The Caliphate by André Gallo (books to read for 13 year olds .TXT) 📕

     Hastings offered his hand and said, “I have met your son. In fact your name just came up. Is Steve missing?”

     He grimaced and said, “Yes he is. We were in Ashqelon yesterday. We split up, and he disappeared. He didn’t come to our meeting point, and he didn’t return to the rental car. Steve was expecting Kella to attend a ceremony in Jerusalem the day before yesterday, but she didn’t come and Steve couldn’t reach her on the phone. Do you have any information?”

     Hastings briefed Marshall on the phone call he had just received.

     “That’s Tariq al Khalil,” Marshall explained. “Steve thought he recognized him in Jerusalem but wasn’t sure. That’s why we were in Ashqelon, hoping to spot him. Obviously, he has your daughter, too.”

     Frowning, Hastings said, “You think that was a good idea, looking for al Khalil yourself?”

     Marshall’s lips compressed.

     “You seriously think anyone, including you, would have taken us seriously? All we had at the time was a suspicion. I don’t see the Israelis doing much based on what would have been unverified information.”

     “Why would al Khalil say your son is a CIA officer?” Hastings snapped back. “Is he?”

     “No, but he was mistaken for one in Morocco.”

     Hastings sighed and noticed Marshall’s condition.

     “I suggest you stay here until the COS comes back. He’s informing Shin Beth about the phone call. In the meantime, can I offer you some coffee? How about if the embassy nurse looks at that wound?”

10:30

“I want covering fire directed at all windows and other possible firing points, now,” Avidan ordered. Then he told his intelligence team, “Go!”

     Three men ran to the building. One deployed what turned out to be a light ladder that he set up against the wall. The other two threw up grappling hook rope ladders. After two tries, the hooks caught and the two men climbed up to the roof.

     The ladder man first drilled several holes in the wall and then inserted listening devices equipped with micro transmitters. The two men on the roof set up heat-seeking sensors that could “see” into the building.

     Avidan thought the takedown would be simple. The TIBEAM plans revealed a one-floor interior with offices defined by drywall and cubicle separators, nothing that would provide safe harbor from the firepower of the Shaldag.

***

The Amitais had given Habib a quick tutorial on how to target the laser. The weapon had several preset targeting options that included all of the Arab capitals of the Middle East, plus Tehran. In the presence of the two Israeli scientists, Habib aimed the weapon to a deserted spot south of Cairo, “to show everyone that Israel really has the capability to annihilate any of its enemies without using a nuclear weapon which, depending on the prevailing winds, could also wipe out part of the Israeli population.”

     After getting the Amitais out of the room, he reset the laser to target the government centers of Tehran and of Algiers, per Tariq’s orders. Tariq walked in to check up on progress.

     “Why not Cairo?” Habib asked.

     “I will capture Egypt through the threat of destruction, not by actual destruction,” al Khalil said. “Cairo is the most important center of influence for the Ikhwan Brotherhood. The brothers will know what to do.”

     He gave only fleeting thought to his wife and daughter, Malika and Jamila, who were now living in Cairo. He wanted his daughter to grow up in a Muslim environment. In a sea of apostates, they were living in an island of Salafist purity with distant cousins. He had decided that their deaths, if necessary, would be a small price compared with his goals. However, for the moment, sparing Cairo made more sense from a political point of view.

***

Steve couldn’t stop his mind from spinning.

     “Do you think Izem is really on board? That he’s trying to rally his guys to change sides? I don’t know how long we should wait. Maybe he’s not coming back. Maybe he’s already been shot. But we need weapons.”

     Kella sat on the floor, her back against the wall, her features drawn and tired. She looked up at Steve.

     “I think so. But that’s easier said than done. What choice do we have?”

     He pointed to the rear door.

     “Well, we have another door if only we could open it. It’s a long shot but I wonder if we could pick the lock.”

     He walked back to the door and examined it. The pin-and-tumbler lock was about a foot higher than the lever handle, which itself had no lock. This was not a high-security area. The builders had placed their security focus on perimeter devices.

     He looked around for a thin piece of metal he could insert into the lock but saw nothing of use, just several computer screens on the floor and an old desk against the back wall. It was dark in the back of their mini bowling alley prison and Steve got down on his knees. He pulled the top drawer open. It was the main residence for a colony of insects. He looked inside a larger and lower drawer. He couldn’t quite see anything distinctly and he put his hand inside. He pulled on pliers, a hammer, and several sizes of wrenches, but nothing thin enough to pick the lock.

     Now armed with a handful of tools, he sat on the floor, and took the back off one of the computer screens. He pulled wires out where he could see them. With a pair of cutting pliers, he detached a long wire, at the end of which was a stiff and thin piece of metal. He cut it off. He took a pair of long nosed pliers and inserted one end