Path Of The Assassin

“First of all,” began the president, “I want to commend Agent Harvath for what, in my opinion, was a job extremely well done. I’ve read the after-action reports of both the Delta and SAS commanders and think you prevented a very bad situation from getting worse. It’s precisely this ability to assess and appropriately react to hostile situations that has made you such an asset to the Secret Service and the White House.”

Harvath was uncomfortable with such fulsome praise, especially when bestowed by the president in front of so many other people, but he accepted it humbly. “Thank you, Mr. President.”

“Now, moving forward,” continued the president. “I will be convening a meeting this evening of the National Security Council to discuss the escalating tensions in the Mideast and tightening the net around Hashim Nidal by applying direct pressure to anyone who is known to be harboring or assisting him, or any other members of his organization. I don’t want to talk right now about how this hijacking happened. I plan to take that issue up later. What I do want to talk about is how we’re going to get Nidal back in the crosshairs before he pushes the Middle East into all-out war. With that said, I’m all ears.”

CIA director Vaile cleared his throat and waited for the president to nod in his direction before he spoke. “Mr. President, as you are aware, it was the CIA who gave birth to Operation Phantom and who initiated the hunt for-”

“Director Vaile, the clock is ticking. Don’t waste my time telling me things I already know. How are we going to stop Hashim Nidal before he strikes again?” commanded the president.

Vaile’s nuts were in a vise. Not only had his agency been behind the curve in discovering the existence of Hashim Nidal, but they had let him slip through their grasp in Cairo. If Vaile wasn’t very careful, the vise would begin to tighten real quick.

“Pinpointing the whereabouts of Nidal and his base of operations so we can take them out is the highest priority of all our agents right now, both at Langley and in the field.”

“Which brings us to Ms. Meg Cassidy, correct?” asked the president.

Upon hearing her name, Harvath leaned into the table.

“Exactly, Mr. President,” continued Vaile. “As she is the only known person outside of his organization to have ever seen him and survived, she is of the utmost importance to the success of Operation Phantom.”

“So what’s the problem?” asked the president.

“Yesterday, we sent operatives to Chicago to conduct a follow-up with her-”

“And?”

“Well, as I explained to you previously, Mr. President, Ms. Cassidy is reluctant to cooperate.”

“Do you suppose The Washington Post piece had anything to do with it?” asked Harvath.

“Agent Harvath,” said Vaile as he turned in his chair to face him, “The Washington Post article is part of a calculated effort to discredit Hashim Nidal on the world stage and thereby-”

“Destabilize his organization, which will hopefully slow him down long enough for us to nail him. I know you thought all of this out very well, but did you ever think about what Meg Cassidy wants? Have you asked her if she wants to be front and center in your PR blitz?”

The president discreetly signaled for Harvath to back off and Scot immediately fell silent. Director Vaile, though, continued with his justification, “Frankly, being a high-profile PR person, we didn’t figure Ms. Cassidy for someone who shied away from media exposure, of any kind. What’s more, it isn’t as if we, or she, have any choice in the matter. Our psychological operations people are convinced that the PR angle will help and that it needs to remain an adjunct of any ongoing strategy we pursue.”

“I am sure your people are doing the absolute best they can,” said the president as he steered the conversation away from Meg Cassidy and toward other pressing elements of the operation. “Let’s talk about a timetable and what assets you need called into play.”

When the President concluded the meeting, he thanked the participants for coming and asked FBI deputy director Lawlor and Agent Harvath to remain behind.

Once the other members had left the room and the door sealed shut behind them, the president spoke once again. “I hope you both know me well enough to know that I am not a fan of back-biting or infighting. I don’t approve of it in my party, and I don’t approve of it within our intelligence community. That being said, what I am most concerned about here is results. This doesn’t leave this room, Agent Harvath, but I’m not as impressed with Director Vaile’s operations as I might lead him to think.

“The world has become a much more dangerous place over the last several weeks. The Hand of God attacks have pushed the entire Mideast region to the brink of war. This morning I was briefed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs who presented me with a stack of satellite photos showing that Iran, Syria, and Egypt have realigned troops and equipment on their borders indicating a potential attack on Israel.