Brad Thor: Path Of The Assassin

“The Wrath of God,” said Vaile. All of the attendees who had been perusing the folders in front of them now raised their eyes and locked them on the CIA director.

Homeland Security director Driehaus moved uncomfortably in his chair for a moment before speaking. “Are you telling us you believe the Israelis have reactivated this unit to terrorize the Arab world?”

“We don’t know yet, but we’re putting a lot of resources into getting to the bottom of it. When it comes to covert operations, the Israelis are one of the best. If they don’t want anybody to know they’re behind something, most of the time they can make that happen.”

“What diplomatic channels have we tried?” asked the secretary of state.

Vaile glanced at President Rutledge before responding. “The president has put the question point-blank to the Israeli prime minister, and he has denied that his country has any involvement with the Hand of God.”

“So what, in fact, do we know?” asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

“What we know is that the timing of this couldn’t be worse. If you’ll permit me, I’d like to explain why the president has called this meeting,” said Vaile, who then asked for the lights to be lowered as he activated his laptop. Two, large flat-panel screens at the front of the situation room came to life with the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency as the director began his presentation.

“Before Osama bin Laden appeared on the world stage, the spotlight rested largely upon Abu Nidal, a man who not only wrote the book on international terrorism, but published it as well.

“The Abu Nidal Organization, also known as the Fatah Revolutionary Council, or FRC, has carried out over ninety terrorist attacks across twenty countries, resulting in the death and injury of more than a thousand people. At one point, the State Department classified Nidal and his people as the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world. His targets have included the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, moderate Palestinians, the PLO, and various Arab nations. The organization’s number-one priority after the creation of a Palestinian State is the destruction of Israel and then America-”

“Wait a second. These people have been off the radar screen for years,” said the secretary of state. “I thought we were operating under the assumption that Abu Nidal had been assassinated in Baghdad.”

“The CIA is inclined to agree with you,” responded Vaile.

“Then what are we talking about?”

“This,” said Vaile as he advanced to the next slide of his presentation. The long list of Abu Nidal’s terrorist activities, including masterminding the Rome and Vienna airport massacres, as well as the Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, disappeared and was replaced by an empty silhouette. “Ladies and gentlemen, meet Hashim Nidal. Abu Nidal’s son.”

“But there’s nothing there,” replied the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

“And therein lies the greatest threat facing our country at this moment,” replied Vaile.

“Director Vaile,” began the Homeland Security director, “are you telling us that despite the vast resources of the CIA, you don’t even have a picture of this man?”

“Unfortunately, that’s correct. Abu Nidal went to great lengths to keep the fact that he even had a son hidden. All we’ve been able to ascertain thus far is his name. Roughly translated from Arabic, Hashim means, ‘crusher of evil.’”

“Well, that’s lovely,” said the secretary of state as she closed her folder and pushed it away from her. “Are you suggesting, Mr. Vaile, that Abu Nidal turned the reins of the organization over to his son?”

“Based on the intelligence we have received, that’s exactly what we’re suggesting.”

“And what is this intelligence?”

“According to our sources, Hashim Nidal has united an international network of Islamic terrorist organizations including Hamas, Hezbollah, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the remnants of Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines…The list goes on and on. He has been able to convince them that their service to Allah can best be carried out by joining forces. He knows their strengths, as well as their weaknesses. They have been sharing strategies, intelligence, and even training. There’s a deep religious underpinning within all the groups, which Hashim Nidal is using to supercede their political beliefs. For all intents and purposes, he has united them behind a common cause-the destruction of Israel.

“And the threat to the United States is…?” asked Driehaus.

“Extremely serious. According to their doctrine, the destruction of Israel will be immediately followed by the destruction of the United States.”

“What’s pushed this all to center stage?” asked the secretary of state.

“There’s been a conflux of events-increased telephone chatter picked up by the NSA, FBI probes into suspected sleeper cells here in the U.S., and a significant breakthrough by the CIA,” said Vaile, with full knowledge that his agency needed to appear two steps ahead of terrorism for once instead of two steps behind.

“And what exactly was this significant CIA breakthrough?” asked Driehaus.

“With the help of the NSA, we’ve been monitoring communications among several of the most serious Islamic terrorist groups. Someone code-named, Ghazi, which is Arabic for “the conqueror,” has been repeatedly referenced as the great father of the organizations. Ghazi has also been discussed as masterminding an upcoming event that will begin the shift of world power to the true believers of Islam.

“Now, last night, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad was picked up in Beirut. Under interrogation, he identified Hashim Nidal as the person referred to as Ghazi, but said he’d never met him in person and couldn’t provide a description of him. He indicated that Nidal’s upcoming event was imminent and would unite the Arab world, once and for all, in decimating Israel, followed by the United States.”

Even the most seasoned poker faces around the situation room table couldn’t mask their shock and disbelief.

“Does the CIA actually believe this Hashim Nidal has the wherewithal to pull something like this off?” asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

“We can’t afford not to believe,” answered the president. “We’re going to need everyone working together on this. Hashim Nidal has to be stopped and his organization dismantled before he can launch any attacks within or against the United States. We also want to prevent anything that could start a war between Israel and the rest of the Arab world.”

“Without knowing what this guy looks like or where he is, how do we even start?” asked Director Sorce of the FBI.

“The CIA has already put the wheels in motion, and we’re tracking down several leads. We’ll find Hashim Nidal, and we will stop him,” replied Vaile.

Most of the people around the table, including the president, wished they could be as confident in the CIA as its director was. He was flying completely blind and they all knew it. Only a miracle would allow his agency to pull this operation off. The question was, where would they find one?

Scot Harvath made it outside just in time to see Lee’s cab pull away from the curb. The fierce wind was driving the rain horizontally as he and Sammy Cheng ran for the car they had picked up at the Macau Jetfoil Terminal.

Cheng threw him the keys and indicated he wanted him to drive so he could use his cell phone. Harvath maneuvered himself behind the wheel of the tiny tourist rental known as a Moke, and slid the seat back as far as he could, but was still cramped. Cell phone my ass, thought Scot. There wasn’t a person in Hong Kong he had met yet who couldn’t drive, talk on his cell phone, read the paper, change CDs, and eat lunch all at the same time. Cheng had just wanted the roomier passenger seat.