On the ground, Sharafan promptly searched out Captain Reynaga who controlled the offensive for the attack on Laughlin. Soon he was in Reynaga’s presence.
“Well done, Captain! Better than I expected,” said Sharafan, extending his hand. “What of the caravan and Commander Gex?”
Reynaga shook his head. “I have questioned the officers. We have checked at the gate. They never arrived.”
“What?” he screamed in disbelief. “Send a search party. Have your best men find them. Bring Beau Gex back alive. Kill the rest if you must, but I want him.”
“Sir,” Reynaga interrupted. “We do not know if they arrived in San Antonio. Texas is a big place. Where do we start?”
The Captain’s question suddenly caused memories from the past to swirl through Sharafan’s head. He remembered how he and his father, Sadi, had hunted for the pilots that killed his wonderful family and beautiful mother.
They had continued to look for the men who murdered their families, but the military was good at keeping the names from the public and the media. Yet they never gave up hope that they would someday extract revenge for their loved ones.
On April 19, 1995, something happened that helped them find the men that had flown that deadly mission. When Timothy McVeigh blew up the building in Oklahoma City and Middle Eastern terrorists were blamed, it came as a shock that a former member of America’s military had become so disgruntled with his country’s leaders he had committed the cowardly act. But tongues loosened and people in the military talked.
Discrimination was supposed to be a thing of the past, but in reality it was just something that had been shoved under the table. The women in the military endured sexual attacks and even rape. Blacks were still discriminated against even though it wasn’t supposed to happen in America. And even though America stated a belief in religious freedom, one religious group had been targeted, taunted, teased, and ridiculed. The victims of this abuse were people of the Muslim faith.
A disgruntled officer who had worked on the aircraft that flew the mission killing the Sharafans was also of the Muslim faith, and he had endured continual humiliation during his prayers. People pointed at him and said “his kind” were the ones who had done the dirty deed in Oklahoma. When it turned out to be just another American, none of the people that had ridiculed him offered up apologies. So it happened one night while the Muslim officer was with some of his other Muslim friends that his tongue loosened and they heard the story about the pilots that had bombed Baghdad. One of those that heard the tale told a friend of his, and the story continued. Sadi and Rasht had learned that the officer was still stationed in Saudi Arabia, and it took no great effort for them to find him and make friends. Unhappy with his position, the disgruntled officer unwittingly told them his story. Soon the father and son who were bent on revenge learned the identity of the two men who had flown the mission that had killed their family. With the information they obtained, Sadi and Rasht set upon their quest, their fatwa, to kill the pilots Jonathan Bryce and Robert Gex, and all of their families. They began their search in the hopes of exacting revenge and fulfilling their oath.
One of the most important and vital things they learned in their quest was that Muslims in the American military could be counted on to help their cause when needed.
With the passing years the father and son had developed and discovered something far greater than their original plan for revenge. An idea evolved for the downfall of the United States of America. They formulated a massive plan from the United States’ attacks of Desert Storm and similar operations conducted after that strategy. They noticed that the United States repeated a pattern, much like a boxer telegraphing his blow to the opposing fighter, and thus revealed its Achilles’ heel. The lowly Sharafans enlisted the aid of insurgents from all the Middle East countries and a few from South America. Toward this end, the secret organization of the Coalition, as it eventually became known, raced toward a much greater and united goaclass="underline" the downfall of the United States of America. Revenge had been the original motivating factor, but the destruction of the United States was now seen as a much grander prize. Still, problems with the plan to destroy the United States continued to plague them.
During this time Rasht Sharafan had developed into one of Iraq’s youngest and best jet fighter pilots. With revenge as his companion, he had become a cold, calculating killer. He was called “Cobra.” No one knew if it was because of his cold personality or his deadly skills.
Five years after Desert Storm, revenge became much more prominent for the Sharafans when news came to them telling of Bryce and Gex visiting in Spain with their families. For the father and son, revenge would be sweet and immediate.
The explosion was blamed on Middle East tensions between Israel, America, and the Palestinians. The only flaw to the plan had been that Gex’s family was not to be present. Regardless of this, the Sharafans stalked the two men and Bryce’s family. At the opportune time they had put their plan into action. If not for the police stumbling upon the scene after the explosion, the plan would have worked to perfection, because Bryce, his family, and Gex were dead. Even with the appearance of the police, if Sadi had remained calm and calculating instead of running and shooting, he would never have been caught, much less killed.
With a heavy heart after his father’s death, Rasht Sharafan had returned home alone and doubled his efforts with the Coalition while keeping a watchful eye on Beau Gex and his remaining family. Patiently, Captain Reynaga waited for an answer to his question, but Sharafan was still consumed with memories of revenge.
Too much time had passed. Sharafan had killed the father and now he would kill the son. Beau Gex must be found! Sharafan was too close; he could not let it happen again. Livid with rage he barked his demand to Reynaga. “I don’t care how you do it but find them!”
In the distance, sporadic columns of smoke rose high in the sky. As Beau and his brothers neared Lackland, flames became visible. The base was in trouble. They pulled the buggies off the main road and advanced as cautiously as possible. From far away came the sound of explosions and gunfire.
Suddenly, men from two Jeeps and a personnel transporter ambushed the four brothers. Men jumped from the truck and started firing, pinning all four down. Guns at the ready, they prepared to return the fire when they heard an American’s voice.
“Okay, you cocksuckers! Give us your vehicles and maybe we’ll let ya live.”
Beau responded. “Hey, ya’ll from Lackland?”
Silence reigned for a moment. “Yeah! Ya speak good English. How do we know you’re Americans? Who’s the president?”
“Some Muslim terrorist. Who gives a shit,” retorted Beau.
A couple of the men laughed. The same man spoke. “Where ya from?”
“Texas.”
“Who’d we beat at the Alamo?”
Beau laughed. “Didn’t, but we gave them thirteen days of hell they never forgot. How do we know you’re not some of them? Tell me about Goliad.”
The same man spoke. “Fannin surrendered. But we kicked ass at San Jacinto. If you’re telling the truth, we better hurry and get the shit outa here. You step out and I’ll step out.”
With those final words, the officer stood erect with a rifle held overhead and moved toward Beau, who also stood and did likewise with his rifle. Both men walked slowly and cautiously toward each other, holding their weapons above their heads. They met between both groups and exchanged greetings. The officer called his men out and Beau beckoned to his brothers.