Reprisal in Black

by Dan Fox

  The plan had been comprehensive and meticulously carried out. They had to have been part of a sleeper cell imported into America years ago. That being the case they must have had significant back up to carry this plan to fruition. This was not any terrorist group’s normal mode of operation and the repercussions of this gave even more cause for alarm. This was a heavily integrated operation probably involving many people in several countries. The FBI and the CIA got to work on their respective parts with renewed enthusiasm. The FBI was now trying to track down the perpetrators in the USA and the CIA was redoubling its efforts in India into the background of the Desai’s.

  Further examination of the device showed that it had been dormant with no electrical activity until shortly before full activation. That was clever, very clever. It would have got around the intense electronic scanning that both planes would endure prior to any take-off. However, it didn’t explain how the device had been initiated after take-off in order to be able to receive the short wave signal. The technicians now dug much deeper and eventually found a very small finely balanced pin which didn’t appear to be associated with the main mechanism. It didn’t take the technicians too long to work out that the pin must have been used to prevent the extremely powerful battery connecting inside the device.

  It appeared that the pin had been engineered to slip out of position after prolonged vibration. This could have happened at any time after the plane was scanned before take-off until just before the massive short wave burst was transmitted to activate the device. Whilst it was not the most politically correct sentiment, the technicians were most impressed with the ingenuity.

  That in itself didn’t explain how the how the plane was re-routed when the Automatic Pilot would have been operational and was functioning correctly moments before the incident. Electronic experts considered that only something akin to a virus could have invaded the plane’s navigation server and forced an override to occur, but this would have been impossible from outside the aircraft. When they examined all the feeds into and out of the servers they found the second device. It was a radio controlled memory stick cleverly modified to attach to the main server input cable and in normal mode allow all the usual data traffic to pass through it. This must have been activated by the same or similar signal that initiated the knockout drug to enter the air conditioning system.

  This device would have been running on very low power for the duration and because it was in the immediate vicinity of intense electrical interference, would not have shown up on the pre-flight scans. This device fed new instructions into the Auto Pilot. When these were examined it explained how the plane had been made to evade detection and for the damage and deaths incurred during the rest of the flight to Iran.

  Both devices had to have been activated by a short wave transmission with some power behind it. They knew it was not from another nearby plane as there were no others in the vicinity at the time. The intended flight path would have guaranteed that and if there had been another plane it would have been spotted by satellite or radar within a split second. As Air Force One was over the ocean and hundreds of miles from land at the time the only place the short wave burst could have come from was from a ship at sea.

  To achieve the best result the ship must have been directly underneath Air Force One when the signal burst occurred, and either stationary or travelling very slowly.

  Comparative scans of the satellite images from that area of ocean were examined in microscopic detail. As was expected it transpired that a particular ship had effectively slowed down, then changed direction for a while, then it had stopped for about an hour. It did not take long for the ship to be identified as the Karachi Moon, en-route from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Singapore and was due to dock there in forty-eight hours.

  In the large house inside the secure walled compound on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, a message came through for Massood Malhi explaining that somehow the president had been rescued from the disused air base in south-east Iran and the whole military operation cell had been killed. No-one knew how or exactly when this had happened but it could only have been not much more than twenty-four hours after the president was kidnapped.

  At first Massood Malhi was stunned and then he became angry. Then he passed into the most ugly, purple rage imaginable. He cursed and spat and smashed furniture. He called for his aides and beat them all with his fists until he was exhausted. He then sat down and sobbed. This was his project from its inception many years ago. He had gone out on a limb to get the finance for this operation. By failing he had left the flood gates open for the Americans to track down and kill all those involved. His bearded master would not be impressed. The expanded network would be destroyed. It could take twenty years to re-build it. He didn’t think he would live long enough to accomplish this. How right he was. When Massood Malhi had calmed down a little he called Asif Iqbal on the ship’s radio and told him the bad news. He then gave Iqbal instructions which almost set his bowels in motion.

  ‘Asif, you must kill all the crew and scuttle the ship now, you have explosives enough to do this. Then you take a lifeboat and put to sea, it will have an emergency transmitter so you will be found and rescued. Do not let yourself be taken by the Americans. Kill yourself first. Allah will forgive you.’

  Iqbal was a Muslim who lived his life by Allah’s basic creed although that didn’t extend to suicide. No, he thought, such an act will draw too much attention. He hastily worked out a plan which would allow him to jump ship immediately before it docked. It would be dark and although it had its risks it was worth it. He would just disappear in Singapore and lie low for a few weeks. Then he would return to Pakistan and meet up with his peers to explain. They would understand. He also didn’t believe that the Americans could have traced the ship, not yet at least, how could they?

  Massood Malhi sat in his favourite chair in his sitting room, the sun steaming through the windows as ever. For once he was not relaxing and mulling over his genius of a plan. This time he had his head in his hands trying to absorb the disaster that had unfolded beneath him. He could not understand how anyone could have found the location the president was being held. It was even more unbelievable that they could have mounted a rescue attempt in literally just a few hours. But Malhi believed himself to be safe. There were no direct connections to him.

  The Cell at the airfield had all been killed and the only one there who knew anything about him was therefore dead as well. Abdul Ashiq was already dead. That only left his friend in New Delhi who was extremely careful and would have covered his tracks well. No-one else knew who he was. He thought for a moment longer and realised he had missed someone, he had forgotten the Pakistani Intelligence Officer. He quickly discounted any idea of his involvement as he was just too far away from any action and gradually satisfied himself that he was watertight. What he didn’t understand or reckon with was the speed that the CIA and the other associated agencies could work at. He had sadly miscalculated his position. That would become obvious in due course.

  Malhi thought his best option was to lay low, keep his head down and do nothing to arouse any suspicion. He would stay put in his house. He would make contact with no-one. In a week’s time all the heat would have disappeared from the situation and then he would be able to see what he could salvage.

  The president and the majority of his entourage had mostly recovered from their ordeal but were all restricted to light duties for a few days in case there were any later side effects to the drug they had inhaled. Nevertheless, the president was kept up to date with the latest intelligence including the probable acts of the two brothers and their disappearance. Assured by both agencies that they would be tracked down quickly the president appeared satisfied but a plan was forming in his mind and it included the use of a very special person. He would soon start a certain ball rolling if it hadn’t been started already.

  The president was also told the sad news that Jeff Bloom, the official supplies truck driver at Andrews Air Forc
e Base had been found dead in a large refuse bin somewhere between his home and the base. He had been rendered unconscious with a savage blow to the back of the head and then asphyxiated. The time of death was approximated at about the time his shift at Andrews Air Force Base was due to begin. So first degree murder was now added to the charge sheet. The president asked that a personal note of condolence be sent to his widow and that all funeral and associated costs would be paid for by the state.

  Rani’s van was found parked near their apartment and yielded no clues and no weapons. Dado’s car, a Toyota Avensis, was missing. A national alert was organised and within six hours the car was found in the depths of a multi-story car park in Richmond, Virginia. It yielded no particular clues but the FBI then concentrated their efforts on where they had gone from there. The safe bet was that they would try to leave the country as soon as possible but to where? Alerts were put out to the local airport, car hire companies, hotels, bus lines and the like. Within a few hours a ticket seller at the airport remembered selling tickets to St Louis for two men of Indian appearance but they had bought their tickets separately. She’d only recalled them because they looked similar as if they could be related. The airline was contacted and the stewardesses were interviewed. One recalled two Asian men sitting together and being very nervous, refusing anything to eat or drink. When she was shown photographs she confirmed it was Rani and Dado Desai. The old hands in charge of the game could see through the brother’s plan. They were going to hop from city to city until they could get over the border into Mexico or Canada or perhaps another nation where they could eventually get back to India. Or was it India they were heading for?

  Now the agencies had got the scent they ramped up their efforts and quickly found that the next step had been St Louis to Miami in Florida. There the trail went cold. The FBI now lowered their sites into more general or public forms of transport. Where could you get to easily from Miami? Easy, you could get to the Bahamas on an island hopper and then perhaps via Puerto Rico or Haiti to Colombia or Venezuela in South America, from there you could get anywhere. The problem now was that the security at these airports was not very high. There would be little video surveillance to go on.

  In the meantime believing the brother’s roots were in India, local CIA agents had poured over hours and hours of video from international traffic arriving at the several big cities of India. Fortunately someone had the foresight to check on Islamabad as well and bingo, a week after they left their apartment they were seen together after arriving from Dubai. They were in Pakistan which was not a great surprise to some of the older, more experienced agents. They could smell terrorist cell in all the revelations to date.

  The president was brought up to date at his daily briefing. He was still on light duties but this was important. Now that it had been confirmed that the brothers were in Pakistan he excused himself and made a call on a very secure line.

  Chapter 35

  The finale begins

  Steve Black’s satellite phone vibrated in his pocket. He was still on his way back to Spain with the rest of the team. It had been a long journey and they were all shattered and most of the time they dozed or slept. He took the phone from his pocket looked at the caller ID. He thought he may have misread the name at first then hastily answered it.

  ‘Yes Sir, Steve here.’

  ‘Steve’ said the president ‘I haven’t had chance to thank you and the teams for rescuing me and the rest of my people, so I’ll just say thank you for now and we’ll meet up again soon, very soon. But now I need you to go into the firing line again for me. Would you do that for me?’

  ‘Of course Sir’, said Steve.

  ‘Thank you’, the president continued, ‘those two bastards who set this thing up are now in Pakistan. We couldn’t track them down in the United States fast enough, but one of our bright analysts in the area had the foresight to look at Pakistan arrivals as well as India. The bastards have dropped into Islamabad.

  Steve, I want you to track them down. I want you to squeeze them for every iota of information they possess. I don’t care how you do it or what you do it with. I need you to get the information that takes their entire organisation down. You know they killed Jane Morris, my press secretary and that great CIA guy, Jack Reagan. They also got two Security men and an old Press hack I’ve known for years called Richard Beswick. They also got Trevor Mole one of the Special Forces, one of the bravest men we had.

  In your virtual possession as of now is a Presidential Warrant which means that you can commandeer any United States citizen, civilian or military, regardless of rank and where they are in the world to do anything or supply anything that you want or need without hindrance. You use that exalted power to get those bastards and screw them to the floor. Steve, get us that information, kill as many as you can along the way. I’ve just about had enough with these pussy footed jerks on the Hill. They can lick my ass.’

  Steve had never heard the president so angry or emotional. ‘Sir, you can count on me and my people’

  ‘Steve I knew that or I wouldn’t have called you. If anybody gets in your way, punch their lights out and let me know who they are, okay?’

  Steve laughed, ‘Okay Sir, but do you mind if it’s not golf next time we meet.’

  This time the president laughed, ‘Be off with you. Take care. The bill comes to me Okay? And yes you can choose next time we meet. Good luck, and Steve, make this our reprisal.’ and with that the president disconnected.

  Steve smiled briefly and mouthed silently, ‘yes, this will be our Reprisal in Black.’

  He took a moment to take it all in, the enormity of the job. That mind blowing responsibility. Would he have problems convincing the team? When he looked around at their previously dozing or sleeping forms, they were all sat up and alert.

  Jean said, ‘Was that the president?’

  Steve nodded. ‘I think you’d better listen to me very carefully.’ Steve then described what the president had said and explained how angry and emotional he was. He explained the overall job and when he mentioned the Presidential Warrant they nearly fell off their seats.

  Jean smiled and said ‘Does that mean I can get my hair done on the president?’

  Steve looked at her sternly and said ‘If we accomplish what he wants, what we all want, I don’t suppose he’ll mind if he pays for your fanny hair to be plaited.’

  Jean squealed with laughter. They’d all woken up and realised what was needed to be done and how important it was. The mission was on and they were all on board.

  Steve walked down the aisle of the Gulfstream towards the cockpit. He knocked and entered.

  ‘Slight change of plan boys, where are we now?’

  ‘An hour or so east of Gibraltar’ said the Captain.

  Steve thought for a moment, ‘Where can you refuel en route to Islamabad?’

  The Captain thought for a moment, ‘Cyprus is probably the quickest as it’s directly on the way, no detours, and we won’t have any trouble getting the gas there will we?

  ‘How long to Cyprus and then how long to Islamabad or Peshawar?’

  The Captain said ‘If we turn around now we’ll make Cyprus in a little under three hours, half an hour to refuel, and then about four hours to Islamabad. We should change crew in Cyprus, is that okay?

  ‘Yes’ said Steve, ‘do what you have to do. Please arrange it in advance so we don’t have a delay.’

  The Captain and his co-pilot started immediately on the revised plans. Steve went back to the rest of the team who were already strategizing.

  ‘We’re going to Cyprus to refuel and change crew and then onto Islamabad or Peshawar. It should take about seven and a half hours in total. I’ve told them to hit the gas. Right, I need to get onto the CIA station chief in Islamabad first. Can you guys make a list of all the gear we need, you know vehicles, weapons, ammo, clothes, food, accommodation, the whole nine yards. No expense spared, we ain’t going to be paying for any of this and we need the best
stuff available.’

  Steve got the Station Chief’s number from the secure site and called. The number rang for a full minute before being answered.

  ‘Who is this?’ asked the voice on the other end.

  ‘This is Steve Black on a special mission for the president. You listen and you listen carefully. We are a Black Ops team of four people. We are on our way to find the two Indian guys who nearly succeeded in fucking up our president. I need you to organise us some facilities. Believe me this overrides any other work you have to do. If you can’t understand that you can explain to the president himself as he hangs your sorry ass out to dry. Are you with me?’

  ‘Loud and clear, you’ll have no problems with us.’

  ‘Okay, please find us a big underground cellar out of the way, soundproofed, with running water and electricity. I want a big sink, taps and cleaning stuff. We’ll need a kettle, coffee etc. Please get us two big dentist chairs and nail them to the floor. We’ll also need a flat table like an operating table and an ordinary kitchen table and four chairs, and crockery, cutlery etc. I want a big electric drill and an angle grinder, various surgery items like scalpels.’