of little consequence.

  Booting up the M4, he typed a jubilant message, giving Bakr the details of the meeting, including the fact that he might not get any further message in the next twenty-four hours. He reassured Bakr that he would attempt to locate an Internet café, but that the M4 would probably not link up with the satellite.

  As he leaned back with a sense of satisfaction, Sayyidd’s reflections on his meeting with Walid were interrupted by a growling in his stomach. He didn’t bother to shut down the computer, since he would be gone less than forty-five minutes and wanted to see Bakr’s reply as soon as he returned.

  ABSENTLY LOOKING AT THE MENU ON THE TABLE, I was running through our next potential steps when Jennifer found me and sat down with a big grin on her face.

  “Told you—you’re a natural,” I said.

  “It was really sort of fun. I could get into doing that stuff.”

  “Well, that’s good to hear, because I’m pretty sure you’re going to get another chance at it.”

  I gave her a rundown of what I knew, telling her that we needed to figure out, before we did anything else, whether the other terrorist was with his partner. In the end, we had to have positive proof these idiots had a weapon of mass destruction, or, equally, that they did not, which might mean breaking into their room. I couldn’t risk that unless I knew the room was empty, and knocking on the door wasn’t a preferred technique.

  “What do you think?” I asked. “Any idea how the two of us can maintain 24/7 surveillance on this place?”

  “You’re asking me? Why? You’re the expert.”

  “Hey, I told you this wasn’t rocket science.” I glanced out the window. “I have some ideas, but I don’t have a monopoly on smarts. If you—”

  I saw the terrorist leave the hostel across the street.

  Jennifer said, “What? What is it?”

  “The guy you followed is on the move.”

  “Already?” Jennifer leaned over trying to see out the window.

  “Shit, he’s headed this way,” I said.

  I looked around for another exit, but we were out of luck. Short of running through the kitchen, the front door was the only way in or out. I saw the man halfway across the street and moving with a purpose directly toward our restaurant.

  “He’s coming in. Hide your face.”

  Jennifer picked up a menu and pretended to read it. I did the same, but my angle was horrible. At least Jennifer had her back to the guy. I was facing the entrance with the small menu the only thing hiding my features. I heard the front door open and tried to become invisible. I waited for some indication that he had walked deeper into the restaurant but heard nothing. Why’s he standing at the entrance? Move, dammit. Go to the bar. The bell on the front door chimed again. Without lowering the menu, I glanced back out the window, seeing someone running toward the hostel. With a start, I realized it was the terrorist.

  “Shit! We’re burned! We need to stop him before he gets to his buddy!”

  I raced past a group of startled patrons and flew out the door. I ran as hard as I could, slowly closing the distance. I saw him look back, fear etched into his face. He put on a final burst of speed, taking the steps to the hostel three at a time. He blasted through the front door, bowling over a couple at the entrance.

  I came through the entrance right behind him, in time to see him fling open a stairwell door. I followed, a flight-and-half of stairs behind, then narrowed it to one flight. I heard him open the door above me. I reached the fourth floor and exited the stairwell, catching a glimpse of a man entering a room midway down the hall. I had no idea if it was the terrorist or not, but had no other options. I took off at a dead sprint.

  I reached the door just as it was slammed shut, jamming my foot in the opening and letting it bounce harmlessly against the sole of my boot. Drawing back, I threw my full weight against the door, causing it to explode inward, flinging whoever was behind it against the wall.

  I followed the open door into the room and recognized the terrorist on the floor. I reached out to grab him, but he scrambled away, putting the bed between us.

  For a split second, we just stared at each other in a standoff, both of us panting. I saw the look of fear on his face turn to determination. I moved into a fighting crouch, preparing for the assault that was coming.

  It never came.

  Instead he shouted, “Allahu Akhbar!,” then turned and launched himself headfirst out of the window, shattering the glass with his momentum. The scream continued for four long floors, growing fainter, like a passing train whistle, until it was abruptly cut off when his body impacted the street below.

  Before I could assimilate what had happened, I heard someone else at the door and whirled around, seeing Jennifer, out of breath from her run. She looked around the empty room, then at me.

  “Where’d he go?”

  82

  Bakr exited the back of a pickup at the end of a rutted dirt drive leading to a crumbling two-story farmhouse. He thanked the driver for the lift, staring at the house as the man drove away. The people here and in the surrounding hills existed at the poverty level, barely scraping a living out of the hardscrabble ground. The residence was built entirely of stone and had been frequently patched with homemade masonry, with the residue of a past fire visible. Moving listlessly about in a pen next to the farmhouse were a couple of skinny goats and a small flock of chickens, all digging in the dirt to find a bit of greenery that had long since been eaten.

  It had taken Bakr the better part of the day to track down Juka’s residenc
e, and he still wasn’t sure this was it. Before walking up to the house, Bakr reviewed in his mind the tale he would spin to obtain Juka’s help. Bakr had learned of Juka’s existence through a Chechen who had come to Iraq to glean IED techniques that he could take back to his fight against the Russian invaders of his homeland.

  Bakr knew that Juka was a supporter of Muslim causes, but not because of the religion. That just happened to be the common denominator between himself and others like him. Before the summer of 1995, it was unlikely that Juka had even considered his religion as something that defined him. In July of that year, the Serbian army had surrounded Juka’s town of Srebrenica and set about on an orgy of violence, wantonly killing men, raping women, and burning everything touched by a Muslim hand.

  Bakr knew he would need to play on Juka’s emotion of Muslim unity, steering clear of any mention of Al Qaeda and the Great Satan. Far from wanting to harm the United States, Juka actually liked America, since it was American airpower, under the guise of NATO, that had come screaming in to punish the Serbians when the truth of Srebrenica reached the world. It disgusted Bakr, but he was sure that Juka didn’t hold America to blame. Because of this, Juka would have to be handled carefully.

  Bakr rapped on the rough-hewn door, hearing movement on the other side.

  “Yes? Can I help you?”

  Bakr was unsure about the man before him. His face held deep wrinkles, made more pronounced by the dirt ground into the crevices, his eyes sunken with large black circles underneath. The age fit, but Bakr had expected more of a sense of purpose, a little more fire in the person he was seeking. What he saw was a man stooped by a lifetime of eking out a living from the ground, not a man steeled by a lifetime of fighting.