Akil booted up his laptop and brought up Google Earth. He donned a set of earphones and focused intently, toggling back and forth between satellite views of the target area and United Airline’s and Union-Pacific’s operating schedules. Forty-seven minutes later, he outlined a summary of the terror attack.
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR: Find a high-powered weapon with some type of exploding round. A Powerful, Accurate Weapon! Code name PAW.
Select a Monday afternoon. Commence in Palatine, IL. Park and leave a disposable vehicle at Hotel Bollero (vacant??) parking lot. PAW must be concealable. Collapsible? Two pieces? Place PAW in a special harness underneath a loose-fitting jacket. Cross Northwest Highway. Head south along three railroad tracks managed by the Union Pacific. Use tree line for concealment from afternoon traffic. At 4:01 p.m. freight train XX approaches from the north. Count the open coal cars. At car number 50, pace and board car 65 via the rear ladder. Climb over railing and drop to floor. Assemble and load PAW. Set ranging for XX feet. Use train car hopper braces for aiming stability. At 4:34 p.m. the train will slow. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR: Disable the aircraft’s flight controls. Fire multiple (2–3) rounds into cockpit of United Airlines Airbus A320 Flight 672 to San Francisco departing on O’Hare’s Runway 22L. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR: Collect spent shell casings. After impact, DO NOT EXPOSE POSITION!! DO NOT PEEK!! over the car railing. Rising smoke will confirm the kill. Escape on the train as it continues south through the Proviso Rail Yard at Melrose Park. At 5:11 p.m., count off seventeen seconds. Heave PAW and case over the top car rail and into the center of the Des Plaines River. Verify center water depth XX. Count thirty seconds. Exit train. Backtrack one-half mile to McDonald’s Restaurant on Illinois Highway 171 and 64. Exit to?? partner?? in waiting vehicle. Escape to Indiana border, then southbound on I-65.
Akil closed the Google Earth application and casually clicked on Google News.
His pulse quickened at the breaking headlines:
FLIGHT BAN LIFTED — AIRLINES ALLOWED TO
RESUME OPERATIONS
Reuters—14 minutes ago
WASHINGTON | Fri May 29 (Reuters) — At midnight on Saturday, ten full days after instituting a nationwide No-Fly Zone, the US Department of Transportation will allow the nation’s airspace to reopen.
According to the statement released by Secretary of Transportation Norman Minka, “I must caution everyone that a system as diverse and complex as ours cannot be brought back up instantly. We will reopen airports and resume flights gradually on a weekend, with stringent levels of security. The first flights to operate will be cargo. This phased approach will assure the highest levels of safety, which remains our primary goal. For passenger travel, anyone planning on flying should check with their airline regarding the level of service and flight schedules, and be sure to allow plenty of time to deal with security procedures. There will be inconveniences, but safety will be the first element in restoring our system. Despite the reopening of the skies to commercial carriers, travel will likely be difficult for the foreseeable future. It will be some days before air travel returns to full operation. Information from airports, airlines, and government agencies continues to change frequently. If you must travel within the next forty-eight hours, contact your travel agent, customer service department, or the airline representative where you bought your tickets. If your plans are scheduled beyond forty-eight hours, hold off calling so that others with more immediate concerns can get through to overburdened call centers. Expect to spend time waiting on hold, as call volume will be heavy.”
The decision, announced just moments ago by the White House, was met with resounding support from labor and business groups all across the country.
Akil closed his apartment window and returned the black drone to its case.
He deactivated one cell phone and dialed another.
“I’m on my way. Do me a favor and get me two Egg McMuffins and two hash browns, okay? I’m starved.”
He clicked off, gave the room a cursory look, and then went downstairs.
Out on the street, he loaded his luggage into Marissa’s minivan. He double-checked the firmness and lock on the X–Cargo car top carrier on the roof. Next, he unlocked his Camry’s doors and placed the keys conspicuously on the dash.
He glanced at the darkened windows of the Russian Star Tattoo Parlor.
Viktor and Tamara had had a rough night. They’d both be sleeping in today.
Akil made his way south on I-5 toward Chula Vista and pulled into the Travel Inn Motel on Broadway and G Street.
Marissa and her children were waiting, luggage and breakfast bags in hand. They filed inside the minivan. Akil drove to the I-805 freeway and merged into the northbound traffic. He checked the rearview mirror and then turned on the radio.
Marissa immediately turned it off.
“Why did you do that?” he asked. “I wanted to hear the news.”
“I want to hear about us,” she whispered seductively, placing her arm around his neck and toying with his ear. “Did you miss me?”
“Of course.” He smiled, setting the cruise control for five miles over the posted limit. They kissed. “Where would you like to go?”
“Any place you want as long as it’s out of California. I hate this state,” she said, resting her head on Akil’s shoulder and gazing through the windshield. “I’ve always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty. How about New York City?”
Akil bit into his sandwich and checked the rearview mirror again.
“New York sounds like a winner to me.”
Chapter 38
The President had finished his remarks and was sitting with leaders from the Urban League and the National Council of Churches. The Umbato Choir from Uganda had finished a second set of hymns.
Eerily reminiscent of a scene that occurred on the morning of September 11, 2001, in the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, Chief of Staff Bard hurried to the table and bent next to the president’s ear.
Guests were riveted by the action.
The president nodded twice and made it a point to examine a fork before calmly setting it on his plate. His face had turned ashen. He neatly folded his napkin and then rose from the chair.
“Folks, I apologize, but something has come up.”
By the time he reached the Oval Office, he was shaking with anger.
“California? Federal Express?” the president shouted into the speakerphone. “Samuel, this is indiscriminate anarchy. Do something!”
Bard entered the room with a handful of faxes. The president covered the mouthpiece with his hand.
“Mr. President, the airports are in panic. You need to reverse your position. Someone is killing our citizens. Flight crews and passengers across the country are already refusing to board planes. The American people think that you’re putting the economy ahead of their lives by keeping the airspace open. They’re blaming you for the deaths.”
The president strained to make sense of what he had just heard. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to stay calm. He lifted the phone. “Get Minka to reinstate the no-fly order, please. Do you hear me, Samuel? Back to nationwide groundstop—do it.”