David said, “Okay, thanks, everyone, let me take you through the same information that I gave to Chuck.”
David repeated what he had told Lundy, in a bit more detail this time. When he was finished, Crowley began firing questions away.
Crowley said, “David, please take no offense to my line of questioning. I am not trying to ascertain fault, but to fully understand what went on.”
“Okay.”
“Was there a plan for Iran to attack the United States?”
“Sort of. The plan was to stage an attack on Iran and provoke them into attacking the US in the Gulf region. Then there were to be several different attacks on the US mainland to help ignite a large-scale war with Iran. The members of the Red Cell designed the plans so that all attacks would look like Iran was responsible. Eventually, one of the attacks on the US mainland would be a large cyber attack, which would actually originate in China. But it would still look like Iran was responsible.”
“Alright, so this cyber attack would involve ARES, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“So can you confirm that everyone involved, including both you and Henry Glickstein, took part in planning attacks on the United States?”
David frowned. “We tried not to fully participate once we understood what was going on.”
“David, I completely understand. Again, I’m not trying to determine guilt. I just want to understand how people were used. So you two, along with the rest of the members of this Red Cell, participated in planning attacks on the United States and its military?”
David looked at Henry, wondering why this was important. “Yes, Mr. Crowley, that is accurate.”
“So this…”He paused like he was looking down at his notes, “… Lena… she chose people to participate based on their areas of expertise and how they could contribute to planning attacks on the United States.”
“That’s correct. But Bob, I think our time would be better served here if we talked about how to save the Americans that are still trapped on that island.”
“Absolutely, Dave. One last question — your area of expertise was ARES, is that correct?”
David said, “Yes, that’s accurate.”
“Okay, thank you, David.”
“Now I have some questions I would like to ask if it’s alright.” He tried not to sound irritated.
“Sure, sure, go ahead.”
“Is my wife alright? I haven’t been able to reach her.”
Lundy’s voice. “David, I spoke with her less than thirty minutes ago. We’ve got her coming into our office for a brief on the situation. Obviously due to the sensitivity of this matter we didn’t want to tell her everything over the phone.” David wondered if Lundy had called her number at the same time he had, causing it to go to voicemail.
David said, “Thanks, Chuck. I appreciate that. Now about the Americans on the island…”
Bob spoke up again, “David, we can’t go into details on this line, but rest assured that we intend to have all of those Americans in our possession within the next forty-eight hours. Now that’s probably more than I should share, but I want you to be able to sleep well tonight. Everyone in this room is fully committed to getting our people back.”
David felt a huge wave of relief. Henry had a big smile on his face.
“What about ARES and the Chinese attack? They are planning to put the country into a communications blackout. And a lot more. I told you the basics of the plans. And there are supposedly Chinese agents in the American government already. Now we’re not sure what to believe, but—”
“David, again… the men in this room are the good guys. You don’t know us, but you know Lundy. And he can vouch for the rest of us. Just sit tight. Now that we know what’s going on, we’re going to be able to put our best people on it. US Cyber Command has already identified the ARES programs on many of our satellites and has begun operations to neutralize their ability to activate. And I personally am overseeing the personnel issues that you have brought up.”
Henry held out his hand to David for a high five. David half-heartedly obliged.
Crowley said, “You did it, guys. Your warning came in time. I would hate to think what might have happened if it hadn’t. And because we have you as witnesses, we can press the international community for unilateral punishment of those responsible. Please let me be the first to offer you a beer when you return.”
A few men seconded the applause on the phone. Henry held up his beer in a mock salute.
“What about our protection in the immediate future? Where should we go? We’re a little worried that Lena Chou’s people might be looking for us.”
Philippe got the message he was waiting for. EXECUTE ORDER. APPREHEND MANNING AND GLICKSTEIN. LETHAL FORCE NOW RECOMMENDED. DELETE THIS MESSAGE AFTER READING.
He deleted the message, opened up the car door and stepped out toward the hotel.
“Stay here,” he said to the men in the car.
Philippe unholstered his gun and was at the door before the men in his car knew what he was doing. He brought his pistol up to the lock of the door and fired twice. Two loud gunshots reverberated through the street. A few screams of surprise from the nearby streets. The sounds of his men, no doubt running to support him, regardless of his order. Philippe had to hurry if he was going to pull this off.
The door reverberated and opened slightly, the lock blown out. He kicked it hard, and it slammed open. Philippe ran into the room with his weapon drawn.
David heard the gunshots coming from outside.
Henry sprang up near the window and waved his arm for David to come take a look. There were two sedans parked at the curb of the hotel across the street, right outside room 142, where Henry had placed the relay phones.
Henry ran to the phone on the table and ended the call.
David said, “What do we do now?”
“We call them back with this phone, without the relay this time. The app that I installed on the phones across the street worked as the decoy. But now we have to use this actual phone without any relay that would throw off our scent. We call them back right now and set up a meet time and place. Then we leave this phone here and run, because they’ll trace this call as soon as we make it.”
David said, “Okay. Set it up. Let’s roll.”
Henry typed on the phone and disconnected the application that had served as a relay to the phones across the street. He dialed the number and laid the ringing phone on the table.
“This is Lundy.”
“It’s David. We’ve got a problem. There are men across the street that are firing rounds and went into a room that we had set up as a decoy. I don’t have time to explain further. We’ve only got a moment. We’re going to have to leave this location. I’m going to give you a rendezvous point. When can you have someone pick us up?”
It sounded like Bob’s voice again. “Yes, David. We can come get you. We will have people on the ground there soon. You tell us where to be, and we’ll pick you up and bring you to a secure location.”
David placed his finger down the map until he saw something that would work.
Henry, standing at the window, said, “They’re leaving the room. There’s two cars full of them. Shit, one of ’em’s walking across the street and heading this way.”
“Lundy, you said my wife’s on the way?”
“Yes, David, she’ll be here soon.”
“Talk to my wife. Ask her to tell you her favorite aunt’s name. We’ll be on that street in one hour.”
Lundy said, “Yeah, I hear you—”
David hung up the phone.
Henry turned out the lights and said, “Where are we going?”