35
The image of laptops next to candles was startling, but not to the Assassins. They had long ago learned that their leader, the one who called himself the Old Man of the Mountains, believed that the future of Islam lay in the combination of old and new, of historic traditions and the use of technology. They knew how to live in the desert like Bedouins, and in the cities like the cosmopolitan Arabs they could become. Their dedication to their cause was complete. They were able to travel through the world with whatever appearance best suited them. They were Assassins, but much of what made them so deadly was being chameleons of the desert.
The Sheikh sat in the chair he preferred near the large table on which he liked to work. It was lit by candles that flickered against the uneven stone ceiling carved into the hill above. He looked at his lieutenants, gathered in front. The Sheikh wanted to speak to them as a group. He didn’t do it often, but when he did, everything else stopped. He stood and walked slowly back and forth behind his chair on the dark, worn Persian rug. His beard was oiled with a substance that remained a mystery to those with whom he spent every day. The Sheikh was a strong, energetic man who demanded absolute obedience and received it. He could also be warm and engaging, but rarely smiled.
The Sheikh waited until he was finally satisfied his men had not only given him their faces but their minds. “The Americans continue to bomb in Syria and in Lebanon. They try hard, but do not know what they are doing.”
Farouk, his brightest lieutenant and recognized by all as a future leader in whatever they became, spoke quickly. “Do you think they know we are here?” He was permitted to raise questions that none of the others would have been allowed to ask.
“They try to photograph our mountain with their satellites,” the Sheikh said. “But the satellite cannot tell one black robe from another. They know that some of us are here, or were here when the photographs were taken, but they don’t know whether I’m here now.” He thought about the difficulty America had caused herself by going after him by name. “It is me they want. They took my bait. And now we are in Iran, the country which cares as deeply as any other to protect Islam. They don’t agree with us, and wish we would not cause trouble. But if it is necessary, Iran will protect us from an attack. So the Americans may come, but it will be costly.”
Farouk continued to ask questions in spite of the clear desire of the Sheikh to speak uninterruptedly. “But they must come. They will look weak if they even think we are here and don’t pursue us. They have declared war.”
“Perhaps. But they do not have the ability to get us where we sit. Their bombs will be as useless here as in Lebanon and Syria. Allah has created strongholds which can absorb all of America’s bombs without endangering us. These are strong mountains.”
Farouk knew the answer to the next question, but couldn’t help himself. “Do you want us to continue with the plan?”
“Yes, it is time to execute the next phase. We have let the world know who we are and what we require. We have made the most powerful country in the history of the world turn its entire power against one man. They are afraid for every person who works for their government. We have succeeded beyond where we could have hoped. And they haven’t injured even one of our people.”
His lieutenants were pleased. They too wanted to continue. They had feared he would back away from full execution when the United States became so deeply involved. They now realized it had been the Sheikh’s plan all along — a plan designed to entrap the Americans.
The declaration of war had troubled the Sheikh initially, but he came to see it as recognition that he was as powerful as any country. It was intoxicating to the Assassins, who now had the worldwide stature they had wanted.
“We must also, of course, be ready for men on the ground to come here,” the Sheikh continued.
Two of his lieutenants looked at each other. They had considered this possibility in the initial planning. The Sheikh had dismissed it as so remote as not to be worthy of discussion. The one who had brought it up then had been given a look of pure scorn. One of them spoke, trying to disguise his surprise. “Army forces? Paratroopers?”
The Sheikh shook his head slightly. “Possibly. But unlikely. I think Special Forces. Remain alert.”
“We are ready for them.”
“Do not underestimate the enemy. The largest mistake all people in history have made in fighting America is that they underestimate them. People assume the Americans are soft because they smile too much, and because their culture is corrupt.” He breathed deeply, as if considering something slightly unpleasant. “Their military has always demonstrated more courage than almost any other and to my knowledge has never lost a battle against a force of equal size. They are not to be taken lightly.”
Farouk replied automatically, “Allah will be with us.”
“Allah is always with us. But that does not give us a guarantee of immortality on earth. He does not say we will not be killed. We must all be prepared to go to Paradise.”
Farouk looked down. “It would be an honor to die for our cause.”
“Such an honor is not something to be sought. It may come, and is accepted with gratitude. But to behave in such a way that ensures your death shows you do not trust Allah to take care of you as he wills. It is not for us to say when we die. It is for him alone. We conduct ourselves with the belief,” the Sheikh said, raising his voice just enough to emphasize his point, “that everything we do will be met with the success our planning shows we should have. We expect to go on forever. And so we shall.” The Sheikh looked for another man. “Salim, is the radio ready?”
Salim nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, sir. I checked it just one hour ago.”
“Very well,” the Sheikh said. He had developed a way of communicating that made it almost impossible to track him. His men had found a new laser telephone under development in Israel. The designers were Palestinian, and even though the phone was only in research and not yet near production, they had allowed the Sheikh to have four of them. It worked with laser energy that was able to change amplitude much like an AM radio.
The Sheikh and Salim walked up the dark circular stairway, lit only by burning candles. Their black robes brushed against the khaki-colored dirt and sandstone that the stairway had been cut through. They climbed until they were finally in the fortress proper, the sunlight filtering through the openings in the walls as they headed toward the westernmost part of Alamut. There were five or six other Assassins waiting for the Sheikh on the top of the highest level of Alamut, standing next to the laser phone.
“Satellites?” the Sheikh asked one of them, a dark dour man.
“Clear for another hour.”
The Sheikh picked up the handset. It was impossible to intercept the signal unless you were standing between the sender and the receiver, and even then, only if you had the correct logarithm could you make any sense of it. It was as secure a means of communication as existed. His assistant aimed his laser phone at the receiver’s post, ten miles away, where it was copied and relayed to another laser receiver ten miles farther away. When the signal reached its final destination, it was passed to the Sheikh’s brother in the code in which it had originated. The only three people who had the code were the Sheikh, Salim, and the Sheikh’s brother. Once it was decoded, the Sheikh’s brother would walk across town and have a private conversation with the person to whom the communication was directed.
The Sheikh began speaking softly in quick, short sentences.
They stood in CVIC around a square chart table. Six aviators in their long, green Nomex fire-resistant flight suits and scuffed, black leather flight boots. They all had looks of intense concentration and excitement. Other aviators from other squadrons walked across CVIC looking at the charts, the latest information on SAM sights, and other strike planning information. Pritch stood behind the six Jolly Roger fliers.