by Tom Haase
As the cars turned into the compound, Matt felt his tri-band cell phone vibrate. On answering, he heard McDonald’s voice so he gave a situation report concluding with, “I think there are only seven, max of eight, in the compound. We counted them on the roof tops during the firefight and observed one additional come down to get the vehicles and move them into the compound.”
“Okay. The general wants you to get the weapons as soon as possible. Can you do it?” Glenwood queried.
“Yes, but not in daylight. It is too risky to attempt it. In three or four hours, we can be ready to assault the compound. We’ve seen their tactics and their warning system. They probably lost most of their security systems when the RPG’s hit the house, and they’ll be relying on guards. That means we can reduce their numbers by taking out any guards first, before we take on the house,” Matt finished.
* * * *
A column of smoke emerged over the top of the main house, followed by flames reaching higher than the rooftop. Suddenly three vehicles sped out of the area near the house, traveling at high speed down the road toward Matt’s Land Rover.
The lead vehicle pulled up beside the empty cars Matt and Bridget had used and the occupants of the lead car visually searched the SUVs. Matt saw the lead vehicle come to a stop. He hoped they were thinking that these vehicles were part of the Hezbollah attack group. A few moments later, they continued on.
Matt’s eyes followed the departing vehicles. The enemy managed to get away again. His position prevented an attack or trying to stop their leaving. Al-Hanbali had outmaneuvered him again. The folks in Washington would only see his failure to get the weapons at this time. They would probably assume he dallied in getting his men into position and not ready to act on a moment’s notice. The fact that there was not a thing he could have done against such a superior force, without taking unnecessary risks, would not be in their thought patterns. The only conclusion they would reach would remain that he had failed again to get the weapons.
Matt called the Center and got McDonald on the line. “The al-Hanbali gang is roaring out of the compound. I’m going to follow and see if I can get into a position to attack them.”
“Wait a minute. You can’t go off without authorization from the general. I’ll inform her and get back to you.”
“What the hell do you mean? I’m the commander here and I’ll do what it takes to get the weapons. I’m not going to wait for someone in Washington to get off his or her butt and make a decision. It is too late for that. I have my orders unless the general tells me otherwise. What are you trying to do anyhow?”
“I’m telling you to wait. If you go off without any authorization you could be in real trouble,” Glenwood said.
Matt didn’t listen to this warning. He closed the phone, not waiting to hear another word. He had the general’s order from her own mouth to get the weapons. That was what he was going to do. Any doubts he had before were dissolved. No one was going to stop him or slow him down by waiting for some authorization that McDonald seemed to think he needed. No, he, the on-scene commander, had his orders. When they gave him the command of this team there was no instruction book to go with it and no directives on how to command or how to accomplish a mission. He knew what he had to do. He set about doing it.
* * * *
Inside the last car speeding away from the compound, al-Hanbali was completing his plans for the final phase of the dirty oil operation. All fear was gone, no qualms, no trepidations. He had a goal to accomplish and the first thing on the agenda was making as quick a departure from this area as possible. There would be a police investigation of the fire and the burned bodies. There would, however, be no legal connection to him as the ownership of the house was in the name of a fake company within other offshore entities. Of course, there was always the slight chance someone might be able to identify him or one of his men. But the distance they were now traveling would slow down any investigation by local authorities.
He picked up a new cell phone and dialed Basam in the Nissan ahead of him. “Move up into the lead and go to the main highway. We need to put some distance behind us. I’ll call when it is time to get off the highway. We have at least three hours of daylight. I don’t want to be on the road after dark.”
Al-Hanbali had regained his confidence. He had survived three attacks: the one in Beirut; the one at the old main house, where he had lost three men; and this final insult perpetrated by Faisal. It had to be the will of Allah that he was still on track in this great cause. He would succeed—nothing could stop him. He felt it in his bones. Allah was with him.
When they stopped for the night, he would give the final orders to position the weapons and the preparations he wanted accomplished to ensure simultaneous detonations. He was finally in a position to inflict the ultimate destruction on the Western economies, without subjecting himself to making a mad attempt to accomplish this damage on American soil. This would be a far worse blow to the West than the earlier World Trade Center attack and the devastation caused by the 9/11 events.
CHAPTER 30
ADMIRAL KIDD
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING
6:15 PM - WASHINGTON
The President usually made a habit of chairing the National Security Council meetings when something important occurred, but he was out of town on a vote-getting tour. Most of the other members were present. The conference room at the old executive office building, across the street from the White House, where the National Security Council was meeting, had the atmosphere of an execution chamber. The “victim,” Admiral Kidd, a descendant of the infamous Captain Kidd of pirate fame, had not yet arrived.
The National Security Advisor was the de facto leader of the meeting when the President was absent. Avery stood at the head of the table. He had relayed to the members present what the admiral had revealed to him. The acrid tone used conveyed the great displeasure he felt for how the admiral had handled the situation. In addition, his facial expression glowed Turkey red with rage. He failed to mention that the President had not yet been informed.
When the admiral entered the room, he noticed all eyes turned toward him. In addition to the pure contempt emanating from Kent Avery’s eyes, those of the Secretary of State seemed to shoot fire darts, compared to the wait-and-see looks of most of the attendees. The Director of National Intelligence, John Neighbor, looked at the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs for any indication that he knew what was happening in the field. Seeing a rigid face, he turned to look at the admiral.
“All right, Admiral, give us an account of what has transpired. How you received the message on possible atomic weapons and what is the current situation.” Kent Avery sat down and waited.
“Thank you, sir. This episode started for us at the NSA, yesterday morning.” The admiral gave a complete briefing of all that his agency accomplished in both deciphering the code to get at the text and the method used to translate the document. He did not touch on the operational aspect of the DIA team in the field. He guessed this was what Avery really wanted but he only relayed the facts that the NSA had uncovered. By doing so he gained some time, as Avery would insist that the DIA must answer the questions, but they were not present. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was aware of the overall operation but did not comment on the up-to-the-minute situation. The Secretary of Defense, James Carter, was another matter.
Kidd knew that operations conducted by the military were under the control of the President, the Secretary of Defense and the Unified and Specified Commands. The National Security Council was not in the chain of command, but not out of the loop either.
Upon concluding his presentation, which took nineteen minutes, the admiral asked if anyone had a question. He knew they would now be shooting at him, so he had prepared as many canned answers as he could and knew what to focus on.
“Where are the weapons now?” said the U.S. representative to the United Nations, who was sitting in on the meeting.
“Do we have someone there to st
op them?” queried Secretary of the Treasury.
“Has the President been informed?” the Secretary of State asked.
“My duty, Madam Secretary, is to inform this body on the intelligence I receive that might be of high interest.” The admiral looked at Avery, recognizing in that man’s attitude that the President was not aware of this current intelligence. He had deliberately not answered the question on the President’s knowledge of the events. He should have answered the Secretary of State and his silence signaled something the admiral didn’t like.
“What is the current status of any operation ongoing against these terrorists?” Avery asked, retaking control of the meeting.
The admiral took some time to shuffle papers and, before he could respond, Secretary of Defense Carter spoke up.
“I think I should answer that.” The Director of the DIA had brought him up to date just prior to this meeting. “We are conducting a close-hold operation against the terrorists. There has been a setback in the last hour, as another group of terrorists, Hezbollah, presumably, attacked the group that we think has the weapons. We believe the terrorists who have these weapons are planning on using them in the way described in the transcript the NSA provided to each of you.”
The Secretary of State, Patricia Kennedy, a rotund woman broadcasting a stern look through her thick half moon glasses and pulled-back hair in a tight ponytail, projected a face that could have been taken for a buzzard. “We must inform the government of Saudi Arabia of this situation and ask for their help. We appear to be conducting a military operation by our troops on the territory of a friendly sovereign nation without their knowledge. This is unacceptable. It is a violation of International Law.”
The Secretary of Defense, ignoring Ms. Kennedy, looked directly at Avery. “I would state that we are conducting a military operation against armed terrorists bent upon using atomic weapons against the national interests of the United States. I do not believe we can turn that over to another government, especially one that may be in no position to control what happens to the weapons if they retrieve them. I recall that the majority of the terrorists involved in 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia. Your suggestion is not something I would advise the President to do.”
“Mr. Neighbor, do you have anything on this situation?” Avery said as he turned to the Director of National Intelligence.
“Only what the admiral has described. The location of the weapons is now known to us. The targets are in the document provided by Admiral Kidd. We are monitoring the actions of the strike team in the desert. I suggest we continue to do that.”
This statement was greeted with almost unanimous approval. The notable exception was the Secretary of State. Some more discussions between various individuals followed, but eventually Avery convinced her to go along for a short period of time and said, “Very well. With everyone on board now, we will closely follow the situation and the Secretary of Defense will keep us advised of the progress. We will reconvene tomorrow at nine o’clock or earlier if the SecDef has reason to request it. Until then.” Avery stood up to signal the end of the meeting and pointed to the admiral and the SecDef to remain.
After the room cleared, Avery said,” I think you two sandbagged me. You are trying to conduct a military operation without the President’s or my knowledge. I’ll not condone such action.”
The admiral viewed the SecDef, who stood tall and straight and then delivered his comments with a calm, even temper that belied his obvious struggle not to blast away at the pompous Avery. Carter said, “We had no such intention. I’ll not deny that we hoped to have this concluded and presented as an accomplished fact, but we’re only carrying out our duty to eliminate the terrorist and retrieve the atomic bombs, and to keep you advised of our actions. I believe we have done both of these in a timely manner. I do not see a need for you to threaten. I strongly suggest you do not want to do that even if so inclined.”
Avery’s face turned a little red, and without another word he turned and stomped out of the room.
“Admiral, I think we just drew the line in the sand. Neither one of us had better cross it. Avery has the ear of the President, but in many areas, I believe I also have his ear and Avery knows it. So, my infighting might cause you some grief by collateral spill over. Admiral, I want you to get as much information to that team as you can. They may not know what to request, but you have all kinds of assets that you need to employ now to assist them. Use everything at your command. Is that clear?”
The admiral was glad to hear this order and that there was not going to be a conversation between himself and the President since the Secretary of Defense had stepped up to the plate on this one. “Yes, sir. I do have some things that might assist them. They are experimental and this might just be the time to call them into use.”
CHAPTER 31
AL-HANBALI CONVOY
28 OCTOBER – 5:42 PM
Al-Hanbali rode in the last vehicle as they sped away from the compound toward the main highway leading to Ras Tanura. Their confrontation with Faisal signaled a disaster for Fatimah. For years, that control group had been putting together a financial and human network in the worldwide effort of the Islamic Jihad. The betrayal of that trust by Faisal could have severe ramifications. Tewfik thought that Hezbollah would probably withstand the worst of the displeasure Fatimah would have to show for this breach of trust, but it would have to be demonstrated to the members of the Islamic Fundamentalist movement that no one could betray another with impunity. Reprisals against Faisal’s group, its leadership, and its finances were certain to follow.
Right now al-Hanbali’s major concern focused on the replacement of the Hezbollah men who were supposed to carry the weapons to the targets. They were now dead. He had to carry out his plan no matter the cost. Last minute substitutes would have to be used. The only ones available now were his own men. Damn, but that appeared to be the only way.
“Watch the rear view mirror, just to be sure we are not followed,” al-Hanbali instructed the driver.
“There have been cars behind us but they are not the same. It does not appear that we have anyone tracking us,” replied the driver.
Al-Hanbali made a call to Basam.
“Basam, I want to be sure no one is following us. We must’ve gotten all of Faisal’s people at one time. Now listen, we are going to stop about a hundred kilometers from here at a house owned by a friend. He is not there and we’ll be alone. Just as a precaution I want you to fall back to ensure there is no one following us.”
Basam pulled over to the side of the road and waited for al-Hanbali’s car to pass. He allowed the two cars to get a good kilometer ahead.
Over the radio Basam reported, “There is no one on our tail. I have waited for one minute and no one is coming behind us.”
“Rejoin us and take up the rear position,” Tewfik ordered.
After traveling for over an hour, al-Hanbali ordered the lead vehicle off on a small road to the right. They traveled for another ten minutes on this secondary road before al-Hanbali led them into a small compound area with a house located on the side of a hill. No lights shone even though it was after sunset, confirming his earlier information that the place was vacant. He led the cars to a shed next to the house. They parked the cars with the front end facing away from the building for a quick exit if it became necessary.
“Check the fuel gauges. I want to make sure we have at least a half-full tank to start in the morning,” ordered al-Hanbali. Inside the house he said, “We will be here until tomorrow morning. Then we will go to Ras Tanura and complete our mission. Basam, you take the first watch. I want someone walking around outside all night. We have experienced too many unexpected visitors lately and I don’t want any here.”
“Do you want us to bring the weapons into the house?” Basam asked.
“No. Just make sure the guards walk around often during the watch. Now let’s get some rest. We had a long day, but Allah is with us. You saw it back at the compound. He ensure
d that we destroyed our enemy, and he will help us destroy the economies of the West. In Sha’allah.”
The group settled down for the night. Basam established the guard order, and the rest went to get some sleep. In less than twenty minutes they were all asleep, except for Basam and Tewfik. Basam was on guard duty outside the house.
Tewfik sat down in a comfortable chair in the living room of the house. Nervous energy pulsated through him. He thought over the plan for tomorrow. It would be the greatest day of his life. He now had the weapon to strike the Satan, the Americans. They were the enemy, the devil on earth. He would do anything to destroy them. Allah would be pleased by his actions and would guide him to a successful conclusion.
* * * *
Bridget followed the three vehicles in a gray Land Cruiser. She was two kilometers behind their vehicles; there was no need to get any closer and risk discovery. The other two cars were following her a few kilometers behind. Bridget called Matt on the radio and suggested they switch positions to ensure none of the terrorists could possibly identify one type of car trailing them. Matt agreed. Bridget pulled over to wait for the next vehicle to take up the point position at the same exact moment Basam had pulled over and waited to see if anyone was following them.
Consequently, Matt’s team had successfully followed the terrorists from their last location and now observed the action at al-Hanbali’s new hideout. It was apparent that they intended to remain there for the night. He used his binos behind some desert shrubs to view the activity a half-mile distant. He could see his mission becoming more complicated by the minute as he realized the predicament he faced. He had to get the weapons but didn’t have the firepower to take them by force.
He turned to Bridget and said. “Looks like they’ll bivouac there for the night. We’ll watch and see what happens. I’ll have to inform center.”