Nonetheless he had downloaded one Microsoft PowerPoint presentation to Rahman’s laptop. Rahman smiled. He had heard that the U.S. Army used the PowerPoint program to run its command and decision briefings as well as for simple information updates. Rahman refused to put anything sensitive on any kind of digital media for exactly this reason; someone who shouldn’t be looking at it ultimately would.
But he was glad the Americans were careless in this regard.
He opened the briefing and saw the title: Thorium Locations in Afghanistan.
Rahman’s interest immediately piqued for two reasons. First, Thorium was an alternative to Uranium in the nuclear world, though considered much safer. Second, as one of the master bomb makers throughout all of Pakistan, Rahman had been discreetly searching for Thorium fields where he could get enough to create a nuclear bomb with sufficient yield.
He had been reading with interest the widely publicized reports that over one trillion dollars worth of minerals lay beneath Afghanistan’s soil. Surely, he figured, there was Thorium in there somewhere.
He flipped to the next slide and was not surprised to see a map of Kunar and Nuristan Provinces with small dots of possible Thorium fields.
Then he saw one dark red dot just across the border near the town of Naray where the mountains were steep and the river charged through tight valleys.
Above the red dot someone had typed: Known Thorium Location.
Rahman summoned his aide, Habib, and said, “I want to conduct a raid on the forward operating base near Naray. But it will be a diversionary tactic.”
Habib, wearing his white man-dress and worn tan sandals, nodded obediently awaiting the ensuing wisdom.
“I want you to find the villagers nearest this point,” he said pointing at the map, “and pay them whatever it takes to reopen the mine indicated here on the map. Tell them we are looking for Lapis.”
“What do we want with a bunch of Lapis?”
“They can find the Lapis, but you will lead the team that will find the Thorium,” Rahman said.
“Thorium? There’s a Thorium mine in Afghanistan just across the border? Is it the right kind? We’ve gone after this before.”
“I’ve got a document that says the Americans believe it is Thorium two thirty-two. If they’re right, we could quickly get enough to make high-yield explosive bombs for Bagram, Kabul, and Kandahar.”
“You know this is radioactive material, Mullah Rahman?”
Rahman laughed. “Of course I know. That’s the entire point.”
Habib nodded.
“I will take thirty fighters with me. We will need ample funds. The Americans are heavily involved in that area. So it will take some money to pay off the Nuristani Tribe.”
“That will leave me with only a small force, but we will manage. Leave Aktar in charge and come back once they are in place. Have him use the locals to dig and use the fighters to secure the location and probe at Firebase Naray to keep the Americans off balance. Take a half million dollars.”
Habib nodded again.
“I want this done quickly. I know what I’m doing.”
“No one has ever doubted that, Mullah Rahman, not even the great one.”
“We shall make him happy,” Rahman said, wistfully. “Now go and hurry back.”
CHAPTER 19
An uneventful Wednesday had passed for Amanda. Her mother had banned her from seeing Dwyer, not that she wanted to after Nina’s disclosure about Dwyer’s relationship with her father.
Pleasant spring weather held a tenuous grasp on the foothills in which Spartanburg lay. It was only a matter of time before the humidity and searing summer heat arrived.
Thursday, Amanda flowed through her classes, settling from a boil to a low simmer over Tuesday night’s revelation about Riley Dwyer and her father. The woman had violated her trust. “See what we’re saying, Amanda? This is all a sham,” her mother had said.
“Your father is manipulating you from the grave,” Nina had added.
Her sleep had been restless, which set the tone for an anxiety-ridden day. Only learning that her grades were good enough that she wouldn’t have to take any finals had put the Dwyer issue on a back burner.
She was surprised, however, that she was slowly becoming preoccupied with the insurance payout from her father’s will and sensed she was beginning to question a few things. In class she found herself attempting to recall memories of her father, but kept coming up blank. She thought to herself that it was like when she would try to pull up a Web site and would get the “cannot find server” page instead. No information, just frustration.
She contemplated what she was about to do with some deliberation. Where she had, in recent memory at least, never questioned the women who raised her, now she was beginning to feel a need to at least explore the possibility, however remote, that her father’s last request merited consideration. There was one way to find out.
“Jake, I need to talk to you.” Amanda was surprised at how agitated her own voice sounded.
“I can be there in fifteen.”
“Okay, that’s good,” she said. Walking to her window, she looked outside where she saw Nina’s van parked. “Pack an overnight bag. This thing might be getting out of control.”
“Just hang tight. I’ll be there soon.”
Amanda hung up her cell phone and walked to her door. She opened it partially and could hear Nina talking in a low whisper to her mother.
“Well, this has gone too far. I’m surprised you’re not more aggressive about this. If you’re not careful, all this money could get away from you.”
“Mama, I’m just trying not to be too obvious. Zach’s up to no good, but I’d rather let this play out a bit.”
“Play out?” Nina scoffed. “They’ll be dancing all around you, shaking fistfuls of money at you while you stand there like a lost kid on the playground.”
“Mama, come on. I told you. I’ve got a plan, but you’re wearing me down here, making me tired.”
“You’re too tired to go after a half a million dollars after all you did to raise Amanda? After all I…”
“After what, Mama?”
“Nothing, forget I said anything.”
“No, after what?”
Nina didn’t take the bait.
“After all that you did? Is that what you’re all hot and bothered about?”
Nina crossed her arms and fumed.
“Besides, I’ve got someone coming to see the house soon.”
“The house?”
“I’ve got a plan for the money. It’s a good investment. Trust me.”
Nina studied her daughter for a moment.
“Okay, I’m listening,” Nina said.
Amanda had rarely heard her mother challenge Nina the way she did tonight. It occurred to her that the money was having an impact on her family that worried her. She remembered reading an old John Steinbeck book called The Pearl in high school English. A diver in Mexico finds the mother of all pearls, as he describes it, and suddenly everything changes in their family, their village, and their lives.
Was that happening here? Or was that what had been happening all along? Like a focusing telescope, was she beginning to see things more clearly? Or was it her father playing tricks on her from the grave?
She backed quietly into her room and shut her door. Before leaving, she clicked on her e-mail account and sent a message to Len Dagus saying she would not be in class tomorrow. She copied Principal Rugsdale, thanking both men for giving her time to “grieve over the death of my father.”
Grabbing her small satchel and cell phone, she opened the window that led to a terrace. She dropped it over the rail before she turned around and climbed backwards over the wrought-iron lattice. She hung on the ledge, let go, and landed nimbly as a cat just behind the mulched boxwood hedgerow. She picked up her satchel and, staying low, jogged to her car, backed out with the headlights off and drove to the high school parking lot.