It was a cold day on the East Coast. The roads were icy and the sidewalks had a dusting of snow.
The warmest place to be was in his room, and Kamal was lying on his bed reading one of his school texts.
The telephone rang loudly and Kamal pounced on it.
"Hello" said Kamal.
"How are things in Boston, my young friend?" Kamal instantly recognized the qyiet accented voice of Osama bin Laden.
"Sheikh! I am so glad you called."
"Tell me of your studies" suggested bin Laden.
"School is going well Sheikh. I am in the top five percent in all my classes, and only two more years to go until I graduate."
"Excellent, it is important to learn. Education will prove the background for everything you accomplish in life. Study hard."
"What can I do for you Sheikh?" asked an excited Kamal.
"There is a letter waiting for you downstairs with Amir" explained bin Laden.
Kamal was very surprised. He had not told the Sheikh how to contact him or his address.
"When you have read the letter, please memorize it and then destroy it."
"Of course, Sheikh. I am glad that you have chosen me to help. What do you need me to do?" asked Kamal.
"It is all in the letter. We will talk again soon."
Chapter 9
The Post Office was not far from The Brotherhood building. He was able to take a bus from Cambridge into town.
The letter from bin Laden had contained only a post office box key, and the address of the post office, nothing more. Kamal was disappointed at the time, but now also felt a sense of intrigue as he approached the ageing brownstone post office on foot. It was nearly midday, and there were a lot of people buzzing around on the streets. Kamal kept scanning the area looking around. He had the icy feeling he was being followed, but he saw no-one.
He quickly located the post office box, number 79. The key opened it easily. Inside was a regular envelope. Kamal was surprised it was so light. He thought it best to read it somewhere quiet, so he slipped it into his inside jacket pocket and walked to a nearby bus shelter and sat down.
He removed the single typed page from the letter immediately, putting the empty envelope back in his jacket pocket.
The note asked him to attend a meeting in a downtown coffee shop together with a telephone number. The note also told him to meet four hours before the time to be set in the telephone call.
"Hello brother" announced the voice when he called immediately.
"This is K… "
"No names!" interrupted the voice.
"I am sorry. What time would you like to meet?" asked Kamal.
"Is 7pm convenient my friend?"
"Yes, that will be fine. See you then."
Kamal tore up the note into small pieces dropped the pieces into a trash can.
The appointment gave him a couple of hours to kill. Kamal just wandered around central Boston. He came across a sporting goods store.
"How can I help you sir?" asked the athletic looking man behind the counter.
"I need a new pair of sailing gloves" suggested Kamal.
"I’m sorry Sir, we don’t stock boating equipment."
"Oh. Thanks anyway" said Kamal glancing down into the display case. It contained a large selection of hunting knives.
"Do you hunt sir?" asked the man excited by the prospect of a sale.
"I’m afraid not" announced Kamal.
"I thought sailors carried a knife in case they got tangled in the ropes or something" insisted the salesman.
"I guess that would be a good idea" mused Kamal "do you have something that is not too large?"
"This one has a razor sharp locking blade but folds up easily," said the delighted salesman reaching for one of the most expensive items.
Chapter 10
As suggested in the letter, Kamal arrived at 3pm, four hours earlier than the agreed 7pm time.
He was not expecting any trouble here, but the feeling of the new knife in his pocket was a comfort.
He was not quite sure what to do, so he just grabbed a cup of tea and sat down at a quiet table in the back. There was a newspaper on the table and he thumbed through it.
Kamal wondered how he would know his guest, but he did not have to worry, the guest had a picture of Kamal in his pocket to study.
A few minutes later, a man who was already in the coffee shop came over to Kamal’s table and sat down. He was short but had the stocky build of a weight lifter. The beard made it hard to guess his age.
"Hello, I am Roy, I am pleased to meet you Paul" said his contact.
Kamal did a bit of a double take but realized that he was not to use his real name.
They shook hands quickly.
"What can I do for you Roy?" asked Kamal.
"All in good time," suggested Roy.
They chatted innocently for thirty minutes about the weather, Kamal’s study, and about Islam.
Eventually Roy decided the time was right "Paul, I need someone to do some errands for the cause, can you help?"
"Of course Roy, what do you need?"
The stranger produced a small package from inside his gym bag.
"Please deliver this."
There was an address already written in block letters on the package. Roy gave Kamal some additional instructions about time of delivery and the route to be taken.
"One last thing" whispered Kamal’s new friend "it is best only to carry that knife when you might need it. You could draw attention to yourself if you are searched by the police carrying it during the day."
Kamal was quite stunned at this warning, it seemed he was right about being tailed.
Kamal delivered the package exactly as he was asked. He had no way of knowing that the package was filled with shredded newspaper and this was just a test.
In fact he had been clandestinely shadowed ever since he had left his room at the Brotherhood earlier in the day.
If Kamal had deviated from the instructions given to him in any way, he would have been immediately terminated.
These were very careful people.
Chapter 11
So far, Geraldine and Kamal had managed to keep their relationship quiet, Geraldine had insisted. In truth, she was a little embarrassed having Kamal as a lover. She was worried what her friends would think about her having an Arab companion.
Of course, women were not permitted in the Brotherhood building. But then again Kamal reasoned, since he owned the place, he would choose to make his own rules.
It took some ingenuity for Kamal to find a way to smuggle Geraldine inside. She was quite excited at the idea.
Kamal’s room was up one flight of stairs. There was a fire escape ladder that could be accessed from outside Kamal’s room. He noticed that it was quite old and rusty, so he oiled the joints so it could be swung down silently.
He went up the stairs into his room making sure the stairs and landing were deserted. Then he went out the window onto the fire escape landing and lowered the ladder to Geraldine who quickly scaled the steps. The ladder sprang back into place and they made sure they were quiet inside.
The pair had spent more than a dozen nights together here in their six month liaison.
As they lay cuddled close together Geraldine had an idea.