computer screen began to flash. The message indicator blinked FLASH. He guessed something had gone wrong in Baghdad and a SNAFU was in progress. He checked the message coding that told him the originator.
Tara.
CHAPTER 7
AFTER MIDNIGHT SATURDAY
TEWFIK AL-HANBALI’S HEADQUARTERS
BAGHDAD, IRAQ
Tewfik al-Hanbali paced back and forth, looking at his watch several times a minute. Hours had passed since Abdul called to tell him that he was following Mohammed. Abdul shouted that Mohammed was a traitor. Al-Hanbali found this unbelievable; in the past, Mohammed always had provided excellent information and insightful analysis of what the Americans were doing. Al-Hanbali knew his terrorist cell, known as Al-Qulam (The Pen) from sura 68 in the Koran, had used the information to counter many of the coalition forces’ initiatives and to coordinate some of their moves, even though most were not successful.
Al-Hanbali was planning to be in Beirut in two weeks. There he would meet with the other two leaders who had been given their initial tasks. This face-to-face meeting would allow for the final coordination of the effort to bring the Western world to its knees. He had engineered the conceptual plan in every detail; now the execution must be just as precise.
His special contribution to the meeting would be announcing his recruitment of Yuri Marchanovich, the Russian he had known from years ago at university. He planned to go to Moscow to visit with Yuri, who after graduation had become a physicist working for the Russian military in their nuclear development program. He had the exact skills they needed. In two days time, al-Hanbali’s task was to convince the man to build an atomic device.
Right now, he had to determine what had happened to Abdul and why he had not reported. He called his second-in-command, Madjid, and ordered him to find Abdul. If Mohammed had revealed their plans to anyone outside the organization, it would put the entire operation in grave jeopardy. Twenty minutes later, Madjid returned.
“Abdul was last seen leaving here at about 9:40. Mohammed must have left earlier,” said the man as he came into the room. “He was also sighted entering a house near the mosque, the one off the road the Americans call Santa Fe. It was the house that was just hit by an American bomb.”
“Is there any more information on what happened to Mohammed?” al-Hanbali asked.
“We were not able to find out anything else. I’ll go back there now to see what I can learn,” Madjid said.
It was early the next morning before al-Hanbali received additional details of what had transpired at that house. Madjid reported, “There appeared to be at least two bodies found inside the house: one of them was definitely Abdul, the other we are not sure, and there might be a third. The best guess is that Mohammed was in there with them. It must have been an American guided bomb that went off course and struck that house. Why, I don’t know. There was no planned meeting there. No one lived there. There were no terrorists, family members or any other reason why the Americans would've attacked that house.”
“Did you see any activity around the house?” al-Hanbali asked.
“Yes, the Americans had sealed off the area and were removing something. It must have been parts of the bomb or parts of a body. Maybe they wanted to find out why the bomb had gone off course.”
Al-Hanbali dismissed him and sat down, feeling the tense muscles straining in his neck. He stretched out his arms, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. If both Abdul and Mohammed were dead, their plan and his mission to Moscow remained safe. Mohammed, the only person in his organization in whom he had confided any information about the future operation, was now dead. He had revealed to him only the name and that the plan was an attack against the Americans. He told Mohammed he was going to a meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel in Beirut to coordinate the attack. He
Tara.
CHAPTER 7
AFTER MIDNIGHT SATURDAY
TEWFIK AL-HANBALI’S HEADQUARTERS
BAGHDAD, IRAQ
Tewfik al-Hanbali paced back and forth, looking at his watch several times a minute. Hours had passed since Abdul called to tell him that he was following Mohammed. Abdul shouted that Mohammed was a traitor. Al-Hanbali found this unbelievable; in the past, Mohammed always had provided excellent information and insightful analysis of what the Americans were doing. Al-Hanbali knew his terrorist cell, known as Al-Qulam (The Pen) from sura 68 in the Koran, had used the information to counter many of the coalition forces’ initiatives and to coordinate some of their moves, even though most were not successful.
Al-Hanbali was planning to be in Beirut in two weeks. There he would meet with the other two leaders who had been given their initial tasks. This face-to-face meeting would allow for the final coordination of the effort to bring the Western world to its knees. He had engineered the conceptual plan in every detail; now the execution must be just as precise.
His special contribution to the meeting would be announcing his recruitment of Yuri Marchanovich, the Russian he had known from years ago at university. He planned to go to Moscow to visit with Yuri, who after graduation had become a physicist working for the Russian military in their nuclear development program. He had the exact skills they needed. In two days time, al-Hanbali’s task was to convince the man to build an atomic device.
Right now, he had to determine what had happened to Abdul and why he had not reported. He called his second-in-command, Madjid, and ordered him to find Abdul. If Mohammed had revealed their plans to anyone outside the organization, it would put the entire operation in grave jeopardy. Twenty minutes later, Madjid returned.
“Abdul was last seen leaving here at about 9:40. Mohammed must have left earlier,” said the man as he came into the room. “He was also sighted entering a house near the mosque, the one off the road the Americans call Santa Fe. It was the house that was just hit by an American bomb.”
“Is there any more information on what happened to Mohammed?” al-Hanbali asked.
“We were not able to find out anything else. I’ll go back there now to see what I can learn,” Madjid said.
It was early the next morning before al-Hanbali received additional details of what had transpired at that house. Madjid reported, “There appeared to be at least two bodies found inside the house: one of them was definitely Abdul, the other we are not sure, and there might be a third. The best guess is that Mohammed was in there with them. It must have been an American guided bomb that went off course and struck that house. Why, I don’t know. There was no planned meeting there. No one lived there. There were no terrorists, family members or any other reason why the Americans would've attacked that house.”
“Did you see any activity around the house?” al-Hanbali asked.
“Yes, the Americans had sealed off the area and were removing something. It must have been parts of the bomb or parts of a body. Maybe they wanted to find out why the bomb had gone off course.”
Al-Hanbali dismissed him and sat down, feeling the tense muscles straining in his neck. He stretched out his arms, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. If both Abdul and Mohammed were dead, their plan and his mission to Moscow remained safe. Mohammed, the only person in his organization in whom he had confided any information about the future operation, was now dead. He had revealed to him only the name and that the plan was an attack against the Americans. He told Mohammed he was going to a meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel in Beirut to coordinate the attack. He
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