Juan Gómez-Jurado - Contract with God aka The Moses Expedition

Fowler touched Andrea’s arm, noticing the bruises on her wrists.

‘Are you all right?’

‘Better than ever,’ she said, pushing the hand away. The last thing she wanted was male contact.

‘Ms Otero, did you hear the soldiers’ conversation while you were under the platform?’

‘What the hell were you doing there?’ a shocked Harel interrupted.

‘I sent her. She was helping me break up the frequency scanner so I could call my contact in Washington.’

‘I would have liked to have been informed, Father,’ Harel said.

Fowler lowered his voice until it was almost a whisper.

‘We need information and we’re not going to get it trapped inside this bubble. Or do you think that I don’t know you slip away every night to send text messages to Tel Aviv?’

‘Touch é,’ Harel said, pulling a face.

Was that what you were up to, Doc? Andrea wondered, biting her lower lip and trying to work out what to do. Maybe I was wrong and I should trust you after all. I hope so, because there’s no other choice.

‘Fine, Father. I’ll tell you both what I heard…’

‘We have to get her out of here,’ whispered the priest.

The shadows of the canyon surrounded them, and the only sounds came from the mess tent, where members of the expedition had begun eating their supper.

‘I don’t see how, Father. I thought of stealing one of the Hummers, but we’d have to get it over that dune. And I don’t think we would get far. What if we told everyone in the group what’s really going on here?’

‘Suppose we could do that and they believed us… what good would it do?’

In the darkness, Harel fought back a moan of rage and impotence.

‘The only thing I can think of is the same answer you gave me yesterday about the mole: wait and see.’

‘There is one way,’ Fowler said. ‘But it’ll be dangerous, and I’ll need your help.’

‘You can count on me, Father. But first explain to me what this Ypsilon protocol is.’

‘It’s a procedure by which a security detail assassinates all the members of a group they’re supposed to protect, if the code word comes over the radio. They kill everybody except the person who hired them and anyone he says should be left alone.’

‘I don’t understand how something like that can exist.’

‘Officially it doesn’t. But a few soldiers in mercenary outfits who were in Special Forces, for example, imported the concept from Asian countries.’

Harel stood very still for a moment.

‘Is there any way of knowing who’s included?’

‘No,’ the priest said weakly. ‘And the worst part is that the person who contracts the military detail is always different to the one who is supposed to be in charge.’

‘Then Kayn…’ Harel said, opening her eyes.

‘Exactly, Doctor. Kayn isn’t the one who wants us dead. It’s someone else.’

AL MUDAWWARA DESERT, JORDAN

Saturday, 15 July 2006. 2:34 a.m.

At first, there was absolute stillness in the infirmary tent. With Kyra Larsen sleeping with the other assistants, the breathing of the remaining two women was the only thing that could be heard.

After a while there was a light scratching. It was the Hawnvëiler zip, the most hermetic and secure in the world. Not even dust could penetrate, but nothing could prevent an intruder’s access once it had been unzipped twenty inches or so.

What followed was a series of faint sounds: stockinged feet on the wood; the pop of a small plastic box being opened; then an even fainter but more menacing sound: that of twenty-four nervous keratin legs scurrying around inside the little box.

Then there followed a discrete silence because the movements were almost inaudible to the human ear: the partly opened end of a sleeping bag being lifted up, the twenty-four little legs landing on the cloth inside, the end of the cloth being returned to its original position, covering the owners of those twenty-four small legs.

For the next seven seconds, breathing once again dominated the silence. The sliding of the stockinged feet leaving the tent was even quieter than before, and the prowler didn’t close the zip when he left. The movement that Andrea made inside the sleeping bag was so brief that it hardly produced a sound. It was, however, enough to provoke the visitors to her sleeping bag into discharging their anger and confusion after being shaken about so much by the prowler before he entered the tent.

The first sting drilled into her and Andrea shattered the silence with her screams.

Military studies for the Jihad against tyranny

In the name of Allah, the merciful and the compassionate […]

Chapter 14: Kidnappings and Assassinations Using Rifles and Pistols

It is better to choose a revolver, because even though it has fewer bullets than an automatic pistol, it doesn’t jam and the empty cartridges remain in the cylinder, making it more difficult for investigators.

[…]

Critical parts of the body

The gunman should be familiar with the essential parts on the body or [where] to wound critically in order to aim at these areas on the individual who is to be assassinated. They are:

1. The circle that includes the two eyes, the nose and the mouth is a fatal area, and the gunman should not aim below or to the left or right or he risks having the bullet fail to kill

2. The part of the neck where the arteries and veins meet

3. The heart

4. The stomach

5. The liver

6. The kidneys

7. The spinal column

Principles and Rules for Firing

The biggest mistakes in aiming are due to physical stress or nerves, which can make the hand jump or shake. This can be caused by putting too much pressure on the trigger or by pulling on the trigger instead of squeezing it. This makes the muzzle of the gun shift away from the target.

For that reason, the brothers should follow these rules when aiming and firing:

1. Control yourself when you squeeze the trigger so the gun doesn’t move

2. Squeeze the trigger without too much force and without pulling on it

3. Do not let the sound of the shot affect you and do not concentrate on what it will sound like because that will make your hand shake

4. Your body should be normal, not tense, and your limbs relaxed; but not too relaxed

5. When you fire, line up your right eye with the centre of the target

6. Close your left eye if you fire with your right hand and vice versa

7. Do not take too long in aiming or your nerves may fail you

8. Do not feel regret in squeezing the trigger. You are killing an enemy of your God

Friday, 14 July 2006. 8:34 p.m.

Nazim took a sip of Coke but immediately set it aside. It contained too much sugar, as did all the drinks in restaurants where you could refill your cup as many times as you wanted. The Mayur Kebab shop where he had bought dinner was one such place.

‘You know, I saw a documentary the other day about this guy who only ate hamburgers from McDonald’s for a month.’

‘That’s disgusting.’

Kharouf had his eyes half closed. He had been trying to fall asleep for a while but couldn’t. Ten minutes ago he had given up and tilted the car seat upright again. That Ford was too uncomfortable.