by Tom Haase
Basam started to walk down the road toward the vehicles and halfway down turned to the right to enter a small path leading to the position from where the RPG’s had fired. As they neared the bottom, they could see the bodies sprawled on the sand. Basam looked up as he stood in the bottom of the ravine and scanned the skyline. He thought he saw some movement up on the ridgeline above the house, but he needed to keep moving.
* * *
When Matt observed the three-man team coming out of the compound and starting down the road toward the Hezbollah empty cars, he used his handheld radio to tell Peter what he saw.
“Get ready. I think they might be preparing ready to leave. They’ll want to get out of here after all the noise and the possibility of others having the same idea as the attackers.”
“We have the road covered from here and can be ready to move in a second,” Peter said.
Matt signaled with his hand for Bridget to come to his position.
When she arrived, they watched as the three turned off the road and went along a path leading to the bottom of the hill. The dead Hezbollah fighters were out of sight, but the hail of bullets they observed following the firing of the RPG’s had silenced whoever was down there.
Matt rose up just a few inches to see if he could observe what they were doing. Just then, he saw one of the men in the valley turn and look up at the hill toward him. Ducking back, he pulled Bridget back down the hill a foot or so.
“They looked up to scan the hill. I don’t think they saw me, but I can’t be sure. Let’s go to the cars and if they come over the hill we can engage them,” Matt said.
After retreating down the hill, they reached the cars, got the sniper rifles out, trained them on the hill, and then they waited. Ten minutes passed. No one appeared. Then they heard the starting of engines. Once again, they climbed the hill to see what was going on.
Regaining their observation point, they saw the three vehicles moving towards the main compound. The last car had the tailgate open and two bodies were visible, feet hanging over the rear bumper.
As the cars turned into the compound, Matt felt his tri-band cell phone vibrate. On answering, he heard McDonald’s voice so he gave a situation report concluding with, “I think there are seven, max of eight, in the compound. We counted them on the roof tops during the firefight and observed one additional come down to get the vehicles and move them into the compound.”
“Okay. The general wants you to get the weapons as soon as possible. Can you do it?” Glenwood queried.
“Yes, but not in daylight. It is too risky to attempt it. In three or four hours, we can be ready to assault the compound. We’ve seen their tactics and their warning system. They probably lost most of their security systems when the RPG’s hit the house, and they’ll be relying on guards. That means we can reduce their numbers by taking out any guards first, before we take on the house,” Matt finished.
A column of smoke now emerged over the top of the main house, followed by flames reaching higher than the rooftop. Suddenly, three vehicles sped out of the area near the house, traveling at high speed down the road toward Matt’s Land Rover.
The lead vehicle pulled up beside the empty cars Matt and Bridget had used and the occupants of the lead car visually searched the SUVs. Matt saw the lead vehicle come to a stop. He hoped they were thinking that these vehicles were part of the Hezbollah attack group. A few moments later, they continued on.
Matt’s eyes followed the departing vehicles. The enemy managed to get away again. His position prevented an attack on them or even trying to stop their leaving. Al-Hanbali had outmaneuvered him again. The folks in Washington would see his failure to get the weapons at this time. They would probably assume he dallied in getting his men into position and not ready to act on a moment’s notice. The fact there was not a thing he could have done against such a superior force, without taking unnecessary risks, would not be in their thought patterns. The only conclusion they would reach would remain that he had failed again to get the weapons.
Matt called the Center and got McDonald on the line. “The al-Hanbali gang is roaring out of the compound. I’m going to follow and see if I can get into a position to attack them.”
“Wait a minute. You can’t go off without authorization from the general. I’ll inform her and get back to you.”
“What the hell do you mean? I’m the commander here and I’ll do what it takes to get the weapons. I’m not going to wait for someone in Washington to get off his or her butt and make a decision. It is too late for that. I have my orders unless the general tells me otherwise. What are you trying to do anyhow?”
“I’m telling you to wait. If you go off without any authorization you could be in real trouble,” Glenwood said.
Matt didn’t listen to this warning. He closed the phone, not waiting to hear another word. He had the general’s order from her own mouth to get the weapons. That was what he was going to do. Any doubts he had before were dissolved. No one could stop him or slow him down by waiting for some authorization McDonald seemed to think he needed. No, he, the on-scene commander, had his orders. When they gave him the command of this team they didn’t hand out an instruction book to go with it and no directives on how to command or how to accomplish a mission. He knew what he had to do. He set about doing it.
* * *
Al-Hanbali completed his plans for the final phase of the dirty oil operation inside the last car speeding away from the compound. All fear gone, no qualms, no trepidations. He had a goal to accomplish and the first thing on the agenda was making as quick a departure from this area as possible. There would be a police investigation of the fire and the burned bodies. There would, however, be no legal connection to him as the ownership of the house was in the name of a fake company within other offshore entities. Of course, there always existed the slight chance someone might be able to identify him or one of his men. But the distance they now traveled would slow down any investigation by local authorities.
He picked up a new cell phone and dialed Basam in the Nissan ahead of him. “Move up into the lead and go to the main highway. We need to put some distance behind us. I’ll call when it is time to get off the highway. We have at least three hours of daylight. I don’t want to be on the road after dark.”
Al-Hanbali had regained his confidence. He had survived three attacks, the one in Beirut, the one at the old main house, where he had lost three men, and this final insult perpetrated by Faisal. It had to be the will of Allah that he was still on track in this great cause. He would succeed—nothing could stop him. He felt it in his bones. Allah was with him.
When they stopped for the night, he would give the final orders to position the weapons and the preparations he wanted accomplished to ensure simultaneous detonations. He had now achieved a position to inflict the ultimate destruction on the Western economies, without subjecting himself to making a mad attempt to accomplish this damage on American soil. This would be a far worse blow to the West than the earlier World Trade Center attack and the devastation caused by the 9/11 events.
30
National Security Council Meeting
ADMIRAL KIDD - 6:15 PM – WASHINGTON
The President usually made a habit of chairing the National Security Council meetings when something important occurred, but he was out of town on a vote-getting tour. Most of the other members were present. The conference room at the old executive office building, across the street from the White House, where the National Security Council met, had the atmosphere of an execution chamber. The “victim,” Admiral Kidd, a descendant of the infamous Captain Kidd of pirate fame, had not yet arrived.
The National Security Advisor was the de facto leader of the meeting when the President couldn’t attend. Avery stood at the head of the table. He had relayed to the members present what the admiral had revealed to him. The acrid tone he’d used conveyed the great displeasure he felt for how the admiral had handled the situation. In addition, his facial expression glo
wed Turkey red with rage. He failed to mention that the President had not yet been informed.
When the admiral entered the room, he noticed all eyes turned toward him. In addition to the pure contempt emanating from Kent Avery’s eyes, those of the Secretary of State seemed to shoot fire darts, compared to the wait-and-see looks of most of the attendees. The Director of National Intelligence, John Neighbor, looked at the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs for any indication that he knew what was happening in the field. Seeing a rigid face, he turned to look at the admiral.
“All right, Admiral, give us an account of what has transpired. How you received the message on possible atomic weapons and what is the current situation.” Kent Avery sat down and waited.
“Thank you, sir. This episode started for us at the NSA, yesterday morning.” The admiral gave a complete briefing of his entire agency accomplished in both deciphering the code to get at the text and the method used to translate the document. He did not touch on the operational aspect of the DIA team in the field. He guessed Avery wanted that but he relayed just the facts the NSA had uncovered. By doing so he gained some time, as Avery would insist that the DIA must answer the questions, but they were not present. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was aware of the overall operation but did not comment on the up-to-the-minute situation. The Secretary of Defense, James Carter, was another matter.
Kidd knew that operations conducted by the military were under the control of the President, the Secretary of Defense and the Unified and Specified Commands. The National Security Council was not in the chain of command, but not out of the loop either.
Upon concluding his presentation, which took nineteen minutes, the admiral asked if anyone had a question. He knew they would now be shooting at him, so he had prepared as many canned answers as he could and knew what to focus on.
“Where are the weapons now?” said the U.S. representative to the United Nations, who was sitting in on the meeting by invitation.
“Do we have someone there to stop them?” queried the Secretary of the Treasury.
“Has the President been informed?” the Secretary of State asked.
“My duty, Madam Secretary, is to inform this body on the intelligence I receive that might be of high interest.” The admiral looked at Avery, recognizing in that man’s attitude that the President had not been made aware of this current intelligence. He had deliberately not answered the question on the President’s knowledge of the events. He should have answered the Secretary of State and his silence signaled something the admiral didn’t like.
“What is the current status of any operation ongoing against these terrorists?” Avery asked, retaking control of the meeting.
The admiral took some time to shuffle papers and, before he could respond, Secretary of Defense Carter spoke up.
“I think I should answer that.” The Director of the DIA had brought him up to date just prior to this meeting. “We are conducting a close-hold operation against the terrorists. There has been a setback in the last hour, as another group of terrorists, Hezbollah, presumably, attacked the group that we think has the weapons. We believe the terrorists who have these weapons are planning on using them in the way described in the transcript the NSA provided to each of you.”
The Secretary of State, Patricia Kennedy, a rotund woman broadcasting a stern look through her thick half moon glasses and pulled-back hair in a tight ponytail, projected a face that could have been taken for a buzzard. “We must inform the government of Saudi Arabia of this situation and ask for their help. We appear to be conducting a military operation by our troops on the territory of a friendly sovereign nation without their knowledge. This is unacceptable. It is a violation of International Agreements.”
The Secretary of Defense, ignoring Ms. Kennedy, looked directly at Avery. “I would state that we are conducting a military operation against armed terrorists bent upon using atomic weapons against the national interests of the United States. I do not believe we can turn that over to another government, especially one that may be in no position to control what happens to the weapons if they retrieve them. I recall that the majority of the terrorists involved in 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia. Your suggestion is not something I would advise the President to do.”
“Mr. Neighbor, do you have anything on this situation?” Avery said as he turned to the Director of National Intelligence.
“Only what the admiral has described. The location of the weapons is now known to us. The targets are in the document provided by Admiral Kidd. We are monitoring the actions of the strike team in the desert. I suggest we continue to do that.”
This statement greeted with almost unanimous approval, the notable exception, the Secretary of State. Some more discussions between various individuals followed, but eventually Avery convinced her to go along for a short period of time and said, “Very well. With everyone on board now, we will monitor the situation and the Secretary of Defense will keep us advised of the progress. We will reconvene tomorrow at nine o’clock or earlier if the SecDef has reason to request it. Until then.” Avery stood up to signal the end of the meeting and pointed to the admiral and the SecDef to remain.
After the room cleared, Avery said,” I think you two sandbagged me. You are trying to conduct a military operation without the President’s or my knowledge. I’ll not condone such action.”
The admiral viewed the SecDef, who stood tall and straight and then delivered his comments with a calm, even temper that belied his obvious struggle not to blast away at the pompous Avery. Carter said, “We had no such intention. I’ll not deny that we hoped to have this concluded and presented as an accomplished fact, but we’re only carrying out our duty to eliminate the terrorist and retrieve the atomic bombs, and to keep you advised of our actions. I believe we have done both of these in a timely manner. I do not see a need for you to threaten. I strongly suggest you do not want to do that even if so inclined.”
Avery’s face turned a little red, and without another word he turned and stomped out of the room.
“Admiral, I think we just drew the line in the sand. Neither one of us had better cross it. Avery has the ear of the President, but in many areas, I believe I also have his ear and Avery knows it. So, my infighting might cause you some grief by collateral spill over. Admiral, I want you to get as much information to that team as you can. They may not know what to request, but you have all kinds of assets that you need to employ now to assist them. Use everything at your command. Is that clear?”
The admiral controlled his delight on hearing this order and that there was not going to be a conversation between himself and the President since the Secretary of Defense had stepped up to the plate on this one. “Yes, sir. I do have some things that might assist them. They are experimental and this might just be the time to call them into use.”
31
Al-Hanbali Convoy
28 OCTOBER – 5:42 PM
Al-Hanbali rode in the last vehicle as they sped away from the compound toward the main highway leading to Ras Tanura. Their confrontation with Faisal signaled a disaster for Fatimah. For years, that control group had been putting together a financial and human network in the worldwide effort of the Islamic Jihad. The betrayal of that trust by Faisal could have severe ramifications. Tewfik thought that Hezbollah would somehow withstand the worst of the displeasure Fatimah would have to show for this breach of trust, but it would have to be demonstrated to the members of the Islamic Fundamentalist movement that no one could betray another with impunity. Reprisals against Faisal’s group, its leadership, and its finances were certain to follow.
Right now al-Hanbali’s major concern focused on the replacement of the Hezbollah men who were supposed to carry the weapons to the targets. They were now dead. He had to carry out his plan no matter the cost. Last minute substitutes would have to be used. The only ones available now were his own men. Damn, but that appeared to be his remaining choice.
“Watch the rear view mirror, just to be sure we are
not followed,” al-Hanbali instructed the driver.
“There have been cars behind us but they are not the same. It does not appear that we have anyone tracking us,” replied the driver.
Al-Hanbali made a call to Basam.
“Basam, I want to be sure no one is following us. We must’ve gotten all of Faisal’s people at one time. Now listen, we are going to stop about a hundred kilometers from here at a house owned by a friend. He is not there and we’ll be alone. Just as a precaution I want you to fall back to ensure there is no one following us.”
Basam pulled over to the side of the road and waited for al-Hanbali’s car to pass. He allowed the two cars to get a good kilometer ahead.
Over the radio Basam reported, “There is no one on our tail. I have waited for one minute and no one is coming behind us.”
“Rejoin us and take up the rear position,” Tewfik ordered.
After traveling for over an hour, al-Hanbali ordered the lead vehicle off on a small road to the right. They traveled for another ten minutes on this secondary road before al-Hanbali led them into a small compound area with a house located on the side of a hill. No lights shone even though it was after sunset, confirming his earlier information that the place was vacant. He led the cars to a shed next to the house. They parked them with the front end facing away from the building for a quick exit if it became necessary.
“Check the fuel gauges. I want to make sure we have at least a half-full tank to start in the morning,” ordered al-Hanbali. Inside the house he said, “We will be here until tomorrow morning. Then we will go to Ras Tanura and complete our mission. Basam, you take the first watch. I want someone walking around outside all night. We have experienced too many unexpected visitors lately and I don’t want any here.”
