Lethal Trajectories (35 page)

J
oseph “Big Joe” Harrington was wrestling with a problem any news editor would give a week’s pay to have. He had before him an assortment of breaking stories, any one of which would, on a normal day, dominate the headlines for at least a week.

His employer, Shared News Services, was the fastest-growing news service in the world. While SNS’s content delivery system enabled end users to select the headlines stories they wished to view, he still had to put the news out there in some sort of order. He shuffled through the articles and pictured each beneath the masthead of their baseline e-publication format.

President Burkmeister to Resign at Noon Tomorrow:
The White House announced at 9:00 a.m. today (EST) that president Burkmeister will resign his presidency earlier than anticipated due to failing health. Vice President Clayton McCarty will be sworn in as president at noon on Tuesday, October 10, 2017, in the Oval Office of the White House. This preempts the initial succession date of October 14, 2017.

Saudi Oil Embargo Gains Traction:
Gas prices skyrocketed and markets plummeted as oil prices increased from $265 to $312 per barrel since the coup. Pump prices now average $9.04 per gallon nationwide. Shortages are widely reported and airlines have cut back sharply on scheduled flights. Wall Street expects heavy losses today.

Israel Hammered in Pincer Attacks:
In a series of major uprisings, Hamas-led forces have attacked Israeli outposts in Gaza and the West Bank, and Hezbollah forces have launched heavy rocket attacks from Lebanon. The Golan Heights are under rocket attack, and sporadic rioting has paralyzed Jerusalem. Strong Saudi forces are amassing south of Israel’s borders, spurring the movement of Israeli tank forces into troubled areas.

Backlash Brewing from U.S. Call for Chunxiao Moratorium:
Following Chairman Lin Cheng’s abrupt departure from scheduled UN meetings last week, the United States issued a surprise statement calling for a full moratorium on the Chunxiao Incident until the Saudi oil crisis is resolved. Japan and several other nations blasted the United States for failing to back their allies and honor commitments.

Saudi Forces Amassing on Borders of Kuwait, Qatar, and UAE:
Saudi tank forces and repeated flyovers by Saudi warplanes near the borders of GCC-member countries have caused alarm among all OPEC nations. Iran has mobilized its military and warned the Saudi government that aggressive action against any OPEC nation will be met with force.

Saudi Prince Denounces King Mustafa as a Fraud:
Following a shocking press conference in which Prince Khalid ibn Saud, currently in exile in Geneva, denounced King Mustafa as the perpetrator of the Saudi coup, OPEC nations expressed willingness to reinstate oil shipments should the accusations prove to be true—a significant setback for the Mustafa regime.

Big Joe thought the Saudi crisis was the number-one newsworthy story, but the president’s resignation would net the most readers. Everyone knew it was coming, but no one had imagined it would be so soon. Speculation was rampant that the president might even be on his deathbed.

As a grizzled newsroom veteran, Big Joe had heard and reported on the worst stories humanity had to offer. But nothing had ever come close to the explosive combination of events unfolding before him. He could only wonder what was now happening behind closed doors in Riyadh, Geneva, Beijing, and the White House.

A
furious King Mustafa paced as he waited for his cabinet to arrive for their morning meeting at the palace. Prince Khalid’s press conference on Al Jazeera had sent him into an apoplectic rage.

As they entered the room, Mustafa’s subordinates knew immediately that the veneer of civility was gone. It was going to be an ugly meeting.

“I’m sure you’ve all heard Prince Khalid on Al Jazeera. Due to your failure to remove him, Prince Hahad, we now have a major problem on our hands.

“Your Highness,” sputtered Hahad, “I had no way of eliminating Prince Khalid. He left for Geneva
before
our forces had mobilized, and I had no way of knowing that he was leaving so early for the OPEC meeting. There was no way I could have detained him, even if I had known he was leaving, without arousing suspicion.”

“I am not looking for excuses, Hahad,” Mustafa sputtered. “We’re beyond that. Now we must deal with the damage Khalid has done.

“I am concerned with Khalid’s press conference for many reasons, people,” Mustafa continued, not wishing to address them as brothers at this precise moment. “He has done much to harm our cause. First, he has countered our claim of a Zionist- and CIA-led coup and called our motives into question. Certainly, we’ll denounce his accusations as false, but even without hard evidence, his point that a coup of this magnitude could not be pulled off by a handful of rebels has a ring of authenticity. Our story may be believed by some, but not all of our Arab brothers are buying it—at least, not based on the reports I’ve seen.”

“The schools and clerics will toe the line, King Mustafa,” said Mullah al-Hazari. “We can help interpret what they have heard and point them in the right direction, but we can’t block everything they hear. Many of them follow underground news sources.”

“I appreciate that, honored Mullah, and I know you will execute your orders faithfully,” Mustafa replied, directing a venomous glare at Prince Hahad.

“Unfortunately, the goodwill we have generated by defeating an apparent international plot against Saudi Arabia is evaporating. It would be best to have the goodwill of our OPEC partner nations, but it looks now like we may have to take matters into our own hands.”

“What does that mean, Your Highness?” asked the ever-inquisitive Prince Bawarzi.

“It could mean many things. For instance, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE are all on the fence. Their leaders are fearful of losing oil revenues, but they couldn’t ignore their people’s outrage over a foreign-led coup. Now, however, as credible news sources call that fact into question, their people may pressure their leadership
not
to support our cause. We may need to more aggressively ‘persuade’ their leadership that working with us is in their best interests.”

“Will we invade?” Prince Bawarzi asked.

“Hopefully not, provided that they agree to ally with us and support our oil embargo. If they don’t, we’ll threaten an invasion or lob a dirty bomb on one of their smaller oil fields to show we mean business. I’ll make our expectations clear and outline the consequences of failing to follow our lead this week.”

As they further discussed the deployment of Saudi forces and their readiness to take action against their Gulf neighbors, the difficulty of occupying these countries with their limited forces became clearer. Bawarzi observed, “Even the Americans learned in their war with Iraq that winning a battle and occupying a country are two distinctly different things.”

“You are correct in saying this, Prince Bawarzi. I have known from the beginning that we lacked the troop density required for a successful occupation. My hope was that they would side with us as Arab brothers, but that equation may have changed with Khalid’s recent outburst. That is why I have always had a Plan B in reserve.”

“Plan B, King Mustafa?” asked Bawarzi.

“I have said little about Plan B because I had hoped it wouldn’t be necessary,” answered the irritated Mustafa. “In essence, Bawarzi, it is a power play. I will
suggest
to Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE that they request a
protectorate
alliance with Saudi Arabia. In such an arrangement, we will allow them to retain their sovereignty, but they will cede to us control over their foreign affairs and, to some extent, their oil exportation quotas. It will also provide us an opportunity to position military units in key areas of their country, if we so desire, under the pretense of protecting them against an infidel invasion. If they refuse my suggestion, I will threaten to contaminate their oil fields with dirty bombs launched atop our cruise missiles.”

‘That is brilliant, Your Highness,” responded the obsequious General Ali Jabar as the others all nodded their heads in smiling subservience.

“Thank you, General. Despite our lack of discussion on the plan, I feel we can accomplish all of our primary objectives with this approach.”

“There is no doubt that Khalid’s broadcast is a setback, but it’s not fatal. Our official position,” Mustafa said firmly, “will be that we are the true protectors of our land and our faith. The Zionists and infidels are our enemies, and we’ll gradually introduce the idea that the former royal government was contaminated by hypocrites, apostates, and polytheists. We must clearly establish that we are on the side of Allah, regardless of what Prince Khalid might say.”

“Allahu Akbar!” shouted al-Hazari in support, and the king nodded his approval.

“Honored Mullah, please report on your efforts to cleanse our land of the infidels’ influence.”

“It is a monumental task, given the years of benign neglect by the leaders we have deposed. Over time, they have allowed the infidel ways to contaminate large segments of our society. I only wish we could eradicate this contamination overnight, but we can’t. It will change, however.

“We will return our society once again to shari’a law
as it should be practiced,
not on a hit-or-miss basis, where personal indiscretions and the appropriate punishments have often been overlooked or minimized. We see what this has gotten us. Such laxity will now cease. From this time forward, the ulema
will
be elevated and religious police strengthened to aggressively enforce the law. We have already reinstituted the proper punishments for indiscretions, including beheadings, amputations, flogging, and stoning. As we return to a more austere society, the vile lifestyles of the apostates will be eradicated.

“We will also revisit the curricula of our school systems, and they will be purged of all inessential teachings. The curricula will be modified and strengthened all the way up to the University of Medina and the King Abdul Aziz University. Greater emphasis will be placed on our solemn obligation to proclaim our true Monotheistic beliefs through armed jihad or other means.”

“Thank you, esteemed Mullah,” said Mustafa. “Your words and your deeds are an inspiration to us all. It is alarming how even our Muslim brothers degenerate without proper religious instruction and adherence to shari’a law. Thank you, my brother.” King Mustafa was finally working himself into a better mood.

“Prince Hahad ibn Saud,” he continued in a more respectful voice, realizing that he had crossed the line earlier, “how are the Royal Guard and internal police handling the new imperative to improve our society?”

“Your Excellency,” answered the prince in a firm voice, “we have been most active in eradicating opposition fighters and expelling foreign infidels. These tasks are now all but completed.”

“Thank you, Prince Hahad, for your efforts. For the record, let me state that I understand your earlier statements about the impossibility of stopping Khalid without compromising our plan. However, I will feel better once I know that your security apparatus has permanently disposed of Prince Khalid and his followers. Am I clear on that, Prince Hahad?”

“Absolutely, Your Highness, and you can rest assured that we have committed ourselves to wiping him off the face of the earth. In addition to our highly trained assassination squads that are looking for Khalid, we have posted a reward of one hundred million American dollars for his head. He will not be around much longer to bother any of us—of that I can assure you.”

Mustafa nodded his approval and continued. “I am not pleased with the foreign response to our Five Demands. While the Israelis have their hands full with multiple insurrections by our brothers in faith, only a handful of nations have broken diplomatic relationships with the Zionists. Frankly, I expected more from China and Russia. We must accelerate our efforts to supply our brothers in Hamas and Hezbollah with dirty bombs. If we can provoke Israel into action, it will build support for our cause and negate some of the fallout from Khalid’s broadcast.

“I am also unhappy with Iran’s warning that we should go easy on OPEC nations. We can’t allow Iran to become a rallying point against our cause. How are we doing with our chokepoint strategy, Prince Al-Bawarzi?”

“Your Majesty, we are reviewing plans for an attack on the Strait of Hormuz. An effective attack would immediately deprive the world of large amounts of Iranian and Iraqi oil and severely damage both economies. Unfortunately, the Americans and Iranians also know this, and the region is heavily fortified. A dirty-bomb attack on a couple of key port areas could accomplish the same thing. We are exploring all possibilities, but we must also remember that Iran would be far less hesitant to unleash their nuclear weapons against us than the Western infidels. They may even relish the opportunity.”

“Very well, Prince Bawarzi, keep working on your plans,” Mustafa replied with an air of caution, then continued. “I’m afraid we’ll have to put heavy pressure on our Gulf neighbors. They are fair-weather friends at best; once their oil revenues decrease, they will sell their oil on the black market, weakening our embargo. They’re also susceptible to a foreign invasion, and we need them as a buffer zone against our enemies. I had hoped it would not come to this, but perhaps Plan B cannot be avoided. We’ll see.”

“On another note,” Mustafa continued, “the satanic Americans announced they will be changing leaders tomorrow. Burkmeister fawned all over the royal Saudi government. I know very little about his successor, McCarther—excuse me, McCarty. What can we expect from him?”

“Our intelligence sources are gathering information on Clayton McCarty,” Hahad reported, “and we will send you a copy later today. Other than their blind dedication to their Zionist stooges in the Middle East and at home, the Americans are never easy to read. They will certainly be torn. Will they jeopardize their own oil-starved economy to support the Zionists, or will they cave in and let Israel shift for itself so that they might save their own economy? Who can say for sure?”