The Hunt for Truth

by Sury Patru Viswam

  The customary pleasantries were brief between the Chief, LT Cooper, and the detectives. The previous night’s encounter was weighing heavy in everyone’s mind. The detectives carried an expression that clearly signaled that they were not sure why they were commanded to the Chief’s office with Samir Tariq’s files.

  “Detectives.” Agent Taylor gave a curt smile as he shook both their hands. “Good work yesterday.” The appreciation, like the smile, was brief.

  As Arya’s glance shifted towards the two men standing next to the Chief, Agent Taylor proceeded by introducing both of them to the detectives.

  “Agent Tennyson – Operations Division at the CIA, and Officer Dawson from the GAO division of the NSA,” Agent Taylor introduced.

  Arya and Edgar were both equally stunned to hear the identities of two men. NSA and CIA. Why are they here? What do they want from us? These were some of the thoughts that flashed through their mind as the two agents shook their hands.

  “GAO?” Neither Edgar nor Arya had ever heard of that term. Like everyone in the country, they have heard of the big hitters – CIA and NSA –, but not GAO.

  “Global Access Operations,” Officer Dawson elaborated. The GAO division is responsible for ‘Collection Overseas’ – monitoring a large proportion of the world’s transmitted civilian phone, fax, email, and other forms of communications. They primarily monitor and collect information on non-U.S. citizens, entities, corporations, or organizations. If they need to monitor U.S. citizens abroad, they need special authorization from the U.S. Attorney General. If the U.S. citizens or organizations reside in the United States, they need authorization from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court – FISA.

  “Did you get the files?” Agent Tennyson asked.

  Arya glanced towards LT Cooper, who nodded – signaling Arya his approval before she handed out the file she had with her.

  “This is everything?” Agent Tennyson asked, glancing at the case file that seemed light.

  “Yes,” Arya replied. “That is Samir Tariq’s case file.”

  “How about Omar Al-Farooq?” Officer Dawson jumped into the conversation.

  “We didn’t open a separate file on Omar Al-Farooq. Any information we learned about him was a byproduct of Samir’s Tariq’s investigation. So…”

  “You merged both files?” Officer Dawson completed the sentence in a manner that sounded almost like a question.

  “Yes and no. We didn’t have to merge any files as we didn’t open a new file for Omar Al-Farooq.”

  “How about the file on Omar Raqqa from Aries Financials?” Agent Tennyson asked, surprising Edgar and Arya. They didn’t expect both these officers to know about the other Omar Raqqa so soon.

  “How did you know?” Arya asked, shifting her glance from Agent Tennyson to LT Cooper and then back at Agent Tennyson.

  “Your LT didn’t have to tell us. We have been tracking Omar Al-Farooq for some time now. We suspected he might have played a role in Omar Raqqa’s mysterious disappearance.”

  “Then how the hell did he manage to pull this off?” Edgar blurted out, showing his anger with the situation. “Shouldn’t you have stopped it?”

  The outburst from Edgar turned everyone’s heads towards him. Everyone – Arya, the Chief, and LT Cooper – had the same thought in their mind, and they were glad Edgar asked.

  Agent Tennyson and Officer Dawson exchanged a brief glance before Officer Dawson approached Edgar. “This case is more complicated than you think. Most of the hijackers didn’t even know what the plan was. We are not even sure when and how much Omar Al-Farooq knew.”

  “Trust me when I say this; we feel the same outrage as everyone here or around the country. Don’t think for a moment that we didn’t warn about the attacks. Unfortunately, no one believed that this can happen in our soil. Why would they? This was unprecedented.”

  “So, you guys saw this coming?” Arya asked, holding on to the agent’s statement.

  “Sorry, Detectives; that is all we could say,” Agent Tennyson said firmly. “All this is classified.” The agent swerved his glance towards everyone in the room. “Do you get it?”

  “Yes,” the Chief said.

  “Not just what we discussed here, but also….” Agent Tennyson tapped on Samir’s file in his hand, “Everything on this file is classified.”

  Everyone in the room nodded, signaling their understanding.

  “Good. We are all on the same page.”

  “Anything else?” Agent Tennyson asked.

  “Where is Sania?” Arya asked, shifting her glance from Agent Tennyson to Agent Taylor.

  “She is safe.” Agent Taylor looked directly into Arya’s eyes, “That is all you need to know. Everything else is classified.”

  “You must be fucking kidding me,” Arya blurted out. “That is all I need to know. Unbelievable!” She threw her hands wide in frustration. “When you guys were doing God knows what, Edgar and I have been chasing every single lead…”

  “Arya,” LT Cooper’s voice reverberated loudly. “Cut it out. This is not the place or time.” He paused to correct himself. “In my opinion, it is never a time or a place to question each other’s intentions without evidence. Like us, I am sure these agents were busting their ass every day trying to save Americans. Unfortunately, we hear only their failures. We never hear about the countless times they stopped these jihadis from blowing up Americans.”

  Arya, along with everyone else in the room, was taken aback by the emotional outburst from LT Cooper.

  The Chief cleared his throat and said, “Well said.” He shifted his gaze from LT Cooper to the detectives and emphasized the message, “We are all in the same team.”

  “Sorry, Chief, that was not my intent,” Arya tried to explain. “I just want to know if Sania is safe. Sania is my…”

  Agent Taylor stepped in. “Your friend. We know that.” He shifted his gaze towards the other two federal agents in the room and said, “I think we have some wiggle room without compromising classified information.”

  Agent Tennyson and Officer Dawson both nodded, signaling Agent Taylor to proceed.

  Agent Taylor turned towards Arya and said, “Sania Tariq is safe. She is currently under the custody of the federal government. I can’t say where or by which division of the federal government.”

  “What do you mean by custody? She is not a terrorist. I am sure she had no clue about Samir’s…”

  “Detective Martins, hold on.” Agent Taylor raised his hand to gesture Arya to hold on to her questions. “You might have misunderstood. She is not being held because we are suspecting that she is a terrorist.”

  “Why then? Why can’t….” Arya stopped herself as she realized the reason for Sania’s detention. “You are holding her for information.”

  It was now Agent Tennyson’s turn to step in. “Sania had been married to Samir Tariq for well over three years. Even though she didn’t really know the man behind the name Samir Tariq, she still knew a lot of information about her husband. She has traveled with Samir to many countries, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, stayed in different houses and hotels, and visited many of his so-called friends and relatives. The Feds believe that she knew a lot more than what she can fathom.”

  Arya let out a deep sigh; this was a lot to take in. All of a sudden, in the fight against the terrorists, Sania Tariq has become extremely valuable. She might have a small piece of information that could be immensely valuable for locating, hunting, and killing the terrorists.

  “Is she under threat from terrorists? Did you guys hear any chatter?” Arya asked, looking at Agent Taylor.

  “What do you think?” Agent Taylor asked rhetorically. “She has stayed with him in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. In one instance, we believe she actually met….” Agent Taylor stopped himself from saying the name. “I can’t say any more. It is classified. You have to know how vital she is going to be in our war against the terrorists. Any information she provides is going to go a long way. She is an
extremely valuable asset to us.”

  Nothing needs to be said more about Sania’s safety. CIA, NSA, FBI, and any other agency would go to tremendous length to safeguard Sania. All of a sudden, Sania has become one of the key assets in the fight against Al-Qaeda.

  “Who killed Samir Tariq? How did he die?” Arya asked, eliciting glances between Agent Taylor, Agent Tennyson, and Officer Dawson. The question caused an uncomfortable silence in the room, and it lasted until Agent Taylor decided to break the silence.

  “Detectives,” Agent Taylor shifted his gaze towards Edgar and Arya, “What do you think happened? I am sure you have a theory.”

  Edgar exchanged glances with Arya before saying, “Initially, we thought Omar might have killed Samir because of an affair between Samir and Nafisa.”

  Agent Taylor half-smiled, crossing his hands across his chest and gestured for Edgar to continue.

  “Later, when we realized Samir and Omar were terrorists, the affair killing didn’t make much sense. We now don’t even think they had an affair. They must have been meeting to plot their plan to…” Before Edgar could complete his sentence, Arya bluntly interrupted.

  “Sania or Eli must have killed Samir.” Arya’s response caused all the eyes in the room to land on her.

  “Interesting.” Agent Taylor raised his brows. “Do you agree with your partner?” Agent Taylor asked, shifting his gaze towards Edgar.

  Edgar nodded.

  “Let us hear more, Detectives,” Agent Taylor motioned his hand for the detectives to continue.

  Edgar exchanged a quick glance with Arya before continuing, “We believe that the Dar Marrakesh restaurant was used as a front by Omar’s sleeper cell to plan their operation. On the evening of September 10th, after Sania dropped Samir in the airport, we believe he took the Ford Transit rental and drove to that restaurant.”

  Edgar paused to see if there were any objections and when he found none from Agent Taylor, he continued. “Sania and Eli must have met Samir in the restaurant, and something happened there, which led to…”

  Arya interrupted Edgar’s account and said, “Sania killed Samir in the restaurant.”

  Edgar was surprised by the tone of Arya’s voice; she sounded confident.

  “What makes you say that?” Agent Taylor asked, turning towards Arya. “Why not Eli?”

  “It couldn’t have been Eli. From our investigation, we know Sania was already in the restaurant by the time Eli went there that night.”

  Edgar nodded, connecting the dots from what they learned earlier from Carter.

  “Sania must have suspected Samir and must have followed him to the restaurant.” Arya became more confident with her assessment. “Tell me, am I correct?” Sania looked squarely at Agent Taylor.

  Agent Taylor turned towards LT Cooper and nodded. “You are right, Cooper. She is going to go places.”

  LT Cooper smiled, beaming inside with pride.

  “Detective Martins, you are right. Samir did go to the Dar Marrakesh restaurant that night to tape a suicide video that could be used as propaganda for recruitment in their jihadi world. When he was taping…”

  “Sania walked in,” Arya completed the sentence.

  Agent Taylor nodded. “Sania realized the true colors of Samir. She then confronted Samir about his intentions and pleaded with him to forgo his evil plan to attack the United States. However, Sania’s effort turned futile, and the situation got out of hand. Sania ended up shooting Samir to stop him from carrying out the attack.”

  “Sania is a fucking hero!” Arya’s eyes were beaming with pride. “If not for her, we might have had a biological attack in New York City.”

  Agent Taylor nodded. “I would say so.”

  “Why did Sania report Samir to be missing?” Edgar jumped in with a question that was troubling him.

  “Good question; I did ask her about it.” Agent Taylor cleared his throat and continued, “After Sania shot Samir, she called Eli Berg for help. Eli came up with a plan to dispose of Samir’s body in Stoneridge woods, and he asked her to report Samir as missing to avoid any suspicions on her.”

  “Why? I don’t get this. Sania is a hero; she stopped an attack on the country. She could have shown the video and turned over all the evidence she had on him. Why didn’t she do that? She would have got a medal.”

  “Because of her child,” Arya connected the dots. “Sania didn’t want her child to shoulder the enormous pain of knowing her father was a terrorist who killed thousands of people. That is an unbearable scar for a child to carry. She put her child’s happiness over a freaking medal.”

  Agent Taylor didn’t have to say anything to confirm it; the expression on his face confirmed it. Arya was right.

  “What about Eli Berg?” Edgar asked.

  “He is under investigation?” Agent Taylor responded.

  “Investigation? Why?”

  Agent Taylor raised his right hand to gesture Arya to stop. “I don’t want to get into a discussion here. I am sure you know that his real name is not Eli Berg.”

  “Would you have done the same if his earlier name was not a Muslim name?”

  “Please, don’t even imply that I am a racist.” Agent Taylor glared.

  “Sorry, Agent Taylor.” Arya raised her hands to signal her apology. “I shouldn’t have said that. What I was trying to point out is Eli’s effort in this whole episode. If Eli had any terrorist links, why would he have helped Sania to stop this attack?”

  “To be exact, Sania killed Samir before Eli got there. We also know the history between Eli and Sania. We know he has feelings for her.”

  “So, are you saying Eli is a terrorist who gave up on attacking the United States because of his love for Sania?” Arya threw her hands up as she couldn’t believe the floated theory.

  “Not at all. We are not saying that.” Agent Taylor took a deep breath and stared squarely at Arya. “Look, you might be right. I do agree with you that Eli might have had different reasons for changing his identity. But we can’t just assume that is the case. It needs to be investigated thoroughly. The stakes are too high, and we can’t take any chances here.”

  Arya nodded, now seeing Agent Taylor’s position.

  “What should we tell Mrs. Berg?” Edgar asked. “She already filed a missing person report.”

  “Nothing. Tell her that you are still looking, and the case is active,” Agent Taylor said, before adding, “If Eli Berg is innocent, it is probably better for him not to get back to his past life now.”

  “Not just for his benefit, but also for his wife,” LT Cooper added, implying both of them could end up being targets.

  Arya and Edgar nodded in agreement.

  “You both have done a tremendous job.” The Chief approached the detectives. “If not for the two of you, we might have had a biological attack on our country. You both should be proud of yourself.” Arya and Edgar both replied in unison, “Thanks, Chief. We just did what everyone else on the force does every day. Protect and Serve.”

  “Damn right. You said it better than I could have said it.” The Chief smiled proudly. “What do you guys say?” The Chief glanced towards the federal agents in the office.

  Everyone nodded, agreeing with the Chief’s words.

  Agent Taylor realized Arya’s unique position in this situation, approached Arya, and looked squarely at her. “Detective, your contribution here won’t be forgotten by me. Trust me, when I say it, you will hear from me in the future. You will know about your friend.”

  That was the last conversation Arya had with Agent Taylor. The next time she would hear from him was three weeks later. It was in the form of a mail.

  After a long evening at work, which had become a routine to law enforcement officers across the country, she came home to find a brown envelope slipped under her front door. There was no address written on the envelope, nor was there any sender’s name on it. It just had two words scribed boldly in the center of the envelope – AS PROMISED.

  Arya’s he
art raced when she read those words. She immediately realized who it was from – Agent Taylor – and what the envelope might hold – information about Sania.

  As her heart was beating wildly with anticipation, Arya hurriedly opened the envelope to find a single 8 x 10 photo in the envelope. There was nothing else in the envelope. When her eyes landed on the picture, a smile spread across her face. The photo showed a close-up shot of a beautiful human being — who looked so small and, at the same time, large enough to fill her heart with joy. The baby appeared to be smiling and sleeping at the same time. No one had to tell Arya whose baby was in the photo. She knew.

  At the top left corner and bottom right corner of the photo, Arya noticed two sets of numbers: 35.28, -110.93. They were printed so small that Arya needed a magnifying lens to read them clearly. For a moment, she couldn’t make out what the numbers were meant to be.

  Arya knew the numbers had to be of significance for it to be printed on the photo. Arya pondered the meaning long and hard. What does 35.28 and -110.93 mean?

  Arya’s eyes lit up as a sudden thought dawned on her. She hurried to her office room, flipped open her laptop, and visited a mapping software that she believed could provide an answer about those random numbers.

  She squinted her eyes to read the numbers and typed into the search box on the mapping software. When the search yielded a location, she knew what she should do next.

  * * *

  In the next fifteen minutes, she made two calls; one to her partner – Edgar James – and the other to her boss – LT Cooper. She didn’t tell them where she was going, nor did they ask. All she had to say was she found out where to go to get some answers, and they understood what it meant.