“To what end?” asked Chapel. “Any idea what kind of operation they’re going after? Who their primary adversary is?”
“Not until today. We do know this: They’re operating in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the UAE”-here she hesitated as a shadow crossed her face-“and, now, in Europe. If they’re in Paris, we can assume they’ve got cells in other cities on the continent as well. We believe they’re headquartered in the Middle East-Yemen, the mountains of Oman, or Saudi’s Empty Quarter. They appear to be a close-knit group, quite small. Judging from communication patterns, we reckon there are between six and eight key operatives.”
“One was killed yesterday,” Glendenning cut in. “Abu Sayeed. At one time or another, he was tight with Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and Al Qaeda. We don’t know why or when he crossed the fence to Hijira.”
“Sayeed was the man killed yesterday?” asked Leclerc, shaking his head as if his death were a bungle.
“It was a messy takedown. Our boys were a little late to the party. Sarah did a fine job keeping Sayeed until we could get to him.”
“Another corpse to interrogate,” said Leclerc. “Super.” Soop-air.
Biting back her contempt, Sarah pulled her notes closer, and ran a broken nail over the words. “I think we’d all agree that the man we’ve just watched is no ordinary player. He’s smooth, this one. Someone very special. Very frightening. He’s educated, probably in the West. Hardly your run-of-the-mill jihadi, is he? They’re usually younger, poorer, and for the most part illiterate. As to an objective, I can’t offer anything, other than what he obviously stated. ‘The struggle will come to you.’ As he was addressing ‘Americans and their sycophantic allies,’ I think we can take it that means the attack is to occur on U.S. soil. A few other observations, then I’ll be finished. First, he mentions ‘ ’tember morning.’ I heard that as September. Anyone think he may have been saying November or December?”
“It is September,” said Leclerc, unequivocally. “I have watched the tape a dozen times.” Lifting a hand, he motioned for her to continue, and even graced her with a smile. “Please, go ahead.”
Sarah nodded diplomatically, scolding him from behind frozen eyes. The pompous, misogynist prick. Eet ees Septemburr. “It’s tempting to take this as a date of the attack, but we can’t be sure. What puzzles me is his saying ’versary.’ Is that ‘anniversary’? If so, should we be looking at an anniversary in September as a possible date of the attack?”
“Nine-eleven’s the big one,” said Glendenning.
“True,” she said, “but September is chock full of important dates in Middle Eastern affairs. The Yom Kippur War started in late September of seventy-three.”
“The twenty-eighth, actually,” Chapel added, a little too assertively for her taste. “But it’s called the ‘October War.’ It’s hardly the kind of event they’d want to commemorate. It was a resounding defeat for the Arab states. Israel took the Golan Heights from Syria, territory from Egypt, and destroyed the armored capabilities of their three neighboring states. Maybe that’s the ‘humiliation and subjugation’ the freedom fighter wants to rectify.”
“Maybe.” Sarah looked closer at the Treasury agent. He was some kind of monetary specialist and Glendenning had told her they would be working together. He didn’t look like a quant jock. Too rough around the edges. More of a brute than a finesser. Here it was only twelve o’clock and he needed another shave. He reminded her of one of Daddy’s enlisted men who muscled his way into the officer ranks. All energy and good works, but God help you once he got his pips.
“I have one question,” Chapel continued, and she felt as if he were grilling her and she didn’t like it one bit. “You mentioned that when our friend on the tape used the expression ‘the land of two holy places,’ he was talking about Saudi Arabia, right? Mecca and Medina?”
“Yes,” she replied. “It’s similar to what bin Laden liked to talk about, except that bin Laden was referring simply to the presence of U.S. soldiers on Saudi soil, whereas this man seems to be referring also to U.S. influence. I guess he doesn’t want his MTV.”
To her mind, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was one of the most repressed countries in the world. It had one TV station, two newspapers, several state-sponsored radio networks, and the government controlled all of them with an iron hand. Less than ten percent of the female population had attended school at any level. Travel into and out of the kingdom was frowned upon and required a rigorous vetting process. Oil workers were confined to company towns. The Al-Saud family had done everything but hermetically seal the borders to keep out the “traces of Western corruption” the madman on the tape had talked about.
“So then, since he’s calling his group ‘Hijira,’ can we take it he’s Saudi?” Chapel asked. “I mean, that’s where the flight of Muhammad took place. Do you think his aims might be closer to home?”
Sarah decided she’d had enough. It was time to put the probationer in his place. “We haven’t the slightest hint that this is anything but an anti-Western group. One more Salafist Muslim organization that sees it as their holy duty to eradicate Christianity from the Ummah, the community of countries united beneath the Islamic flag. I’m afraid, Mr. Chapel, it doesn’t matter if he’s a Saudi or a Palestinian, or a Frenchman. He’s a Muslim, and whatever he plans on doing, it’s to further what he believes is the cause of Muslims and Islam around the world. No, I do not think his aims are closer to home.”
Chapel pursed his lips and sat back, his eyes flashing real anger. Sarah wondered if he was trying to intimidate her. Another tongue-tied bully? Perhaps she’d been too hard on him. No, she decided. She hadn’t. There was no point in letting their investigations get sidetracked before they’d even started. Hijira was her baby. She would point. He could dig.
Silence crowded the room as Glendenning made his way to the head of the table. “What we have on the table is a threat to the United States of America,” he said quietly. “Nothing more. Nothing less. We have all of us gathered in an effort to find the man who delivered that message and stop him and his associates from carrying out whatever assault they have in mind. We can’t afford any more of yesterday’s snafus. No more jumping the gun.” He paused, and it was clear that he was addressing the comment to Gadbois and Leclerc. “We have to lock down this investigation and keep its true focus known to only a few people. There will be no leaks. There will be no discussion of our real purpose outside of those here today. For the public, for the press, and for the police, we are engaged in a murder investigation with Middle Eastern overtones. A suspected terrorist killed four agents resisting arrest. End of story. There will be no mention of the tape and no mention of a plot. The defense minister has agreed to grant special police powers to all members of the Blood Money task force. Taking into account your expertise and experience, you are to use any and all methods at your disposal to find this man.”
Glendenning stopped speaking long enough to acknowledge all those present. “And if I’m not sufficiently clear, let me share with you the wishes of the President of the United States, as well as his close friend and ally, the President of France. You are to shoot first, and ask questions later.”
Chapter 13
“How long?” Adam Chapel asked, raising his head toward Sarah. “How long before the act do these guys make these tapes?”
“Hours,” she said. “Days. Longer if they have to travel some distance. At least that much is in our favor. If they are planning on hitting a target in America, we can assume they’ll need a little while to get there.”