Sharafan hurried into the Pakistan mansion and into the presence of Osama bin Laden. The Muslim leader looked sickly. Rumors among the faithful was that their leader was gravely ill. When Sharafan saw his great leader, he instantly knew the rumors were true. Even so he refused to believe Allah would let this happen.
Rasht bowed low to Osama, “Allah Akbar. You called for me?”
“Yes.” He turned his head and coughed. “I am sick. In fact I don’t have much time.”
“Allah will take care of you.”
Osama smiled, “I think Allah calls.” He took a deep breath, “Listen to me. The time is near. The American president is doing exactly as we expected. I have intentionally leaked my location. In a few days or a few weeks they will arrive and they will kill me.”
“No that will not happen.”
Again Osama smiled, “It will happen, and in death I will be more powerful than in life. Our people will rally around and we will be able to destroy America in less than two years. The American president, Obama will succeed for us and destroy America.”
“How?”
“Religion. He claims to be Christian but doesn’t respect them. He has even sided with Muslims but when he kills me, the Muslims will rise up against him.” He coughed a few more times, then said, “He will bring America to its knees financially. America will not survive.”
Moving to aid his friend, Rasht propped a pillow behind Obama to make him more comfortable. The great leader poured a few pills from a bottle, picked up his bottle of water and washed the medication down.
“I am concerned,” said Rasht.
With a slight smile Osama said, “Why?”
"How do we deal with the American's superior aircraft, especially the F22 Raptor."
Navarro nodded his head and smiled. His eyes sparkled with delight, "It will be taken care of."
"Our pilots cannot battle with the Raptor." In thought Sharafan added, "Excellent pilots cannot defeat the Raptor."
"Remember the animal the Raptor was named after?"
"Yes, a quick deadly animal not easily dispatched by others."
"And where is that dinosaur now?"
"The Raptor is extinct."
Navarro knew something but he kept the secret, "Don't worry Sharafan. Soon the American Raptor will also be extinct."
Rasht nodded but Osama could see he was still concerned. He gave Rasht a reassuring smile, “You can thank the American leaders of Microsoft for the soon to be extinction of the Raptor. Not far over the border in India our friends have finished programming modules that are already in the Raptors. We must always be grateful to Bill Gates and Microsoft for bringing all their programs here so we could create them so they would work for us. It is good they brought the American jobs and programming here so great ease we could not only destroy America but also get paid to do it by their American leaders.”
Both men chuckled for a moment and Osama was able to put Rasht’s concerns aside.
Bin Laden looked at Rasht and smiled, “Soon you will get your revenge for Allah. Did you bring the list of those that betrayed us?”
“Yes, but why do you show the traitors as great leaders and spies for our cause? We should kill them, not glorify them”
A seldom seen smile creased his face, “Precisely. When the Americans kill me they will take my files and do our work for us. And it will serve a double purpose. Since the men on the list secretly help the Americans it will make others think the Americans have betrayed them.”
The revelation brought a smile to Rasht, “Ahh!”
The conversation continued for a while and then, with a heavy heart, Rasht departed. Less than a month later Osama bin Laden was murdered in the mansion exactly as he had predicted. The American president, Barrack Obama, claimed his own cleverness and stealth in the death of the Muslim leader.
And in death, Osama bin Laden united the Muslim world.
Sharafan sighed at the memories. So much had happened and they were so close to realizing their dreams. He smiled at Zahir, who continued to fumble nervously with his brandy. He had known Zahir for only a year but he had proven to be trustworthy and an excellent fighter pilot. Zahir would be the one leading the charge on Corpus Christi. With him in the air, and Ortega on the ground, Sharafan was sure the Naval Air Base would fall. But now he watched his friend pace nervously.
“What is troubling you?” Sharafan asked.
Zahir fumbled with his drink then chugged half of it. He wiped his lips and peered at Sharafan. “What of the American Allies? China, Russia, Europe, Canada?”
General Navarro laughed. “Russia? They are broke. China isn’t an ally and doesn’t care. In fact they will probably be happy. With America out, China can take Taiwan and the United States won’t be able to stop them like they have in the past. Europe is neither militarily prepared nor willing. And Canada has nothing we should be afraid of.”
A nod from Sharafan confirmed Navarro’s statement. Then Sharafan added, “The United States has no South American allies. As for Europe, especially Great Britain, the Middle East countries will simply cut-off their oil supply if they try to help.” Then he turned his hand up and made a fist as though he held something. “We have them by, how do they say in America, the balls?”
“And Japan?” asked Zahir with a shrug of his shoulders, more relaxed than when he first asked the question. Already he expected an answer to put him at ease.
“Maybe, but remember they have had no military power for over sixty years.” Sharafan laughed. “And that is thanks to the United States. To convert their industry over would take many, many months, maybe years. In two weeks, it will be too late. And,” he added with a smirk, “they will also need oil. When the Americans quit buying Sony and Toyota, they will find themselves in a very vulnerable position.”
Navarro asked Sharafan, “The Internet and the computers?”
“Already taken care of. Our little sleeping virus will awake on New Year’s morning.”
“What do you mean?” asked Zahir.
With a smile to Navarro, Sharafan said, “Why don’t you tell him.”
“The chips and programs the Americans have been importing from us for the last decade will crash all of their systems just before we invade.” Navarro smiled. “They will have no more Internet.”
Sharafan laughed. “We have some nasty surprises for the United States that four of my cells started more than two weeks ago. You might remember that more than ten years ago we mailed anthrax to some of the American politicians, but in our haste and zeal we told them the truth in the letters. Three weeks ago we mailed out contributions to everyone in Congress and the president and his cabinet. Some were typed and some hand written, but this time we complimented their actions and asked them to use the money for re-election.”
“Why give them money now?” Zahir asked.
Navarro snickered and Sharafan laughed out loud. Sharafan added, “The checks will bounce but all of the letters were laced with more anthrax.” Zahir nodded his understanding.
Sharafan went on to say, “And tonight we have another big jolt for America that will knock them to their knees. The celebrations in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and Los Angeles will be the last for many. Two cells of ten each in Los Angeles and New York contracted smallpox. They are very sick. In fact, my information says four of the twenty are on their deathbeds now. The others are to go through the crowd coughing and spreading as much as they can. We also have another two cells that will be spreading anthrax among the crowd and subways. The anthrax virus will be put on cars and trucks so it will spread when they drive off. At midnight anthrax will be thrown from the top of buildings and will mix with the confetti. We should infect well over a million people.”