A rapping sound at the door distracted Ra’ed’s attention.
“Yes?”
“Sayid, we have word from Abul.”
“Come in, Aasim”
The loyal guard entered the chamber and began to deliver the message. Sayf Udeen maintained sophisticated communications systems within their enclave, but important messages were always communicated in person. Ra’ed had insisted as much.
“Sayid, there is good news. Abul is satisfied with the prototype. He seeks your permission to test the device.”
“That is good news indeed.” It took much effort to contain his emotion, as Ra’ed continued to address his subject. The scientist had indeed exceeded his own timetable.
“When is the soonest we can hope to test the device?”
“The day after next. It is a two day ride to the test site, and Abul is ready to depart immediately.”
It was curious to Ra’ed that his scientist had not come to deliver the news himself. Now why was that?
“What is the estimate of the size of the charge?”
“He did not say.”
“Hmm…” Ra’ed mumbled to himself. They had a device, and there was little doubt it was a working prototype. Abul was an able man, but it was clear he did not have an accurate handle on the repercussions of the blast. Unleashing the tremendous forces that bound atoms together was, to Ra’ed, the ultimate achievement of mankind. But controlling those forces was imperative, lest the maker be undone by his own doing. Was this a risk he was willing to take?
“Tell Abul to come here, Aasim. I wish to speak with him before his men leave for the test site.”
“Yes, Sayid.”
Aasim departed, leaving the supreme leader alone in his chamber. Ra’ed looked around at the capacious enclosure that had been carved out of the granite mountain. The designated test site had been chosen and prepared long ago. Fallout from even the most powerful of the Soviet and American thermonuclear devices, at that range, would not penetrate his fortress. Perhaps Abul was right, perhaps they did not need to fully understand the nature of the force they were to unleash - particularly in light of the risks of waiting. They could ill afford to grant the Americans the breathing room they so desperately required to upgrade RDS. The weapon must be deployed as soon as possible. As for this Leo Koval, the American was the best there was, but he would now be too late. Once they had proven the utility of their device, they would alert the U.S. as to the material in their possession, and do so in a most vicious way. Surely a flurry of negotiations would follow, but there must be no doubt left as to Sayf Udeen’s intent and capabilities. And in the process, Ra’ed would deliver retribution for the decades of suffering at the hands of these infidels. Sayf Udeen would soon emerge as a superpower, and the West must once again face an enemy of equal might. Only this time, the strings of power would finally be held by one of the faith, by he, the prophet of Allah, Ra’ed Al Abbas.
“Bill, we got em”
“Okay, okay”, Kelly said with relief. “Where is he now?”
“On his way down.”
“Alright, I’ll make the arrangements. Good job, Lee”
“Thanks. Uh, Bill, you take care of this man, okay?”
“I will, don’t you worry… Leah, this was the only way. This was the best way to bring him in. If Sayf Udeen knew we were on to him, or that he was working with us, he would have been killed immediately. You must understand that”
“I do Bill, it’s just that…well, he trusted me. And I can’t help but feel like that trust was shattered”
“Leah, do not beat yourself up about this one. Koval will understand; he must understand why we need him, and why we did what we did.”
“I know, I know.”
“Okay then. I’ll see you down here in a few hours.”
“Yep. Bye”
Kelly immediately picked up the line and placed a call. They had salvaged the scientist, and the time had come for them to learn about the nature of this new weapon that had breached their shores.
“Hello, this is the White House. May I help you?”
“Yes. I need to speak with the national security advisor.” Kelly proceeded to relay the necessary information to the operator at the other end of the line. It was time the nation united under their president to stop the forces of Sayf Udeen. He would alert the Pentagon next. He needed the entire might and resources of the government to stop the danger that was now unfolding.
Alexandria, Virginia
Leo arrived at the Pentagon early the next morning, having been secured overnight in a local D.C. guesthouse. The previous evening’s events had left the man exhausted, but he still couldn’t calm his mind enough to sleep soundly. Visions of violence, near misses, and Babukar’s dead body consumed him as he lay in his hotel bed. But his fatigue began to subside with a boost of adrenaline as he approached the massive defense headquarters. He had never laid eyes on the structure before, and marveled at its sheer enormity. Pictures on a page or the silver screen simply did not do justice to this architectural marvel. And now he was to give a top-secret briefing to the brass that was housed in this most formidable of places.
Erected during the Second World War, the Pentagon functioned as a virtual city, employing over 23,000 individuals spread across 17.5 miles of corridors. Leo and his companions had taken one of the several highway exits to the complex, and parked in the closest of the sixteen massive lots used to access the building. Entering the Pentagon now from the remodeled South side that had been struck years earlier by one of the hijacked nine-eleven jets, Leo was flanked by the two escorts that had been with him on the drive down from New York. They broached several checkpoints, where a careful inspection was required for entry. It seemed as if he was being led through successively more sensitive areas, with each layer requiring updated access checks and inviting incrementally heightened scrutiny. Fortunately, the guards manning these access gates seemed to expect the trio, and it was not long before Leo was shepherded through a doorway composed of the thickest steel plate he had ever seen in his life. He sensed a very few people knew of the existence of this location, and even fewer still had ever made it through those doors. It was reminiscent of a bank vault, only much larger, much thicker, and one which led directly into a large elevator.
As Leo passed through, he turned around, surprised to find the door already closed behind him. The elevator began to move automatically, descending at such a gradual rate of acceleration as to seem almost still. It was impossible to tell how far down they were going, the smooth ride of the elevator car concealing the true speed of what seemed to be an almost interminable descent.
“This is a real safe zone”, Leo thought, and began to wonder if where he was going represented the ultimate control center of the formidable, what seemed until last week the omnipotent, US military.
He stared at his two companions on either side, the silence in the moving black box palpable. Surely these two had no clue what potential danger lay concealed in the shabby old briefcase hanging perilously from his right hand. His notes, a jumble of mathematical chaos and unimaginable exponents, scribbled on scraps of yellow paper.
Leo looked down, cringing at the sight of the coffee stain on his lapel, the black leather shoes in dire need of a shine. Not much time to prepare for this moment, he thought. He had neither the time, nor the resources, to confirm the strange and bizarre results of the cross section study. The data was simply incomplete, and now he was to present a fragmented account of the piecemeal work he had performed over the past short week. He compiled what he could in a presentation on the ride down, but was left less than satisfied. Did these people not realize the immense time and effort it took to perform this kind of scientific analysis?
“So how far down do we go fellas?” Leo figured to engage his companions in some small talk to take his mind off the upcoming debriefing.
“Classified doc”, responded the taller one in an automaton, monotone baritone.
Boy these guys
are stiff, Leo thought; all business. Well, this was serious business, he reiterated to himself. Leo was entering the heart of the vaunted Pentagon where a very few had ever been, to deliver what information he had to the government of his country.
The elevator finally came to a halt and the door opened, revealing a long hallway illuminated by the soft glow of fluorescent lighting. A gentle humming could be heard in the background.
“Here we are doctor”, one of his escorts announced.
As the elevator doors opened, Leo was greeted by yet another man in military drab. The only distinguishing feature was the frock of hair escaping from under his cap, a clear digression from the standard military-type crew cut. Leo stepped forward, turning around just in time to see his companions disappear behind the closing elevator doors.
He sensed he was quite far underground. The air was a dry, clean, climate-controlled cool. The moisture and particulate matter one might expect in such a subterranean locale removed by some massive filter and dehumidifier. Leo could feel the pressurized, oxygenated air gently blowing overhead from barely visible vents. The humming probably originating from massive generators, no doubt used to power the facility. Was this an underground haven, self-contained and capable of withstanding the apocalypse of a nuclear blast overhead? Well if so they were likely to be over a thousand feet below the surface. At least that was a reasonable guess.
Leo recalled the well-known images of the destruction caused by the world’s first thermonuclear bomb. Aside from vaporizing an entire island several miles across, the crater left by the blast extended about a half-mile deep. And that was a primitive device by today’s standards. Just a relic really, an anachronism of the embryonic days of nuclear bomb design. Frightening, he thought, especially considering what he had just learned over the past week.
“Hello doctor, come with me. They’re expecting you.”
“Who’s they?”
Leo followed the surprisingly pleasant-faced soldier down a corridor.
“Secretary of Defense, National security advisor, FBI director…”
“Oh, that’s it” Leo cut him off.
His escort smiled. “Well, the president couldn’t make it. He’s in Beijing”.
China had long since emerged as the next great power alongside the U.S., much as had been anticipated decades earlier. The respective heads of state inevitably maintained closer ties and met often, but the vice president never took part in these summits. Since nine-eleven the two leaders were separated as much as possible, to mitigate a catastrophe should the sovereignty of the nation come under attack. This brought Leo back to an earlier period in history, the last time a vice president was faced with a weighty decision. The date was April 12,1945, and FDR had just suffered a massive stroke. Truman was briefed on the nation’s newly acquired nuclear capability, but not until after assuming the Presidency. There was not much time to ponder a decision with the war still raging in the Pacific. Harry S. didn’t hesitate to drop two bombs on Japan. Would this president be as decisive in a crisis?
As they turned a corner, Leo and his escort came upon a pair of huge steel doors. On the adjacent wall was an intercom; above them, a video monitor.
“To holding Charlie”, came the voice from the intercom.
The guard slid an ID badge into a slot in the wall, punched in a code, and the doors slid open. Leo was shown to a room with several chairs, a water cooler, and a small table. A mirrored fixture on the ceiling caught his attention. The eye in the sky.
Leo instinctively stared upwards, almost daring the person at the other end of the console: “looking at me are you…”
“Dr. Koval, it shouldn’t be too long. Something to eat, drink, anything?”
The guard was oblivious to the exchange between Leo and his imaginary interlocutor on the other end of the ceiling monitor.
“No. I’m fine, thanks”
So the person bearing the most significant, awesome scientific discovery of the new millenium would be left waiting.
“What a day”, Leo said to himself, the knots in his stomach starting to unravel.
He was alone, finally, not flanked by men with little radios in their ears. How surreal it all was. Was he really that important? Shoot, he wasn’t even allowed to fly down to DC lest his life be at risk. Or so he was led to believe. He thought back to the woman who accompanied him on the drive down to Alexandria. Was she an agent, chosen to exact information, evaluate his credibility, his motives? Assess whether or not he was to be trusted? Nah, she couldn’t be, Leo told himself. He recalled their conversation. Harmless really, his dialogue deliberately measured, almost guarded, as Leo innately had a healthy suspicion of everything relating to the CIA, borne to some degree from a diet rich in Hollywood espionage films and reinforced by his recent personal experience with Nina/Leah.
After some time, a tall, lean yet muscular man entered the chamber through the open doorway.
“Hello Dr. Koval. Bill Kelly.”
Leo turned towards the voice, startled. He hadn’t noticed anyone arriving.
“Didn’t mean to sneak up on you. Mind if I ask you a few questions”
So here was the interrogation Leo had expected all along. In fact, he was surprised he had gotten this far without a government agent formally probing him.
“Not at all. Leo Koval.”
Kelly took a seat across from Leo, opening a file on his lap. He began turning the pages, deliberately silent. A feeling of uneasiness came over Leo. He wondered about his family and friends. Who was speaking to them right now, checking them out, uncovering every facet of their lives? Well, he had nothing to hide, and neither did anyone he knew.
“So how ‘bout them Yankees?”, Kelly blurted after a few long minutes, seemingly out of context.
Leo felt like telling this Kelly person to just get on with it, to cut to the chase, but something gave him pause. The measured coolness, the control in the voice belying the fact that this was not a man to be trifle with.
“Yeah, how ‘bout em.”, answered Leo indifferently
“You follow baseball?” Kelly asked. Leo smiled, with a slight, almost imperceptible nod of his head. A subtle gesture, acknowledging what they both knew. That Leo’s life was in that file. Down to the finest detail, including the fact that he was an avid Yankee fan. But also that he was ready to play along.
“No, I hate the sport.”
Kelly smiled back. “Sure you do”, he replied sarcastically, “and I’m the nuclear physicist who just discovered a stash of plutonium”.
Kelly caught Leo’s attention and held it…They both knew that was uncannily close to the truth.
How could this Kelly person know about his research? Was the remark coincidental? Perhaps, unless…there must have been others working on this material. Who else had access to this remarkable specimen?
“So you want to know who your collaborators are?”
What was this guy, a mind reader? Leo wondered
“Sure”, he answered, grateful his voice didn’t betray the butterflies now filling his stomach.
“You’ll soon find out. But I must warn you, little progress has been made thus far. We certainly hope you have something for us.” Kelly subsequently briefed Leo Koval on the nature of the project, embellishing when necessary to abide by any existing security concerns. The scientist before him still did not have the requisite clearance for a more thorough disclosure.
In all, the discussion would last a bit over an hour. Kelly left the room satisfied. His assessment of the scientist would be decisive. The guy was not a native-born American, his political leanings the polar opposite of the current administration’s. But the guy was a patriot, that much was clear. And besides, Kelly just liked him. Leo Koval was not just some absent-minded bookworm. No, this doctor exuded a subtle confidence, an awareness Kelly had noted only rarely in even the finest spooks the agency had to offer. He sensed the strength and determination in the man across from him, and knew instinctively he had found the right
man. Kelly suppressed a twinge of guilt, a fleeting sense of sympathy for the scientist. For his life would never be the same after this day. But what Kelly did not know was neither would his. The irrevocable winds of change were upon them all.
Mack Sullivan was returning from the federal courthouse, where a judge had just approved his request for the wiretaps. In actuality, the Agency was already listening in on every conversation among known or suspected Sayf Udeen members. The forensic evidence they had acquired was definitive, and navigating the legal hurdles was merely a formality. Mack would have liked to delegate the task, but they were keeping the investigation as tightly knit as possible, involving as few, if any, non-essential personnel. One did not need extensive legal experience to go before the new order of military judges, set out to adjudicate the most sensitive of issues pertaining to the secret world of espionage in the post nine-eleven era. Heck, these taps would have been upheld in even the more civil liberties-sensitive climate of old. But under the new guidelines, the former restrictions were abolished; now there were no limitations on recordings, even ones that seemingly encroached on benign communications.
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