“Gwyn said you had to pick a few things up at the supermarket. We’ll all be waiting for you in the van.”
Gilbert pulled his brother close, turned his back to Ginger and the kids and whispered in his ear.
“Garrett is coming with me.”
“But, I thought . . .”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“If there really is a tracking device on Garrett, we can’t risk putting him in the minivan. They could be on to us before we find it. We’ve thrown them off our trail, and I don’t want them picking it up again. Those fellows we left in the parking garage will be up here in a few minutes. Besides, I don’t think I can do this in front of Ginger and the kids. If we’re not back in thirty minutes, you leave without us.”
“I don’t know . . .”
“I do. It’s my family and my call. At least the rest of them will be safe.”
“Ginger’s not going to like it.”
“I know. Is the boat ready for us?”
“Matt called two hours ago and said it was done. All we have to do is identify ourselves as the Lewis brothers. Matt refused to take the money though.”
“And the signal? Are you still tracking the canister?”
“The signal disappeared about twenty minutes after your last call.”
Gilbert ran his fingers through his hair. The document was the least of his worries, but he felt like a knight had just been taken in this game of chess. It was silly, the idea of winning the game without losing a single piece, especially when he was about to play a risky gambit to make sure his queen wasn’t sacrificed. He turned to Ginger.
“Darling, I want you and Shelly to take Gabriella and Garth, and go with Gary outside to the van. Garret and I will join you in a few minutes.”
Fear flamed up in her eyes.
“Gilbert, no . . .”
She grabbed both of his hands and looked into his eyes. What she saw scared her, making her plea even more desperate.
“I know what you’re thinking, that you want at least some of us to get away, that this is the safest course of action, but I won’t be separated from you again, Gilbert. Whatever lies ahead, I want to face it with you.”
Gilbert pulled her close.
“Darling, we can’t allow our emotions to cloud our thinking. We have to use our mind. This game is for keeps. We have to play to win. All of us dying together is not winning. This is only the first of many difficult choices ahead. Our safe and comfortable world is gone. The sooner you come to grips with that the easier it’s going to be for all of us.”
“Gilbert. I can’t . . . Not alone. Not without you.”
“You can! You have to. Now, take the kids and go. Even this discussion is a luxury we can’t afford.”
CHAPTER
75
C
AIRO
Ahmet stared blankly over the office. Rows of blank monitors stared back. He had never seen the place empty. It was an eerie feeling. Except for the two IT experts brought in to perform a complete system analysis and the four men he had kept to oversee the operation, the entire floor was vacant. The organization’s Cairo headquarters had been effectively paralyzed. Everyone had been moved to the back-up site in Al Dokka. Anyone else would have viewed an operational failure of this magnitude as a huge setback, but not Ahmet. He was already plotting a way to turn the whole affair to his advantage and he was actually enjoying what was turning out to be the greatest challenge of his career. Jabbar interrupted his thoughts.
“Sir, our team lost visual contact at the mall when the American parked in the underground garage. He and his family took an elevator, but they must have disabled it somehow. Our men are stuck on the lowest level.”
“Are they too good to use the stairs?” asked Ahmet, irritated that he had to make such a simple suggestion.
“They tried, sir. The doors have apparently been chained from the inside. Our men are driving back to the above ground parking.”
Ahmet closed his eyes to think. A crowded shopping mall. Evasive action. They clearly know or suspect they’re being tailed. It’s all been planned. Switching vehicles will do them no good unless the American suspects a tracking device and finds the capsule. If he does, we will have no way of assuring that the Gospel of Barnabas is returned. Hope was not an operational parameter for Ahmet. He turned to Jabbar.
“What’s the boy’s location?”
“Still at the mall. In the southeast corner. It’s impossible to tell what floor.”
“Our team can track the device as well?”
“Yes.”
“By involving Captain Demir, they’ve broken the agreement. I don’t trust this American anyway. He’s too wary. Who is the station chief at the Istanbul Smuggling and Organized Crime Department? Is he one of ours?”
“That would be Fahrettin Yildirim.”
“I remember him. Good man. We’ll him send in uniformed police and an undercover team to arrest the American in connection with the Interpol bulletin. Get Chief Yildirim on the phone.”
Jabbar hesitated for just a split second. Ahmet knew why, but he waited to see if Jabbar would oppose his decision. Jabbar took a deep breath and began dialing the station chief’s number, winning points with his boss in the process.
“I know what you’re worried about, Jabbar. You think they won’t return the Gospel of Barnabas and our organization will be implicated. I feel like a few days in a Turkish jail will make the American more than willing to cooperate. This evasive action proves he’s suspicious. If they discover the tracking device, then we have no leverage at all. We will promise to release him when the Gospel has been returned. Meanwhile, let’s get our people at Al Dokka to start working on the staff at the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. In the worst case scenario, we’ll have to bribe a librarian to change the register so that it looks like someone else stole it. This will be our back-up plan. Take no action unless necessary. There are too many risks, especially in Austria, where the people are already hyper-sensitive to Muslim integration.”
Jabbar extended the phone.
“It’s ringing.”
Ahmet took the bulky sat-phone and looked at his colleagues. His men were accustomed to the stress of touch-and-go operations, but the constant stream of setbacks, the unknown repercussions of the security breach, the loss of sixty-two million dollars, the deaths of their colleagues on the Black Sea, and the possibility that their beloved leader might still be framed for the theft of the Gospel of Barnabas had taken their toll. He could see the despondency in their faces.
“
Alo.”
“As-salamu alaykum.”
“Wa Alaykum As-salam”
“Chief Yildirim?”
“Speaking.”
“May the religion of the Prophet prosper.”
“And the nations of the earth learn the virtue of submission. What is your code?”
“Hüdavendigar. 379-883-748”
“Cairo?”
“That’s right.”
“And, what are the orders of the Rightly Guided One?”
“There is an American by the name of Gilbert O’Brien at the Kanyon AVM in Levent with his family. He is wanted by the FBI and Interpol. We have a tracking device implanted on his son, but I suspect he will try to remove it. That will be bloody and require that he use a restroom. I need him taken into custody with all haste. We have one team there now, but it is a multi-storey building with over twenty-five restrooms if we include those in the restaurants and shops.”
“Is he armed?”
“Not as far as we know, but he should not be underestimated.”
“I understand. We can be there in twenty-five minutes.”
“That may not be soon enough.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Ahmet knew what that meant. He also knew that the American might find the capsule before then.
“Chief Yildirim, the first thing I need you to do is call mall security, tell them you are on your way with uniformed teams, but that there is an undercover team on site tracking a terrorist from Monday’s bombing. Tell them they are not to interfere in any way. Then, set up an ID check at all of the exits. If your team happens to apprehend them first, remember the detainees are not to be processed.”
“Of course.”
“Allah’a emanet ol.”
“Siz de, efendim.”
Ahmet handed the phone back to Jabbar and stood up.
“What is their position?”
“Northeast corner of the building, sir. I got the schematics from the Istanbul Security Directorate. There are public restrooms on every floor in that corner. As soon as our men are inside, they will go to the restrooms and begin working their way up.”
“Excellent,” replied Ahmet. “And, you’ve sent pictures of everyone to Mehmet and Ali?”
“Yes, sir.”
Ahmet walked to the front of the desk he had been sitting behind and looked at his four most trusted mujahedeen. The last few days had dealt their vision and faith a severe blow. It was time to rally the troops.
“My brothers.” His voice was robust. “This is no time to hang your heads. I know each and every one of you wish you had been on that boat tonight, that you had been martyred in battle with the enemies of the Qur’an. It was not the will of Allah. Our fate remains hidden, which can only mean that the Lord of the Worlds has seen fit to give us more time for deeds of valor and cunning. I have no doubt that the glory of martyrdom shall be ours, but it is not yet our time. We must also resist the temptation to mourn our loss. It is for them great gain. They are assured a place in the great hall of warriors. They will dine with Zayd ibn Harithah, Ja’far ibn Abu Talib and Hüdavendiar. They will be served by black-eyed virgins with skin of ivory and ruby-red lips. The sea has become their grave, but their last rites shall still be performed in the land we dream of conquering by Fatih Gülben himself. May we be worthy of such an honor.
“The setbacks and difficulties we face are but a test of our faith, and even now, plans have been set in motion that you know nothing of. Plans that will turn these trying times into opportunity. Plans that will bolster our standing in the international community. We will condemn the bloody attacks by Bekir. We will assist the West in bringing him to justice and thereby prove our commitment to non-violence. We will unite the Muslim countries of the world with our commitment to education, technology, diplomacy and building good-will. We will increase our support for social initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and the Americas as part of the Tolerance and Unity in a Multicultural World initiative.
“One must not lose heart on the eve of victory. The dark night of imperialism, idolatry and atheism is coming to an end. The bright day of truth and justice is about to dawn. The Rightly Guided One has already roused millions of Muslims from their spiritual slumber and lethargy. Soon the power of a united umma shall rule the world. We shall overcome the infidel. We shall see the nations of the world bow in submission to Islam.”
CHAPTER
76
I
STANBUL
Garret walked out of the supermarket into a milling crowd of Turks, clutching his father’s hand and hoping that his dad didn’t notice his sweaty palms. His father held a white plastic bag, a mop and a mop bucket in the other hand. Many of the men in the crowd looked like his captors. The thought that any one of them might be their pursuers, might grab him and send him back to the container was so nerve-wracking that the boy felt like he was going to throw up. The last thirty minutes in the car thinking about what was going to happen had been bad enough. Hearing the strange language of his captors spoken by everyone in the crowd almost paralyzed him with fear. He squeezed his dad’s hand even tighter.