Path Of The Assassin

“According to our sources, Hashim Nidal has united an international network of Islamic terrorist organizations including Hamas, Hezbollah, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the remnants of Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines…The list goes on and on. He has been able to convince them that their service to Allah can best be carried out by joining forces. He knows their strengths, as well as their weaknesses. They have been sharing strategies, intelligence, and even training. There’s a deep religious underpinning within all the groups, which Hashim Nidal is using to supercede their political beliefs. For all intents and purposes, he has united them behind a common cause-the destruction of Israel.

“And the threat to the United States is…?” asked Driehaus.

“Extremely serious. According to their doctrine, the destruction of Israel will be immediately followed by the destruction of the United States.”

“What’s pushed this all to center stage?” asked the secretary of state.

“There’s been a conflux of events-increased telephone chatter picked up by the NSA, FBI probes into suspected sleeper cells here in the U.S., and a significant breakthrough by the CIA,” said Vaile, with full knowledge that his agency needed to appear two steps ahead of terrorism for once instead of two steps behind.

“And what exactly was this significant CIA breakthrough?” asked Driehaus.

“With the help of the NSA, we’ve been monitoring communications among several of the most serious Islamic terrorist groups. Someone code-named, Ghazi, which is Arabic for “the conqueror,” has been repeatedly referenced as the great father of the organizations. Ghazi has also been discussed as masterminding an upcoming event that will begin the shift of world power to the true believers of Islam.

“Now, last night, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad was picked up in Beirut. Under interrogation, he identified Hashim Nidal as the person referred to as Ghazi, but said he’d never met him in person and couldn’t provide a description of him. He indicated that Nidal’s upcoming event was imminent and would unite the Arab world, once and for all, in decimating Israel, followed by the United States.”

Even the most seasoned poker faces around the situation room table couldn’t mask their shock and disbelief.

“Does the CIA actually believe this Hashim Nidal has the wherewithal to pull something like this off?” asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

“We can’t afford not to believe,” answered the president. “We’re going to need everyone working together on this. Hashim Nidal has to be stopped and his organization dismantled before he can launch any attacks within or against the United States. We also want to prevent anything that could start a war between Israel and the rest of the Arab world.”

“Without knowing what this guy looks like or where he is, how do we even start?” asked Director Sorce of the FBI.

“The CIA has already put the wheels in motion, and we’re tracking down several leads. We’ll find Hashim Nidal, and we will stop him,” replied Vaile.

Most of the people around the table, including the president, wished they could be as confident in the CIA as its director was. He was flying completely blind and they all knew it. Only a miracle would allow his agency to pull this operation off. The question was, where would they find one?

4

Scot Harvath made it outside just in time to see Lee’s cab pull away from the curb. The fierce wind was driving the rain horizontally as he and Sammy Cheng ran for the car they had picked up at the Macau Jetfoil Terminal.

Cheng threw him the keys and indicated he wanted him to drive so he could use his cell phone. Harvath maneuvered himself behind the wheel of the tiny tourist rental known as a Moke, and slid the seat back as far as he could, but was still cramped. Cell phone my ass, thought Scot. There wasn’t a person in Hong Kong he had met yet who couldn’t drive, talk on his cell phone, read the paper, change CDs, and eat lunch all at the same time. Cheng had just wanted the roomier passenger seat.

As they drove, Harvath pulled hard on the wheel to avoid a piece of debris in the road. A strong burst of wind caught the car and raised it up on two wheels before roughly dropping it back onto the street. Scot shot Sammy a look.

Sammy cupped his hand over his cell phone and said to Harvath, “Dai feng-Cantonese for ‘great wind.’”

“Blow me,” replied Harvath, “American for ‘shitty car.’”

Sammy went back to his phone conversation while Harvath hunched over the steering wheel and tried to peer through the foggy windshield. There was no air-conditioning in the car, as it was meant to be driven with its top down, and opening the window even a crack would allow gallons of water to pour inside. Harvath used the sleeve of his jacket to clean a patch of glass to see through. Though the car had wipers, they weren’t strong enough to keep up with the driving rain.