Ahmad Rahman stood at the lookout and immediately ruled it out. Although this spot commanded sweeping views of the target, if the chance to strike arose, the infidel’s puppets would almost certainly put patrols in this area. Ahmad scanned the target area and then swung his binoculars towards another smaller hill further to the south. It offered even less opportunity as it was located just above a military barracks.
Ahmad drove back down the narrow winding road that provided access to the mountain and turned left onto a highway that connected the main city with a satellite city to the east. He followed the road until he came to the sign he’d been looking for. The Air Disaster Memorial was near the top of a hill in the middle of a pine forest, but when Ahmad tried to drive up the dirt track he found the way blocked. A sign reading ‘Wilson Security’ and a telephone number had been erected beside the heavily padlocked barrier that was blocking the way. Ahmad parked his older model black Jeep Cherokee and set out on foot, taking his map and binoculars. If anyone challenged him he would claim he was bushwalking.
Forty minutes later, he reached a site among the pine trees that was also less than perfect. The range was fine but the visibility wasn’t good and, worse still, the pine forest was a little more open than he’d expected. If the infidel were patrolling this area, he might be discovered. Ahmad scanned the mountain range on the far side of the target area and then stopped and focused his binoculars on a vineyard on the side of hill about 5 kilometres away.
As he walked back to the jeep, Ahmad reflected that of all the targets around the world, this one was surely the most open and the hardest for the infidel to defend. To the south, the foothills of another mountain range came into view where he’d already selected a position if the weather necessitated an attack being made from there. He was in good spirits as he headed back to the highway. If the weather dictated a strike from the north, the hills above the vineyard looked promising. al-Falid poured himself a mineral water and turned his attention to the third warning, for which caesium chloride would be critical. It was not easy to obtain in its highly radioactive form, but Khalid Kadeer had overcome that problem.
Teletherapy used radioactive sources to irradiate and treat tumours and it was very common in developed countries, with over 10,000 machines worldwide. The later machines used cobalt 60 as the radioactive source. Cobalt 60, being a metal, could not be used in an aerosol attack but Kadeer had pointed out to al-Falid that the early machines had been manufactured using caesium chloride and it was these discarded machines he had ordered al-Falid to get hold of. Many of the early machines had been donated as part of well-meaning aid programs for third world countries with ineffective record systems, and even less effective records of disposals. In the late 1990s in Goiania in Brazil, over a hundred thousand people had been tested for radiation exposure after scavengers had broken into an abandoned building that housed an old teletherapy machine. After smashing it apart they distributed a powder that was glowing a deadly blue. The powder was caesium 137.
The Churchill had been successful in picking up a consignment of eight teletherapy heads from the port of Arica in Chile and another six teletherapy heads from Wewak in Papua New Guinea, as well as a much larger load from al-Falid’s contacts in Georgia. There was enough for six large backpack bombs – two for each of the three cities Kadeer had ordered to be attacked if the West ignored the second warning.
As he closed the curtains to shut out the bright lights and the noise on the streets below, al-Falid fervently hoped the West would ignore the next two warnings. Beijing would not have been his choice for the final attack, but the Olympic Games was a huge drawcard and al-Falid was confident that the Beijing authorities’ predictions would be close to the mark. For a critical two weeks, more than 3 million spectators, athletes and team officials would be concentrated in the city. With the exception of the devoted warriors of Allah, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful, who would be vaccinated, the western world and other unbelievers would be wiped off the face of the Earth.
CHAPTER 74
F orty-eight hours after the attack on Sydney, the news of the US President’s flying visit to Canberra was being greeted with mixed views.
‘For security reasons, the Americans don’t want the visit announced until the last minute,’ the Prime Minister said, looking around the cabinet table, ‘so for now it doesn’t go outside this room.’
‘Bugger me,’ the Liberal Party’s campaign director muttered from his seat against the cabinet room wall. He had an election to worry about and with Sydney in ruins, a visit by the American President was the last thing he needed. ‘A couple of things, Prime Minister,’ he said, resolving to do what he could to put the visit on hold, but wary of his boss’s stubborn allegiance to Australia’s great and powerful ally. ‘My research is showing that President Harrison is not going down too well in the electorate, which will play right into the hands of the Opposition. Given the preparation for one of these visits we’re not going to be able to keep it a secret for long.’
‘The White House wants the President’s visit kept quiet, and that’s what I’ve agreed to,’ the Prime Minister replied angrily. The strain of the past two days was clearly evident.
Sydney had been brought to a standstill. With the CBD effectively isolated from the north shore, the transport system was in chaos and traffic was in gridlock. The huge Royal North Shore hospital was isolated, as was the North Sydney business district. Thousands of people had been laid off work and divers were still recovering bodies from the flooded tunnels. The Australian stockmarket had plunged based on fears of further attacks and Wall Street and London had also fallen sharply. The State’s economy was in tatters, threatening to have an impact on the national economy. Anger over Australia’s close ties to the United States was growing, but the Prime Minister stubbornly refused to distance the country from President Harrison’s policies.
‘There’s to be no announcement on President Harrison’s visit until I say so,’ the Prime Minister added, closing the meeting.
The next day, alongside the pictures of the fallout from the carnage in Sydney, The Sydney Morning Herald carried a companion story on the front page: PRESIDENT HARRISON TO VISIT CANBERRA
Michelle Gillard was one of the best-connected journalists in the country. She had had an exclusive scoop, much to the annoyance of the rest of her colleagues in the Parliamentary press gallery. News of the impending visit only served to further alienate Australians, already in a state of shock over an attack launched against them because of Australia’s unswerving support for an American Administration that was increasingly despised in many parts of the world.
Ahmad Rahman picked up the papers from his local newsagent at the Ainslie shops. For the past eighteen months, al-Falid’s young recruit and the other two members of his cell had been renting a house in the quiet leafy suburb near the Australian War Memorial. They had kept to themselves, working shift work at a call centre, never missing a rent payment and making sure that their lives appeared perfectly normal. To the neighbours they were just ordinary, fit young men with an interest in bushwalking.
As Ahmad read Michelle Gillard’s report on President Harrison’s impending visit, he sent a silent prayer of thanks to Allah. The chance that the five cells around the world had all been preparing and praying for had come to him. Ten days from now the President of the United States would be in Canberra for just 24 hours, but Ahmad was sure it would be long enough. The President will be accompanied by a 650-strong entourage and is expected to attend an official dinner hosted by the Prime Minister at The Lodge, a short distance from the American Embassy where he will be staying. The following day, before flying out from Canberra in the afternoon, the President will address a joint sitting of Parliament. The Australian Federal Police are refusing to comment and Defence didn’t return The Herald’s calls but sources close to those involved in the planning have indicated there will be more than 500 police officers on duty, supported by members of the military’s Special Forces Tactical Assault Group, as well as other military and police personnel trained to deal with any chemical and biological threats. Protesters are expected to number in the thousands but they will be kept well away from the official residences and from the Parliament which will be closed to the public for the duration of the President’s stay. The Prime Minister’s office is refusing to confirm or deny the visit.