by Tom Haase
Admiral Kidd recalled the difficulty he had convincing his staff in the National Security Agency that the Saudis would need this type of equipment and that the U.S. should provide it. His primary argument was that there were American forces in Saudi Arabia that could benefit from this type of technology if it was ever needed. Besides, the technology they were providing to the Saudis was not the latest, but it was adequate to do the job that it was intended to do and nothing else. It would shut down all cell phone operations within a specific area.
The admiral had known the Saudi general for many years. They had attended the National War College in Washington, D.C. at the same time. While there, they had struck up a friendship that had lasted over the years. That relationship was instrumental in the two agencies signing mutual treaties of cooperation in the electronics signals area.
"Okay, admiral. The cell phone operations in that area are now off the air,” Rashid said. “How long do we have to keep this up, as it is the middle of the business day here? And we will start to get inquiries to which I do not wish to respond, if we can avoid doing so."
It was now 11:59 a.m.
"I know what I'm asking is very difficult to do in the middle of a business day. I do mean for a few minutes. No more than ten."
The call ended and he phoned Mary Jean. Her secretary answered and informed the admiral that she was on a tactical communication network with Lieutenant Commander McDonald, who was now approaching the site where Captain Higgins was supposed to be. She would return his call as soon as she got off the line.
He picked up the secure satellite phone and dialed the number for Captain Higgins. It was now 12:01 p.m.
Bridget answered the phone and the admiral asked for an update.
"Captain Higgins shot and killed al-Hanbali, but before the bastard died he was able to use his cell phone and punch a number, and then he fell on the plunger that detonated some type of underground atomic explosion. The helicopter that came in to give us support landed right on the spot just as the detonation occurred or at least where the ground gave way. It was destroyed in a fireball; there were no survivors."
“Make sure you turn off that cell phone that you found there. Have you heard from your other team members?" Kidd asked.
The radio on Bridget’s belt crackled alive with the voice of Peter O’Leary. She handed it to Matt. Bridget continued her conversation with the admiral, "Matt is talking to them right now. Wait one,” she said and listened to the report from Peter in the city.
Peter said, " Sir, we’ve neutralized the weapon. We have taken one casualty. All terrorists killed. We’ll release the hostages and will bring the weapon with us.”
“Who?” Matt asked.
“Gary,” Peter said.
“Bring him and the weapon and get out of there right now. Meet at the airport as we arranged. Out.” Matt handed the radio back to Bridget and took the phone from her.
“Admiral, our men secured the atomic weapon and are proceeding to the airport. We took one casualty," Matt reported. The admiral thanked Matt and rang off.
Before Matt could say anything, his satellite phone rang again. It was the general. He told her what had happened and that they planned on going after the last two terrorists that Bridget had left at the gas station. Then they would head for the airport to meet up with the team.
On the other side of Washington, the admiral immediately called General al-Hassam. “Your system worked. You can shut it down. I know that I personally, as well as the United States, owe you a great deal of gratitude for what you did on such short notice and with such efficiency. It will take a few days to sort this all out. When that is complete I would like to come over and explain everything.”
“It would be a real pleasure to see you again, John.”
“I also must tell you that we have had a helicopter crash just south of that city, and I would like you to get it guarded as strictly a military crash site and see that no civilians are allowed into the area. There was some type of an atomic explosion underground there. We need to get it cordoned off and maintain access control. If you can, let's take care of that first, then we will get you the tools to handle the situation from the fallout perspective. Our strike team will need to get out of your country ASAP.”
“Of course, John. I’ll ensure they do. Will they be leaving from Ras Tanura airport?”
“Yes,” Kidd said.
“Good, because I am near there right now. Is the Captain Higgins, who delivered the equipment, with them?”
“Yes. You have my personal number if you have any questions. Thank you," the admiral concluded and rang off.
Next, the admiral called the National Security Adviser, Kent Avery, “The situation had been resolved, but there was a detonation that did occur underground. It’s under control as the Saudi Military are calling it a military aircraft accident site and sealing off the area until we can get an evaluation team in there. We’ll get them there in a few hours to assist in the damage control and evaluation of the detonation. The atomic weapon recovered in the city of Ras Tanura is in the possession of United States forces. They’ll bring it back here.”
"Admiral, your butt might be saved this time, but I warn you never to cross me again," Avery said in a slow, measured response emphasizing the last words.
"Sir, I had no intention of ever crossing you.” The lips of the admiral curled up in a smile. “And I believe that we have accomplished our mission today." He closed the connection before there was any response from Avery.
Then he picked up the phone and called Mary Jean. "Your secretary told me that you were talking to Commander McDonald. In case you don’t know, he died in an aircraft accident near the site where Captain Higgins killed the head terrorist. The rest of Matt’s team has secured the atomic weapon and is approaching the airport. Do you have transportation waiting for them?"
"Yes, Captain Higgins has informed me of the events. I’m in contact with the Air Force on recovering the remains from the crash. That was the real tragedy in all of this. I've arranged for an Air Force aircraft to arrive at the international business private jet ramp to pick my team up and bring them directly to Andrews Air Force Base with their cargo. But how did you know the rest?" Mary Jane asked.
"I just got off the phone with Sergeant Donavan. She seems to have a good head and briefed me on the current situation, and it looks like we have a small nuclear detonation at the site. That's what destroyed the helicopter. We need to get a team in there ASAP to determine the damage. The other weapon didn’t detonate due to the quick response of the Saudi military by shutting down all cell phone operations in that area. Even though al-Hanbali did try to transmit the code to the atomic weapon using a cell phone, the call didn’t go through." The admiral felt very satisfied being able to inform Mary Jean of these details. The fact that his equipment had worked so well in this operation was a tribute to his imagination and foresight.
"Thank God, it’s over,” Mary Jean said. “I think that our man Higgins has done quite a remarkable job. Unfortunately, one bomb did detonate, but the one that would kill maybe thousands and destroy their oil export capability, for God knows how long, has been deactivated. Our oil supply is safe for now. We’ll get all of them out of there and bring them home as soon as possible."
"Let's make it so," the admiral said and rang off.
Mary Jean now started to make the phone calls to get the notification officer ready to go on the most difficult mission any young officer had to perform—notification of next of kin.
CHAPTER 41
MATT HIGGINS
12:05 P.M. – SAUDI ARABIAN DESERT
Before they left to go after the two remaining terrorists, Matt stared down at the body of al-Hanbali. Right now, the adrenaline was flowing through him at the speed and force of a fast moving freight train. It was a good feeling to get this terrorist. He had overcome his doubts and his regrets for being late on the previous occasions. That belonged to the past, now he could see that his tenacious e
fforts had accomplished the mission. The authorities in Washington had helped, but it felt like they had hindered just as much. That he had not prevented one explosion would always gnaw at him.
“Bridget, we’ve got to go after the ones you were tailing. We’ll have them all if we can capture those two,” Matt said. “I feel like shit over the loss of our man, not to mention those guys in the chopper. Damn, what a waste, but we can’t stop now. We’ve to get the rest of those bastards. They did kill American troops. They must pay.”
The satellite phone rang and Matt answered it. Mary Jean asked, “Are you all right?”
“Yes, ma’am. All the terrorists are dead except two. Bridget and I are going to try to get the last two so we can wrap this operation up. There is nothing we can do for the team you sent. They all perished in the crash, we checked.”
“Don’t spend any more time there. A team will be on site shortly to take care of the clean up. I want you out of there. Now.”
“Is the aircraft waiting for us at the airport?” Matt asked; was there going to be another screw up by Washington? He indicated to Bridget to get moving toward the SUV.
“It will arrive there in thirty minutes. You be there. That’s an order. It’ll take you to Cyprus, then to an RAF base in the United Kingdom, then direct to Andrews Air Force base. I’ll be there to meet you,” Mary Jean said and rang off.
“Yea, and to take a chunk out of my ass for not preventing the explosion,” Matt said aloud.
Looking at Bridget with an arctic cold blue stare he said, “We go and we get the other two. I don’t want even one of them getting away. Then we go back home. It won’t be a hero’s welcome. I could tell the general is pissed. You know we did everything we could to get to these guys earlier and the system just didn’t let us get there on time. Have you ever thought that we could do this better without all the ‘Help’ we got?” Matt asked. They reached the vehicle and jumped in.
“Maybe we should talk about this after we take care of the last ones. So let’s go get them,” Bridget said. She peeled a dust cloud of sand as she floored the accelerator.
They raced for the main road. Upon reaching it, Bridget drove toward where she had last seen the two terrorists sitting at a gas station. Approaching the small fueling station, Bridget saw the car still parked off to the side, the same location as when she left to respond to Matt’s call. She pulled in, parked on the opposite side of the station from the vehicle, and waited a full minute. Then Matt got out and came round to Bridget’s side of the SUV. He rested his arm on the open window.
Bridget said, “I’m looking in the mirrors and I don’t see either one of them. But maybe they are inside the building. Let’s wait a few minutes and see. What a loss, that team of McDonald’s. It’s just hitting me. Is there anything we could have done?”
“I should’ve killed him when I approached. Maybe he wouldn’t have fallen on the plunger.”
“Shoulda, coulda, bullshit. We did the best we could at the time. Don’t Monday morning quarterback. There is really nothing we could have done to change the course of events. We’ll just have to live with that,” Bridget said and gently touched Matt’s hand.
“Okay, I hear you, but if those shits don’t come out in two minutes, I’ll mosey over and see if I can find out anything. You’ll have to cover me,” Matt said.
“On the plane trip back to Washington,” Bridget said, “I’d like to hear more of your thoughts on what we could have done better on this mission, or maybe how we can do better in the future. I’ve been thinking seriously about getting out of the army. It’s been good to me. It made me tough and I know how to kill as well as how to defend myself now. My fear of a man doing something again to me against my will has gone. By the way, you don’t fit in that category,” she smiled at him and grabbed his hand. “You and I have worked together quite well on this mission, just as we did in the training. I think we could in the future, but let’s see how things work out.” She removed her hand when the door at the gasoline station opened and a man walked over to the Nissan they were watching.
“He’s not one of the men who came in here in that vehicle,” Bridget said. She moved over on the front seat and started backing the car up, to block the SUV from departing. Matt hurried over to the Nissan and then rushed the driver’s side, pulling his weapon as he went. He put the weapon right in the man’s face. The man looked up in pure horror.
“Where are the two men who came in this vehicle?” Matt demanded in Arabic.
“They left maybe ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago,” came the response.
“Why are you in this car?” Matt asked.
“They traded me their car for mine,” he said, not mentioning the cash he must have received.
Matt asked the man to give him a description of the truck and the license numbers. Realistically, he knew there was probably no chance of finding a vehicle with a fifteen-minute lead heading back into the city. It would disappear into a populated area and the terrorists would change cars and be gone. There was no way they could get local police to be of any assistance in such a short time.
As he was about to turn away from the vehicle, Matt saw a small computer lying on the floor behind the driver’s seat. He opened the back door and grabbed the computer. The man started to shout, but Matt ignored him and returned to the car where Bridget waited.
He told Bridget, “That guy says he traded cars with two men and they are in a blue pickup truck. I grabbed this computer from the back floor of the vehicle. I assume it belonged to one of them.”
“Great. It might give us some more info on those two and good intel on the cell they belong to.” She started driving back towards Ras Tanura and the airport. Both of them were thinking about the men who had gotten away. The terrorists were gone, and there was no real way of finding them in the time that they had left before their scheduled departure at the airport. They had accomplished the mission of killing Tewfik al-Hanbali, killed most of his men, and captured the atomic weapon. Mary Jean wanted that weapon back in the states as soon as possible for examination and evaluation. All in all, Matt felt the team had basically completed its mission. It was time to head for the airport. As they drove, they both had unanswered questions.
“Why do you think those two ran?” Bridget asked.
“Probably after they heard the underground explosion and didn’t see the one in town go off they realized something had gone wrong. They might have even snuck back and seen us at the oil derrick, who knows?” Matt thought aloud.
“They’ll have to run. They know we’ll have to tell the Saudis everything now that it has detonated on their soil,” Bridget said.
“Yeah. I bet they’ll probably try to get out of the country. I just hope the Saudis catch them.”
“At least, they don’t have any more atomic bombs,” Bridget concluded.
CHAPTER 42
MATT HIGGINS
12:47 P.M. - AT THE AIRPORT - RAS TANURA
Matt saw the aircraft approaching just as they arrived at the gate to the executive ramp. When he looked towards the rear of the parking lot, he saw Sergeant Peter O’Toole walking to the rear of a SUV. He drove over to park beside the vehicle that Peter and Lucien occupied.
Peter said, “Captain, we had better leave these cars here. No one will find them for a few days. There are a lot of cars that look like these parked here. As soon as that aircraft comes to a stop, Lucien and I’ll carry Gary out and get him strapped down.”
“Okay. Let’s get all of our stuff out of the cars, clean them up, and show no evidence that we were in them. We’ll probably have a few minutes before that aircraft is ready for us to get on board,” Matt said.
While sanitizing the car, they were surprised to see a vehicle approaching them. From outward appearances it looked like a military green-colored sedan. They thought this must be one of their own people coming to assist them. The car stopped a few feet from where Matt was standing.
The olive skinned man with dark sunglasses a
nd a Western-style military uniform emerged from the vehicle. As the man got out of the car, Matt was able to see that he wore the uniform of a Saudi Arabian general officer. He immediately recognized him.
“Captain Higgins, a pleasure to see you again. A certain American admiral told me that you would be here getting ready to depart for the United States. I must again congratulate you on what you have accomplished, and please accept my sympathy for the loss of your man. I will handle the crash site where you lost other brave men. You may never know what it took to pull this off, unless the admiral decides to talk, a liberty that I do not have, but I want to assure you that we are both on the same side. I’ll make sure that, as far as anyone will ever know, you have not been in Saudi Arabia at this time. You have my best wishes. Good luck and good fortune to you and your men, all of your men,” he said with a large smile emerging on his face as he saw Bridget. The general got back into the car.
Captain Higgins, and the rest of his team, snapped to attention and saluted the general as he drove off. The car had not gone fifty feet, when Lucien punched Peter in the side and said, “What the friggin’ hell was that all about?”
“One of those “if I tell you, you know that I’m going to have to kill you” things. Now let’s get moving and get Gary on the aircraft so we can get out of here,” Peter said.
Matt turned to Bridget, who looked perplexed. He could see that she didn’t understand how a Saudi general seemed to know everything that they had done and had congratulated them on accomplishing their mission.
