Infidels (32 page)

“The
American soldiers you have just witnessed in this video assaulted this Houthi
rebel camp with the hopes of rescuing Prince Khalid and had no idea the Black
Stone was there. Since this discovery, they have treated the Black Stone with
the appropriate reverence, and have not physically touched it in any way,
respectful of how important this object is to Muslims the world over. I ask my
fellow journalists to share this message with the world, and to make certain
that the message about to be delivered is heard by all military and government
forces in Saudi Arabia, especially Mecca.”

Niner’s
chest was tight as he watched the broadcast, the footage looping as the
reporter spoke, highlights in Arabic and English showing time codes and dates
to try and prove the authenticity of what was being displayed. The reporter
disappeared, and the voiceover returned, a map of Saudi Arabia shown, zooming
in to show the Red Sea Coast and Mecca with a red line running from the sea to
the city.

“We
have the Black Stone in our possession. It is safe, it is intact, and it has
been treated with respect. We will be returning the Black Stone to Mecca
shortly. We will be arriving by helicopter from the west at midnight local
time. Do
not
fire upon us. If you do, you will
destroy the Black Stone, and will be responsible for the consequences. I
repeat, we will be arriving from the west at midnight local time. Do
not
fire upon us. If you do, you will destroy the Black Stone. Allow us safe
passage and your holy relic will be returned, safely and intact, non-Muslim
hands never having touched it. Fire upon us, and it will be destroyed.”

A
talking head appeared, the footage relegated to the right of the screen.
“This
was received in our studios only moments ago and has appeared all over the Internet
and social media. The source is unknown and the government is denying all
involvement, still claiming American forces are not involved. This video would
seem to contradict the government line and CNN is working to confirm the
authenticity at this time, however with the midnight deadline referred to fast
approaching, the proof may only be known if a helicopter does indeed arrive
over Mecca and return the Black Stone, the theft of which has resulted in the
deaths of untold thousands around the globe. French President—”

Acton
muted the broadcast as a highlight reel of carnage began to play. He looked at
Niner. “What do you think?”

Niner
stood. “I think it’s ballsy.”

“Or
suicide.”

Niner’s
lips pressed together tightly. “I’m sure they thought they had no choice.”

“Let’s
just pray it works,” said Laura.

“From
your lips to God’s ears.”

Red Sea Coast, Saudi Arabia

120 miles south of Mecca

“There’s too many of them!”

Red
didn’t bother replying to Jimmy’s redundant statement. They had rounded a bend
on the old coast road and ran straight into a Saudi patrol of almost two dozen
men including a Humvee and a troop transport. It was his fault, he having insisted
that they pick up the pace, their rendezvous now only minutes away with far too
many miles in between. And it had led to them running into the patrol.

Though
in his defense, even if they were travelling at ten miles per hour they still
would have run into the patrol, it heading south on the same road they were
heading north on.

But
maybe we would have spotted them first.

“Drop
some surprises for them!” he shouted to Atlas and Spock in the rear as he kept
his weapon trained on the rise ahead, Jimmy travelling in reverse as fast as he
safely could with no lights, just his night vision goggles to show the way. The
Humvee crested the rise and Red didn’t bother firing, it an up-armored model
that thankfully didn’t seem to have a turret mounted weapon.

It was
no threat other than the men inside.

But one
lucky shot and their vehicle would be disabled, it unfortunately completely
unarmored.

Muzzle
flashes from the vehicle had him ducking back inside and returning fire, his AK-47’s
barrel resting on the side view mirror.

“Deploying
surprise!” shouted Atlas. Red couldn’t see the device in the dark but had to
trust his friend’s aim. “Fire in the hole!”

An
explosion erupted from underneath the Humvee, flame belching out the front and
sides, lighting up the entire area for a brief moment as the vehicle shuddered
to a halt, two of its occupants bailing out, apparently the only survivors.

Red
shoved himself out the side window and took aim at one of them but held his
fire when he saw the man was badly wounded.

He’s
out of the fight.

A quick
scan left showed the same for the other survivor.

The
transport truck rolled over the rise, lead belching from the rear, a row of
four soldiers standing upright in the back, their muzzles flashing.

Someone
found their mark.

Bullets
tore through the hood, cracking the engine block as steam burst through the new
holes and out the sides, the vehicle lurching to a halt.

“Everybody
out!” he shouted, grabbing the bag at his feet with his weapons and ammo before
bailing out the door and sprinting toward the nearest cover, a rock outcropping
just off the road. The transport truck pulled around the flaming hulk of the
Humvee, the troops still firing. Red took aim, firing three rounds into the
windshield, the truck suddenly veering to the right, his aim true. “Pick your
targets!” he shouted. “We’re going to need that truck to get out of here!”

Disciplined
single-shots from his men responded, the Saudi’s bailing from their truck and
taking up position behind it, their only means of reaching Mecca now a shield.

Shit!

His comm
squawked, something he had in his ear only out of habit. “Bravo Zero-Two, Pony
Express, come in, over!”

Red
grinned, exchanging an excited glance with Atlas to his right. “Pony Express,
this is Bravo Zero-Two, good to hear you, over.”

“Zero-Two,
is that your little firefight I’m seeing, over?”

“Could
be. Sending my coordinates now, over!” A few practiced taps on his display and
the coordinates were sent.

“Zero-Two,
we’ve got you. Keep your heads down, over.”

“Roger
that. Avoid hitting our Toyota, it’s a rental and has precious cargo, over.”

“Roger
wilco, daddio!”

Red
shook his head with a smile as he looked to the horizon, the thunder of
helicopter rotors finally reaching his ears.

Kane
to the rescue!

What
sounded like a beautiful .50 caliber opened up, the muzzle flashes highlighting
the outline of the chopper against the night sky like a strobe light, revealing
someone hanging from the open side of the chopper, belching lead on those below.
Red opened up with his own AK, the others joining in, their enemy’s cover no
longer valuable since they had a new ride.

As the
helicopter banked around its target, the heavy machine gun slicing through the
transport truck, those using it as cover were forced to choose between the
deadly .50 cal or the equally deadly 7.62mm AK-47’s.

They
chose poorly.

Rounding
the front of the truck in an attempt to escape the chopper, Red’s men cut them
down, the entire battle finished almost as quickly as it had begun. The team
advanced, weapons trained on the corpses, but it was unnecessary.

The
entire Saudi patrol was dead.

“I
wonder whose side they were on?” asked Atlas as he waved to the chopper, it
beginning to set down on the other side of the depression they were currently
in.

“Whichever
side it was, it wasn’t ours.” Red and the others jogged down the road to find
the helicopter landed, its rotors powering down but not off. Jagger gave him a
wave as he walked up, their comrade-in-arms manning the .50 cal that had saved
the day. He poked his head inside.

“Am I
ever glad to see you guys!”

Wings
gave him a grin from the controls, Kane turning in his seat, tapping his watch.
“A little birdie told me you needed a lift.”

Red
slapped Jagger on the shoulder. “I see you found our stragglers.”

“They
were sunning themselves on the beach when I arrived. I was insulted that you
weren’t there as well.”

“Well,
we’ve got a package that needs delivering.”

Kane
pointed to cargo netting in the back. “Another birdie told me that.”

Red
smiled. “I assume you’ve got a plan?”

Kane
laughed. “Always, my friend.”

“And it
is?”

“We go
in, balls to the wall, music blarin’, guns a blazin’ and return their little
rock.”

Red
shook his head. “How about we leave out the music and hold off on the guns?”

Kane
frowned. “Man, you must be a lot of fun at a party.” He jerked a thumb over his
shoulder at the back. “Let’s boogie, buddy. We’ve got a date to keep.”

Ibrahim Al Khalil Checkpoint, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

“Quiet!”

Colonel
Faisal bin Nayef held a hand up to his ear, certain he had heard a helicopter
over the chatter of his men. He had a dozen loyal men with him, men who would
follow any order he gave them, though at the moment he wasn’t sure what that
order might be.

The
broadcast sent out by the Americans had been seen around the world. Colonel
Clancy had denied any knowledge of it, claiming he had no contact with his men
since the small communications window had opened earlier in the day, but he
didn’t believe him for a second.

The
broadcast had infuriated him.

It
showed a complete lack of trust on behalf of Clancy, and was a betrayal of his
government by the Americans, their revealing of the truth to the world
completely undermining what was left of the Saudi regime.

The
tension had increased exponentially, even here in Mecca.

Troops
and citizens alike were questioning their leaders, demanding to know if what
the Americans were saying was true. The footage was convincing, especially
considering Nayef knew it to be genuine, but the party line was that it was
fake. The government wanted to be able to take credit for retrieving the object
themselves, and he had convinced them that the best way of doing that was to
arrange a handover at a secluded but secure location.

And kill
the Americans.

The
truth would have been concealed, the glory would have been claimed by the Saudi
regime, and the crisis would have been over.

But now
everything had been ruined.

According
to the broadcast the Americans would be arriving by helicopter, and everyone
knew exactly when and from where they’d be coming.

He could
definitely hear the thump of helicopter blades in the distance. He looked at
his watch.

Midnight.

“Exactly
on time,” he muttered.

“Do you
think it’s them, Colonel?”

He
glanced at Major Samara, a man who had served under him some years ago before
he had joined the Mabahith. When he had heard he was here in Mecca, he had
picked him to command the unit at the checkpoint, knowing Samara would follow
his orders without question.

“It must
be,” he replied.

“What
are we going to do?”

Nayef
still wasn’t sure. The original plan had the Americans arriving by ground
transport, easy to kill and retrieve the Black Stone. But now they were
arriving by helicopter which changed everything. He knew what he wanted to do,
but he couldn’t be certain the men with him would obey the order. For today he served
two masters. He served his monarch in Riyadh, but he also served the Prophet
himself. And serving the Prophet meant serving Allah, and though monarchs used
to be treated as divinely chosen, this was blasphemy.

The King
was not a representative of Allah, therefore his wishes could never override those
dictated by Allah, outlined in the Koran itself. The Koran was the word of God,
delivered by his messenger Gabriel to the Prophet Mohammed, to guide all of
mankind back to the true path intended for His creation.

And
despite the holy book, man had still managed to stray, by failing its test.

By
worshipping a false idol.

It was a
little over ten years ago that he had first realized the failure of the
followers of Islam. He had been participating in a passionate debate about the
inconsistencies in the Koran, explaining them, he felt quite successfully, as
not inconsistencies at all, but merely changes due to necessity. The Koran was
delivered to the Prophet over decades, and during those decades, this new word
of God had helped transform the region, bringing hundreds then thousands and
tens of thousands back to the true path intended for them, and as the Prophet’s
success continued to grow, the word of God evolved to match the new needs of
His people.

Therefore
the inconsistencies weren’t inconsistencies at all.

They
were merely old guidance, replaced by new.

Abrogation.

He felt
he had successfully convinced all in attendance that he was right. It was
hardly a unique position, he merely articulate enough to present the case
handed down over centuries by men far smarter than he was. He found though that
as he got older, more and more of today’s youth were questioning the Koran and
these inconsistencies, their exposure to the blasphemy coming through modern
communications, the Internet clearly the work of the Devil.

It was a
constant struggle, but when the youth he spoke to heard the truth, they were
quickly brought back to the true path, often with an understanding of how the
infidel knowingly twisted the meaning of the Koran to try and sow doubt among
the true believers.