Typically, all of the tables would be crowded with loud groups sipping tea like Sayar, serving as a spirited backdrop for the numerous patrons who stopped by to grab freshly prepared Middle Eastern dishes and imported sundries. Word had leaked over the course of the day that something big was happening at El Halal, and it was best to avoid the place for now. All of this had been engineered by Sayar and his team, through the Imam.
They wanted to avoid civilian casualties at all costs and avoid complications, but most importantly, they wanted to give the market a strong aura to observers on the street. Anyone asked would recommend steering clear of El Halal tonight, which was exactly the kind of publicity Sayar wanted to convey to any True America reconnaissance teams. He was trying to give True America the strong impression that El Halal had a secret. They had no idea if the terror group could track the Imam's calls, but if they arrived anywhere in Kensington, all signs would lead to their trap.
Sayar hadn't moved from his table for most of the day, marking him as part of the Imam's personal security detail. He wore western-style street clothes, which made him even more conspicuous. He had traded the traditional loose-fitting clothing for dark khaki pants, a white button-down oxford and an outdated Members Only-style, waist-level jacket, which he hadn't removed since he arrived. His muscular frame added to the menace he exuded with his tense body posture and permanently affixed scowl.
The rest of his team was scattered throughout the store. Diyah Castillo sat behind the cash register, looking bored and pretending to text friends on her cell phone. She was dressed more traditionally, better reflecting the Muslim values of the community, without going overboard. Her head was loosely wrapped in a light blue hijab, exposing only her face. The rest of her outfit consisted of dark blue jeans and a light brown, patterned blouse. It was a stylish representation of the women's Muslim dress code that had become more common with the Muslim youth in America.
The last visible member of the team wandered through the store, lingering in different sections to handle the merchandise for a few minutes before moving on. He took a few breaks from this routine throughout the day, to join Sayar for tea and food. This marked him as part of the security team, if there had been any doubt before, which was all part of the desired effect.
Abdul Waseer remained upstairs, monitoring the surveillance feeds from a camera hidden in the alley and another attached to a light post in front of the market. Thanks to the electronic warfare team sitting in a van nearby, he could also listen to FBI radio traffic. His primary job was to give the team downstairs an advanced warning of an attack. This task would be critical to their survival. Once detected, he would descend the stairs and reinforce efforts to repel the assault. His arrival would be a welcome sight to the three vulnerable operatives sitting exposed in the market. Their defensive situation hadn't materialized like Sayar had hoped.
They wore level-two body armor under their clothing, which would protect them from most submachine gun and sidearm rounds, but they had been under-equipped for the mission with FBI-issued Glock 23 pistols. Sayar had lobbied for more firepower, but his request had been met with considerable resistance by the mobile task force commander, Special Agent-in-Charge Kathryn Moriarty. Special Agent Damon Katsoulis had started to protest, but Moriarty had shut him down quickly. Apparently, the "powers-that-be" in the FBI still didn't fully trust Sanderson's people. He shared a few knowing looks with Katsoulis, as Moriarty lectured Sayar and his team of operatives. At least he had one possible ally in the FBI. Since Katsoulis's snipers and assault teams covered the market, this made him breathe a little easier through Moriarty's condescending diatribe.
At length, she "reminded" him that their sole purpose was to lure True America into the open. At least she acknowledged the reality of their precarious situation in the store, though she grossly overestimated her own units' response time. They all agreed that the attack would come fast and furious, but Moriarty insisted that they would only need enough firepower to slow the initial attack. FBI snipers and tactical units would "go to work" on hostile forces as soon as they were detected. Sayar saw the logic of this approach, but still requested two semiautomatic shotguns — one to cover each entrance to the market. FBI intelligence indicated that True America had access to some serious weaponry and body armor, representing a combination that would be hard to stop with pistols. His request was immediately denied. Even Katsoulis nearly shook his head in front of his boss.
He still had some hope that a direct attack on the market might never materialize. Sanderson's electronic warfare team had a solid chance to detect and identify the assault units on the street, giving the FBI and Sayar's team fair warning about their approach. Of course, the existence of Sanderson's electronics-laden mini-van remained a secret from the FBI, so they would have to be extremely creative with how they alerted the FBI. He had been assured by his counterpart, Aleem Fayed, that the techs had a solid plan. He just hoped that the plan would give the FBI enough time to make a difference in the fight.
Timothy Graves caught himself holding his breath again. In extremely tense situations, he had a bad habit of not breathing.
Anish Gupta interrupted his concentration. "You're holding your breath again."
"No shit. It helps me think," Graves said, shifting uncomfortably in his folding chair.
"Actually, you're depriving your brain of oxygen, which accomplishes the opposite," Gupta said.
"No. Depriving my body of oxygen vasodilates the blood vessels, allowing a better perfusion of oxygen when I breathe again. It gives me a heightened state of awareness," Graves said, not sure if his nonsense would pass muster with Gupta.
"The blood vessels in the lungs vasoconstrict during hypoxia, which renders your proposed theory ineffective," Gupta countered.
"Do you know everything?"
"Pretty much," Gupta replied.
They both stared at the various screens, searching for anything that might indicate an imminent attack on the El Halal market. So far, the only encrypted radio traffic near the target area belonged to the FBI. One of their computer screens tracked and sorted the data transmitted by the FBI's P25-equipped radios. This data included locations. Graves had installed two battery-powered "pinging" relays on nearby rooftops prior to the FBI's mid-morning arrival. Once the FBI's operating frequencies had been established, they had actively "pinged" the data layer and catalogued the automated responses. The radio users didn't have to transmit a radio message to appear on their "radar." Even non-transmitting radios would respond to their undetectable "pings."
Within seconds of the FBI's arrival on and around Coney Island Avenue, Gupta had mapped the entire task force. Once all of the FBI units had settled into their positions, he activated the two remote relays and tasked the system to simultaneously "ping" the entire task force twice every second. The silent responses allowed them to triangulate the position of each FBI radio, and more importantly, each agent. The computer screen displayed a map of the streets surrounding El Halal Market, marking their locations.
The FBI occupied the only vacant apartment on the street within view of El Halal Market. With a diagonal view, the apartment served as the FBI's sniper nest and headquarters. They counted ten radios in the building, four of which they had identified as either a sniper or spotter. The remaining six radios were by far the most active of the task force. Overall, the FBI had lucked out with their temporary lodging.
Situated on the corner of Coney Island Avenue and Foster Avenue, less than one hundred meters from the market, the third-floor corner unit commanded an expansive southbound view of Coney Island Avenue. The view stretched nearly an entire city block, giving the sharpshooters perfect firing trajectories at potential threats nearly one hundred meters from the market, in any direction on the street. If confirmed threats approached from the south, snipers could engage at further distances.