The Dreadful Renegade: A Thrilling Espionage Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense) (23 page)

***

The official announcement by the Pakistani Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) was extremely out of character. It said that the Head of PAEC initiated a formal investigation into the disappearance of an undisclosed amount of plutonium from the stores of PINSTECH. This was unusual because these things were generally kept far away from the public eye. The announcement was received by all foreign intelligence agencies as a ruse and not as a credible fact.                      

July 26
th
, Islamabad

At noon Rahman entered the safe house in which Alia and Nagib were staying and waving a wad of American dollars and two Pakistani passports greeted them by their new names Fatima and Munir Abu Jihad. Nagib looked through the passports and was glad to see that they appeared to be used with several entry and exit stamps in the first five pages. Rahman then asked them if they had decided where they wanted to go, and more importantly what was their chosen destination for the suitcases. Considering that their prime targets were Israel and the USA that was a very complicated issue. First, because holders of Pakistani passports could not enter Israel at all and there was no embassy or even a Pakistani delegation in Israel. Second, going to the United States with Pakistani passports required a visa which they had no chance of obtaining and in addition it would also be very risky for the couple to set foot on American soil. Even if the suitcase could be shipped there with immunity and impunity as a "diplomatic pouch" they wouldn't be able to legally enter either country.

Nagib said that they wanted to detonate the devices simultaneously in Israel and the US and therefore each of them would have to travel alone to their separate destinations. Their plan was for Alia to travel to Mexico and infiltrate into southern California with the multitude of illegal aliens that crossed the porous border every day or night. So they requested that one suitcase should be sent to the consulate general of Pakistan in Los Angeles, either directly or via the embassy in Washington, DC. Alia would identify herself to the representative of the Pakistani intelligence service and he would hand over the suitcase. He would also hire some regular criminals to assist her if that was needed but in no way would directly involve Pakistan in the final act of planting the bomb.

Getting a device into Israel would be much more challenging. There would be no problem sending the suitcase to the Pakistani embassy in Jordan, Lebanon or Syria that bordered on Israel, but getting it across the border through the official checkpoints was something else, especially as Syria and Lebanon had no regular border-crossing arrangements with Israel. The only viable alternative would be to smuggle the suitcase and Nagib of course, with other terrorists but the chance of success was low because those borders were closely watched by the Israeli Defense Force. Nagib then came up with the idea that the Sinai Peninsula that belonged to Egypt had lately become an unruly place. Islamic State supporters freely launched attacks on posts of the Egyptian Army and police forces. They attacked roadblocks, camps, vehicle depots and population centers and inflicted severe damage and death. They adopted the heinous practice of making video recordings of mass executions of Egyptian soldiers and public beheadings of their officers. In addition there were other factions that tried to take advantage of the situation and smuggle drugs and refugees or work-seekers into Israeli territory or across the border into Israel or right through the southern part of Israel into Jordan. There were also tunnels that were dug from the Gaza strip that were prepared by Hamas and its supporters to carry out armed raids into Israel. Any of those could be used to get Nagib with his suitcase into Israel. Once inside he could count on the assistance of Palestinian radical factions to take him to the population centers in Tel Aviv, Haifa or Jerusalem where the bomb would have the biggest effect. Rahman said that although Pakistan wanted to maintain its good relations with Egypt the opportunities of getting across the border in Sinai were the most promising and said that he would see what could be done about it, with the obvious solution of sending the suitcase to the Pakistani embassy in Cairo. Nagib should encounter no problem flying from Islamabad to Cairo and using his Pakistani passport to enter Egypt.      

This plan was in contradiction to Alia's original statement that she did not want to do anything against the United States that afforded her family a chance for a better life, but was a result of the fact that Nagib was the one who would have to cross Sinai into Israel because a woman didn't stand a chance to survive the expected hardships in the company of a wild bunch of men. The plan also called for some coordinated timing so that the two events would take place simultaneously. Alia started to have second thoughts and then came up with a new idea that depended on the good will and ability of the Pakistani intelligence services. So she asked Rahman if his service could equip them with fake passports from European countries, like Greece or Turkey where their darker skin color would be the norm, or even from Scandinavian countries in which many immigrants from North Africa and the Arab world now resided legally. Rahman said that it would take time and could be done but wondered aloud how that would solve the problem of getting the suitcase bombs through airport security and customs without diplomatic immunity. After some further discussions they decided to continue with the original plan. Rahman was pleased that the details for their departure from Pakistan were finalized because he feared that their plan would be discovered by the official government who would terminate it. In addition he feared that the "suicide" of the former defense minister would alert the authorities to open a real investigation of the circumstances of his death and that may foil the whole plan.

***

Linda had arrived in time for dinner but as soon as she entered Alma's apartment and they exchanged their usual loving and tender kisses Alma pulled Linda to sofa and said that she had some exciting news and proceeded to tell her about the upcoming wedding. Linda was not totally surprised because she knew that deep down Alma was not a rebel and would follow the norm in Pakistan and stick to the standard life style and raise a family. Same-sex marriages were nonexistent in Pakistan and even having an open affair with a member of the same sex could get both members of the couple in serious trouble with the law. Linda was truly glad that her close friend and lover was so happy and although she knew that she would really miss her relationship with Alma she felt no resentment.

After dinner that was consumed quickly to allow them to spend more time in an intimate fashion they moved to the bedroom. Their lovemaking was extremely slow and gentle as they both knew this would have to be the last time in view of Anwar's marriage proposition. After feeling fully satiated Linda cuddled with Alma and asked her how Anwar had proposed – wondering if there were dramatic gestures that she deemed as pathetic – and was glad to hear that Anwar had been very civil and straightforward because, based on what Alma had told her about him, she had come to respect his intellect. Alma excitedly related everything that happened the previous night with Anwar and even told Linda about the low-grade plutonium that he presented as high-grade material to a foreign scientist with a funny name. Linda said she had no interest in stuff like plutonium but asked what she meant by a funny name and Alma said that it was Munir Abu Jihad. When Linda enquired what was so funny about the name Alma said that Abu Jihad meant "father of the holy war" which she considered as hilarious. They made love once more and Linda wished Alma all the happiness in the world with Anwar and left with tears in her eyes while Alma stood sobbing at the door.

As soon as Linda was in her car she called Blakey and asked him to meet her immediately. By the time she reached the embassy Blakey was already there and he led her to the safe conference room where she told him about Anwar, the plutonium and Munir Abu Jihad. Both realized that this was the new name Nagib Jaber would be using and that plutonium was involved although they were not quite sure what low-grade material meant. It was late afternoon in Washington, DC so Blakey called Eugene on a secure line and updated him on these recent developments. He also said that he had a gut feeling that the elimination of the minister of defense a few hours after they spoke to him at the embassy was related. Eugene said that he had talked to a professor at Georgetown University who was an expert on Pakistani politics and got a long lecture about the two factions in the Pakistani administration and the rivalry between them, in particular with regard to national pride and the country's nuclear arsenal.

Eugene deliberated whether to call his Mossad colleague David Avivi and share the shocking news with him and decided that due to the fact that special nuclear materials, SNMs as fissile materials were called, were involved it would be beneficial to alert Mossad and get its experienced agents to help track the culprits and plutonium. David was woken up by Eugene's call and when Eugene said that he had news of extreme importance and urgency that he could not divulge on the phone he agreed to fly to Washington and meet face to face as soon as possible.

July 27
th
, Islamabad

Alia and Nagib, now holders of Pakistani passports with the names of Fatima and Munir Abu Jihad, spent what they realistically considered as their last night together. Alia asked Nagib if he had any second thoughts about the plan that would most likely lead to their deaths and he looked at her and said that it was their historical role, their historical duty, to avenge the crimes committed by Israel and their American ally against the Palestinian people and Islam. Alia noted a new resolve in his eyes that were staring into empty space and avoiding eye contact with her. She asked him once more if he did not prefer to start a family and leave the business of taking revenge to others but he insisted that it was their responsibility. She tried once again and said that they could make a major contribution to the strength of Islam by delivering the advanced blueprints to Pakistan, but he said that they would probably never use them against the West for fear of retaliation. Alia looked at him once again and wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes and said that history will remember him as a true champion of the Palestinian cause and as the person who made the biggest contribution ever to the Ummah, an Arabic word representing the entire nation of Islam.

They decided that the most appropriate day for unleashing their attack on the Jewish infidels in Israel and on the Christian followers of the false Messiah, Jesus, in the United States would be during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims practice
sawm
fasting from dawn to dusk. Even more significantly, they set the date at the festival of Eid al-Fitr that ends the month of Ramadan and is a cause for celebration during which Muslims wear their finest clothes and decorate their homes. Nagib said that the gift they would give to Islam by carrying out their attacks would be the ultimate sign of devotion, spiritual and physical, that will never be forgotten by fellow believers. As the Muslims adhere to a lunar calendar the exact date of Eid al-Fitr shifts by 11 days every year relative to the solar year of 365 days. This year it coincided with the American celebration of Labor Day, on Monday, September 2
nd
. For a moment a fleeting thought passed through Alia's mind that perhaps they should wait a few more days until 9/11 but when she expressed this Nagib objected saying that the Americans would be more alert on that date and that it had no religious significance to Muslims, unlike Eid al-Fitr. He added that Labor Day special sales would assure that there will be large crowds of shoppers in shopping centers and malls and that would be a perfect target for Alia's suitcase bomb. They then discussed the exact time for the attack, considering that there was a 10-hour time difference between Israel and California. Nagib suggested that the best time would be at noon time in Los Angeles when shopping will be at its height and Eid al-Fitr festivities in Israel and Palestine will be under way at 10 pm local time. As the target in Israel was Tel-Aviv, a city that never stops, the exact number of casualties was not expected to change much during the day or night.

They expected that the five weeks until their intended D-Day would allow them ample time to get to their targets and yet the date was close enough to reduce the probability of unveiling the plot. They decided that they would tell Rahman and the Pakistanis about their plans with regard to the date but not the exact time nor the intended targets. They knew that the fewer people who knew their plans the better the chance of evading capture.         

July 28
th
, Islamabad

Rahman had overseen the arrangements made by the Pakistani intelligence services and when he arrived at the apartment to escort Nagib and Alia, now Munir and Fatima, to the airport he was not surprised to see that the couple was very quiet and introverted. They appeared to be in a contemplative mood, each with their own thoughts about the future. Nagib, somewhat formally and stiffly, informed Rahman about their decision to carry out strikes at the same time in Israel and the US and to do it on Eid al-Fitr. When Rahman tried to learn more about the exact time and location of the targets Nagib answered that these details were not relevant.

When they reached the airport Alia boarded a flight to Mexico City and Nagib a flight to Cairo. Rahman assured them the special suitcases will be sent to Los Angeles and Cairo by diplomatic pouch and gave them the contact details of the people in the Pakistani embassies in both cities. They agreed that the passwords used to verify their identities and those of the contacts would be "Do you remember my cousin Junaid?" that would be answered by "She just married Rahman". Rahman smiled and said that this indeed was his intention once the task was successfully completed. Rahman again raised the question of handing over the complete blueprints and Nagib answered that both he and Alia would have a copy that will be delivered at the two embassies in return for the suitcases.

***

At the American embassy in Islamabad the information supplied by Linda effectively meant that their role in the pursuit of Nagib and Alia Jaber had ended as the couple was ready to leave Pakistan. Blakey felt that he had failed miserably in his attempts to apprehend the couple or even get the Pakistanis to arrest them. He started to feel the undercurrents in the Pakistani administration that became evident with the "suicide" of the minister of defense shortly after being briefed by the ambassador about the sensitive information that was in the possession of Nagib. He also understood that his best source in the Pakistani nuclear establishment had dried out when Linda and Alma curtailed their affair. He was not really surprised when he was summoned back to Langley for an indefinite period.