“What are you seeing now?” Birjandi asked.
“There’s a group of technicians scurrying around,” Esfahani replied. “They’re all wearing white lab coats, and they seem to be making last-minute preparations.”
“On the missile?”
“Actually, on six.”
“Six what?” Birjandi asked.
“Six missiles,” said Esfahani. “They all look like Scuds, but they seem to be an advanced model. I’ve never seen any quite like this.”
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning they’re taller and wider, and their rocket engines look larger,” Esfahani said.
“But only one has the warhead, right?”
“Apparently, but they all look the same to me,” Esfahani observed.
“Clever,” Birjandi said. “I’m guessing they’ll fire them all at once, and the Israelis won’t know which one to shoot down.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” said Esfahani. “That would be clever.”
He then began describing other elements of the building, beginning with the six launchpads themselves. He described the enormous metal blast shields that were now being hydraulically raised from the floor, presumably to prevent the Mahdi and his guests from being incinerated upon launch. He also noted the unique ceiling of the facility, which had some kind of gigantic levers and pulleys and other devices he didn’t quite know how to describe, all of which would evidently open on cue to allow the missiles to be fired into the afternoon sky.
Esfahani was marveling at it all when they heard General Jazini call for quiet and for all the guests to come forward to the missiles.
“Imam al-Mahdi is going to say a few words; then we have some business to attend to, and then the historic moment will commence.”
David quickly briefed Matt Mays over Fox’s satphone. Then he put Fox and Crenshaw each on the line to confirm they were all in agreement.
“You in?” David asked.
“Absolutely,” Mays replied. “Maybe we can get sent to the same prison.”
David smiled for what felt like the first time in days. “We should be so lucky, Matty.”
David could hear Mays unlocking the makeshift holding cell and calling Tolik Shalev and Gal Rinat to come out and sit with him. A moment later, Mays turned on the speakerphone and David briefed the two Israelis as quickly and concisely as he possibly could, even explaining the call he had made several hours earlier to the Mossad.
“So will you do it?” he asked when he was done.
“Of course,” said Tolik. “You really should have used us sooner.”
Gathered together in front of the launchpad for Missile Four were Ayatollah Hosseini, Syrian president Gamal Mustafa, General Jazini, and Dr. Birjandi, with Esfahani and Rashidi standing nearby, along with Dr. Zandi, numerous armed Revolutionary Guards, Syrian bodyguards, various other military officers and technicians, and both an official videographer and a still photographer.
To Esfahani’s shock, on the floor underneath the nozzle of this particular missile, both handcuffed and chained to the nozzle, lay a trembling and pale General Hamdi. The Twelfth Imam, meanwhile, stepped up on a small stand and began to speak.
“Gentlemen,” he began, for there were no women to be seen, “we have a traitor in our midst. General Hamdi is a mole. He is a betrayer of the Caliphate, and he must now die for his crimes. But rather than behead him, I have decided that he should burn in the fires of this rocket before he burns for all eternity in the fires of hell.”
Esfahani was glad they had caught the mole, but he had never imagined it would be Hamdi. He felt sorry for the man and shuddered to think of what his fate was going to be moments from now.
“That said, let us not allow the sins of General Hamdi here to distract us from this historic moment,” the Mahdi continued. “I have gathered you all here to celebrate the dawn of a new era in human history, the rise of the Caliphate that is consolidating power throughout the Islamic world and will soon — with Allah’s help — sweep across the planet. As I said in Mecca when I first revealed myself to the world, the age of arrogance and corruption and greed is over. A new age of justice and peace and brotherhood has come. It is time for Islam to unite. No longer do Muslims have the luxury of petty infighting and division. Sunnis and Shiites must come together. It is time to create one Islamic people, one Islamic nation, one Islamic government. It is time to show the world that Islam is ready to rule. We will not be confined to geographic borders, ethnic groups, or nations. Ours is a universal message that will lead the world to the unity and peace the nations have thus far found elusive.”
Esfahani trembled with anticipation.
“No longer will the blasphemous powers of the West subjugate Muslims with their armies and their laws,” the Mahdi boomed. “Nor will they defile our women and children with the toxic cultural pollution they pump into the air — their satanic movies and music and television programs and religious heresies. It is time for the peoples of the world to open their eyes and open their ears and open their hearts. It is time for mankind to see and hear and understand the power of Islam, the glory of Islam. For I have come to usher in a new kingdom. At the beginning, the governments of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf States joined together as one nation. I noted at the time that these would form the core of the Caliphate. I promised then that in short order we would be announcing our expansion, and I have kept my word.”
The Twelfth Imam pointed to the six missiles behind him.
“I told those who would oppose us that this Caliphate would control half the world’s supply of oil and natural gas, as well as the Gulf and the shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. I told our enemies that this Caliphate would have the world’s most powerful military, led by the hand of Allah. Furthermore, I told them that this Caliphate would be covered by a nuclear umbrella that would protect the people from all evil. At the time, the Islamic Republic of Iran had just successfully conducted a nuclear weapons test, their weapons were finally operational, and — thanks to our dear friend Ayatollah Hosseini — they had just handed over command and control of these weapons to me. Now, thanks to our dear friend President Farooq, our arsenal has been expanded manyfold. I warned the Zionists and the Americans that any attack by any state on any portion of the Caliphate would unleash the fury of Allah and trigger a War of Annihilation, and so it has. Today, we will show the world who we really are. We will erase the stain of the State of Israel from the map of the earth. We will begin to eradicate this cancer of the Jewish people from the global body politic, and we will not rest until every Jew and every Christian and every infidel of every kind bows to me and gives his praise to Allah.”
Esfahani was about to clap and cheer, but no one else was doing so. It was, he decided, too solemn and holy a moment.
“In a moment, we will pray and dedicate these weapons of life,” the Mahdi continued. “But first I want to acknowledge a special guest. You all know Dr. Alireza Birjandi as the world’s foremost expert on Islamic eschatology and the teacher whom Allah used to help people understand who the Twelfth Imam is, why I would return, how I would return, and why it would matter. I asked him to come here today to see the culmination of all his writings, to see the prophecies truly come to pass. I know he cannot literally see these things, but this is only because Allah has taken away his physical sight in order to give him something more precious — a supernatural ability to see the spiritual world more clearly than anyone else but me. So I welcome you, Dr. Birjandi. I honor you for your service to Allah, for helping to prepare the way for me. And I look forward to making you a valued member of my kingdom in the days and weeks and years ahead.”