The Third Cell

by Anthony D'Egidio

  9:30 A.M.: General Knight telephoned the president requesting the emergency meeting. He left for the White House with members of his staff, the Joint Chiefs, the CIA, FBI and NSA to meet with the president while receiving updates on his encrypted smart phone.

  The White House

  The president had just hung up the phone after his conversation with General Knight when his wife came into the oval office asking, “What is so important to disrupt our Christmas plans?”

  The president Conklin turned to his wife. “I only know that we’re under a terrorist attack and General Knight is coming to give me all the details. From what he explained, I believe we’re in serious trouble. I’ll be in the Situation Room with as much of the White House staff that I can muster up this morning.”

  9:55 A.M.: General Knight entered the Situation Room with six of his staff along with members of the NSA, CIA and FBI. The atmosphere was tense and hostile. The general handed the president a copy of the terrorist’s demand note along with the attacks upon law enforcement and armed forces responding to the crisis.

  The president asked, “How many terrorists are involved?”

  Jack Shelby of the CIA, who had been promoted to a Paramilitary Operations Officer assigned to the Joint Chiefs spoke. “We really have no idea; it could be as many as sixty.”

  “How could they get all these terrorists into the country undetected?”

  “We don’t know, Sir. We speculate they may have come over the border from Mexico.”

  “What about the Muslims For Justice involvement?”

  Jack gave the CIA’s assessment of the group. “They have been in existence for half a century, but not tied directly to any terrorist activity. We know they have funded Hamas and other groups but always through a third party. The Muslims For Justice organization have been very active in several countries in the Middle East during the early seventies. After inciting the populous to overthrow those governments and attempting to install an Islamic form of government, they were hunted down and purged. Now with the “Arab Spring”, they have made a major resurgence and are a force to be reckoned with. We believe that over the past two decades they have been quietly placing their members into high government offices and building support for their radical form of government in many Middle Eastern countries. They have close links to Iran and the Republican Guard. Since the uprisings and overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt, they have shown public support and have become the dominate party there.”

  The president was again reading the demand letter. “Who is this Nasih Mahmoud Rahman that signed this?”

  “Unknown at this time,” responded Jack. “He’s not in our database and we’ve just sent communiqués to Interpol and the Mossad, but it’s too early for a response.”

  President Conklin’s voice grew louder with every word. “This situation is entirely out of control. How do we go about securing these two nuclear reactor sites and the community under siege?”

  General Knight stood up and went to the front of the room. “We have National Guard and Army Reserves being called up and mobilized. We also have every law enforcement agency in the Central and South Florida area on alert. We believe the terrorists are heavily armed. Reports have come in that a Blackhawk out of Homeland was hit while still a half mile from the Cutler Point site. A local sheriff’s deputy was killed by hostile fire from over a quarter of a mile away from the Florida Ridge nuclear reactor site and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy reported they used a truck-mounted machine gun to riddle his car with bullets until the gas tank exploded.”

  The president, shaking his head, couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “How could they get this armament into the country? Who the hell is responsible for security? The American people are going to hang us! Have we shared this with the Israeli Prime Minister?”

  “No, Sir. We were waiting to have this meeting and your direction.”

  Incensed, the president continued, “I’ll personally call Itamar Harkavy at the end of this meeting. Let’s keep this away from the press as long as possible. We need time to evaluate the enemy and put in place a strategy for retaking all of the sites. Get me an expert from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to meet with us by noon. I want all of our options on the table.”

  The meeting was still underway when an aide entered the room. “Sir, we’re bringing in a live feed from various news stations on the television screens. It looks like the press already knows what’s going on.”

  The Media

  Jeff Grossman, the local roving reporter for WAVW Channel 13, had just enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with his wife and two young daughters. They had opened and exchanged presents much earlier and he was looking forward to a day of relaxation after putting together several days of nighttime coverage in the area. Jeff had his police scanner off. The scanner had always allowed him insight, to any local area that required coverage. Today would be the usual quiet holiday with maybe one or two auto accidents, but out of habit he went into his home office and hit the power button. He was halfway out of the room when he stopped.

  Did I just hear right? Jeff went over and turned up the police scanner just in time for it blare, “Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Special Response Teams have been called up and are ready to move.”

  What the hell? Where are they mobilizing and for what? Having several friends in the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office had always allowed him to scoop the other stations and the two local newspapers. He picked up the phone, calling a contact.

  “Jeff, I can’t say anything. I got orders from the top.”

  He tried a couple of his other law enforcement buddies. Everyone’s giving me the same story. Jeff continued to listen to the scanner trying to understand what was happening as he called his broadcast vehicle driver and television technician. They were not glad to hear from him.

  “Meet me at the truck in fifteen minutes. Something big is going down.”

  Jeff jumped into his vehicle and turned on the mobile police scanner, trying to gleam out additional information. Everything said was coded and this made him even more suspicious. He was only a couple of minutes from the remote broadcasting truck when he heard a statement about cell towers being down in Boca Raton. This is where we’re going to head.

  The remote broadcasting vehicle was sitting behind an office complex building on Congress Avenue. The driver and television technician were waiting for him.

  The driver was pissed. “You’d better have a great story to pull me away from my wife and kids on Christmas.”

  Jeff scrambling into the passenger seat shouted back, “Two cell phone towers have been destroyed and I want to know why. Sorry about your plans, but since none of my contacts will talk to me it may be bigger than just these two towers.”

  They drove to Clint Moore Road where Jeff knew the location of two cell towers. It was less than a mile from where they picked up the TV vehicle. Approaching Clint Moore, they found it blocked by the Boca Raton police.

  Jeff called out to one of the policeman, “Press. Can we get some pictures?”

  “No pictures or comment today. You need to move on.”

  They continued to drive south to the next major intersection at Yamato Road, but this too was blocked. Trying to get information from the police was impossible. Stopped at the intersection, Jeff took out the binoculars that he always carried in the truck. Peering west on Yamato Road he could see that the intersection of Yamato and Military Trail was also cordoned off.

  “Let’s head for Glades Road,” Jeff told the driver.

  Turning left, they headed east on Yamato Road to the entrance to Interstate 95, taking it south to the next exit, Glades Road. As they entered the Interstate, Jeff was amazed to see twenty-five or more National Guard trucks heading north on I-95.

  “Where the hell could all those military vehicles be going on Christmas day? Something big has happened. Get off on Glades Road and go as far west as they’ll allow us.”

  Glades Road was open and the light Christmas Da
y traffic was flowing except that all the major intersections going north were blocked. They soon came upon the Florida Turnpike entrance.

  “Take the turnpike north and don’t be in a hurry.”

  Heading north, the turnpike went under the Yamato Road Bridge. As they approached the other side Jeff called out, “Pull to the side of the road and put up the antenna.”

  The television technician set the antenna to its maximum height. Jeff, hanging the binoculars around his neck, shimmied up the shaky structure to get a better view.

  Jeff yelled to his television technician, “There’s close to twenty police cars and a Palm Beach Special Response Team vehicle outside the entrance to Beekman Estates.”

  Jeff struggled to see what was going on as he gave his report, peering through the binoculars. “The entrance road is piled up with dirt and the other side blocked with a bulldozer and backhoe.”

  Scrambling down the antenna, Jeff shouted orders. “Lower the antenna and move up to the Clint Moore overpass.”

  The turnpike, unlike at Yamato Road, went over Clint Moore Road allowing for an unobstructed view. They moved the vehicle into place and again Jeff climbed the antenna. It took him only fifteen seconds to spot the bridge leading to the entrance of Beekman Estates destroyed along with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s car in ruins. He was getting ready to pan the area when a Florida Highway Patrol car pulled up behind the broadcast vehicle with sirens wailing.

  The officer got out of his car. “You gotta move this vehicle from here for your own safety!”

  Jeff was still on the antenna. “Officer, we’re the press and we have a right to find out what’s happening.”

  “I don’t care who the hell you are. You’re in danger and you have to move.”

  Jeff figured if he took his time and kept badgering the officer he could get a few more minutes of viewing time. Just then a bullet hit the antenna, taking off a sizable chunk just above him. Jeff didn’t waste any more time and scurried down to the ground. “We’ll be out of here in a minute, as soon as we lower the antenna.”

  Jeff walked the officer back to his vehicle, trying to glean some information from him, but he wasn’t talking. He kept up the small talk at the police cruiser, when he heard a radio transmission that made him stop. “Attention all units. It has been determined that both nuclear reactor sites are under siege and appropriate action is being taken.”

  The look on the officer’s face told Jeff all. “How come I didn’t hear this on my police scanner?”

  “That’s because you’re not supposed to have this frequency, only law enforcement and Homeland Security. Now that you’ve heard maybe you can understand the security measures. Get the hell out of here.”

  “But this isn’t a nuclear reactor site, so what gives?”

  “Not for me to say, just move on.”

  The crew took the broadcast vehicle to the Delray exit of the Florida Turnpike where Jeff could finally use his cell phone to contact his boss. He explained the situation and immediately devised a plan to broadcast the breaking news. Turning west on Atlantic Avenue they raced to State Road 441 then headed south to the Clint Moore Road intersection. From across the street they filmed the police blockade, taking another long shot down Clint Moore to the Lyons Road intersection to show the additional roadblock. They then moved south to the intersection of Yamato Road and State Road 441, setting up the broadcast vehicle in the shopping center parking lot.

  10:23 A.M.: Jeff Grossman, with his heart pounding, went on the air. From that location the world would hear the news of the terrorist attacks on two United States nuclear reactor sites and a major residential area in Boca Raton, Florida. Channel 13 broke their standard transmission with a Breaking News spot.

  “This is Jeff Grossman of WAVW Channel 13 News. On this normally quiet Christmas Day, massive police activity has taken place in Boca Raton, Florida surrounding an upscale community known as Beekman Estates. All roads leading to and from the area have been blocked off. I’ve attempted to see what happened by using the Florida Turnpike but was prevented from filming after being shot at by persons unknown. It appears the community is under the control of terrorists. But as disturbing as this could be on Christmas Day, I overheard a report on a Florida Highway Patrol radio that terrorists were in control of two FEU nuclear reactor sites. The only two nuclear plants in the Central and South Florida area are the Cutler Point nuclear reactor site, south of Miami, and the Florida Ridge nuclear reactor site, northeast of Fort Pierce. We’re awaiting authorities to verify these attacks.”

  Prior to the WAVW local broadcast, the Channel 13 station manager called multiple news stations to report the terrorist activities. When Jeff Grossman went on the air, a satellite feed was sent worldwide.

  Beekman Estates

  At Abdul-Aziz’s home, the three cell members were catching some sleep after the long night’s actions.

  In the office, Sergeant Navarro was monitoring a bank of television sets that were receiving every local and national station. He came storming out of the room shouting, “They’ve just broadcasted the news of the mission on Channel 13.”

  All three men were immediately invigorated and went to hear what was being said.

  Giving orders to Iyad al-Ibrahim, a.k.a. Sergeant Navarro, Nasih spoke. “Soon the entire world will know of our Jihad. Iyad, have our men ready for any attempted rescue. Also make preparations to receive the Channel 13 News vehicle to broadcast our demands.”

  He then turned to Abdul-Aziz, “Contact the men at the nuclear reactor sites to let them know that we’re ready to negotiate.”

  Abdul-Aziz picked up his satellite phone and called each of the sites, telling them of the events and to monitor WAVW Channel 13.

  Tel Aviv:

  5:35 P.M.: Mark Heckman arrived home for the Jewish Sabbath. He had no sooner walked through the door when his wife called out, “Mark, come and see what’s on the television.”

  Quickly Mark joined her in the living room. She was watching Channel 1, the Israel Broadcasting Authority that was televising the Jeff Grossman’s WAVW news report, with speculation on the two nuclear reactor sites being in terrorist hands.

  Mark Heckman knew immediately that terrorists controlled the nuclear reactor sites. Damn, Benjamin Werner told me of the impending attacks on the nuclear facilities and the Boca Raton community years ago and I foolishly chose to ignore him.

  Mark turned to his wife as he rose to leave. “It’s going to be a while before you see me again. Maybe days, and I may not be in touch too often, but you know I love you.” He left the house and sped back to Mossad headquarters, all the while calling for his key personnel to meet with him.

  As Mark entered the building, a technician handed him a communiqué, the demand letter from the terrorists. He was speed-reading the note when his eyes fell upon the name of Nasih Mahmoud Rahman. Benjamin Werner had come back from the grave to proclaim his prophecy.

  Mark shook his head in disbelief. Nasih Mahmoud Rahman was supposed to have died in 1983. The Palestinians made fools of all the security agencies in the world. Only one man knew the truth and we thought him to be fanatical in his pursuit. Now we’ll all pay for our indiscretions.

  Mark Heckman went to his desk and after a couple of minutes he recovered the report that Benjamin had sent him in 2008. He called in his staff and had them pull all the records of that date they could find. He also asked for a complete dossier on Ahman Imad Rahman, Nasih’s uncle, whom he now knew was the key figure behind the attacks.

  Mark hastily set up a counterstrategy, bringing in his best agents when the prime minister called. The heat was on and if plausible explanations were not forthcoming, it would be the end of his career. Mark Heckman knew he could have a hard time getting a job as a janitor in the Mossad if he didn’t give the right answers. He reluctantly picked up the telephone receiver and spoke, “Mark Heckman.”

  The prime minister was angry. “I suspect you know the problem.”

  “Yes, I’m aw
are of it sir.”

  “What can you tell me about this quickly?”

  “Sir, we believe that everything the American intelligent agencies are saying is true. A terrorist named Nasih Mahmoud Rahman, a Palestinian formally from Ramallah signed the demand note. The uncle, Ahman Imad Rahman, also from Ramallah, is believed to be the true mastermind behind this attack. Benjamin Werner had targeted him previously.”

  The prime minister’s voice became high-pitched. “Benjamin Werner! He’s been dead for years. How could he have known and we’re not prepared?”

  “Sir, we investigated everything he surmised, and came up with absolutely nothing.”

  “You’ll take a helicopter to Jerusalem and give me a full explanation of these events. I’ve called an emergency meeting of the Knesset but since it’s the Sabbath, many of the Orthodox and Conservative members won’t attend. Those who come to the meeting will demand answers. I’ll need a full account of today’s events and what led up to this debacle. Heads will roll!”

  6:20 P.M.: As Mark hung up the phone, he felt a little nauseated. Mark remembered Benjamin’s remark when he suggested closing the case on Ahman Rahman. Let sleeping dogs lie.

  Beekman Estates

  11:30 A.M.: In the home of Abdul-Aziz al Hummos the three cell members were ready to speed up the negotiations for the hostages. They had the main gate manned with four terrorists, one handling the truck-mounted machine gun.

  At the bottom of the entrance road was a maze of police cruisers and the Special Response Team vehicles. Police sharpshooters were taking positions on any building that could have a clear view of the entrance. Unfortunately for them, the clubhouse was another half mile away and surrounded by trees. The U.S. Army Special Response Team from Homestead Air Reserve Base joined the police. The team landed in Boca Raton at a church parking lot mile away from the front entrance. USSOUTHCOM thought it prudent to not fly over any terrorist-held site when word came down of the first Blackhawk being hit by enemy fire at the Cutler Point nuclear reactor.

  Captain Harry Brenner and Sheriff Keith Patterson were jointly in charge. It was Captain Brenner who was the first to make an announcement over the loudspeaker. “We want to speak to Nasih Mahmoud Rahman.” He repeated this three times.