The Templar Reprisals (The Best Thrillers Book 3) by James Best (read any book txt) 📕

She swung her laptop to face him. “It’s all ready. Type in your email address.”

Baldwin got up to give him privacy and walked to a coffee pot to refill her mug.

After O’Brian finished and confirmed on his phone that he had received the report, he turned to Evarts. “You told your wife how a handoff to me should go?”

“Sergeant Wilson did,” Evarts said.

He looked at his daughter-in-law who was still clacking away. “You seem busy.”

She didn’t look up from her keyboard. “Instead of pouting about being assigned to a shit detail, I joined up with them on finding answers.”

Evarts saw what passed for a smile on O’Brian’s face.

“I need to return,” O’Brian said. “Anything important I should take back into the meeting?”

Wilson said, “We each added an addendum to Patricia’s report.”

“Give me a fast verbal,” O’Brian ordered.

Evarts spoke first. “Methow is a prominent New York City attorney. Many of his clients are Masons. He’s lost several mason clients over the years. It’s possible he uses his practice to recruit Templars and when successful, tells them to take their legal business elsewhere. He wouldn’t want his client list to be a roster of Templar Knights.”

“Shit,” O’Brian said. “Of course. We concentrated on his current clients and got nowhere.”

“It’s only a theory,” Evarts said.

“A damn good one. What else?”

Baldwin went next. “Everything we know about Ikhwan finances is in the report. The most important data point that didn’t come from Methow is the names you’ll find in there. They use billionaires to hide and move money. The two listed have somewhat suspicious activity in the public record. Be careful. It’s little more than guesswork.”

O’Brian turned to Wilson.

She finally quit typing. “The bombing of the Capitol Hill Club has striking similarities to a London bombing last year. Same M.O. Small bomb planted inside the building. Targeted and timed to kill bigwigs. London bomb was briefcase size and it used military grade explosives. No verification yet, but initial reports from Capitol Hill Club look similar.”

“Contact London and get whatever they’ve got,” O’Brian said.

“I just finished sending a request for the unclassified report. Approvals are not required so it will come faster. You should get your adjunct to request the classified version.”

“Good work. Keep it up. I’ll be back when I can.”

“One last thing,” Wilson said. “The London bombing was followed by a second attack the next day. It was botched, and they caught the perps. They discovered a series of five attacks had been planned. That’s only the public record.”

“Shit!” O’Brian exclaimed as he exited his outer office. They could hear him as he marched down the corridor.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!”

Chapter 43

Evarts squinted at the computer screen. He tried to put his old intelligence hat on. It had been a long time. Jakarta had a population of near ten million. Lots of places to hide. He thought it through. Three month stays probably meant that the Ikhwan didn’t own or lease apartments all over the Muslim world. Hotels would be easiest. Multiple escape paths vital, so probably close to a major highway, with proximity to trains, subways, buses, and other forms of public transportation. To maintain a lower profile, they would want shopping within walking distance. Someplace that would never, ever be targeted by a Hellfire. How to remain inconspicuous? A place where single men on short stays wouldn’t raise suspicion.

Universities.

Universities were serviced by public transportation, usually had shopping and hotels nearby, and the U.S would never target a Hellfire into a student population because it would be a public relations nightmare. What type of visitors would appear natural to a university? Parents, researchers, corporate and individual sponsors, recruiters, visiting lecturers, exchange professors, and the list went on. Perfect cover. Next, he considered the type of lodging. Would they go up scale or down scale. According to Methow, the Ikhwan had plenty of money but were tightwads. Religious fundamentalists felt virtuous foregoing the pleasures of this world, but few in the top echelon of any faith eschewed luxuries easily afforded, especially if they had an excuse. Intelligences agencies on the hunt for terrorists tend to ignore the habitats for the rich and famous. That would give the triumvirate a handy excuse.

With a little more looking, Evarts decided Tarumanagara University looked ideal with a five-star hotel next door to fit his profile. The campus was literally split by the metropolitan peripheral highway, plus there were several intersecting thoroughfares. Like most universities, the campus was well serviced by public transportation.

Evarts stopped to reassess his premises. Too easy. He had been researching Jakarta for less than an hour. Plus, he had forgotten an important element. The Ikhwan triumvirate were Islamic fundamentalists. A check of the Tarumanagara University website showed that the school specialized in hard academic subjects like engineering, law, and medicine. No Islamic studies. If the Ikhwan preferred Islamic countries, they would probably feel more comfortable on an Islamic campus. Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif fit the bill. He started to examine hotels in the surrounding community but had a thought. What if the caliph lectured on a religious specialty and the two ẓahīr acted as research assistants or some such? They might stay in university housing. If they taught an esoteric Islamic specialty, they could migrate every semester to a different Islamic university. Perhaps they taught on a repeating cycle.

“Trish, can I interrupt?”

“Gladly. I’m getting nowhere finding a money trail. Financial records are locked down six ways from Sunday. When Sergeant Wilson finishes up, maybe she can break through this maze.” She spun in her secretary chair to face him. “What’ve you got?”

He told her.

“That’s perfect,” she said excitedly. “What better camouflage for a terrorist caliph. Insular, plenty of free time for Ikhwan affairs, a recruitment-rich environment, freedom of movement, unsuspicious venues to meet operatives, and a mosque close by. If Methow was correct, it also fits their tightfisted ways. Paid postings, free lodging, probably even meals, and students at their beck and call to do