by Mark Donovan
“It has to be well over a hundred degrees,” said Dave as he acclimated himself to the heat before stepping out of the vehicle.
“It is,” said Ben Harper. “Here, take one of these.” Agent Harper handed Dave and Murad each a liter bottle of water.
Agent Harper and Murad opened their respective doors and stepped out into the dusty road. Dave had already opened the back hatch door of the vehicle and was pulling out the NSurv water test kits along with a knapsack filled with other ancillary items. Before he left Alaska he had asked Ron to have the test kits shipped overnight from NSurv’s facility in McCall, Idaho to John Bates’ office at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters. John had already received the water test kits before Dave had arrived at Homeland Security headquarters the night before, courtesy of his own Cessna Citation M2 business jet. Dave had subsequently taken the kits with him on his flight to Yemen.
Harper and Murad approached the rear of the vehicle. “So what makes your water test kits so special?” asked Harper nonchalantly.
Dave turned and faced Ben and Murad, and contemplated how to respond. He’d give them the detailed answer, since Ben had asked.
“These unique water testing kits are as high tech as it comes for detecting the presence of cholera-like toxins in water. Each kit is comprised of a mobile detection instrument, a small water sample container, an eye dropper and a vial that contains iron-oxide nanoparticles coated with the complex sugar dextran. When a vial of dextran coated iron-oxide nanoparticles is introduced into the test water sample, any cholera-like toxins present in the water sample quickly bind to the coated nano-particles, which are then detected by the mobile detection instrument. The science behind the technology is that the complex sugar dextran looks similar to the cholera toxin receptors found on cells' surfaces in a person’s gut. Thus the technique mimics the human body by having the dextran attract and concentrate the cholera toxin on the iron-oxide nanoparticles. The mobile test instrument can then examine the dextran coated iron-oxide nano particles to see if any binding of the toxin has occurred. If it has, then the water supply has been definitively determined to contain cholera.”
“Wow, I’m sorry I asked,” laughed Harper when Dave had finished answering his question.
“Hey, I figured I’d give you the science straight up,” responded Dave with a smile as he hefted up the equipment in his arms.
The three men walked over to the community well. There was a sign with a handwritten Arabic message scribbled on it and fastened to the side of the well’s hand crank. Murad did not need to translate the message for Dave and Ben to understand what the writing meant, for underneath the writing was the universally familiar image of a skull and crossbones making the signage crystal clear. Poison.
“I thought this water was tested by the Yemenis government and determined to be safe?” asked Ben out loud.
“The water may well indeed be safe,” said Dave. “And we shall find out shortly. But if you were one of the survivors of this little village, and had come to the conclusion that this community well was the only common denominator for the loss of your family and friends, then you too would probably steer clear of it.”
Ben nodded his head in agreement. “But what do the survivors do for water?” he asked.
“It is trucked in from Mocha,” replied Murad.
“That must take a Herculean effort, and cost a fortune for these people,” replied Ben.
“Not as much as you think,” said Murad. “The Yemenis people from this region require much less water than you Americans.” Murad drew Ben’s eyes back to the well. “Also, what other choice do they have if they want to live?”
Dave set the kits and knapsack down on the ground near the well and immediately got to work. First he opened up his knapsack and grabbed three pairs of surgical gloves and goggles. He handed a pair of each to Ben and Murad.
“Though we have reports this water is safe, it’s a wise idea to respect that sign,” said Dave as he pointed at the skull and crossbones image.
The three men donned the gloves and goggles. Dave then opened up one of the water test kits, while Ben picked up the water bucket sitting on top of the well. There was a rope tied between the bucket and the side hand crank. He dropped the bucket down into the well. The bucket splashed onto water a second later.
“Sounds like the water is only about five meters down from the surface,” commented Dave nonchalantly as he prepared the water test kit.
“That’s sounds pretty shallow for this region of the world,” commented Ben as he turned the hand crank to recover the water laden bucket.
When the bucket had reached the surface of the well Murad reached out and grabbed the bucket taking care not to spill its contents on any of the men.
Dave picked up the test kit’s water sample container and quickly filled it with well water collected from the bucket. He then poured the vial of dextran coated iron-oxide nanoparticles into the water sample container before closing the lid on it. He shook the container vigorously for a few seconds and set it to the side. He then opened up a second test kit and repeated the process.
After preparing the second water test kit sample he waited several more minutes before opening the first container. He dipped the glass tube end of an eye dropper into the container, squeezed on the vacuum ball, and then released it slowly to draw a small sample of the water up into the tube. He then squeezed again on the vacuum ball to place a couple of drops of the liquid into an opening in the water test kit’s detection instrument. After pushing a couple of buttons on the instrument its digital screen display reported the results.
“Well gentlemen, there is indeed a slight trace of cholera still present in the well. It is at a level so small that traditional water testing methods for checking for the bacteria would not have detected it, but nevertheless it is present in this water sample according to the test kit instrument.”
“So the survivors of this little village were right to put up that sign,” said Murad with a touch of pride in his voice.
“Yes and no,” said Dave. “In general it is wise to quarantine any water supply suspected of carrying cholera bacteria. However, based on the readings I am seeing on this water sample it appears that this particular strain of cholera bacteria is slightly different than the common ones associated with cholera epidemics. This particular strain of cholera may or may not be a contagion type. We will need to bring it back to Washington for additional analysis.”
“How about the second sample?” Ben asked.
“Yes let’s take a look at it,” said Dave as he reached out for the other test container.
He repeated the test on the second sample of water using the mobile detection instrument that came with the other kit. A few minutes later he had the results.
“Positive again,” reported Dave.
As Dave held up the detection instrument for Ben and Murad to see, he noticed a lone man walking down one of the roads in their direction.
“Gentlemen, it looks like we have some company,” whispered Dave.
Ben and Murad turned to observe the man walking towards them. He was wearing what once looked to be a white tee shirt, a blue checkered skirt, or sarong, a Muslim skull cap and sandals. As he approached them Murad said hello to the man in Arabic. The man reciprocated the greeting.
The man looked like the life had been sucked out of him. He was extremely thin, as his ribs visibly protruded against the threadbare tee shirt he was wearing. He also held his head low and his voice was nearly a whisper when he responded to Murad.
“Ask him what his name is and if he is from this village” commanded Dave to Murad.
Murad asked and the man responded in a hushed worn-out voice. Murad continued to converse with the man in Arabic for a couple of minutes before there was silence. Murad looked back at Dave and Ben.
“His name is Hamza, and yes, he is from this village,” said Murad. “He is a fishermen and one of the few survivors of the village. His wife and only d
aughter were killed, as well as most of his other extended family members and friends.”
“Killed?” asked Dave. “Were they killed or did they die from the cholera epidemic?”
“I asked him what he meant by the meaning of killed. They died from the cholera disease. However, he believes they were purposely killed by someone. Allah has told him so in his dreams every night since he lost them.”
Dave looked over at the water samples on the ground next to the well. “He is correct and you can tell him so. They were murdered. We now have clear evidence that this community well was sabotaged. Someone introduced the cholera bacteria into this well water for the purpose of killing the people in this village.”
Murad turned to the man and spoke rapidly to him in Arabic. The man became visibly agitated. He responded to Murad’s news in an emotional and animated way. As he spoke, Dave could see tears beginning to roll down the man’s cheeks. Dave could imagine the loss the man must have felt, particularly now knowing that they were indeed killed, and that it wasn’t by accident or from Allah’s calling. He remembered how he personally felt when he had received the phone call about the loss of his parents. He remembered the horrible sense of loss and the devastation it caused in his life. Learning how they died, in a horrific plane crash, at the hands of terrorists, had also affected him severely.
As he listened to the man talk rapidly and in a hostile and angry voice, with tears still streaming down his face, he remembered his own personal anger that he experienced back many years ago. He felt a close connection with the man as he watched and listened to him visibly vent his suffering. Though they lived worlds apart in geography, culture and economic backgrounds, Dave could very much relate to the poor man. Both Hamza and he had lost their most precious family members to Islamic extremist terrorists. To this day, Dave had still not gotten over the horrible and useless killing of his parents.
Murad reached out and put his arm around the man and spoke quietly to him in an attempt to console him. He explained that the two men that were with him were here to help find the men who killed his family, and that they would do everything in their powers to bring the murderers of his family to justice. And that the killers would ultimately pay for their sins to Allah.
Hamza looked over at Dave and spoke rapidly to him in Arabic.
“What is he saying Murad?” asked Dave.
“He is asking the two of you if he can help you find the men that killed his wife and little girl.”
Dave spied a glance over at Ben before responding.
“Tell him that if the path to bringing the men to justice that took his family from him, leads us again through Yemen that we will indeed enlist his help.”
Dave looked over at Ben again who was looking at him as if he was crazy. Dave turned his gaze back over to Murad who spoke to Hamza.
The two men spoke rapidly back and forth for several minutes. Dave noticed that Hamza began to stand straighter and talk more forcibly as he exchanged words with Murad. It was obvious that Hamza was feeling a purpose for living again. Hopefully, Dave thought, the feeling was not solely for revenge, but instead to bring closure to the loss of his family so that he could rebuild his life again.
When Murad and Hamza had finished talking, Hamza came over to Dave and Ben and shook both their hands forcefully. Though he was not smiling, and trails of tears stained his dust covered cheeks, Dave could see that life was returning to Hamza’s face.
After they finished shaking hands, Murad explained to Hamza that they were packing up and would be leaving for now. While Murad spoke, Dave put the water test kits into specially designed sealed plastic bags and stuffed them in his knapsack. Ben in the meantime poured the bucket of water back into the well.
Ben also told Murad to tell Hamza to tell the rest of the villagers in the small town to continue to not drink the water until they heard back from them. Hamza energetically shook his head as Murad gave him the message.
They all shook hands one last time before parting ways, Hamza walking down a side row in the direction of the Red Sea, and Dave, Ben and Murad climbing into the Land Cruiser to head back to the military air base.
As Ben drove the Land Cruiser and Murad was speaking to him, Dave’s SAT phone started to ring. He picked up the phone that was sitting on his lap and observed on its front screen that the incoming call was from Dana. Dave instantly felt a sense of relief. “It’s Dana,” he said out loud. He hit the green accept button on the phone to establish the connection, and put the phone to his ear.
Murad had stopped speaking when he heard Dave’s phone ring, and both him and Ben were looking over at Dave as he spoke into his phone.
“Dana I was wondering where the heck you’ve been,” blurted Dave into the phone.
“Doctor Henson, you have a problem,” said the male voice on the other end of the line.
Chapter 19 (April 15, Friday 11:00am, Germany)
Dana fought in panicked desperation to free herself from Spencer’s grip, but he held her firmly. She tried to scream out for help but nothing came from her mouth. Not that it would have mattered. The rushing sound of water in the nearby river would have prevented anyone from hearing her. They were also standing at the foot of a steep and wooded embankment, far out of sight and sound of anyone from the village center. And even then, nearly everyone in the town was either sick or dead.
As Dana continued to struggle to free herself from Spencer’s arms by twisting and contorting her body and kicking savagely at his ankles, she glimpsed back towards the river’s edge for a brief second and saw Abdul approaching them. He was carrying Sam and Denzel’s video and recording equipment. Beyond him, she saw the blood stained bodies of her colleagues lying where they had fallen.
“No, no, no, she mouthed out from her silent lips,” as Abdul approached her, his gun still in his right hand.
Spencer barked out something to Abdul in a language that Dana was not familiar with. Abdul lifted the back of his coat and returned his pistol to where it had previously been hidden.
“What do we do with her Ahmad?” asked Abdul in broken English so that Dana could appreciate his mastery of the English language. Spencer had pushed Dana to the ground and was now holding her hands behind her back in a vice grip and twisting her arms upwards. Dana screamed out in agony from the shock of pain in her arms as Spencer was nearly breaking them.
“We will call Aref and tell him who we have captured,” responded Spencer in English. “I believe he will be very pleased to know that we have caught her, particularly when he learns who she is. Ms. Dana Cogswell is a major journalist with the American Broadcast Corporation. She can be an extremely useful tool for us in communicating our message to the Great Satan of America and its brethren in Europe. Her husband is also Doctor Dave Henson, a technical advisor to the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. He is also currently working with the United States government to sabotage our plans. To that point, his wife may also be useful in slowing down their efforts. Also, Doctor Henson, and the U.S. government team he was with, killed our brothers in Alaska in the past twenty-four hours.”
With Ahmad’s last revelation Abdul looked over at Dana with extreme hatred visible on his face. One of the men sent by Aref to Alaska to recover the canister of Waterkill had been his blood brother.
Spencer again yanked Dana’s hands and arms up behind her back causing her to once more scream out in agonizing pain. Simultaneously, Abdul pulled out of his knapsack a couple of large tie wraps. Spencer held Dana’s hands tightly while Abdul secured the tie wraps to her wrists, interconnecting the two tie wrap loops. As they secured her wrists, Dana twisted her head and neck around and looked back at Spencer with frightened and incredulous eyes.
“Why are you doing this Spencer?” she asked.
He said nothing.
She could not believe what was happening. Spencer was an old friend. Why was his partner calling him Ahmad? She and Spencer had gone to college together. How could he have changed s
o drastically she thought to herself? Who was he? What had he become?
Spencer pulled Dana to her feet and pushed her forward in the direction of the embankment. Dana tripped on a rock and fell face first, her hands tied behind her back unable to catch her fall.
Abdul grabbed her right arm and yanked her back up on her feet. She had hit her head on a rock. Dana was dazed by the impact and blood ran down the side of her face. Neither man did anything to stanch the flow of blood. Spencer again pushed her forward and told her to walk.
Upon reaching the top of the embankment, Ahmad checked to make sure the road was clear. Abdul and him each grabbed one of Dana’s arms and walked her rapidly to their car, which was parked directly across the street in a parking lot from where they had come up from the river bank. As they started to walk across the street Abdul said to her in his broken English, “Open your mouth and you’ll immediately lose your front teeth.”
Before they got to the car Ahmad pulled out of his pocket the car’s FOB and hit the door unlock button. When they got to the vehicle Abdul opened the back passenger door and Ahmad shoved Dana into the Mercedes. The two men then jumped into the front seats and Ahmad started the car’s engine.
“We will drive a few kilometers out of Eberswalde and then give Aref a call,” said Ahmad as he began to turn the vehicle’s steering wheel and pressed down on the accelerator pedal.
Twenty minutes later and ten kilometers outside of Eberswalde, Ahmad pulled over into a restaurant parking lot. The lunch crowd had already started to arrive so he parked the Mercedes at the far end of the lot where it was void of any restaurant patrons.
After turning off the key to the vehicle’s ignition Ahmad pulled out his cell phone while Abdul simply stared at Dana in the back seat. Ahmad punched the speed dial number for Aref. A few seconds later, Dana began to hear Spencer speak in a language again that she was unfamiliar with. However, she knew he was talking about her as she heard her name, and Dave’s, mentioned several times. She was shocked to see how animated and rapidly Spencer spoke into the phone. When Dave and she had met Spencer for dinner a couple of weeks ago he acted and sounded so reserved. The difference in behavior between then and now was uncanny she thought. It was as if he was on something, possibly amphetamines.