Meeting Max

by Richard Brumer

  “At the airport, we will have two trucks, one blue and one white. In addition, we will have one Jeep, two Ambassador Sedans, and one biplane in place. Each truck will carry four men with semi-automatic weapons. The white truck will also contain detonating equipment and explosive material.

  “When the minister arrives, he and his bodyguards are greeted by Jaisalmer police officers at the terminal, and he is usually driven into town using two cars. One is a lead car, and the other follows behind with the minister. The lead car is driven by a police officer who will be accompanied by a national security officer. The second sedan is also driven by a police officer, with the defense minister seated in the rear seat with a national security officer on each side of him.

  “Both cars will depart the airport on the only exit road into Jaisalmer. At a specific point, we will detonate an explosive device under the lead car, destroying it and leaving it in flames. The second car will then be attacked by our men in the blue truck and from snipers on the roof of the terminal.

  “They will kill everyone except the defense minister. Then, Basant and Prabahakar, whom you all know, dressed as police officers, will pull up to the second car in the Jeep. They will tell the minister he will be taken to safety and assure him that he will be protected. They will put him on the biplane, whose engines will be running and ready for takeoff, and he will be flown to Lahore.” Kamran paused briefly. “I know that was a great deal of information. You must have questions.”

  Tariq raised his hand. “Sir, would you explain the details of how we arranged for these explosions?”

  “A good question, my friend. Ali is in charge of that. He was personally trained by a military bomb expert from the United States and was a member of the SSG, an independent commando division of the Pakistan army. He has ten years of experience and can make bombs that are nearly impossible to disarm. He will lay the explosives on the road leading out of the airport two nights before, and they will be detonated remotely from our team in the white truck when the lead car is at the correct point.

  “At the same time, our electronics team and demolition experts, headed by Nasim and assisted by Raj, whom are not with us today, will already be in the town of Jaisalmer. They will create an accident by crashing a car with explosives from the top of a hill into the power station. Jaisalmer will be without power. In addition, this team will jam any remaining wireless signals in police stations and the airport.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Tariq said.

  Kamran pointed to Jassu. “Yes, Jassu?”

  “Sir, the police stations have backup generators for power and communication.”

  “That is true. Previously planted C4 explosives will disable the main police station backup generators. If we do not have enough C4, we will contaminate the generator’s gas tanks so that the fuel will be unusable, making it impossible to restore electrical power. The explosions and fires surrounding the several police stations, in the midst of a major power outage, will confuse the police even more. There will be no power anywhere in Jaisalmer or at the airport.

  “Mobile phones are sophisticated radios that require power to operate. With the generators disabled, no one will be able to communicate in any way except us. We will switch to our two-meter ham rigs for our communication, using an antenna previously placed at a high point in town. Only we will have power.” Kamran smiled triumphantly. “It is not unusual to lose electrical power. It happens every day, so it would never appear as an odd occurrence to the people in town. They are accustomed to it.”

  Elena excused herself and went to the bathroom as Kamran temporarily stopped the briefing to wait for her to return.

  She stood in front of a mirror, her body shaking and her face dripping with perspiration. She rinsed her face with cold water and looked up at the mirror. Her mouth was clenched so tightly she couldn’t see her lips.

  This is not happening. Tears fell along her cheeks. Damn, this is not my cause! This is not about carrying a sign or getting people to sign petitions. This is dangerous. Innocent people will be killed. I could be killed. There’s no way out...none.

  She moved her face closer to the mirror and started to apply lipstick using her lip brush. She kept her pinky on her chin to steady her hand, but her fingers trembled and she soon found red lipstick on her teeth. She sat down on a stool, cried, and waited. She took a deep breath, cleaned her teeth, and went back to the briefing.

  “Welcome back,” Kamran said. “Just in time for tea.”

  Everyone took a break and talked amongst themselves as Kamran poured the tea and served it. A half hour later, the meeting continued.

  Jassu leaned forward. “Sir, how will we know if the minister’s plane will leave on time? Everything is planned around his arrival time.”

  Kamran answered in a quiet tone. “Thank you for your insightful observation, my friend. Our man in Delhi will contact us and provide exact details of the departure and estimated arrival time. He will also tell us the number of uniformed national security guards on board.”

  Elena raised her hand halfway. “Kamran, my understanding is that the airport is also a military base, and even though it will be understaffed this time of year, there will be Indian Air Forces present and possibly some fighter aircraft. Has this been taken into consideration?”

  “Indeed, Elena. Thank you for your input, as always. There will be no more than two IAF fighter aircraft about a mile from the terminal. If there were more, we could not undertake our plan with the assurance we will succeed. Unfortunately, it is not possible to disable the electrical and communication capabilities of the military aircraft. Their power and navigation systems are too sophisticated and cannot be defeated. Also, we cannot get too close to the planes the night before. Even with forged Air Force IDs, it would be too risky.”

  Kamran continued. “We have resorted to a simple, low tech course of action. Just before we take the defense minister, we will disable the fighters by shooting holes in their fuselages from a distance with sniper rifles. These special rifles will use bullets that incorporate a self-guidance system, allowing them to hit the fuel tanks or a person in the cockpit from up to a mile away with amazing accuracy.

  “We have six of these rifles. They take four-inch bullets, which have optical sensors in the nose and fins mounted toward the rear of the casing to detect the objective. The bullet stays straight and can correct its trajectory up to fifty times along its way. A friend, sympathetic to our cause, has taken the technology from the United States. We can only hope and pray to Allah that the fighter planes will not be an obstacle.”

  Elena listened intently with mixed feelings. She didn’t want to be part of this action. She chastised herself for her bad judgment. She was terrified. She stayed deep in thought until Kamran spoke.

  “Are you feeling all right, Elena? Your face is so drawn and white.”

  “Yes. I’m filled with excitement for the plan,” Elena answered, forcing a smile. “And maybe a little nervous.”

  “That is natural, my dear. Do not be alarmed,” Kamran said, looking at her with outstretched arms. “That feeling is in all of us. Do you have any other questions? Please ask about anything that is in your mind.”

  Elena shook her head and remained silent.

  Tariq raised his hand. “Why don’t we take the minister after he gets to town, kill the security guards, hold him in a safe house, and negotiate from there?”

  “We considered a snatch and grab operation like that. The problem with taking him in the town of Jaisalmer complicates the operation. His security guards would be close, and the crowds of people in the town surrounding him would make it impossible to do a snatch and grab. Taking him at the airport mnakes it easier to kill his guards and it is why we chose to take him at the airport.”

  “Achchaa,” Elena said with a smile, using one of the Indian expressions she knew. “That sounds good, Kamran, but one thing nags at me. How does our biplane get to the airport in the first place?”

  “Yes, it is a go
od question. We have thought it through very carefully. Tariq will fly it there a few days earlier. He will call ahead to say that he needs to land because of mechanical failure. Since there is no other airport in the immediate area, he will be allowed to land.

  “Tariq, an Indian by birth, is quite well-known as a trusted private pilot and will be well-received. In addition, we have paid people in the right places to ensure that his landing will be allowed and the biplane will be left alone to get its ‘repairs.’

  “After landing, Tariq will mechanically compromise the aircraft in such a way so that it appears unsound, but leaving it as an easy fix. The plane will be partially tarped, tools will be exposed, and we have a plan in place in the unlikely event that the biplane is not useable. It involves contacting our alliance force to have a helicopter take us out, which is a last resort.”

  “What if the biplane is no longer allowed to stay, or is asked to be removed?” Jassu asked.

  “That is possible, but unlikely. Tariq is known to have done favors for others. Enough people have been paid to look away, but in the event that it happens, as I said, we have a helicopter on standby. You also have to understand that our attack force is well-trained and can switch to a new scenario when necessary. Their training will make our plan work.”

  Elena squirmed in her seat. She caught a tear with a tissue before it ran down her face. “I’m new at this, Kamran. Can you tell us something about the background of our attack force and what they will do?”

  “Yes, it is not a problem,” Kamran said with a shrug. “Ali and his next-in-line are highly skilled infantry officers and communications experts, both ex-Indian army who are sympathetic to our cause. They will coordinate the timing and contact the rest of the force if we have to delay or advance some part of our mission. We are paying both these mercenaries extra money so they can help their families, and in one case, we will arrange for a dowry for one of their daughters.”

  “A substantial dowry usually guarantees that the marriage will take place,” Jassu said, laughing.

  “It always helps,” Kamran said with a wry smile. “Our teams have worked as a unit for two years. They are comfortable together and have good cohesion. They have standard communication equipment, short wave radios, covert headset communication, two long-range radios, disposable cell phones, and several two-meter ham rigs. As I said previously, a two-meter antenna has been set up covertly at a high spot in Jaisalmer.”

  “You have thought of everything. Anything else we should know?” Elena asked.

  “Well, I am sure not everything, but I think we can deal with whatever comes at us. Let me recap. Basant and Prabaker, dressed as police, will man the Jeep and head toward the defense minister’s car after the lead car is destroyed. When the minister sees the ‘police’ arriving, it will give him a sense of security and make him feel he is safe.

  “Our men in the trucks and snipers on the roof of the terminal will be responsible for killing the Jaisalmer police officers, as well as the minister’s bodyguards. If one of our men goes down, the next man steps in, and so on. This team also has backup in both trucks and is committed to helping our wounded as a first priority.

  “The defense minister will be rushed to the biplane while the power is out in Jaisalmer. Snipers will shoot holes in the fuselage of the IAF fighter planes, putting them in flames. Only we will know what is really happening.”

  “Do we have men in the terminal at the airport as well?” Elena asked weakly.

  “Excellent question and important,” Kamran said, raising both fists. “We will create a state of confusion by using misdirection tactics in the terminal, causing any first responders to look elsewhere. Two men of our attack team, dressed as passengers, will argue with each other and start a fistfight while standing in line in the terminal. Two other men in another part of the terminal will detonate diversionary flash bangs, which will keep everyone in the airport hiding and unable to see what is going on outside.

  “Our team will remove the tarp covering part of the biplane and Abdul-Aleem will pilot the plane, since he is the only one of the team who has clearance to enter Pakistan air space. The plane will have IAF insignia and water landing capability.

  “Elena will stay with the minister on the plane to calm him and make him feel safe, then she will leave under the protection of two of our commandos. Nasim, Raj, and their team will remain in a safe house in Jaisalmer until a later time. Our diversionary force in the terminal, all with properly forged ID, will then dissolve into the crowd. I will not go along in the biplane and will coordinate the mission from outside the terminal, dressed in an IAF uniform.”

  “What else can you tell us about the equipment we will be using?” Tariq asked.

  Kamran went over all of their weapons, ammunition, and vehicles. Elena let her mind drift as he spoke. She was beginning to panic and pressed her nails into her palms while she waited for the meeting to end.

  “We have twenty pounds of homemade plastic and five pounds of C4,” Kamran said.. “Tariq has strong connections with airport personnel. Please, Tariq, tell the others what you have done with respect to the biplane.”

  “Thank you, sir. I have already arranged for our biplane to be left on the side of the runway in a takeoff position.”

  Elena raised her hand and looked at Tariq. “The scheme seems to rest on the assumption that you are well-known and it’s believed that the plane is yours. Can this be counted upon?”

  “It is a given,” Tariq replied.

  Kamran nodded firmly. “We have planned this operation for over a year. It has required intel, financing, training, and a support network to aid the attack team.”

  Emotionally exhausted, Elena leaned back in her seat.

  “When our men take the minister from the car, it will be close to the terminal, where there are still police.”

  “Jassu, that is a very important point and something I should have mentioned. On arrival, the defense minister’s plane will be directed to a preselected place on the airstrip by a ground marshaller who will radio the pilot and advise him that, for security reasons, the plane is required to exit its passengers at a different point some distance from the terminal. The aircraft will be isolated.”

  “And how do we know the grand marshaller, who will be directing the plane after it lands, will do as we say?”

  “He has already been rewarded with half the money we promised him.”

  They listened attentively as Kamran continued to describe more details of the plan. Everything had to be perfect. Elena feared something would go wrong despite all the planning. She wanted to turn and run, but knew she couldn’t back out. There was only one way they would let her leave, and that was if they killed her. She swallowed and gritted her teeth.

  “Okay, the plan works and we have our man. What next?” Jassu asked.

  “We will send a high speed express post to the homes of the prime minister and to the security minister. We will ask for the release of one hundred and thirty-five Pakistani prisoners who are being unjustly held in Indian prisons, some of them women and children.”

  “Kamran, I know they will respond and use their tactics to find the defense minister,” Elena began, “but maybe we should have a plan in the event they ignore us.”

  “We do have such a plan, but I believe the government will respond. If there is no response to our messages, or a negotiation does not take place in a reasonable time, we will do something else.”

  “Like what?” Elena asked.

  “We will send the defense minister’s finger to his family with his official government ring attached. They will have twenty-four hours to respond.”

  Elena’s stomach turned and bile rose in her throat. She forced it back, hoping she appeared like the rest of them, unfeeling and determined to fight for the cause regardless of the price.

  “And if they don’t respond?” Jassu asked.

  “Simple. We kill the minister and send a note to the government letting them know where the
y can find his body.”

  “Where does that leave us?” Elena asked.

  “It leaves us in a very good position. On the morning we kill the defense minister, we already have a team in place in Delhi to kidnap the Indian ambassador to the United Nations and take him into custody. A letter will be pinned to the body of the dead defense minister stating that we have kidnapped the UN Ambassador, and if there is no compliance, our next target will be the prime minister and he will not be able to be protected.”

  Everyone sat in silence for a moment.

  “I’d like to know more about my role,” Elena said.

  “Your role will be completed after the defense minister is taken. Your job will be to keep him calm and assure him he won’t be hurt. You will then be free to go. That is all there is to it.” He smiled in an almost fatherly manner and patted Elena’s hand. “We will help you with your arrangements to fly anywhere in the world and give you significant spending money to enjoy the luxuries you desire for the rest of your life.”

  She nodded. “It’s a risky undertaking, but it seems to be well thought out. Still, anything can happen. It’s not a perfect plan.”

  “The enemy of a good plan is the search for a perfect plan, my dear.”

  “I hope there are no casualties or deaths on our side.”

  “Yes, praise God,” Jassu replied, glancing upward.

  “Allah is on our side. He will protect us,” Tariq said, his hands pressed together in front of his mouth.

  “Kamran, this is your first combat mission where you will actively participate. Are you afraid of dying?” Elena asked.

  “How could I be afraid of something I have never experienced? I learned not to fear death a long time ago, when I was a literature scholar. I read some of the writings of an ancient Greek philosopher who lived a few hundred years before your Christ. The philosopher was Epicurus and he wrote Death is Nothing to Us, in which he explains that we should not fear death because we have not experienced it.”