Don Pendleton: Terror Trail

Stony Man

A counterterrorist unit so secret that only the Oval Office knows it exists, Stony Man takes action when a crisis too vast or virulent for official channels threatens. While the nation may never know about the elite commandos dedicated to protecting peace, as long as terror has a foothold in the free world, Stony Man won’t stand down....

Terror Trail

An extremist group is launching a full-scale attack to bring death to America’s streets. The plan is all-out destruction—in malls, schools, streets and public venues across the land. Stony Man puts a man undercover in the enemy training camp, while the other team members race to uncover the identity of the group’s powerful financier. Facing relentless fire in their grim assault against the soldiers of hate, Stony Man fights back with everything it’s got to keep innocent blood from flooding America’s communities.

In the computer room data flashed across the monitors

There was a palpable sense of urgency in the air. Each member of the team understood how quickly things could change and the critical need for relevant information.

Carmen Delahunt, ex-FBI, sat upright, a soft yes passing her lips. She gazed at her monitor, rereading the lines displayed there.

“DCRI,” she said out loud. “French Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence.”

The Direction Centrale du Renseignement Intérieur, founded in 2008, was responsible, among other things, for monitoring threats to France and had built a database of suspect individuals. Using one of Kurtzman’s programs, Delahunt had penetrated the DCRI. She had keyed in Sahar Muran’s name and had found his file and known associates.

The list threw up a number of other names, with brief biographies.

The one that stood out was Shaia Kerim. Now associated with Hand of Allah. When Delahunt read through the French-compiled list she saw that at least three other names were coupled with Hand of Allah.

And one of them was Sahar Muran.

Stony Man had their connection.

Terror Trail

Don Pendleton

www.mirabooks.co.uk

Special thanks and acknowledgment to Mike Linaker for his contribution to this work.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

CHAPTER FORTY

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

EPILOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

Oval Office

Washington, D.C.

“Is your man up to this?” the President of the United States asked.

Hal Brognola, the director of the Sensitive Operations Group, understood the question. The President was asking through genuine concern. The SOG was ultimately the man’s responsibility. Stony Man, the ultrasecret covert-operations group, ultimately came under the President’s purview. He alone knew of its existence, understood and accepted what it had to do and gave his blessing.

Stony Man operations were off the books. In many cases they might have been deemed illegal, because to get the job done the SOG operatives needed to bend, twist and often totally ignore the rules. The missions, aimed at combating enemies of the U.S.A., were not conducted against saintly, reasonable individuals. There were no opportunities for sit-down discussions, no openings for compromise. When faced with ruthless threats and out-and-out terrorism, Stony Man responded with the instinctive reactions of a mother lion protecting her cubs. In this instance they were hitting back against enemies who wanted nothing less than to inflict death and suffering on the citizens of the U.S.A.; in the past Phoenix Force and Able Team had encountered insidious plots aimed at bringing terror and destruction to America. Stepping up to the firing line was the SOG’s mission objective. They accepted that mandate without question. The President understood and was eternally grateful to his small, exceptionally courageous teams.

Which was why he asked the question.

“Is your man up to this?”

“Yes, Mr. President. In fact he was the first to volunteer when the subject came up.” Brognola allowed a brief smile. “I believe he was ready to fight anyone who tried to talk him out of it.”

The President sighed, leaning back in his seat behind his Oval Office desk.

“This is different from a full team effort,” he said. “One man in a foreign environment, surrounded by people hell-bent on some violent mission, and the only backup miles away if anything goes wrong.”

“We don’t have much of a choice here, Mr. President. The background we have on Hand of Allah is damn thin. So thin we’re having to go this route. Right now all we have is some electronic chatter. Couple of cell phone snatches.”

“Yes, I know, Hal. Don’t forget I was the one who passed it along to you because it was so thin. Have your people managed to pick up any more data?”

“The cyber team have been on it around the clock. Hand of Allah is pretty low-profile. Up until now the group has been considered little more than a bunch of talkers, not doers. If they are planning something drastic they’ve decided to hold back from advertising it too much. The Stony Man cyber team have been monitoring every source they have. Luckily for us they came across some loose chatter about Hand of Allah planning a strike against the U.S., by setting loose its martyrs on the streets. Looks like someone got excited over the prospect and had to broadcast it.”

“We were lucky to get what information we did, Hal. That gossip tied in with our other break. Information from a Yemeni national working undercover for the CIA. Behin Jahir is the one who came up with solid evidence that Hand of Allah is planning something. And he gave us the name of the group’s facilitator here in America.”

“Shaia Kerim. Kurtzman’s team worked up his profile and it’s given us a way in.”

“What would help is also identifying the Hand of Allah leader,” the President said. “Unusual for one of these people to stay invisible. They normally want to step into the spotlight. Just so they can tell us who they are and why we’ll never catch them.

“A shy terrorist,” Brognola said. “Maybe he’s creating a new trend.”

“What’s the next move?”

“Able Team has been briefed on what we have here. I’m going to cut them loose and let them work on that. The rest of Phoenix Force will follow up with Behin. Go to Yemen.”

“I hope we’re not sending a man to his death, Hal. Alone in the enemy camp. It’s a risky exercise. Maybe too risky to expect it to succeed.”

“Mr. President, if anyone can pull this off it’s Calvin James.”

“I hope you’re right, Hal. If anything happens to that boy, I’ll have a hard time forgiving myself.”

“You and me both, Mr. President. You and me both.”

War Room

Stony Man Farm

“I STILL THINK IT’S crazy,” T. J. Hawkins said.