The Dreadful Renegade: A Thrilling Espionage Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense) (8 page)

June 20
th
, Vancouver

The additional six hour drive from Portland to Vancouver was beyond their strength so they checked into a cheap motel, paid cash and went to their room.  After resting for a few hours they woke up, took turns in the shower and went out for dinner at a fast-food joint near the motel. They turned in for the night and woke up refreshed, with new energies but with the same old worries. They realized that the sooner they got out of the US the better chance they had of avoiding being captured. Their biggest fear was that their photos and passport numbers were sent out to the US and Canadian border crossings. They decided to try and blend in with the many Canadians returning to Vancouver from their good paying jobs in the US and weave in with the busy afternoon traffic. They were surprised and relieved when this simple ploy succeeded and after entering Vancouver found a nice motel and celebrated their escape from the US.

They saw that their cash reserves were almost depleted and what they had left would barely suffice for airfare to Turkey. They couldn't use their credit cards because they correctly suspected that those were closely monitored, and although they were out of US jurisdiction they feared the US authorities would drum up some fake charges and get the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to detain and extradite them. Their only asset was the car they had bought in a trade-in deal in Pasadena so Nagib drove to a used car lot in Vancouver and the dealer at first did not want anything to do with it but when Nagib said that he desperately needed cash a transaction was made for about half the book value of the car. 

Now they faced a new problem. Ever since 9/11 all airlines were suspicious of passengers who paid cash, of travelers who bought one-way tickets and of travelers that purchased their tickets shortly before travelling. In addition passengers with Arab sounding names were immediately suspected. Nagib and Alia suited all four criteria. However, when they checked the price of airline tickets from Vancouver to Istanbul they discovered that buying a one-way ticket was much more expensive than buying a round trip. A little further search of the web found that there was a special deal on tickets to Frankfurt, Germany, and they figured that they could fly to Germany and then continue their travel with one of the European low-cost airlines to Istanbul. These airlines did not care if you just purchased a one-way fare so they could save a considerable sum of money. They still had to overcome the other problems so they decided to concoct a heartbreaking cover story. They would claim that they had been on vacation in Vancouver when someone broke into their hotel room and stole their credit cards. Fortunately they had some cash and by selling their car – they had the documents to prove that – they raised some more. They received a message that Nagib's father was in a hospital in Istanbul and tradition dictated that Nagib as the eldest son, had to see him before he passed away. That would also explain why they couldn't wait for new credit cards and clarify why they had to pay cash as well as explain their Arab sounding names. They hoped this would be convincing and as a back-up Alia was ready to shed tears because of the bad fortune that transpired while narrating her story.   

Obviously they couldn't buy their tickets on-line because using their credit cards would instantly alert the authorities, so they entered one of the few remaining travel agencies and explained their predicament. The polite travel agent examined their US passports, found nothing wrong and was favorably impressed by their appearance as solid citizens, so she didn't even mention the problems they had anticipated. They handed her the cash, received the printed tickets and walked out of the office holding hands. There were direct flights from Vancouver to Frankfurt but the cheapest fare they found was operated by Icelandair and was scheduled to take off early the following morning. They were not worried about the stopover in Reykjavik because they were convinced that no one would be looking for them there.

June 21
st
, Los Alamos

The first task force, responsible for locating Nagib and Alia was clueless as to their whereabouts. The couple had been traced to California, the used-car lot in Pasadena where they had traded in their fancy Toyota for a cheap sedan had been found by the Pasadena police that alerted the junior FBI agent. The dealer instantly recognized Nagib from the photo the agent had shown him but said that he did not get a good look at Alia. He described the car he sold he sold them as an old Nissan in excellent mechanical condition and gave them the license plate registration number. He added that they looked pressed for cash and that he was very pleased with the good deal he had made with the trade in. When asked if they gave an address in Pasadena he said that he thought that they mentioned a cheap motel nearby, and when asked if they said where they were headed he answered that they didn't speak much. He neglected to repeat the joke on "the 5-50 guarantee" which was not really surprising.

The FBI agent looked at his map and saw that there were only two motels near the dealership. The woman at the reception desk of the first motel sighed when the agent approached her and showed her the photos of Nagib and Alia. She mumbled something about police harassment and confirmed that they had stayed a few nights at the motel. She mentioned that they had paid cash and kept to themselves, adding that those were the kind of guests that were most welcome. She said she knew nothing about their past, present and future plans, and really couldn't care less where they had come from and where they were going to. The FBI agent didn't even bother to ask to see their room and reported the news to the senior FBI agent, Penny, who was in Los Alamos.

The meeting of the task force proceeded. The fact that the couple had been seen in Pasadena a mere two days earlier was encouraging as it indicated that they were in no hurry to leave the country, because this could have been done easily before anyone had an inkling that they had gotten away with the classified information. To Penny and the more experienced members of the task force this indicated that they were dealing with amateurs that were bound to make more mistakes. Furthermore, they had a good description of the car the couple had purchased. However, in two days they could easily be a thousand miles from Pasadena, or perhaps just a couple of blocks away from the motel in which they had been staying. The police force in Pasadena and the neighboring towns was ordered to search for the car but no trace of it was found. 

The DHS representative immediately made sure that all border-crossings from California to Mexico and all airports in California were put on alert to watch out for Nagib and Alia, or for all young couples who even vaguely fit their description just in case they managed to acquire fake passports. He added that these passports may be under different names, not necessarily as a married couple, so the authorities should be really alert. In June, close to the height of the tourist season this led to many unpleasant moments because innocent citizens were aggravated by the intrusive questioning. Several adulterous couples who were just trying to get away from their spouses for a fling in Baja California or a vacation in Hawaii were embarrassed by the attention they received. Many threatened to write to their congressman and a few were detained because they refused to cooperate and caused a scene. There were some unexpected side benefits for the DHS – drug smugglers were caught, wanted criminals gave themselves in, Muslim agitators were stopped and even a few patients who had escaped from their mental asylum were reprimanded.   

Penny called for a wider search and the photos of the couple and details of the car's registration were sent to the crossing points on the Canadian border and to airports in a radius of 500 miles from Los Angeles.    

June 22
nd
, Frankfurt, Germany

Nagib and Alia landed at the bustling Frankfurt airport through which some 60 million passengers pass every year. The flight from Vancouver to Reykjavik and the short layover there were tiring but uneventful. Security in Canada was not nearly as rigorous as in the US, and although a few brows were raised when they presented their airline tickets paid for in cash and purchased the previous day, their heartbreaking story about Nagib's father dying in Istanbul and Alia's tears about being robbed and losing their credit cards was accepted and they passed through airport security and passport control without a hitch. 

After landing in Frankfurt, as they were only in transit on their way to Turkey they did not even have to go through German passport control. However, when they proceeded to the gate where their low-cost flight was scheduled to leave for Istanbul they saw that the flight had been cancelled and far worse, the airline had gone out of business. There were a few other stranded passengers at the desk by the gate and a young lady, dressed as a stewardess (sorry, cabin attendant) who was a representative of the now defunct airline. The young lady was in tears and told the angry passengers that their tickets were not worth the paper they printed on, if they bothered to print the electronic tickets, and she herself had not received her salary over the last three months. She said that they could sue the company but doubted whether this would solve their immediate problem. She added that statistically Istanbul was the busiest route from Frankfurt and assured them they would be able to get to Istanbul and suggested that they try to get on another flight but she had no specific information regarding the alternatives. Alia and Nagib were at a loss and tried to plead with the young lady to no avail. Nagib said that they could either try to get on another flight or go look for a cheap hotel or a bed and breakfast until they could get on another flight, or perhaps reconsider their original plan.

Alia said that she felt safe so far away from the Los Alamos and the US and that she wouldn't mind spending some time in Frankfurt. Nagib was concerned that the long arm of the law, or the intelligence services, would catch up with them and in addition was worried about their dwindling finances, so was quite reluctant to take the chance. But then Alia said that she had some distant relatives, second cousins she believed, that had a small business in Frankfurt. She knew that they had accepted the teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who claimed to be the metaphorical second coming of Jesus. The Ahmadi religion embraced some of the principles from other religions and adopted the teachings of monotheistic and Eastern sages from Abraham, Moses and Jesus to Confucius, Buddha and Guru Nanak, to name a few.  She added that the Ahmadiyya Muslim community was known for its tolerant approach and quest to end religious wars and was therefore accepted by most European authorities as being a potential bridge between the local governments and the more fundamental and fanatic Islamic movements. Nagib said that he preferred zealots that had their mind set on destroying Western civilization, or at least were actively fighting against Israel, but she responded by saying that these would probably be under surveillance by the
the BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst) that was the Federal Intelligence Service and the foreign 
intelligence agency
 of 
Germany
. When Nagib asked her if she knew how to contact those relatives she said she could call her father and ask him if he had their phone number or knew their address. Finally, Nagib acquiesced and said that a few extra days would give them time to formulate their plan and perhaps also enable them to make contact with the Iranian or Islamic State people, who were bound to have representatives in Germany.

In order to leave the airport they had to go to the passport control booths and wait in line with the non-EU residents. The line was quite long but moved quickly with typical German efficiency. They noted that some people, especially those with Arab features, were questioned at some length and sometimes escorted to another office, so they were a bit tense when they reached the booth in which a tough looking blonde with a sour face was sitting. However, she took a look at their US passports, held up each passport with the photo page and compared it to their faces, and when she was satisfied with the resemblance she smiled, stamped the passport and wished them a good day and a good stay in Germany.  They went to a moneychanger at the terminal and exchanged some of their US dollars for Euro notes, collected a tourist map and then boarded the train that connected the airport to the city.

As soon as they got off the train at the central train station they were surrounded by a mass of people of all colors, sizes and ages who spoke at least a dozen different languages. Arabic was quite prominent among them and Nagib relaxed a little feeling secure in this crowd. They entered one of the small electronic stores and bought a couple of SIM cards with prepaid calls that they inserted into their American cellphones. It was getting late in the evening and they easily found a very cheap hotel right near the station. No questions were asked when they asked for a room and paid cash. When the young man at the reception desk spoke to them in Arabic they pretended not to understand and said they were American tourists who were trying to save money by staying in inexpensive hotels. The desk clerk was a little offended as he recognized them as Arabs but didn't make much of it and just handed them the key to their room.

They had a short rest in the room and then showered in the rusty bathroom, and went out for a pizza and beer. After they had returned to the room Alia called her parents' store in Colorado where it was only early afternoon. Her father answered and said he was relieved and surprised to hear her voice and told her about the visit by the FBI. Alia said that it must be some big mistake as she was on a planned vacation in Europe with her husband. She said that she wanted to know if they had relatives in Europe and wanted to contact them to strengthen the family ties. Her father said that he only knew of some family members in Germany but had last heard from them quite a while ago and didn't have an address or phone number but remembered that the name of their business was "Sayed and Sons, Oriental Foods Imports" in Frankfurt. He added that Sayed was his cousin on his mother's side and that he had become an Ahmadiyyan so most of the family, who were Christians, didn't want anything to do with him, and regarded him as a traitor to the faith. He also said that Sayed was a good man who believed in justice and fairness. Alia told him not to worry about her and that she would be in touch soon and that he should not mention this phone call unless he was directly asked about it. She refrained from telling him that they were in Frankfurt and had plans to go to Turkey.

A short web search yielded the business phone number and address of "Sayed and Sons, Oriental Foods Imports". It was too late to call the shop but they decided to go there the following morning, case the joint and then decide whether they should contact Sayed and his sons.            

June 22
nd
, Los Alamos and Washington, DC

At last, the task force in charge of tracking Nagib and Alia had a breakthrough. The wider net cast by Penny had come up with information that the couple had crossed into Canada and were probably in British Columbia. The cooperation of the RCMP was pitiful at first, when they thought that the US authorities were after the couple for some trumped up allegations. However, this attitude changed when the head of the FBI personally called his opposite number in Ottawa and hinted at the kind of sensitive classified information on nuclear weapons Nagib had downloaded from a computer in one of the most secret and supposedly well-guarded facilities in the United States. 

It didn't take the RCMP more than a few hours to locate the used-car dealer who had bought the old Nissan from Nagib and only a short time to find their motel. A quick check of the passport control database at Vancouver airport showed that they boarded a flight to Frankfurt via a stopover in Reykjavik. The record showed that the ticket had been purchased at a local travel agency. The police inspector who was put in charge of the investigation in Vancouver drove over to the travel agency and was told that the agent who had sold the tickets had already left for the day. He was persistent and called her at home. She clearly remembered the nice, polite couple and after hearing their story of being robbed and about Nagib's father in Istanbul had felt sorry for them and had gone out of her way to assist them. She said that generally someone paying cash and buying a ticket for the next day would raise her suspicion – she was actually directed to call her manager in such a situation – but the couple was so nice, she repeated that, and she saw they were under real stress that she decided to act on her own volition and help them. She said that she had worked out the cheapest and fastest route would be with Icelandair to Frankfurt and from there by a low-cost airline to Istanbul that was their final destination.

The investigator called his boss who passed the information on to the chief of the RCMP who in turn called the head of the FBI who delivered the news to Penny in Los Alamos.  She told her boss that the matter was now out of her hands as her task force could not operate overseas and proposed to close down her group and reassign the responsibility to the other task force that was better suited to handle international affairs.

By the time these events had unfolded it was close to midnight in Washington, DC, so Penny called Eugene on his private cellphone, apologized for disturbing his sleep and updated him. She said that she had checked with the airline that the plane had landed right on schedule in Frankfurt and that the two Jaber passengers had disembarked there. Eugene asked her if there was any record of them boarding the flight to Istanbul and was told that she had not checked that as the FBI did not have the connections to do so. He then enquired if the FBI had put Alia's parents under surveillance and she answered that they didn't have the manpower for that, and added that they didn't even have a court order to tap their phone. Eugene was truly disappointed and hung up after thanking her for her efforts.

Despite the late hour Eugene called the NSA member of his task force, an engineer by the name of Brad Evans, explained the situation and asked him to check whether an international call had been placed to Alia's parents' phone. Brad said he'd get back to him shortly and then reported that no such calls were made to their home phone or cellphones, but a call from a mobile phone with a German SIM card was made to their store about 12 hours earlier. Eugene asked if the call was recorded and Brad said that he would have to check that early the next morning. Eugene thanked him and told him to update him as soon as he had the information.

June 23
rd
, Frankfurt

In the morning Nagib and Alia rose early and used public transportation to get to
the store of "Sayed and Sons, Oriental Foods Imports". The storefront was very modest – the text on the sign barely fit above the narrow door and store window. It was located in a small quiet street amid a neighborhood in which many Turks and other Muslims lived. At first, there were few people on the street this early, half an hour before most stores opened for business, but gradually more and more people filled the narrow sidewalks. Nagib and Alia wandered around the block and tried to understand the ebb and flow of people and traffic. If they could ignore the signs in German and only look at the people in the street, listen to them speaking and smell the odors they could easily imagine they were in Turkey or somewhere in the Middle East, perhaps even in Palestine.

Fifteen minutes after the store opened Alia and Nagib entered it. There was one other customer who was being served and after she had filled her basket with products and delicacies and paid the cashier, Alia approached the man who appeared to be the elderly proprietor who was seated at a table behind the cashier. In halting Arabic she asked him if he was Sayed. He looked up, saw a young woman dressed in clothes that were obviously American, and replied courteously that indeed that was his name. She introduced herself and the old man rose from his chair and greeted her with a perfunctory kiss on both cheeks and enquired about the health of her parents. Alia told him that they were well, had made a good life for themselves in Durango, Colorado, but missed the old country. Sayed said that he too missed it but did not want to return there, even for a visit, until peace prevailed in the Middle East. Alia called Nagib and introduced him. So here in Frankfurt stood the three of them – Sayed the Ahmadiyyan, Alia the Christian and Nagib the Muslim – related by family connections, but with little in common. Sayed complained that since his conversion most of his relatives did not speak to him so he was glad to see Alia. He then mentioned that his son, Ammer, had taken one step further away from his Christian roots and converted to Islam, mainly under the influence of his Muslim wife, Zenab.

Sayed asked them what they were doing in Frankfurt and Nagib said that they were on vacation in Europe and also planned to travel to Turkey. When Sayed enquired what they did for a living in the US, Alia replied that she worked in the office of the chemical firm in which Nagib was employed as a scientist. This was, of course, true but did not reveal the fact that they had worked in one of the most secret facilities in the US, and certainly did not disclose that they were wanted by US authorities for espionage and high treason. Nagib said that they were robbed on their way to Germany and their credit cards were stolen so were very short for cash as they could not access their bank accounts. He asked Sayed if they could stay with him for a few days until they replaced their stolen credit cards by new ones. Sayed said that he lived with his wife in a studio apartment above the store and had no room there but his son, Ammer, had a large house in a nice suburb just a few kilometers from the city center. He got on the phone and called his son explaining the situation. Ammer said that they were welcome to stay with him and that after work he would come over to the store and pick them up and take them to his home
. Nagib and Alia were overjoyed to hear that and said they would go back to their hotel and bring their stuff back to the store in the afternoon.