The pilot came on over the intercom and announced they were on final approach and would be on the ground in a couple of minutes. He also let them know their ride would be waiting for them on the tarmac.
After a forty minute ride from Andrews, Jordan felt the vehicle slow and begin to turn onto a long lane. He glanced out the side windows as they drove down, creating a cloud of dust behind them. He noticed the numerous cameras hidden in the trees and, as they got closer, the guards dressed as workmen in different areas of the property, ATVs close buy. No doubt the ATVs contained more firepower and deterrents than what most Humvees had in Afghanistan. No one was going to get into this place without a fight.
The Suburban pulled up to the main house and stopped. Everyone piled out and headed up the front steps to the porch. Stan Kershaw, the Acting Director of the FBI, greeted them at the door.
“Max, I see you have found our lost warrior.” Stan stuck his hand out to Jordan. “How was Italy, my boy?” Stan drawled. A Texan pushing sixty, anyone ten years or more younger was automatically a “boy” or a “girl.” Stan had been one of the first FBI agents assigned to investigate domestic terrorism. He’d been instrumental in bringing and getting convictions on McVeigh, Kaczynski, and the blind sheik and was at ground zero within twenty minutes of the first plane going into Tower Two and had almost lost his life when the second tower collapsed. Unfortunately, Stan’s son, Lt. Tom Kershaw of the NYFD, wasn’t so fortunate. He’d run past his father when Rescue 2, his unit, first arrived. His last words to his father had been. “It must be pretty bad if you’re here before me!” They had their last laugh as Tom headed into the tower and Stan had yelled back, “Take care of yourself and your team, because I think it’s worse than bad.”
Stan had been instrumental in identifying the terrorists who committed the crime and linking them to Osama Bin Laden. He worked tirelessly, only leaving the investigative team to bury his son and to visit with his grandchildren and their mother. If he wasn’t with them, he was working. His wife had passed away several years before and his other children were scattered throughout the United States. A bear of a man, the typical first impression Stan conveyed was that of someone who would make anyone feel intimidated and maybe even scared. As one came to know Stan, however, it was quickly realized that he had a big heart and found good in almost everyone, terrorists or anyone else who wanted to do harm to his country excluded.
Jordan and Stan had met several years ago on a case that could still not be discussed with anyone. At first, Jordan had resented Stan and wondered why he’d been paired with this man who stuck out like a sore thumb. Stan was loud, Stan liked to hug, and what really drove Jordan crazy was Stan liked to talk. He was non-stop and could always find something to yak about. It drove Jordan crazy. However, over time, he came to appreciate Stan’s mind. It worked a lot like his — maybe even better. Stan could connect the dots. Stan didn’t need every thing filled in. He could make solid leaps based on the information available. What Jordan really came to appreciate about Stan was that Stan would act. He wouldn’t break the rules but, would bend them to the point where they would almost break.
Because Stan had achieved so much and had been so instrumental in restoring the reputation of the Bureau, he was given leeway in how he approached and executed his cases.
Over time – and, over his constant objection — he was brought into the Hoover Building in D.C. and into management of the Bureau. He didn’t relish it at first; but, when Stan found he now had the ability to do away with the dumb rules and procedures, which had hampered him in the field, he jumped in with both feet. He quickly became the hero of the field agents and operatives who finally felt they had someone on the inside who understood how the field had changed. He was perceived as someone who knew the FBI was no longer primarily chasing bank robbers and kidnappers, and needed new tools, new rules and new capabilities to battle terrorism.
Stan was also well liked in Congress. He was straightforward and apolitical. He didn’t care what party was in charge. He just kept pushing his agenda of more budget dollars and the right rules. Before long, he was the Assistant Director and, on the untimely death of Director Carl Hogan, Stan had been asked to move into the Director’s office. The President and members of Congress, well as many of the Agents he knew, were pushing him to accept the position. Stan wasn’t sure. He was at retirement age and been in the middle of this battle for so long — maybe too long. He thought about retiring to his cottage at the lake and being twenty minutes away from his grandchildren. He was ready, and his retirement papers were completed and sitting in the draft file of his e-mail, just waiting for the “send” button to be pushed. He hadn’t pushed it —yet.
“Well, Jordan here we go again.” Stan slapped Jordan on his back. “I think we’ve got ourselves an interesting character upstairs, whom I’m sure you are dying to talk with. Let’s go into the den and talk a little strategy before we jump in with our new friend Akmed.”
Jordan put his arm around Stan and they crossed the porch to the front door. Stan entered first and Jordan noticed the doorframe was extremely wide and he heard buzzers and bells going off as he entered the foyer. Two guards approached. Jordan realized the thick frame hid a metal detector.
“You packing, son?” Stan inquired.
Jordan looked at him sheepishly and reached around to take the gun out of his holster. He held the gun by two fingers on the grip and handed it to one of the guards. “I don’t leave home without it.”
“We’ll keep it until you leave Mr. Wright. You are safe here.” The guard cleared the weapon, smiled and walked away.
Jordan, Stan and Max headed off to the den.
Chapter Ten
Akmed had gone to the window when he heard the cars pull up. He knew they were official vehicles, just like the one he had ridden in to come here.
The people exiting the vehicle were different from the others in the house. The young lady was quite attractive, but more casual in her style. The two men seemed to know each other. Why were they here? Did they not believe him? He would tell them anything. He would tell them everything he knew. It was over for him. Why would they not trust what he had to say?
He knew he was doing the right thing, but he had no idea what was going to happen next. His thoughts quickly drifted back to the day Aziz had been given to them to raise as their son.
Ivan entered the room and raised his hand to get their attention and ask them to remain quiet.
“Let me review with you the activities for the day,” he began. “Today is a milestone in our journey to lead the revenge of our country against the infidels of the West. In appreciation of your hard work and dedication, our leader has granted us permission to take you to the National Park for a day of recreation. You have ten minutes to go to your apartments and gather anything you may want to take.
Please be on your assigned bus in ten minutes.”
They all filed out and headed to their respective apartments.
As they entered their apartment, Akmed went to retrieve their coats.
Mahasin smiled back and went to the window. “Akmed! Come quickly. You must see this.”
He joined her at the window and looked out. She grabbed his hand and held it tightly. “What do you think this means?”
Looking out, they saw busses lined up at the old dorms and the children being walked out and put on them.
Akmed shook his head. “I don’t know.”
He turned her away from the window and they walked to the door. They both looked back into the apartment, not sure what the day ahead held for them.
Upon arriving at a remote location within the Khab-o-Rochon, a 173,750 hectares wildlife refuge, Amadi stepped up on the platform and called them over and asked them all to sit as couples, but for each couple to find their own table. Everyone stole quick glances amongst themselves, wondering what was to happen. Rarely had they ever been separated solely as couples.
“Today,” Amadi started, “we begin our last
and final phase of training for our mission. To date, you all have made your country and our esteemed leader proud. You have continued to give us confidence that you are capable of taking on this divine mission and to carry it out successfully, which will guarantee for you a place with Allah.”
“Who’s this?” Akmed whispered, since he had not been attentive.
“He was just introduced. His name is Mustafa Alfani. He is going to be leading us for the next phase.”
“Where did he come from?” Akmed wondered softly.
Mustafa began to speak and, initially Akmed had a hard time understanding him. Then he realized Mustafa was speaking English. While everyone had become fluent and much of their training in the classrooms was done only in English, this was the first time at the Park that English was spoken. It was a risk they probably didn’t want to take; however, today seemed to be different.
“I understand you have all worked hard to ensure your success on our mission. It is now time to give you additional details and further explain your specific roles.”
“We have for years wondered how best to strike back at the Imperial powers in the world who have continued to be non-believers in Allah, the heathen nations who harm our people and use their armies to inflict death on us and who use their political power to starve us and make it impossible for our people to have the medications they need to survive. Devils who take our resources for their own and consume more than their share of the world’s goods.”
Mustafa looked out at the couples, to ensure they were not only listening, but also supporting what he was saying. He was not disappointed. Everyone was nodding in agreement and seemed engaged in his message. Akmed was nodding also, because he knew he had no choice. He was interested in hearing more about their mission.
“Our mission is to go directly to the heart of this beast and destroy it from within. We will live amongst the people we need to destroy. They will think of us as friends. They will join us for social occasions. We will celebrate their holidays. We will fool them into believing we’re thankful to live in their homeland. Then, when they least expect it, we will attack them in a way they would never suspect. They will not only see death and destruction, we will destroy them psychologically, when they realize it was their neighbors, their friends who led these attacks.”
“You are brave and you have been trained to fit into their world. Remember your training and you will ensure our success. The most important part of your mission begins today. For it is not you who will carry out the attack, but rather the child you will be raising.” A murmur swept over the assembled couples. “Over the next twelve months, you will become a team of three. You are a couple, man and wife, and will now have a child to complete your family. Just think how no one would ever suspect families to be in their country to carry out the most important terrorist attack to ever occur. Allah be praised!”
“At the end of the next twelve months, you will be leaving here and heading to various points around the world. Then, you will be immigrating to the United States and will settle in the city of Philadelphia. You know from your history that Philadelphia is the birthplace of this evil country, where they declared their independence, where they wrote the profanity that is their wicked constitution and has allowed them to try to destroy us! But now, Allah be praised, we will destroy them!”
He read their looks and replied. “I know you have not been trained to be those who will directly carry out this mission. Your role is of even more importance. You will ensure the success of this mission by raising the child you are about to receive to believe in what we’re doing while at the same time ensuring the child fits into the community in which you will be living.”
“This mission is long in duration. You will live in Philadelphia among the infidel for several years before you will be called upon to act. You will raise your child into the teenage years and you must make the children above suspicion. The children need to be good students, need to be involved in the activities children their age do. You have been instructed in all of this and, by carrying out this role, you will ensure our success when the time comes for us to act.”
Mustafa continued. “I know you must have many questions. The people who have joined me are the doctors who have been involved in selecting these children. We have studied your medical records and have attempted to find children who come close to matching you. Of course, it is not possible to exactly match. But, we think we have found children who will seem like they belong to your family and were born from you and your partner.”
Akmed was thinking why go to all of this trouble — the time, the training and now the children? This wasn’t just some group trained to go bomb a building. This was a well planned and focused attempt to create havoc in the West. He wondered if the other teams they had started out with were hearing the same thing. No doubt, they were going to different cities, and potentially other western countries. This was bigger than he’d ever imagined and would change the world. He wasn’t sure if it would be for the good or the bad, but it would be changed.
“In a few minutes, we will be bringing your child to you,” one of the Doctors said, addressing the group. “These children have no recollection of their true parents. We removed them at about the time you first came to the compound. They have been raised in a separate facility and were recently brought to your old dorm complex. They have been raised in the belief they would be meeting their parents. That is what will happen today. From their standpoint, you are their parents. Some of them are aware of your absence and have been told you have been working with the government and were not in a position to have them with you. Today is a reunion, in their minds. Please avoid any indication this is your first time to know of them. We don’t and they don’t have expectation you have much information in regards to them and their lives so far.”
Mustafa returned to the stage. “The rest of the day we will spend here at the Park. We suggest you take the time to move away from this area and the three of you spend time getting to know one another. It’s not the time for many questions. Focus on the family being back together. Have fun with them. Start building your bond, because it will be critical, going forward that you become a family and can be viewed by others as a family.”
More memories had returned to Akmed —
A knock at the door brought Akmed back to the present and the room to which the FBI had taken him.
Chapter Eleven
Jordan, Max and Stan attempted to plot their strategy in the den of the safe house.
“Since we don’t know the time frame, we really need to push him hard,” Jordan offered.
“Yes, but we’re on US soil, so it does tie our hands,” Stan said, shrugging his shoulders.
“How motivated is he? Let’s take a step back,” Max interjected, as she rose from her chair. “He shows up and starts telling us this story. We quickly move him out of Philly and down here to this safe house. The guy hasn’t uttered a word since. I think we’ve got to figure out if he is real or not. As much as what he has said so far is our worse nightmare, he hasn’t really given any details. How do we know he isn’t some nutcase that’s taking us for a ride?”
“Or sent in to distract us, while the real incident unfolds,” Stan added.
“That’s why I think we have to go hard. I’m not talking about harming the guy. I just don’t think we have time for the niceties. We need to get more information and we need to get it fast,” Jordan insisted, beginning to get frustrated.
“You’ve got a point. I think we first need to find out if he’s the real deal,” Stan agreed. “But, if he’s not, then we’ve got to believe he’s been trained well enough to take us on a wild goose chase. He could tie us up in some big knots before we realize we’re headed in the opposite direction of where we should be.”
“Are any of the surveillance teams in place in Philly, yet?” Max wondered aloud.
“They took up their positions about ninety minutes ago; but, they haven’t reported anything, nor ha
ve they visually identified the boy,” Stan noted as he paced about the room. “We’ve got people on the street watching for…”
“Maybe we’re making this harder than it needs to be,” Jordan interrupted. “Let’s assume this guy is on the up and up. He has bought into the American dream and is turning his back on this mission and what’s left of his family. Let’s play to that. I’ll go up and talk to him, see if a new face brings out any new information, or at least if his story’s consistent. Where are the notes from the earlier sessions?”
“I’ve got them right here,” Stan said, handing Jordan a copy of the transcript. “There’s not a lot there. As soon as they understood what he was talking about and how it aligned with your lecture, they got on the phone to DC and moved him here. He didn’t say much on the ride down.”
“Give me a few minutes to look this over; and, then, I want to have a crack at him.”
“Okay, but I want Max with you,” Stan ordered.
Jordan gave him his patented “Are you for real?” look. “I think I can handle it.”
“No doubt you can, but I think one-on–one with you might put him in a position where he thinks he’s about to get tortured. With Max there, I think it might give him the comfort it’s just a conversation and not going to turn into something else.”
Jordan chuckled. “If he only knew.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t,” Stan shot back.
Max just looked at them both. “I know how to control myself.” Max, in the past, had led some of the toughest interrogations of suspected terrorists ever conducted. Her methods, including both mental and physical distress, were case studies taught by both the CIA and FBI. She’d conducted seminars with Mossad and MI6. She was a legend and proof a woman could be just as intimidating as a man, when it came to getting information.
Enemy Among Us-A Jordan Wright Thriller Page 5