Secret of the Oil: Prequel to the Donavan Chronicles (21 page)

AL-HANBALI’S FINAL INSTRUCTIONS

OUTSIDE RAS TANURA

29 OCTOBER – 6:35 A.M.

Dawn broke over the eastern horizon at 6:36 a.m. The barren desert reflected the light into al-Hanbali’s eyes as if it were a mirror. No obstructions, no trees, not even a decent sized shrub to block the intensity of the light coming in. He awoke to the most important day in his life. After all the preparations, all the planning, and all the deaths and treachery, and even the satanic attack by the Americans, he prevailed over all. Now he held a position to complete his mission in just a few short hours. He would show Fatimah and the world that Tewfik al-Hanbali could do this. This mission remained the will of Allah.

As he gazed out over the sandy landscape, he reveled in the thought that this was his country, he loved it, and he hated the Americans for their invasion. Today he would strike a blow against them from which no recovery would be possible.

Time to start.

“Everyone up. Let’s get going. I want to leave here in ten minutes. Check your cars and ensure they are ready.” Tewfik turned and signaled for Basam and Yuri to join him. Then he led them outside.

“This is our day. We’ll set off the atomic weapons. We can do it. I want you, Basam, to take Yuri with you from now on. He is the one who will have to go to either location if there are any last minute difficulties. Don’t follow me when I turn off into the desert; the others are going to get their orders in just a minute. I’ll go to place the bomb into the shaft of the oil well. Any questions?”

“I am ready to do as you ask, but I would rather be the one to take the other weapon into Ras Tanura,” Basam said.

“I know, my brother, but this job I have given you is the one I need you to do.” He turned to the Russian and said, “Yuri, we’re near the end of your time with us. Before we left my house I kept my word and I transferred the remaining money into your account. I know you do it for the money, where we do it for honor. But realize that when this is over you may become the most wanted man in the world.”

“Maybe, but I’ll have enough money to hide for a long time, or at least till the next time you need me. Good luck today,” Yuri said.

Al-Hanbali could see the fear and trepidation Yuri once had in Moscow had vaporized. He was enjoying this. The monetary gain that Tewfik had put into Yuri’s account had trumped all the other concerns the Russian had ever shown.

As they reentered the room where the others waited, al-Hanbali raised his hands and thanked Allah for the men here and the chance to do the will of Allah today. They held morning prayers. Then, as leader, he recapped the entire operation and issued his final orders.

“I want Ibrahim to be in the vehicle with me.” This man had worked in the oil fields for years as an engineer. Two weeks ago he had gone to the site he selected and prepared the oil rig’s cavity to accept the package that contained the weapon for the subterranean detonation. The atomic bomb could be slid down the shaft to a depth of three hundred feet on the cables he had pre-rigged for the purpose.

“You four will the take the first car and go into the center of the city. At exactly 11:50, you will enter the Najib building.” Al-Hanbali reached into a small briefcase he carried and produced a map showing the location of the building. “I have called ahead to the old partner of my father, a Mr. Yasir, in the trading business, and told him you would be delivering a personal gift from me to him. You will go directly to the elevators; there is no security checkpoint as it is an office building. Go to the top floor. When you arrive at that floor, the doors will open into his office. There is a security guard there. You will now be at the top of the tallest building in the city,” al-Hanbali looked at Yuri who nodded in approval.

Yuri had stressed that the higher the bomb when it detonated the larger the area of coverage.

“As soon as you get into his office area, you will kill anyone who opposes you. I’ll call you at exactly twelve. You will hear the phone ring in the container you take with you. Do not attempt to answer the phone; it is my signal for you to clear out of there. You will have thirty minutes from when that phone rings to be out of the city. Meet back here after dark. Any questions?”

They asked him what would happen after thirty minutes. Al-Hanbali told them the entire building would be destroyed. That was all they needed to know. He knew there was no way for them to escape after the assault on the office and then to get to a safe distance before he intended to detonate the bomb.

When al-Hanbali looked at Yuri, the man turned sideways and looked at the ground. Yuri surely knew that al-Hanbali had not told the truth. When that phone call was made, there would be less than ten seconds until a fifty-kiloton atomic weapon exploded and killed everyone within ten miles, wiping out the oil port and all the facilities at the same area.

The thought of the destruction and the mayhem to follow pleased Tewfik. The immensity of the destruction and the death toll did not concern him in the least. He did not care that many followers of Islam would die: the ones in Ras Tanura were in league with, and profiting from, their association with the evil of the West. The great number of unbelievers in the area was of no concern at all. This was going to work and there was no one who could stop him. The attempts on his mission by some American special operations team, the betrayal of Faisal and his attack on his house, and the possible listening to his phone calls by a hostile intelligence agency, nothing could stop him. This was to be his day.

         
I’ll succeed. I have outsmarted all of my enemies. Now it is time to go.

STRIKE TEAM ONE

OUTSIDE AL-HANBALI’S LOCATION

6:42 AM – 29 OCTOBER

Matt observed the house in the dawn light. He shivered as the sun broke over the horizon, not yet able to shake off the chill. It would be another hour before the temperature warmed enough to make it comfortable and then in a few more hours it would be unbearably hot.

At three this morning his phone had rung. The Center operations officer informed him a team headed by McDonald would arrive in a few hours. He took it as a slap in the face. Why was he coming? If the general had decided to reinforce the team, all she had to do was send in a few more soldiers to augment his strength. Why McDonald? The man must have convinced her that Matt was screwing up the job. It had to be. Could McDonald have been the one to cause the delay in getting out of Turkey and squashed their chances for getting the mission accomplished on the first day? On arrival, McDonald would take over the entire mission as the senior officer on the scene; that must have been his goal from the start. Some things were starting to crystallize in Matt’s head. The second or bravo team wouldn’t arrive before nine according to the latest estimate by the Center and many things could happen before that time.

Things immediately started to change as he observed the house; the targets went to their cars. Matt watched their preparations to depart through his binoculars. This would change the parameters of the orders he had received. His orders were to observe until reinforcements arrived. That presupposed al-Hanbali would remain at the present location and that McDonald would take over on his arrival. Now things were rapidly changing. He would follow his orders to keep them under observation and do whatever it took to keep them in sight—but it might not be at this location. He called the team together.

“Listen up. We are ordered to observe the bastards until a team from D.C. arrives to reinforce us. They think we’ll have the firepower and manpower to take them on at that time. I think the guys in that house are preparing to leave right now. We’re only sixty miles from the major port of Ras Tanura, where all the oil from Saudi goes onto ships from the pipelines coming in from the oil fields. These guys have stayed out of the city during their whole operation. I think they are preparing to go into the city and set the thing off. They have been edging towards the city for the last two days. It must be the target. There is really no other place to go in this area. If they start out this morning toward the city, we will take the first opportunity to change from observing to attacking them. I don’t care what it takes, we cannot let them get to the city and detonate an atomic weapon or somehow put it on a ship to go to America.”

He sensed the agreement from the members of his team. They had pursued these maniacs for days without achieving the objective of securing the bombs. Sure they had been close but never close enough. Now it appeared they would get their chance. He knew they all could feel that the end would have to come soon. This was the first time the terrorists showed any inclination to go into a built-up area. Logically, there could only be one reason for that–-they were ready to set off the bomb, or to hand it over to someone else.

“We’ll follow them the same as yesterday. You three follow the green car, Bridget follows the red and I’ll follow the gray. If they split up, stay with your assigned vehicle. We stay in contact at all times,” Matt concluded.

“Sir, what if we think they’re placing the bombs or look like they are ready to detonate it?” Lucien asked.

“If they appear to be ready to set it off, we have no choice but to attack at that moment. Let’s be sure to concentrate your firepower if that is the case.” Matt opened a large-scale map of the area. They examined the most likely routes into the city.

“They are starting to move,” Peter said while looking at the house on the hillside.

“Okay, mount up and let’s follow. Keep your distance, as they don’t seem to think anyone is on to them from the minimal security I saw last night. Play it cool.” Matt grabbed his gear and headed for his vehicle.

Once they started after the terrorists, there was no difficulty in following them on a major road. The traffic going into the city in the morning was moderately heavy. It also allowed them to travel unobserved by al-Hanbali’s men as they blended into the morning flow.

On the outskirts of the city, the traffic became a snarling morass of jeeps, SUVs, camels and motorbikes. They approached a major intersection. One road was signed to lead into the heart of the city; the other went south toward the desert.

The lead vehicle of Tewfik’s convoy turned into the city. “We have the lead vehicle and will follow it,” Peter said over the radio.

The other two vehicles turned south. Bridget and Matt followed them.

“Bridget, do you have any idea why they would split up?”

“Negative. But the ones going into the city may be going to position the bomb and then get away before it blows. I think the ones going to the desert are likely to have the detonator. They wouldn’t have that with the bomb, I don’t think.”

“Okay, just stay on your men and we’ll see. Peter, keep us informed of what the guys you are following are up to.”

“Wilco,” Peter responded.

Peter, Lucien, and Gary continued to follow their prey into the city. The terrorists seemed to be just driving around and not going anywhere in particular. After an hour of this, Peter called Matt.

“They seem to be going in circles. They don’t appear to have a destination in mind, at least not yet. Any orders?”

“Just keep on their tail. They may be waiting on a signal or a specified time to do something. We’re still following the other two who appear to be going out into the oil fields. Don’t know their destination either.” Matt ended the call.

He and Bridget had to stay a good distance behind their quarry, as there were only a few cars on the road going away from the city. The route through the city and then the turnoff to go out to the desert had taken over an hour and a half. It was pushing eleven o’clock.

Matt was now in a pursuit that was shaping up to give them an advantage. The terrorists had divided for the first time since the team parachuted into Saudi. This was his chance to take action. Eventually, the terrorists would have to act. They were not in a fortified or defensive position, and they were vulnerable out in the open. He had confidence the training the team had endured and successfully completed would allow them to handle this situation without any outside help. The arrival of McDonald would signal the end of his command. Finally, he realized that McDonald was not his friend. Some things had bothered him: the delayed plane in Incirlik, the command not to do anything coming from McDonald, the impending arrival of McDonald to take over the operation. Matt smelled a rat.

The reinforcement had likely arrived at his last position by now. He was supposed to be there. Matt considered what he was doing as more important than sitting and waiting on some more firepower. McDonald would undoubtedly call to find out what was going on and why he wasn’t at that location. After days of pursuing the terrorists, Matt was finally in a position to act. His full concentration was on following and then engaging the targets.

The secure satellite phone rang. Matt didn’t answer it. The phone continued to ring and then stopped.

ADMIRAL KIDD’S QUARTERS

FT. MEADE, MARYLAND

29 OCTOBER

In his quarters on Ft. Meade, Admiral Kidd could not get to sleep. The old house, built in 1944 during WW II, was now the residence of the head of the National Security Agency. The blue flag of an admiral, with three white stars upon it, was centered behind Kidd’s private desk where he now was pacing on the blue carpet.

It was 3:30 a.m. in Washington, 11:30 a.m. in Saudi Arabia. The problem he faced would put him in direct conflict with Avery and the SecState. He was fully aware that they would eventually want or order him to reveal all his sources and inform the government of Saudi Arabia of all the U.S. government knew about the terrorists and the operations they were conducting against them. The last thing he wanted to do was reveal to them the existence of atomic weapons on their soil.

He picked up the phone to call Avery and ask him again to leave the situation alone until the military option was completed or no longer possible. Stopping short of letting it ring, he slammed the earpiece into the cradle. After a few more minutes of sitting behind his desk, he again picked up the phone and dialed Mary Jean.

“Sorry to bother you,” he said. He had the personal telephone number of all general officers serving in the Washington D.C. area and many, both American and foreign, in various positions around the world.

“No problem, Admiral. I wish I had some news for you. Last I knew, the reinforcements had arrived in country to support the team already there and they should be in position by now. I was just going to call to get the latest. May I call you back in a few?”

“Of course. I await your call.”

Mary Jean called the center. From them she learned the team under Lieutenant Commander McDonald was at the location Captain Higgins had given them. There was no one at that location according to McDonald. Puzzled, she ordered them to patch her through to McDonald.

“General we’re at the location Matt gave us last night and there’s no one here. No friendlies and no hostiles. The helicopter that delivered us has gone back to refuel and won’t return for an hour. I’ve tried to call Matt but there was no answer.”

“Okay, you’re stuck there for at least an hour; I’ll get back to you as soon as I get more information.”

Mary Jean hung up, picked up her personal satellite phone, and dialed Matt. The phone rang. He did not answer. Just as she was getting ready to push the end call button, she heard Matt’s voice.

“Hello, General. I have tried to get through to the center for an hour but no luck. I must be in a dead spot or something.”

“Give me a situation report,” Mary Jean commanded, not believing the dead spot story but pushing ahead. There was no time to go into reprimands.

Matt provided her a quick version of what transpired after the terrorists left the house. He provided his location and that of the team members. “In summary, General, I had no choice but to follow the terrorists as they left this morning. We would have lost them if I had obeyed the order to stay there until reinforcements arrived. We currently have them in our sight and they have split their force. We will engage them as soon as we see an opportunity.”

Mary Jean took her time now to think this through. She could order him to stop, but he was really in hot pursuit of the most dangerous group of people in the world at that moment. She had reinforcements in the area. Getting the two teams together would be desirable, but that might prove impossible.

“Keep after them and don’t find any more dead spots. I mean it, Captain. I’ll call you back in fifteen minutes.” Mary Jean ended the call and dialed Admiral Kidd.

“Admiral, I just talked to Captain Higgins and he has split his team to follow a group into the city and he and Sergeant Donavan are following two cars out into the desert south of Ras Tanura. The al-Hanbali gang left the place where they stopped last night before our teams could join up. The bravo team, the one that just arrived, is at the last overnight location of the terrorist, but it’s stuck there until the helicopter can return in less than an hour from now.” Mary Jean finished the report with some anxiety showing in her voice. There were so many unknowns and she was not on the scene.

“Sounds like the young Captain has it well in hand,” the admiral said. “I think, however, he is going to need some help. I would estimate the terrorists are about ready to set off the bomb or bombs if we are to believe the report we decrypted. I need to get on the phone to a friend in Saudi and ask for a big favor. He will not ask questions. After it’s over, I’ll owe him one.”

“May I ask what makes you think they’re ready to act?”

“Those people have avoided the city like the plague. That is the target. The one in the desert, according to the CD, was to contaminate the oil reserves of the Kingdom. The leader is probably in the desert. It is the safest place as a weapon going off underground is an entirely different kettle of fish than one detonated on the surface. He probably has his men taking the bomb into the city to wherever he has selected for the best place to detonate it. The Russian must have given him advice and as a former nuclear weapons officer, I can tell you the best place is as high above ground as you can get it.” The admiral was reaching into his briefcase to pull out his list of contacts in the intelligence community around the world. He found what he was looking for. “Goodbye, Mary Jean. Please keep me posted in case the National Security Advisor wakes up with nothing to do but harass the director of the NSA.”

Mary Jean called Matt. “I’ve been advised by Admiral Kidd that the terrorists must be getting ready to act. This is the first time they have ventured into the city and it would make a perfect target. The car that went into the city is most likely the one with the large kiloton weapon we learned about from the image you forwarded, and they’ll be looking to get it as high as possible. The other one is probably going to set off the underground device. You must act as soon as you can get into a position to engage. We are running out of time. Shoot first. Stop them, Matt,” the Brigadier said.

“Yes, ma’am. My target is turning off the road to go cross-country. I’ll call you when it is over.” Matt closed the phone. He had his orders. He contacted Bridget and relayed what the general had said.

“Great. At least we can get them now no matter what. My guys didn’t turn off when yours did. I’m still on the main road behind the Nissan. Will keep you posted on their actions,” Bridget said.

After making the turn onto what was a rough sandy trail, he called Peter. “The general thinks they are going to the highest point they can get to in the city. Also, she says we have to act now: they are ready, in her opinion, to detonate the bombs.”

“If that’s the case do you want us to take them right now?” asked Peter.

“Wait until you can do it without an open street firefight. Our orders are to take whatever action necessary to neutralize them. Time has almost run out.” Matt returned to following the trail of the gray vehicle. He slowed to keep a greater distance between them as they were both producing a cloud of dust at the current speed. This was not even a secondary road and they had no idea how long the terrorists would lead them away from the city on this desert road that now quickly became a trail as it rose and fell with the sand dunes.

Matt looked at his watch. He had no way of knowing that al-Hanbali’s schedule called for simultaneous detonations at exactly noon. The time was now 11:45 a.m.