by Tom Haase
"Do we know how many of them ragheads are at that location?" Lucien inquired leaning over and pointing at the main house. “I want to waste them all.”
"No, not exactly. The photo guys are going to have another look in a few hours with the next pass of the KH-11 satellite, but at the present time they’re guessing between eight and ten personnel are located there. That damn KH-11 satellite can see the name on a pack of cigarettes lying on the hood of a car from twenty thousand miles in space," Matt informed Lucien as he sat down on a folding chair near the table with the photos.
"Captain, I’ll get the satellite communications equipment we need for maintaining a continuous patch with the center. If all our weapons are silenced, we shouldn’t have too much problem getting close to the actual buildings. We can take out any exterior guards without raising an alarm," Gary said while he scrutinized the photos.
"Okay. We parachute in, land about one or two kilometers to the north of the position here.” Matt pointed at the map. “Once we’ve ditched our parachutes, I want us to concentrate on getting to the main house. Lucien and Gary, I want you to go in the lead using your night vision goggles and, yes, take out any exterior guards.”
“I’ll issue night vision devices for everyone,” Lucien said.
Matt got up from the chair and walked around the table to the other side and pointed at the imagery of the secondary building on the satellite photo. He looked up at Peter and continued with his briefing.
“Peter, you concentrate on that building. That's about fifty meters away from the main house, just in case that’s where they keep the material for the atomic weapon. Bridget, you and I will follow Gary and Lucien, so that we have our maximum power pointed at the largest building. Everyone will carry at least two flash bangs. Let’s hope we’ll be able to approach the building without being sighted. Throw the stun grenades in and then we’ll enter the building and take down any resistance. Any questions?" Matt asked.
"What's our own ETD," Bridget asked, trying to plan how much time before their estimated time of departure.
"These guys have about a three day lead after getting back to Saudi from Beirut. They must know that somebody is on to them. Maybe they found out who and maybe not. Because of that, I think they will try to accelerate their schedule and complete their operation as soon as possible. As for the ETD, I want us to be airborne out of here tomorrow morning at 0600 hours. We will fly to Incirlik, Turkey, where we will wait for our second leg transport to depart at approximately 1400 hours, putting us over the target area at about 2400 hrs. I requested that Brigadier Bergermeyer arrange for this transportation. That's the earliest time we can get a C-130 in Turkey to support this mission. All of you think about this and we’ll meet back here in two hours to make a detailed plan for all contingencies," Matt said. “Go get cleaned up.”
As the team dispersed, Matt circled the table looking at the view of the target area from every angle and trying to visualize in his mind the plan of operation they would have to execute upon reaching it. One key element that really bothered him was the number of terrorists that might be on the ground. If there were only eight or ten, he did not see any problem. More would cause a rethink of his attack plan. When it was all over, he planned to use the vehicles at the target site to transport his team to Riyadh. There they would catch a ride on the C-130 heading back to the States.
He knew this was his chance to make up for the mistakes in Beirut. He had not gotten the team into position early enough there. Matt had learned from the Beirut experience; he planned to get into position and be able to attack the target at his time of choosing. That way he would enjoy the advantage of surprise, firepower, and maneuver to ensure the success of the operation. He could not afford to be behind the power curve again.
With any luck, he would be able to neutralize another major terrorist leader, perhaps even more, and recover the material they had heard Tewfik al-Hanbali describe in Beirut. Most important, after all these years he would do a little payback for his murdered wife, Susan, and someday he would be able to explain to his daughter his drive to get these terrorists. First, he had to figure it all out himself.
CHAPTER 17
YURI – AT AL-HANBALI’S COMPOUND
SEVEN DAYS BEFORE PLANNED DETONATION OF THE BOMBS
Yuri’s working space consisted mostly of tabletops. Al-Hanbali had built a lead containment chamber for the handling of radioactive material to prevent radiation poisoning or sickness. There were radiation suits available for use, as needed, during the initial preparation phases of construction on the atomic weapon. Yuri realized that all the paraphernalia in the Soviet military system, which would be more than adequate for this simple task, was lacking here. His detailed knowledge remained the sole key in constructing this bomb. He possessed all the information in his head that he needed to complete this weapon assembly. He remembered how to put the right elements together so that they would detonate at a designated time.
Yuri gazed around at the small workshop and noticed the uranium canister. Some Iranian had delivered this vital component to his workshop. He used his own skills to fabricate a container that he thought would be able to hold the amount of U-235 that he needed to put into the bomb in order to detonate with a force equal to fifty kilotons. Without his tables from the Ministry of Defense, he would not be able to be as accurate as he could in the labs in Moscow. His years of working on assembling and designing nuclear weapons allowed him to be within a very small tolerance of the accuracy required to function at close to the yield he desired.
"Hello, Tewfik,” he said looking up on hearing footsteps that interrupted his thoughts, “I'm glad you came down. We are making rapid progress and moving ahead faster than I thought we could. Would you mind telling me what you want me to do with the uranium that is left? Do you have any plans?" Yuri asked.
"Yes, I do. I want you to make me a weapon that I can push down into the oil reserves. It has to go into an oil well rig’s hole to be precise. The oil deposits that make up the oil reserves are interconnected, with oil flowing between the various deep wells. I want to place this bomb in an oil-drilling shaft, and get it down deep. Give me a detonating device that I can use to explode it. I want a very dirty bomb as they say. How much of the uranium would you need to do that?" al-Hanbali asked.
"You will have to give me a little more information than that on the geological strata in the area where you want to put this weapon down into the ground. Then I might be able to construct a rather crude, rudimentary weapon that will not require much because you're talking about basically just scattering the U-235 to contaminate – not completely destroy,” Yuri said.
“I believe the movement of the oil will force it around to the other subterranean cavities, which will contaminate it all," al-Hanbali said, “I learned this from a school teacher years ago. But can we also make another weapon with what is left over from all this material since it looks like you've used half to make the primary weapon and a half of the remaining to use in the dirty bomb? We still have enough for a third atomic bomb. Is that correct?” Tewfik asked.
Yuri walked around to the front of the table until he came face-to-face with al-Hanbali. He did not want to let his basic fear show through, in case al-Hanbali saw how extremely nervous he was about this entire project, especially about his chance of survival after completing the work.
"Yes, we have enough, but you said I would be gone for no more than a month. I can have the main weapon completed in about one more day. But to do the other two weapons I’ll need more time. Also, I’ll need some more materials, which I'm sure you can get in the same way you got it for this primary weapon. If everything is back here to me by this evening, I can probably finish what you are asking for in about six to seven days, maybe less,” Yuri said.
"It is critical that we move fast. I think the Americans are on to us and know that we are planning something big. I don’t yet know how they’re getting their information, but I plan on staying ahead of them. The lo
nger it takes the more chances that something will give us away. And we don’t want that to happen.” Al-Hanbali walked towards the door, but Yuri put up his hand in order to delay him.
"I know this is turning into a very dangerous game, Tewfik. I just want to get this over and get out of here. I can’t even find a bottle of vodka anywhere," Yuri said.
"I'll get your bottle of vodka, if you keep working at full speed.” Al-Hanbali continued his exit from the bomb construction site and walked up to the main house.
After al-Hanbali left the workshop, Yuri returned to his laptop computer and put in the latest information that al-Hanbali had given him about his plans. He kept all the information on this entire project encrypted and buried in a file on the music CD. He did not record the possibility of a third weapon since al-Hanbali had not specifically ordered it built yet. The outside cover of the CD showed a Russian pop singer with his guitar and all of the lettering was in the Cyrillic alphabet. One of the assistants was always playing that particular CD from Yuri’s collection. He said he liked the music.
Over the last few days, Yuri’s fear, which first occurred in Moscow, had returned. He accepted the fact that he was now technically a terrorist, but he only thought of himself as a technician. He was doing it for the money, but his fear of what might happen returned. He became quite concerned about his own personal safety after completing the task that al-Hanbali had given him. Even though Tewfik had assured him of his safety. He thought that sometimes the Middle East mentality can promise you one thing today and the next day change it to reflect what is in their minds on that day, which could be contrary to what was promised the day before.
He decided that on their next meeting he would have to bring up his proposal to ensure his personal safety. He returned to his computer and wrote out in his favorite language his plans for building the dirty bomb. He quickly completed his entry and the information was encoded and transferred to the music CD. A record of the construction of two weapons was now on the disc.
* * * *
As al-Hanbali left the assembly building and walked back up the hill toward the house, he had a lot on his mind. He knew that by some twist of fate the Americans might figure out what they were up to, or someone who saw the activity around his compound, suspecting something, might go the Americans or British for a reward.
Unlikely, but he believed it might be remotely possible. He did not know how the infidels had accomplished the attack in Beirut. To forestall any such unexpected attack, he decided that it might be best if he relocated his entire operation. In the planning phase for this operation, he had prepared an alternate hideout at the same time as he had constructed the lead shielded bunkers in the building where Yuri currently worked. The alternate location was always ready for use at a moment’s notice and it had all the same facilities as the current location.
He called his men together and told them to be prepared to leave at 10:00 p.m. on the day after tomorrow. Yuri should be finished with the one weapon by then. They would take four of the land cruisers and use a trailer to tow the material from the building where Yuri worked.
Tewfik gave the cell members their basic marching orders, including who would be in each vehicle and the order of the convoy. They would travel at night.
It was now five days since he had returned and he currently planned the detonation of the weapons for one week from today. Seven more days to go. He was getting paranoid about somebody talking or passing information on and somehow the Americans would get their hands on it. He put his hands up around his temples and rubbed them, trying to smooth the stress he was feeling. It took so long to get the material, the people and Yuri all together and now he was not going to let anything or anyone stop him.
It would be better if he went back down to the workshop and told Yuri that they were going to be leaving for a new location. He knew that Yuri had come along strictly for the money, but he sensed that Yuri was not totally at ease with his situation. Maybe it was time to come to some better agreement on what he expected of Yuri in the future. He opened the door to the workshop; Yuri had his back to him, working on some computer program.
“I've come back down here to tell you that we’re going to have to leave this location. I have another place almost identical and you can use it to continue your work,” al-Hanbali said.
“I’ll have to do a little rearranging to get ready to leave here, to ensure that all of the equipment in this room goes, and that all of the containers are sealed for transport. How long will it take for us to get there?” Yuri asked.
“It’ll be about a four-hour vehicle drive to get there even though it’s not that far in real distance.”
“Okay, I’ll have everything ready for the departure. It means I have to stop working on the bomb and, based on my calculations, it will take an extra day, at least, to finish the project once we are operational again. By the way, I do have something else to talk about. Do you have a few minutes?” Yuri asked.
Al-Hanbali nodded and walked over to a chair in the corner. He sat down, crossed his legs and looked at his old classmate, who turned towards him as he tapped a pencil on the table. He stopped the tapping and fidgeted with his shirt collar, sticking one finger into the collar and circling around to the back of his neck.
“One of the things I enjoy doing is reading fiction. But I’m not so sure there’s a lot of difference between fiction and fact when it comes to what we’re doing. We are talking about atomic weapons. I’m doing something for you that is beyond illegal, will put me on a most wanted list, and is also very, very dangerous. In the novels, when I have finished doing this, you would kill me. That is not the scenario I’d like to see happen here.”
“You do not have to worry about that. I have no such plans nor would I do that,” al-Hanbali said. He looked straight into Yuri’s eyes as he said this. Yuri remembered his earlier thoughts about Middle Eastern promises but kept that to himself.
“I have trusted you so far,” Yuri said, “and I must continue to do so. I think I should be along with you when you’re taking these weapons to the target. If anything goes wrong, a connection inside the bomb has to be reattached, or something else happens, like the cell phone interface is not functioning on the final check, I must be able to immediately correct it. I believe that you have sensed that I came here with a great deal of anxiety. I’m finally getting over that scruple and I see that if I can do this successfully now, in the future I could be used again and again and become a very rich man.”
Al-Hanbali got up, walked toward Yuri and held out his hands. He took both of Yuri’s hands into his own, looked into his eyes and said, “I am glad that you have said this. I was thinking along the same lines, and I believe we can have a good partnership. I accept your offer to go along with us on this mission and the day to set off the atomic weapons we will call A-Day. Six days from now.”
CHAPTER 18
MATT HIGGINS
STRIKE TEAM ONE
25 OCTOBER
The C-130 Hercules touched down at Incirlik Air Force Base near Adana, Turkey, at 1200 hours. It taxied up to the fueling area and the occupants deplaned for a rest in the passenger terminal, a small building near the control tower. The sign over the entrance read “Welcome to Incirlik, Turkey – Military Airlift Command.” Inside the building was a spacious waiting area and a desk for the dispatcher who controlled the passenger loading and unloading.
Matt moved over to a corner in the arrival hall and used his satellite phone to call back to the center. In Washington, D.C., it was early morning and a duty officer at the center took the call. Matt identified himself and asked if there were any updates concerning his mission. The information was not good, and he went back to his waiting team.
"Okay guys we have a snafu. Washington says that the C-130 cannot continue on to Riyadh. They're sending another one, but it will not be here until tomorrow. Something happened to the original request. It got delayed or something and now we have to wait.” Matt looked around at th
e faces of his team; he could see they were not taking it well.
“I believe the general didn’t want to disclose to all the people in the chain of command the real reason we need the plane. I think she is just trying to get us there on a normal mission in order not to raise too many eyebrows. We’re just as susceptible to leaks as the terrorists when they use phones to coordinate a move. So, we have a twenty-four-hour delay. We can use the time to check our equipment and make any last minute adjustments that the latest overhead photography might dictate."
“Captain, this could really hurt our chances of getting at them before they move or set off the bomb," said Peter O'Leary. Gary and Lucien were both nodding their heads in agreement. Bridget put her head down and turned away, shoulders sagging.
“They know there is a strong possibility these assholes have a nuke.” Bridget stood as she expressed her disbelief at the delay. “Not only is it a probability, but based on the conversation we heard at the restaurant in Beirut, it is a friggin’ fact. We know these bastards are going to set off an atomic weapon. What were they thinking back in Washington?” she said. “Where is the goddamn airplane?” She pounded her fist into an open palm.
“Who says they can think?” Lucien got up as he said this and smacked himself on the forehead.
"I'm going to make some telephone calls, and then I'm going to talk to the base commander and see if I can convince him that we need to have this airplane for our mission. You know he's going to tell me where I can stuff it, but at least I can try," Matt said. He got up and looked at each one of them individually with an assurance that he would do his best to get this team moving today. He went off to find the base commander. He returned an hour later with the anticipated rejection.
The men went off to their billets for the night. Matt had been waiting for an opportunity to talk to Bridget and this looked like the time and the place.
