by Bryan Murray
The Pilot was already in pursuit of Akeem’s chopper at a discreet distance. “Already on my way, sir.” he replied.
Back inside the turbine building, the Mossad bomb squad were already opening the crate on the ground and Jake and Sarah were relieved when the technician told Joseph that the bomb was armed, but the timer had not been set, as they proceeded to de-activate the device.
Sarah was being attended to by the medics as Jake and Joseph stood over the bomb squad guy. “Is it disarmed?’ Jake asked.
The Technician replied. “Yes, looks like a delayed timer mechanism. Thank goodness they weren’t able to set the timer. This could have taken out half the power plant and put the whole of downtown Jerusalem in the dark!”
Joseph went back on the intercom. “Come in chopper, where are they now?”
The Pilot came back on the line. “They’re heading for the foothills outside the city, sir.”
Joseph replied. “Okay, whatever you do, don’t get spotted and don’t lose them.”
The Pilot came back. “Yes, sir.”
Joseph continued. “Stay in touch and I’ll patch in local support for you.”
The two choppers continued towards the golden sunset and the foothills silhouetted in the distance. Inside Akeem’s chopper, the pilot glanced over his shoulder and his expression suddenly changed when he saw the setting sun reflected on the Mossad chopper in pursuit. He nudged Akeem to look behind them. When the terrorist saw the chopper, he quickly scrambled in the back and grabbed a hand-held rocket launcher before sliding the door open.
In the Mossad chopper behind them, the Pilot saw the movement ahead and using his binoculars, he could now see Akeem standing in the doorway taking aim with the rocket launcher.
He got on the intercom immediately. “Chopper to base, come in urgently!”
Joseph came on the line instantly. “Go ahead, chopper?”
The Pilot had a look of fear in his eyes. “We’ve got a problem, sir,”
Joseph was anxious. “What kind of a problem?”
The Pilot’s voice was loaded with panic. “They’ve got a rocket laun.....” the words died in his mouth as up ahead Akeem launched the rocket that took out the Mossad chopper in a blinding flash.
Back in the power plant, Joseph was expecting the worst as the Pilot’s voice suddenly ended and a crackling noise came on the line. Joseph screamed into the intercom. “Chopper come in! Chopper can you hear me?”
In the doorway of Akeem’s chopper, he looked back to see the burning debris of the Mossad chopper as it fell from the sky. He flapped his fingers up and down on one hand as if to say goodbye to the chopper, before closing the door as the lone chopper flew on towards the distant mountains.
Jake, Sarah and Joseph were in shock. Jake was the first to speak. “My God! The bastards took out our chopper, and now we haven’t a clue where they’re heading.”
Sarah was disappointed, this had not been a good day for her. “And now we’re back to square one, damn!”
Jake looked at her pensively. “What are you thinking?” She thought for a second. “I’m thinking that those guys had a well-trained team in the power plant. Where the heck did those extra three armed men come from? We need to do a detailed check on all the corpses, Joseph?”
Joseph nodded. “Already under way.”
Shocked power plant staff looked on as the bodies of their three dead colleagues and Akeem’s men were being removed by the Mossad squad for further identification.
Jake turned to Sarah. “I’m amazed they didn’t try to arm the bomb before they made a run for it?”
She nodded. “I’ve been thinking the same thing and the reasoning scares me!”
Jake looked curious. “I’m listening?”
She shrugged. “Maybe I’m wrong, but perhaps the reason is they were saving themselves for bigger things! But what?”
Jake continued to follow her line of thinking. “Or maybe they were only setting the bomb in place and expecting someone else to set the delayed timer later. But why?”
CHAPTER 31
In the White House, President Parker and his chief-of-staff John Mulroney, were waiting to greet their guest David Mischner as the Israeli Prime Minister was ushered into the oval office. Mischner and Parker greeted each other like the old friends and allies that they were. The President was the first to speak. “Good to see you again, Prime Minister,” he introduced Mulroney. “You’ve met my chief-of-staff John Mulroney?”
Mischner nodded and shook both men’s hands. “Nice to see you again, Mr. President and you too Mr. Mulroney, I only wish it were under more pleasant circumstances!”
“Exactly,” the President began. “Your economy seems to be under some strain, Prime Minister and I wish we could be of more help.”
Mischner gave a wry smile. “Well, gentlemen, any help you can give us from here in the US will be appreciated as always, and I would like to add how impressed we are with the two US consultants we have helping us in these unfortunate days.”
Parker nodded. “Yes, they are both top operatives and they are equally impressed with your Mossad agents who are working alongside them.”
A presidential aide brought in coffee and refreshments and the three men settled down to their planned discussion. Parker took a sip of his coffee and continued. “So, where do you want to begin, Prime Minister?”
Mischner thought a moment. “Well, as you can see on a daily basis, gentlemen, the New Shekel is at an all-time low in international currency markets, our overseas asset base is dwindling daily and the share prices of the top Israeli companies, whose executives were killed in the attacks, as well as those companies directly hit by terrorist activity, like the airline and the rail system, are also at an all-time low.”
Parker and Mulroney where both sympathetic. “That is terrible, David.” Parker replied.
Mischner continued. “In addition to that I’ve just been informed that rocket attacks from Hamas in Gaza have hit Israeli settlements this morning with twenty adults and fifteen children killed!” Israel’s current ‘Iron Dome’ air defense system had been a major game changer in the ongoing conflict with Hamas on the Gaza Strip and over ninety per cent of the incoming rockets from Hamas were consistently being taken out by the high-tech defense system, but regrettably the ones that still got through could create serious havoc among the civilian population.
Mischner continued. “Yesterday, these same terrorists also made an incursion via a tunnel beneath the border and captured two Israel army officers. As if this weren’t bad enough, the Mossad were also successful yesterday in intercepting an Iranian terrorist cell who were attempting to contaminate the Tel Aviv water supply system! As usual, Stephen, we are constantly under attack from all directions,”
Parker and Mulroney listened politely in shock as the Prime Minister continued. “And now, after the cowardly assassination of Dr. Golchen, all foreign diplomats are becoming increasingly nervous to be on Israeli soil!”
Mulroney asked politely. “What about new security measures, Prime Minister?”
Mischner grimaced. “All airports and sea ports are under the highest surveillance, as well as all public places, restaurants, bars, colleges, you name it. Thanks to the help of your two specialists, we almost had the two terrorists in this latest spate of bombings in our hands, but they escaped by chopper, and when we tried to follow them, they blew our Mossad chopper out of the sky with a hand-held rocket launcher!”
Parker was in shock. “Unbelievable!”
Mischner continued. “These are extremely dangerous Arabs with excellent planning, gentlemen.”
Parker was still most sympathetic. “Indeed they are, Prime Minister. I’ll get the heads of the FBI, CIA and the LAPD guys to try and come up with some new angles that may help us to take these people down and please ask your people to keep us up to date with new developments?”
Mischner got up to leave after the brief session. “I will, and thank you again, Mr. President. The last th
ing we need, is for the peace accord signing to be affected. We have all worked too hard for that.”
Parker nodded. “Well, if it helps boost the confidence of the other heads of state, Prime Minister, you can let them all know that I am still planning to attend the signing of the peace accord in Jerusalem!”
Mischner smiled. “Excellent news! I look forward to welcoming you personally. Now, if you will excuse me, gentlemen I need to visit our embassy, or what is left of it. Goodbye, Mr. President, Mr. Mulroney.” they all shook hands as the Prime Minister left.
Parker turned to Mulroney. “John, can you get our teams in the FBI, CIA and the counter-terrorism boys in LA to get their heads together. There’s got to be something else we can do to help these poor Israelis who are under attack at home and abroad!”
Mulroney added. “Of course, Mr. President,” he looked at the President a second longer. “And are you sure about the advisability of you attending this peace accord conference?”
Parker looked him in the eye, determination on his face. “Short of a nuclear bomb dropping on Jerusalem before I get there, you can take it to the bank, John!”
* * *
At the President’s request, the following morning, David Bostwick, the CIA Regional Director and Nick arrived at the local FBI offices to discuss future logistical help for the struggling Israelis. Bostwick, probably as a result of being forewarned on his degree of cooperation, was extremely friendly as the three men started their discussions.
Davies was very much the moderator. “As you can imagine, guys, the visit of the Israeli PM yesterday, was what prompted the request from the President to take another closer look at this unfortunate situation out there.”
Bostwick was sympathetic. “Well, it looks like they can use all the help they can get.”
Nick added. “Ain’t that the truth? If those bastards had taken out the power plant, we could have kissed the peace conference goodbye!”
Davies nodded. “Exactly, so where do we go from here?”
Nick was deep in thought, the old cop in him sizing up the situation. “Ya know,” he began. “Maybe we should be lookin’ at this from another angle.”
Bostwick was curious. “Like what?”
Nick was thinking out loud. “I dunno, I guess it’s the old cop in me, but what’s the real motive here?”
Bostwick was struggling with Nick’s line of reasoning. “I would have thought it was pretty obvious, wouldn’t you. Arabs/Jews, the old, religious battleground from time immemorial!”
Nick wasn’t buying it. “So, you think these terrorists are doing all this shit against Israel in such quick succession, because of religious differences, when these same people are about to sign a peace accord?” he looked inquiringly at Bostwick. “C’mon, Dave, your spooks are in there up to their armpits, is that the feel you get from this?”
Bostwick sighed in partial agreement. “Good point, Nick. I must admit, if there was a target for Muslim aggression, the top of my list would still be us and not the Israelis.”
Nick nodded in agreement. “Exactly, so going back to my initial point, what’s the motivation for these attacks and more important still, who would gain the most from a slump in the Israeli economy?”
Davies was on the same wavelength. “I see where you’re going, Nick, so let’s look at what happened since the airline bombing?”
Nick added. “And the death of the two movie actors, don’t forget that.”
Davies continued. “Right, the film studio’s in chapter eleven, the Air Israel airline stocks and the International Bank stocks are in the toilet, followed quickly by the shares of the rail company!”
Nick added. “And with all the key senior Israeli industrialists killed in the various bombings, my guess is that their company’s shares are also on the downslide!”
Bostwick added. “Yeah, and after the assassination of the Defense Minister, all foreign diplomats are wetting themselves about travelling to Israel!”
The guys were on a roll and remarkably on the same page as Davies continued. “And on top of all this, the New Shekel is at an all-time low. So, if somebody wanted all this to happen, there had to be a motive, and seriously guys, a well-orchestrated, complex plan like this sounds way beyond even the smartest of these various terrorist groups who have surfaced!”
Bostwick held up his hand for attention, he was now on the same line of thinking. “You’re right, Nick. Who’s taking the pickings from all the problems these top organizations are encountering. Who is buying low on their shares, hoping to make a profit down the road?”
Nick nodded. “Yeah, I think I read something the other day about Star of David Productions in some kind of restructuring deal, so somebody in the background must already be kicking in speculative bucks.”
Davies got up to go. “I’m sorry guys, I have to go to another meeting, but let me get our analysts who study the Wall Street scene, to do an in-depth check on all the companies affected by these attacks and what’s happening on the street today. Who’s buying and selling what!”
The other two got up to leave and Bostwick also added his parting shot. “I’ll get our people in Tel Aviv to do the same thing, Peter. Let’s schedule another meeting when we have some feedback. They all shook hands. “Thanks for coming, guys!” Davies added as he escorted them to the door.
* * *
Jake and Sarah were eating breakfast from room service, when the phone rang in Jake’s room. It was Nick calling from LA. “Morning, guys,” he began. “How’s it going?”
Jake was the first to answer. “Still hangin’ in there. We’re checkin’ on who owned the chopper that blew the Mossad chopper out of the sky, the one that the bad guys got away in!”
Nick was supportive. “Good luck with that.”
“What can we do for you, Nick?” Jake asked.
“Well, it’s more like what we may be able to do for you.” Nick replied.
Jake was immediately interested. “We’re listening?”
Nick explained. “The Pres. asked the FBI, CIA and ourselves to get together and see if we could come up with any ideas to help you guys.”
Jake was anxious. “And did you?”
Nick continued. “Well, it all seems to come down to motives.”
Jake interrupted briefly. “That’s what my grandfather said. Carry on, Nick?”
“Exactly!” Nick added. “So, we came up with the approach of trying to find out who could be benefitting from the grief that’s being rained down on the Israeli economy. Who could be buying shares at low prices in all these damaged conglomerates, who have either lost their top execs or suffered direct terrorist attacks?”
Jake was enthused. “That’s a good idea, Nick.”
Nick continued. “It was mine actually. So, the bureau and the agency are putting their Wall Street analysts and IT nerds on the job of checking the investment pattern in all those large companies who took a hit, either directly or indirectly, to see if there may be a pattern forming.”
Jake was very interested. “Excellent, and we can get the Mossad to do the same thing over here and then we can compare notes.”
Nick was upbeat. “No problem. Hang in there, guys, we’ll talk soon.”
“Bye and thanks for the call.” Jake rang off and turned to Sarah. “That was Nick. They’re checking all the data bases on Wall Street activities, to see who may be cashing in on all the problems the big companies are having over here.”
She was also enthused. “Great, we can also do that here and this is Joseph’s specialty. Maybe there are some ‘hidden agendas’ as you call them, behind all this mayhem?”
Jake was thinking. “You know, the thing that’s still bugging me is who could these two bastards be working for, especially the Arab. If he’s been involved in all the attacks, well, at least we know for sure he was involved in the bank bombing, the train bombing and also the death of Daniel, which also puts him at the scene of the embassy bombing and we saw him with our own eyes at the power
plant, so with all these terrorist groups first claiming and then disclaiming responsibility, who’s really paying this jackal?”
Sarah was in agreement. “I don’t know, but he’s certainly a well-organized jackal, with top intel backing him up!” They were joined by Joseph and quickly brought him up to speed on the planned data base checking. He couldn’t wait to get started.
CHAPTER 32
On a clear, starry night in the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, a pick-up pulled up outside a deserted warehouse, just off the desert highway. The driver flashed his headlights twice, the doors of the warehouse opened, the truck drove inside and the doors closed behind it.
Five tough-looking Iraqis stood there, fully armed, as Akeem and the dark-haired guy, the latter carrying a metal briefcase, climbed out of the truck and approached the bench in front of the Iraqis. On the top of the bench, there was a distinctive-looking, heavy metal briefcase. The men shook hands, no words were spoken and as Akeem opened his briefcase to show it was crammed with large currency notes, the Iraqis opened their briefcase to show that it contained a deadly briefcase nuclear device!
The Leader of the Iraqis, a bearded, fierce-looking man, spoke to Akeem in broken English. “Launch code no included!” Akeem nodded that he understood and both men shook hands on the deal as they exchanged briefcases and Akeem and his accomplice climbed back into the pick-up, the guy on the door opened it and they drove out into the night. The entire transaction had taken less than five minutes. Akeem drove along, with the briefcase between himself and his passenger. They looked at each other and ‘high-fived’, an evil grin on their faces.
CHAPTER 33
In the FBI offices in LA, the three senior men had re-convened following their discussions at the last meeting. Nick looked across at Davies. “So, anything of interest from your Wall Street boffins, Peter?”
Davies smiled. “Maybe something, maybe nothing.”
Nick was curious. “So?”
Davies continued. “Well, we ran a check on all the transactions affecting all the companies we could identify, those who had their senior execs killed in the various bombings, as well as any unusual activity in the shares of the airline, the bank and the railway company. We also ran a check on the latest developments with Star of David Productions.”
