Nuclear Surprise

by Rob Carnell

The conversion came easily to Jonah and he loved the strict discipline of the religion, and the culture of its practitioners.

  One of his new friends even suggested a trip overseas when his rehab was complete. His benefits funded the trip, and Jonah returned to the U.S. a very different person. He was shown "the truth" about the persecution of Islam by the U.S. and he vowed to help in the fight. He was brainwashed to the extreme.

  Security at all U.S. monuments is now tight. Workers on the Liberty Island ferry were all background screened. However, this screening was much more focused on ethnic profile. As a former serviceman, Jordan passed the check with flying colors.

  It was a crisp New York morning when he arrived for work with his usual backpack slung over his shoulder. Instead of leaving it in his locker at Battery Park as was his usual practice, he carried it onto the ferry and stowed it in a locked box adjacent to the engine room.

  He announced that he was not feeling well and went home at 11.45am.

  Fifty pounds of C4 military explosive detonated on board the ferry at 1.15pm. Fifty two passengers were killed instantly and the massive blast broke the back of the now doomed ferry.

  Of the people on deck, most were plucked from the cold waters, some suffering from hypothermia.

  Those below decks were not as lucky since the vessel sank almost instantly and one hundred and eight men women and children drowned inside the hull.

  Police traced the plot back to Jordan, and a swat team descended on his apartment at 4pm. When they broke down the door they found Jordan lying face down on the floor in a pool of blood with a small gun in his hand. When they removed his baseball cap the small .22 caliber hole above his right ear was clearly visible.

  Chapter 103

  White House, Situation Room

  Washington D.C.

  * * *

  "I WANTED this get together between the three of us to decide how we will move forward. We need to get more proactive here, I want us to be doing more to counter this threat" explained President Connolly.

  "Mister President, we are doing everything we can to find Pashwari" said Adam Scott CIA Director.

  "With all due respect Adam, we can always do more" said the President firmly.

  Next the President directed his attention to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Nelson "Horatio, how about military options?"

  "Mister President, we do have a plan for an attack on the Pashwari Palace in Riyadh" explained Nelson "but as yet we have no hard evidence that the remaining weapon is there."

  "Could we do a helicopter scan for alpha radiation?" asked Adam Scott.

  "We would never get approval for us to do a fly over" said Nelson "there is of course the option of a clandestine ground attack, but this may be political suicide."

  "Let me worry about the politics Horatio" said the President firmly "but I like that helicopter idea. We have spent a small fortune buying this scanning equipment. There must be a way we can examine the palace."

  Adam Scott had an idea. "How about we disguise a chopper as Red Cross and do a low flyover. That should not cause too much fallout."

  "Not a bad plan, but I think it is called Red Crescent over there" suggested President Connolly "Horatio, draw up a plan and come back to me for approval."

  Chapter 104

  Nashua, New Hampshire

  * * *

  A LONG range shot is much more difficult than shown in most movies. The truth is that even a shot of five hundred yards would need to be carried out by an expert to have much chance of success.

  Karim had been trained in Afghanistan where he was able to hone his skills against the better armed Russian adversary. Over there, he had used what seemed now to have been an ancient Russian made sniper rifle. Now he was in the U.S. he was able to do much better.

  He had joined a target shooting club and competed in six hundred yard matches regularly. To disguise his proficiency he made sure he only won occasionally, by pulling his last shot. Observers thought this to be just pure nerves. Karim knew that he could easily win every match he entered.

  Karim had been in New Hampshire since he was sent to the U.S. three years earlier. Employment was not a problem, and he had found a job waiting on tables in an Indian restaurant.

  His only contact with his former life was by coded email.

  Most were mundane, but today there was one of utmost importance in his inbox. There was a brief email with a poor quality digital picture file as an attachment, together with a name and address.

  Chapter 105

  White House, Situation Room

  Washington D.C.

  * * *

  "WHAT HAVE you got for me Horatio?" directed President Connolly to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

  "Mister President, we have a plan" said Nelson "it is risky in the early stages, but it has a high probability of success."

  "Out with it man, we are running out of time here!"

  "Yes Sir." Horatio opened his folder and summarized the written notes "the plan calls for us to fly a helo fitted with radiation scanning equipment from our carrier in the Gulf, the Ronald Reagan. It will issue a mayday call and use engine trouble as an excuse to land in Saudi Arabia. We do not expect any trouble with this part. We already have a similar but smaller chopper in country for use at our embassy there. It is in an enclosed hanger at Riyadh airport."

  "We do the old switcheroo?" suggested President Connolly.

  "Yes Sir. The plan is to do mock repairs and switch helicopters then fly the other chopper back to the carrier. They look similar enough, so there should be no issue here. We then remark our chopper in Red Crescent livery and then do a mock mercy flight and overfly the Pashwari Palace doing a low level scanning run for radiation signature."

  "I like it Horatio. What do we do with the chopper after that?"

  "We will deliver a real patient to the hospital, then hightail it back to the hanger and re-paint the helo back to U.S. military colors. A ferry run a week later will return it to the carrier."

  "Approved. Get it done. Have you got a plan if there a positive scan?" asked the President with excitement.

  "We do Mister President. If we confirm alpha radiation and the presence of a nuclear weapon at the palace we have a plan for an attack. We would have a B-2 stealth bomber already on station at maximum altitude avoiding Saudi radar. They would be on stand-by waiting on an order from you Sir. If they receive a go order, they would release a laser guided bomb from very high altitude. We have ground assets already in area who can target a laser designator at the correct place in the palace. Our smart bomb would detonate and destroy the nuclear weapon, but would probably also destroy most of the palace as collateral damage. We expect that there would be enough fallout from the explosion to look like there was actually a dirty bomb explosion at the palace. Our involvement would be masked and there would be nothing to tie this to us. We could initiate a press campaign pointing at terrorists. We come out smelling like a rose."

  "Congratulations Horatio. That is probably the most brilliant plan I have ever heard. How soon can you do it?"

  "The bomber can be on station inside two hours. The helicopter is fuelled and ready to leave the Ronald Reagan. Do I have your authority to go ahead with the plan Mister President?"

  "Get on with it. But I must approve the bomb release. Report the scan result to me as soon as you get it."

  Chapter 106

  Nashua, New Hampshire

  * * *

  KARIM IMMEDIATELY called the restaurant and explained he was unwell and needed a few days off. Then he packed his van with his tools of trade. He stopped at the nearby Pheasant Lane Mall for a few supplies. Then he drove all the way to Washington D.C. only stopping for gas and the occasional snack. Air travel was out of the question.

  There are a myriad of cheap motels on the outskirts of the Capital, and Karim was soon settled into the end room of a flea trap. Not much, but still much better accommodation than he was used to during his time in Afghanistan.

&
nbsp; The photograph provided to him was not of the best quality, but he was sure he would still be able to recognize his prey.

  He found the apartment block quite easily from a city map.

  Karim drove around the area a few times trying to find a good spot to park. There was no parking allowed in the same block as the apartment, but he was able to get a spot three blocks down on the other side of the street. From the driver side of the car, he did have a view of the entrance to the apartment block some five hundred yards away.

  He got into the back of the van, which was fitted with window tinting that acted like a one way mirror. Inside were a sturdy table and a stool. Karim sat down and removed the spotting scope he used while he was shooting, and set up the small tripod on the bench. Beside the tripod, he placed the photograph of his target for quick reference.

  He sat down and focused the telescope on the entrance to the building. This scope was easy to move around and had a larger field of view and depth of field than his rifle scope, so it was easier to check out the whole scene. Karim expected the target to enter via underground parking. His chance for a shot would be when he cleared his mailbox.

  Beside the table was a long narrow case attached to the legs of the table with elastic straps. He undid the straps, opened the gun case and set it on the table. Next he assembled a front rest for the rifle from inside another case, and placed a heavy sandbag with a molded v in the rear about eighteen inches behind the rest. The rifle was placed with the forend of the stock on the rest, and the butt securely riding in the v of the sandbag. This setup was known as benchrest shooting, and allowed for supreme rifle accuracy. For competitions in this type of shooting, there was a moving "honesty" card behind the target so that the shots could be counted since five shots almost down the one hole were that uncommon.

  Karim’s rifle had been custom made by a competition gunsmith and had cost nearly four thousand dollars. The stock was fashioned from a fiberglass molding strengthened with carbon fiber. The BAT custom bolt action was made from stainless steel, as was the Hart barrel. Sitting atop the rifle was a March fifty power telescopic sight. With this sight, during practice he could regularly see bullet holes on his target at six hundred yards. The barrels on this rifle were interchangeable, and for this distance, Karim had pre-fitted one. It was in 6mm/284, a custom cartridge with lots of stopping power.

  The rifle had been setup for point of aim at six hundred yards with no wind. His target was a little closer than this, so he made the mental calculation to aim two inches lower than he wanted bullet impact, this would not be a problem. However, the wind would be the issue. On the shooting range it was easy to calculate the wind drift due to the wind indicators at set distances. These were small weather vanes with a bright yellow streamer running on a precision bearing that instantly responded to the slight changes in direction and intensity of the wind. Here in the real world he would have to guess. It would have been much easier back in Afghanistan. There would surely have been washing hanging over the balconies on a building, or smoke from a fireplace for him to get an idea of the wind flow.

  Karim sat down on the stool to get comfortable behind his precision paper punching instrument. He sat to the left of the rifle close in to the side of the triangular table. The butt of the stock pressed into his right shoulder while his left arm curled underneath the butt and grabbed for the sandbag holding the rifle. By squeezing the bag he could raise the elevation of the rifle to get the vertical positioning of the crosshair right where he wanted it. From his seat behind the unit, Karim was able to quickly glance down the barrel to make sure it was clear before he inserted the bolt into the action and then chambered a three inch long loaded cartridge. He would only get one shot and had to make it count. He wound the window down just enough so that the bullet would miss his window. The van was dark inside and he could not be seen.

  When all was set, it was time to play a waiting game.

  Through the telescopic sight he could see the entranceway clearly, but with the angle he was on he would have little or no warning of the oncoming target. His plan was to spot the target on the way out, then nail him from the back as he re-entered the main doorway after he checked his mailbox on the other side of the entrance.

  Karim knew that the target worked long hours and would not return home until after dark. He closed his eyes and dozed for 2 hours.

  At 7pm he woke up, got himself settled and waited by his spotting scope.

  At 9.45 his patience was rewarded. The man in the picture appeared in the doorway headed for the mailbox. He quickly checked the picture again, and the shooter was certain that this was the same man.

  Karim decided there was not enough crosswind to make an allowance so he would level the crosshairs on the target’s nose, expecting the bullet to transit his brain.

  The target was on the steps now and Karim steadied his aim.

  Karim noticed a bus coming in his side mirror and had to wait for it to pass.

  He should have waited longer, but the target had the door opened already and was about to disappear. He squeezed the trigger, setting the projectile in motion.

  The bus was speeding and the rush of air behind it caused the bullets path to be deflected a few inches, but the shot was still fatal. The target never even heard the shot that echoed the city streets.

  Karim left the heavy rifle in place on its stand but put the heavy sandbag behind the butt so it could not slide off the table. He moved to the driver seat and slowly motored away. He drove to a twenty four hour market where there were lots of people around, then packed away and stowed all his equipment.

  He was back at work at the restaurant in Nashua before the dinner rush the following day.

  Chapter 107

  White House Mansion

  Washington D.C.

  * * *

  "WHY ARE you so stubborn?" The First Lady asked.

  "Look Monica I’m sorry, but I take my Oath of Office very seriously. I promised to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. That is exactly what I am going to do."

  "With all due respect Mr. President, you are an idiot!" yelled Monica "what good are you to the children if you die in office. Grow up and do the right thing for your family!"

  "I don’t really care if it puts me in harms way, I just can’t go changing my routine every time someone makes an idle threat. Besides this is a Top Secret meeting, hardly anyone even knows it is on." President Adam Connolly was become increasingly frustrated with his wife.

  "Adam, from what you told me yesterday this is way more than an idle threat. Cancel your trip to California or send someone else in your place."

  "I wish I could, but this is just too important to send anyone else. We are talking about troop numbers in the war on terror and I need to make the call from our side."

  "Isn’t there any way you could just delay it a bit, or even move it to Washington?

  "Sorry Monica, end of discussion, I am going. I am not asking you to come with me!" The President slammed the door on his way out.

  Chapter 108

  CIA Headquarters

  Langley, Virginia

  * * *

  THE OFFICE was a busy place. People were running around like bees in a hive when a shout went up "CNN now!"

  As one there was a stampede into the myriad of conference rooms to see what all the fuss was about.

  Bill Simpson glanced over at Matt across the table when the Statue of Liberty appeared on the news flash.

  After a few minutes of the live coverage, Bill stood up and beckoned to Matt to follow him.

  Bill closed the door to his office and they sat down.

  "It looks like you can cross one target off the list. There is no way Pashwari is going to get anywhere near the statue right now. Security will go way off the dial" began the intelligence chief.

  "Looks that way Bill, but I couldn’t help wondering if Kamal was behind this attack as well. This could make an ideal diversion to soak up our already st
retched resources."

  "Yeah, I think so as well. The more I think about it, Kamal is after a person not an icon. Let’s cross the icons and places off our list. Leave them to Homeland Security. As of now we lead with human targets until we get a sniff of blood somewhere else." Bill was adamant.

  "Ok, we know who to lead with. But who else can we put on the list?" asked Matt.

  "I have been giving that a lot of thought. My number one is President Connolly. Two I have as the Queen of England. Three I see as British Prime Minister Healy."

  "Sounds reasonable, but if we only have one domestic target that sure helps a lot" suggested Matt.

  "I am going to get Adam to speak to the President. We need a list of his movements for the near future. Unfortunately I don’t think we will get much. The Secret Service won’t want to telegraph the President’s movements and I can’t say I blame them."

  "I will let you know if I hear anything back from Adam. In the meantime, keep working what you have. Find that boat" said Bill.

  Matt heard Bill pick up the phone and dial a few numbers as he left the office.

  Chapter 109

  CIA Headquarters

  Langley, Virginia

  * * *

  "WELCOME TO D.C." said Matt as he shook hands with Detective Lieutenant Greg O’Brien.

  "I’m Matt Peterson. This is Natasha Orlov from Russian Intelligence. She is working with us on this"

  "I am impressed! Thanks for the holiday, but I’m not too sure I can be of much help. I only saw this guy a couple of times and it was more twenty years ago. Why did the President insist I come to help?"