by D. E. Daum
The offices of “The Hand” were within a standard two-story storefront in a area that had neighborhood storefronts and multiple family dwellings, with a mixture of churches and a couple of schools thrown in. The offices consisted of a large open reception area and four satellite offices on the first floor and four two-room suites on the second. The suites were accessible from outside as well as from within. All totaled, the building contained some five thousand square feet.
Fortunately, everyone in the office spoke English, which made things easier for him, especially since two of the staff didn’t speak Arabic. He didn’t think anyone in the charity had any knowledge of the alternate purpose of The Hand of Allah. At least that’s what Suhar had intimated, but he wondered about Ali Kaba. He certainly looked the part of a terrorist. He was going to have to get Starbird to pull a file on him ASAP. When Rayya and he left for lunch, he’d give Jane a call.
“Am I glad you finally got here!” Rayya sighed. “Ali Kaba has been overly friendly toward me since I started here. I read his file and he’s a real creep.”
“Yeah, he seems like a weasel. So, you’ve seen a file on him. What did it say?”
Rayya shook her shoulders in disgust as if she had a chill. “I think weasel is too kind a term. He was born thirty-six years ago in Khartoum, Sudan, to a prostitute. The father was unknown, but was probably an Occidental because of Ali’s blue eyes. He had a rough childhood because he was considered impure. He’s not very big, but he’s tough as nails and was always fighting. His mother died of AIDS about twenty years ago, so he has no family. He joined a radical mosque in Khartoum and soon became a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, eventually moving to Bengazi, Libya, then Alexandria, Egypt where he became an enforcer for the Brotherhood. He was also used as an assassin and has been involved in terrorist attacks. There was a moderate wing forming within the Brotherhood, and Ali Kaba supposedly killed all of them at the behest of his mentor. Allegedly, he participated in two attacks on tourists visiting Giza and Qahira. He then—.”
That sounds familiar. “Wait, hold on,” Kelly interrupted. “Was his mentor Khalid Assad, aka ‘White Cobra’?”
Rayya’s eyebrows rose as she quirked her head to the side. “Yes, how did you know?”
Kelly explained, “I got a lowdown on Khalid from Jeff Wiggins after one of his men, a boy actually, tried to kill me on my way home from the mosque in Riyadh . I found out Khalid had been involved in two attacks on Western tourists in Egypt. It was too much of a coincidence. Therefore, Ali Kaba must be Khalid’s man.”
Kelly smiled and continued, “Anyway, how long have you been ensconced in this bogus charity?”
Rayya got serious. “Actually, it’s not totally bogus. To keep a veneer of respectability they do perform charitable work. I’ve been here four weeks. A few days after I got back to Durango, I was sent here.”
“How did you manage to get hired so easily?”
“I simply applied from a Help Wanted ad in the paper. Apparently, there’s been quite a turnover lately. Ali Kaba was impressed with my credentials and hired me on the spot.”
“Well, that was a great break for me,” said Kelly. “Haman will be pleased to see you.”
Rayya’s face lit up, “Haman is here in London?”
“Yeah, he’s my bodyguard. He saved my life in that assassination attempt. He’s keeping an eye on my wife until I can get a bodyguard for her.”
A flush came over Rayya. “You have a wife? You never mentioned that.”
Kelly was contrite. “I know. You do know I had amnesia. I did not remember anything at first and there are still large gaps. One of the things that’s going to help our mission is that in the explosion, I died and was resuscitated, which leads some to think I’m Allah’s ‘Chosen One,’ sent back to fulfill his will on Earth. Not surprisingly, many think Allah’s will mirrors their own radical vision.”
Rayya apparently was going to let the Wyoming episode slide. “That’s nothing new. Many Islamic men have attributed the suppressive treatment of women to Allah’s will, when in fact there is little or no basis. For instance, veiling. There is only one or two passing references to veiling in the Qur’an. Everybody tends to forget that in the early days living in the desert, Arabs veiled to keep swirling sand out of their eyes, nose, and mouth, men and women alike, not for modesty!” Rayya added, “Perhaps as the disseminator of Allah’s will on Earth, you could usher in a little reform on women’s rights.”
He didn’t respond right away. When he did, he said, “You know, I would like to do something, but that’s not exactly my job. I don’t need to anger any more radicals and have them try to kill me, but if I can tilt things a little with a discreet word, who knows? I actually got Suhar to back off his witch hunt of Mariam by saying Allah told me he had plans for her.”
“Mariam?” asked Rayya.
Kelly beamed like the newlywed he almost was. “My wife. You’ll meet her and I think you’ll like her. You’re a bit like sisters at heart. That’s probably why I like both of you so much. Let’s move on, we can’t stay at lunch forever. Brief me on Peabody.”
Rayya acted as if she just remembered something important. “Oh, didn’t you know? Peabody is a plant as well. He works for MI-6. You know the English are quite concerned about terrorists, especially after those subway attacks a couple of years ago. They have such a large Muslim population in the U.K.”
“Isn’t using an Anglo a little obvious for under cover?”
“Yes and no. From what I understand, Eldon is very good at fund raising and he is a Muslim convert.”
“I hope you’re right. By the way, did you know we have a listening post next door?”
“That abandoned building on the corner? That’s cool. It could be a safe haven if we need one.”
“I hope Starbird and her bosses can figure out a way that we can curb extremist activities without pointing a finger back to us. The extremists may be crazy, but they’re not stupid. If bad things keep happening on my watch, trouble will eventually come home to roost. We need to have some foolproof way to defuse the attacks, without raising suspicion.”
Just then, his satellite phone rang. After he answered, Jane asked, “Can you talk?”
Through a huge grin, I said, “Sure, I‘m having a long lunch with my girlfriend, Rayya. Plotting strategy. Why didn’t you tell me she was going to be here?”
“I thought I was your girlfriend. Rayya’s too sweet for you. Besides you’re married.”
“You forget I’m Muslim. I can take up to four wives. You want to get married?” He replied, a smug look forming on his face.
“Heck, why only four? Mohammed had seventeen, and he was only a prophet. You, on the other hand are The Right Hand of Allah. It seems like you should be able to have at least a hundred wives. Just remember you can only bed one at a time.” Jane was in a teasing mood.
Kelly thought for a moment. “Very funny. You could be wife number two and Rayya number three and the Spice Girls could be four through eight. Let’s see, that’s eight. I don’t know if I can make it to a hundred. I might have to settle for you three,” cracked Kelly.
Rayya jumped in, “Hey, don’t I get a say in this? I left Arabia because I didn’t want to be someone’s number-something possession. When I marry, it’s going to be one man for love, forever!”
“Did you hear that? Looks like it’s back to the two of us. You game?”
Jane got serious. “Mighty tempting, Baby, but one wife’s all you’re allowed. Too much exposure with multiple wives. However, girlfriends are another matter, but that’s not why I called. We have the field op-center set up now. We need to do some serious brainstorming. Can you come by this afternoon?”
“Sure, that would be the bungalow?”
“Yes,” confirmed Jane.
“OK, fine. Two more things. Did you know that Ali Kaba works for Khalid Assad? And, I’m going to need a bodyguard for Mariam.”
“Actually, no. We’ll talk about it when you get here,
lover. About the bodyguard also, okay? Make sure you’re not followed and use the back entrance.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you around three. Cheers!” I turned to Rayya. “We’d better be getting back. Do you want to go to the meeting, too?”
Rayya was anxious to attend “I do, but I don’t get off until 4:30.”
“That’s all right, we’re going to be brainstorming. We can recap when you get there.” He wrote the address on a paper napkin and handed it to her before they left, taking the two-block walk back to the office.
Chapter 2
Rulan had been waiting a long time. What are they doing in there? They arrived at the restaurant at 12:06, and it was now 1:58. What is taking them so long? They finished eating over an hour ago. Five minutes later, his quarry came out. Rulan followed them from two hundred feet back. They were heading in the direction of the office. He grabbed his cellular phone and called for information.
* * * *
The rumpled street person started to tail the man and woman after they left the restaurant, then he noticed he had company. A Middle Eastern type, in western jeans and a blue sweatshirt was also tailing them. He seemed familiar. The second man wondered why this operator, known to be a terrorist, was being followed by another he suspected was a terrorist. Something strange was going on. It’s a good thing that Ephrem had sent him out here. Mordecai used his cell phone to call for instructions and to send the picture he had taken of Saleem’s tail with his camera phone.
* * * *
Back at the office, Kelly asked to see Eldon. When Eldon walked in, he showed him a tablet with something written on it. Can we talk? Are there any bugs here? Eldon smiled and said, “Only ours and yours.”
He smiled back. “So you know I’m with the Company? What can you tell me about the staff? How many are legit?”
“As far as I can determine they’re all peons working for peanuts, except for your assistant, Ali Kaba, and I don’t think he’s with The Sword. Maybe he’s with the Muslim Brotherhood. He’s a crotchety sort. I think he doesn’t like anybody, especially you, Mr. Chosen One.”
“I’m not winning any popularity contests among the crazies. I think he’s connected to Free Arabia. How did he get hired? Has he been here long?”
“I don’t know. He was here when I got here five months ago. The Hand had a much bigger staff at the time, probably fourteen people. Ali Kaba ran off half of them.”
Remembering what Rayya had said about the large turnover, he now knew how she was hired so easily. Ali Kaba needed bodies to replace the staff he’d run off. “Well, somebody put him here, and I doubt it was my benefactor. Tell ma, how does The Hand work? Give me a rundown of what you know.”
“It’s a consortium of charities, which are supported by terrorist organizations. There is a board of directors who set policy. They probably appointed Ali Kaba. However, your Suhar apparently had the right to replace him since you’re now in charge. Anyway, as far as I can determine, most of the major terrorist organizations are represented here: The Sword of Allah, Islamic Jihad, ‘Hezbollah, Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood and the current king of the hill, Al Qaeda. I think the charity is a bit in disarray right now, thanks to the former administrator, now deputy administrator. It seems the present plan is to turn this into some kind of clearing house for international terrorism, behind the cover of charity.”
“I’m surprised these organizations can work together, since they’re mostly belligerents. What do you mean by current ‘king of the hill’? Does that mean they are the lead organization?”
Eldon shook his head. “It’s more like a loose federation than an organized cartel. As for Al Qaeda being the king of the hill, simply put, they have pulled off the greatest terrorist event to date. All the other groups are jealous of Al Qaeda and aspire to match or beat that. What a great world, huh? Where these idiots’ greatest claim to fame is body count and how much they have destroyed. I wish we could take all the misanthropic terrorists of the world and put them in a cage with all the serial killers and the pedophiles and let them have at it.”
Kelly smiled as a vision of Eldon’s scenario flashed in his mind. “That’s wishful thinking. I understand you are a believer, or did you convert for undercover work?”
“Well, Saleem. May I call you Saleem?” I nodded. “I am a true believer. I converted to Islam seven years ago. I went undercover a couple of years later, when I became dismayed at the direction some clergy were taking their members. I believe in the faith, but I have lost confidence in many of the convoluted ideas put forth by the fundamentalist, extremist clerics. Ours is a religion in chaos. As you know, radical elements are trying to hijack our religion, right under the noses of all of Islam, for their own evil intentions. I suspect the purpose is to attain increased power, like the theocracy in Iran. Almost all Islamic countries are poor and backwater. In these countries, most of the faithful are ignorant and disenfranchised. They are easy pickings for a sharp-tongued imam or ayatollah. Most of these unfortunates have little or no education. What little they do have is probably restricted to studying the Qur’an. You cannot make a living on your knowledge of the Qur’an. Millions of young Muslims are ill-prepared for the modern world, so they turn to religion for the answers, and the extremists are courting them and turning them into an army of chaos.”
Kelly had to admit, Eldon was right. “I agree, I’d like to hear more, but I have an appointment I must attend. Tell me, the mosque you belong to, is it a normal one and is it near?”
“It is both normal and near. Why?”
“I would like to visit it, if you don’t mind. My sponsor, Suhar, now thinks I’m above praying since I’m carrying out Allah’s wishes. I might have some things I would like to say to the membership. Are the services in English or Arabic?”
Eldon was clearly pleased. “They actually have a service in each, Arabic on the odd hour and English on the even hour. I attend the English version since I have yet to learn Arabic. If you go, I’ll see you there.”
Kelly excused himself. As he was leaving, he winked and whispered to Rayya, “I’ll see you at the meeting,” as he headed for the entrance.
* * * *
Mordecai watched Saleem leave his office and walk purposefully along the street. He walked past the Arab tail, who was sitting on a bus stop bench. Saleem went directly into a jewelry shop on the corner. The tail stayed where he was. Mordecai suspected that something was going on. He walked around the corner, where he saw Saleem coming out of the alley at a brisk pace, headed in the opposite direction. He figured Saleem had made his tail and didn’t think there could be a second, but he was still very careful not to be observed. He followed Saleem for a half dozen blocks, when he turned and jogged up the stairs and into a flat. As he walked in, Mordecai noticed a man stepping halfway outside and looking around, then going inside and shutting the door. Mordecai scratched his head and wondered what was going on, for he recognized the man on the porch as a CIA operative named Evans.
* * * *
When he walked in Kelly observed at least a half-dozen workers. Jane hugged and introduced him to a young man named Jimmy, who as he found out was a cyber wiz. After the introduction, Jane led both of them to a room with a large round table. “Go on in. I’ll be right back.”
The room was large, perhaps four meters by six meters (thirteen feet by nineteen feet). The table was about two meters (six and a half feet) in diameter and had six chairs around. It was located in the center of the room, with six chairs lined up along one of the short walls and a buffet with a drink dispenser and assorted pastries. Above the buffet was a blank screen. The long wall opposite the door had a large map of London, a map of the British Isles, and a map of the world on it. Each map was about two meters square, and as Kelly walked into the room and sat down, he noticed a large map of the United States and smaller maps of Israel, France, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Japan. Above the row of chairs were three smaller maps, one of Rome, one of New York City, and one of Paris.
When Ja
ne came back, Evans and Jane’s boss, Colonel Richard Dickens accompanied her. Following Dickens were two alumni of the Wyoming escapade, Professor Denalli and Dr. Bingham. Everyone took a seat around the table except Evans, who stood by the door.
Jane opened the meeting by announcing it would be video recorded. Kelly couldn’t see any recording equipment but didn’t doubt her. She added that they’d analyzed his video and that of the eight separate terrorist events outlined, only in two cases had they determined what was planned. Jane handed out a sheet to everyone. Kelly perused his copy. It listed nine planned terrorist attacks and what was known about each event:
