A momentary look of satisfaction crossed Hartwell's face. "At any rate, Mr. Saeed Shayhidi's daily or nightly routine is about to be inextricably altered — shattered is a better word for what's in store for him."
Hartwell folded his napkin on the table. "The president has a wide menu of options at his disposal. SecDef, General Chalmers, and I believe — when exercised — they will have a profound effect on Shayhidi, as well as on other terrorists. I don't know which options President Macklin will decide to use, but keep an eye on the news for the next few days."
Unable to shake the image of Brett Shannon from his thoughts, Hartwell extracted a few sheets of paper from his folder. "On to our project in the northwest. Marines from Camp Pendleton, the First Special Forces Group from Fort Lewis, and national guard units are being deployed along selected areas of the U. S.-Canadian border."
"What about surveillance?" Scott asked.
"Were putting on a full-court press, everything we have available, including two innovations from black programs." Hartwell studied his briefing points. "Taking into account where the three terrorists were killed by the U. S. Border Patrol agent, we would like to have you start at that point and do a low-level airborne search for anything suspicious."
He unfolded a highly detailed Great Falls sectional aeronautical chart and placed it on the table.
"From what we know, FBI, and CIA, there is a pattern emerging. It runs from the west side of the Montana-Idaho border to Coeur dAlene, to Boise, and then to the Twin Falls area."
Jackie surveyed the chart. "Are those the areas where the suspicious people have been congregating?"
"Middle Eastern?" Scott asked.
"For the most part, but there are a lot of Islamic extremists who dont share the indigenous characteristics of the Middle East. WeVe also been observing Orientals, Caucasians, blacks, Ethiopians, and so on."
"What about the nukes?" Jackie asked.
"We believe the other six bombs came in the same way, but where they are now is anyone's guess." Hartwell handed each of them a thin bound folder. "You'll meet the FBI special agent in charge at Coeur d'Alene. He's been there for several months and will brief you, share what they have, before you start an aerial search with the helicopter." He looked at Jackie. "We have a LongRanger ready."
"Sounds good to me, one of my favorites." She glanced at the sectional chart. "Where's the helo located?"
"It'll be at Spokane International day after tomorrow. Your plane — I'm assuming you'll fly your plane to Spokane — will be guarded around the clock at the FBO, Spokane Airways."
"Thanks," Scott said. "Appreciate it."
Hartwell handed the sectional chart to Jackie. "You re on your own. If you find anything or need anything, let me know."
"Well do it," Jackie said, as she and Scott rose from their chairs.
They shook hands with all around, thanked Molly and Zachary for breakfast, and walked to their rental car. Scott slipped behind the wheel but made no effort to start the car.
"Are you okay?" Jackie asked.
'I'm fine." Scott turned the ignition key. "I'll feel a lot better when we get our hands on those nukes."
Chapter 8
Jackie flew the Gulfstream 100 from Baltimore to Dulles International, where they turned their new jet over to the linemen at Signature Flight Support.
After leaving the airport, they stopped by their office. Mary Beth Collins, their well-organized office manager, was so emotionally drained by the Queen Mary 2 disaster that Jackie and Scott insisted she take the rest of the day off.
With Mary Beth on her way home, Scott turned the sound up on the office television. He sorted through the snail mail while Jackie checked their e-mail. She paused and looked at Scott, her eyes reflecting her sadness. "The worlds lone superpower and New York City just got another bloody beating. The president better go after Shayhidi and destroy him at any cost."
"You have my vote."
A Fox News flash caught their attention.
This just in from Reuters. A London-based Arab satellite television station has reported that, although no group has claimed credit, they have information that the terrorist attack on the Queen Mary 2 is the beginning of another major assault on the United States.
"What else can they do?" Jackie wondered. "Security is tight everywhere; everything is covered."
Scott looked up. "That's when terrorism is most dangerous: when you think you have a handle on the problem and find out you don't."
The frowning TV anchor continued.
Corroborating evidence of the terrorist campaign came from a correspondent for Reuters. Moh'd Qudamah said he and his cameraman were taken by helicopter across the Iranian border into southwestern Afghanistan, near Pakistan. There they were thoroughly searched and then briefed about the QM2 by an unknown spokesman.
The anchor was momentarily distracted by more breaking news from Reuters.
After the shocking disclosure, Mr. Qudamah and his cameraman were detained in Afghanistan until after the attack on the Queen Mary 2 commenced.
The anchorwoman slid a small stack of new information across her desk, as file footage of military ships suddenly filled the screen.
This just in to Fox News. Senior White House officials have confirmed that American armed forces have been put on high alert. Warships in Bahrain, headquarters of the U. S. Fifth Fleet, were ordered to sea.
In addition, two American amphibious vessels have left the Red Sea port of Aqaba, cutting short a major military exercise. Our Pentagon correspondent will have an update at the top of the hour. Please stay tuned to Fox News for more breaking news on the tragedy at sea.
Scott checked the phone recorder, making sure it was turned on. "I think it's time to call it a day."
Her eyes brightened. "Let's go fly the Great Lakes, ring ourselves out doing aerobatics."
"Good idea."
"You can fly first," she said, disregarding the fact that the biplane used for aerobatics belonged to Scott.
A slow smile crossed his face. "You're spoiling me."
While his plane taxied to the runway at Madrid's Barajas International Airport, Saeed Shayhidi sat in his wide white leather chair at the head of the conference table. The meeting with the prime minister had gone well, and the new shipping contract was expected to be lucrative.
Shayhidi left money on the table, but the prime minister always treated him like royalty. This was important to Shayhidi; most of his close business contacts knew how to exploit that flaw in his negotiating skills.
It had sometimes taken Shayhidi months to negotiate a profitable deal, but recently things seemed to be happening on a daily basis. Business was booming for the shipping magnate. He attributed much of the success to his new business jet. It was a material statement that underscored Shayhidi's status in the world of global business interests.
Powerful people he had known for years seemed to be more respectful now that he owned a $57-million jet. No question about it, things were looking up for Shayhidi and his businesses. The money was flowing faster than he could spend it.
Shayhidi had a satisfying smile on his face, but his happiness was not related to business, the renewed contract, or his jetliner. The Queen Mary 2 mission had been an unqualified success even though the "death ship" had been prevented from steaming into New York City at full speed. The billionaire was anxiously looking forward to the next steps in his jihad on America.
When the BBJ lined up on the runway and began its takeoff roll, the CIA agent tracking the airplane contacted the Global Response Center, located on the sixth floor of CIA headquarters. A special team of analysts had been waiting for the priority event to begin. Working with the FBI, the information was sent to their Strategic Information and Operations Center.