Read Online Born of War by Anderson Harp - Free Book Online

police officer or a customer. The objective was to get in and get out before that happened.
    Ten thousand Leafs would be the final ride. It would allow him to get out and perhaps open a small hotel outside Geneva. There were some who made it. His mentor lived in Austria in a villa and traveled to Paris nearly every month.
    The good life.
    It would be easy to get the container to Oman and from Oman to Yemen. That would just be a matter of bribes and cash. He knew a man in customs who often looked the other way. The problem would be getting the container broken down into parts and crossing the Gulf of Aden in a small fishing boat.
    But the reward.
    He never considered the consequences. A weapon that threatened the power of an aircraft carrier could change the strategic game. The fleet would have to be more dispersed, stay farther away, and thus be slower to react when needed. Piracy could double as the result of just a sighting of such a weapon.
    And the weapon was made to move. Al Shabaab would build look-alikes, constantly changing their locations and hiding the real one.
    It was perfect for an army that was close to the sea and at the mouth of the natural waterway that forced ships to concentrate in one area. The Suez Canal pulled in the merchant ships and the ships pulled in the American Navy.
    I need the gold.
    A substantial down payment had to be made and Al Shabaab was not known to have the deepest coffers. But such a weapon would distract the American Navy and cause it to pull back from the Persian Gulf. Iran had to be a player in this scheme. Tehran was famous for building reversed-engineered weapons with the help of North Korea and China.
    A weapon such as this would pull the world’s attention away from Iran.
    â€œIran will provide the weapon and Al Shabaab the money,” he mumbled to himself as he looked at his cell.
    He paused as he considered the thought.
    I should have asked for more gold.
    But how would Al Shabaab get the money?

C HAPTER T EN
    â€œW ill it work?”
    â€œYes, I think so.”
    The two technicians at the FBI lab were taking the small remaining chip from the cell phone found at the church bomb site and pulling the data from it. They had the records as well. The bomber was recognized within a day and his Verizon account had been pulled. It was clear whom he was talking with up until the moment of the explosion.
    â€œHow far away do you think he has gotten?”
    â€œIf I would have to guess, I would say maybe Detroit or Minneapolis. The Mexican border would be too much of a risk. His beard would stand out. Unless he cut it.”
    Minneapolis was an area to watch. It had become a fertile recruiting ground for American jihadists.
    â€œNot likely that he will stay in the U.S.” The chief agent looked at the telephone records as he spoke. “We’ve had him on our list for some time.”
    Omar had been tracked ever since he’d shown up at the mosque near the University of South Alabama and had become more vocal about the needs of his faith. The FBI had followed him on several trips to Syria and watched as his comments went from following his father’s faith to demanding more from America. His dissatisfaction had become more vocal. Somewhere along the way in his Internet comments he’d become more bent on violence as a cure for his hate of the American culture.
    â€œA bad scenario.” The agent kept looking at the sheet. “He is an American, thinks like one, and is smart.”
    â€œCorrect.”
    â€œVery dangerous.” The older agent looked up. “Perhaps another attack in the U.S.?”
    â€œNot impossible.”
    â€œDidn’t he spend some winters in Toronto with the Somalis?”
    â€œYes, sir. I think he married one.”
    â€œLet’s let immigration know that the Canadian border is likely.”
    â€œAirlines?”
    â€œNo, not to Canada. He isn’t stupid.”
    Smith thought a moment.
    â€œThe last