Jack made a special point to say goodbye to Natasha and gave her a hug. A long hug. He hugged no one else. Then Beau’s brothers left with a promise to visit him at the base in the morning.
Casually, Krysti approached Beau. “Would you like to stop and get something to eat before we go home?”
“It’s kinda late. You think Justin will be able to handle it?”
“I’m sure he will do just fine.”
“Then let’s get him and go.” They gathered their things and Justin, and were off before Ruben and the others.
Someone else made his way to a car, all the while cussing under his breath. Marix had overheard Krysti’s invitation to Beau, and was talking to himself, “Wait until she finds out about him.”
From the balcony of the Holiday Inn overlooking the bay of Corpus Christi, two men leaned over the railing of the hotel room and sipped on their drinks. A knock on the door diverted their attention from the refreshing view. Wearing baggy white pants and flowery short sleeve shirts, both men stepped from the balcony. One of them went directly to the door while the other stopped at the bar and poured another orange drink.
Dressed for the beach and appearing like any other tourist, the guest moved directly to the bar. He had a small moustache and a nose crooked from a previous accident. He dropped a bag to the floor from which fell painter’s overalls. In clear English, Lieutenant Juan Ortega addressed the man pouring the drink. “Everything is in readiness, General Sharafan.”
Rasht Sharafan handed Lieutenant Ortega a mixed drink while he sipped an orange beverage, since the Muslim religion forbid the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Both men sipped from their glasses.
“This is the last base for me to check. I will return tonight,” said Sharafan. He gazed thoughtfully from the window out over the bay. “I think I shall return here when the city is under control. Now tell me of your preparations.”
Ortega ticked off his list:
Men were at the public airports. One of the three decoy airliners would be grounded, so the reproduction could slip into the original’s flight pattern unnoticed. The other two were in California and Florida. Civilian maintenance crews were inside the Naval Air Station. A half dozen sharpshooters were strategically placed outside the base. With the confusion over the new Persian Gulf conflict, over 500 reservists were called to active duty, with a dozen of their men already at the Naval Air Station. It had been easy to infiltrate the reservists’ unit. Men were in place within the armory.
“The snipers?” Sharafan asked.
“The best, General.”
“It is imperative that no planes take off for a counter strike against us.”
“That will not happen here. In fact Juan Bravo will be leading the group.”
Sharafan had heard of the man from Mexico, Juan Bravo, who was considered one of the best snipers in the world. “Good!” Sharafan smirked, knowing that the leaders of the eastern and western part of the invasion had made like preparations.
Ortega sipped his drink and snickered. “The Americans are so unsuspecting. Only four have discovered the attack, but my men intercepted and eliminated them. They will not be missed for a week.”
“How many men do you have?”
“Five hundred armed and waiting, with 5,000 waiting along the border to come to my aid.”
“They know their missions?”
“Yes. Destroy all legal records. Secure all areas vital to our cause. Exchange property and power to all workers who are sympathetic to our cause or who agree to maintain and run refineries and power plants and do other necessary jobs. A list of gun dealers and wholesalers has been compiled. We checked records of registered guns and have accumulated a list of people who own five or more rifles. We will confiscate all these arms immediately. Public officials, high ranking officers, their children, and those who offer resistance will be taken prisoner and confined in areas likely for possible counter attack.”
“Excellent! Yours is one of ten bases in Texas prepared for the invasion. We will lead the spearhead through the center of the United States. Similar preparations have already been made for the East and the West.”
“For ten years we have prepared. We are ready. And your part?” Ortega asked.
“Your men will have grounded the real passenger jet so it will be easy to have our duplicate appear to be making an emergency landing. When the airliner lands at the Naval Air Station your men are to move quickly. The jet will not be filled with passengers. Instead more than 150 expertly trained and armed fighting men will exit when it lands. There should be minimal resistance since the Americans will have already been alerted and sent after our three major decoys.”
“I have been here for many years and one thing I have learned about the Americans is they will be more concerned about their Orange Bowl and Rose Bowl than anything else,” said Ortega with a laugh. “But they will never see the Rose Bowl.”
The thought of someone interfering with American football brought a sadistic chuckle from Sharafan. “Yes and may Allah watch over us so the Americans do not lose their precious cable television before our plans are finished. I want all Americans to see.”
Sharafan could still remember when the raw plans for this mission first evolved more than thirteen years earlier. The war dead of more than 3,000 in New York and the Pentagon was to be the initial act of the ultimate invasion of the United States. Men from South America and the Middle East had met in Cuba under the pretense of vacations. They started to formulate a plan. At first it seemed almost a joke, but it soon became serious when their determination was shown to be sincere. Rasht Sharafan had attended those meetings. He had wanted to destroy the United States more than any man there. The obstacles seemed almost insurmountable. He tried to explain how the United States had shown a very dangerous pattern during the nineties and there was no reason to believe it would change: the assault on Panama and General Noriega; Saddam Hussein and Iraq were attacked for their aggression; Desert Storm was proclaimed a world victory for freedom, but it also exposed the United States’ weakness; then Somalia and Bosnia.
Somalia was interesting in showing the United States’ inability to beat a backward country without modern weapons. But even after discussing the obvious pattern of danger, still the group hesitated. Disgruntled they broke off the meetings but continued their contact with each other, always keeping in mind Sharafan’s explanations.
He and his many cells carried out terrorist attacks across America blowing up buildings, sporting events, and even using biological weapons sparingly. The terror in America continued. Red Eagle was an immense success.
Once again Sharafan and the others met with the knowledge that victory was now more than just a possibility. Taking a page out of history, Sharafan showed how the Coalition could beat the United States just like the Americans had beaten the British to win their independence. A trap that the United States would follow just as before was designed and set. The trail it pursued would lead to the country’s own destruction.
As the plans evolved, the United States proved its interference throughout the world when it gave a show of force in Brazil and Zaire. Many more became angry. And it gave credence to the small group’s plan against the United States. The Americans would also interfere with other countries’ internal affairs, using the United Nations — an organization that in reality was only an extension of the United States military. The United States told the United Nations; they didn’t ask. More discussions passed back and forth between the leaders. Patiently they waited and formulated a plan. Osama bin Laden made preparations, and when Sharafan orchestrated the successful bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, the plan gained force.