The Panther

The Panther had already discussed this with Captain Zuhair, and now the man was speaking of it again-on the eve of battle.

The Panther said with some annoyance and authority, “I have made the decision to attack on three fronts. This will cause the government to react with fear and confusion. They will not know when or where to expect another attack, and they will become paralyzed with indecision, and they will begin arguing with the Americans, who always want action and decision.”

Captain Zuhair had no reply.

The Panther reminded Captain Zuhair, “I have told you this before.” Then he reminded the captain, “The Americans are arrogant and the government is cowardly. You will see both when these attacks are successful.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If you had been here after the attack on the Cole, you would understand what I am saying and doing.”

Like all bad generals, Zuhair thought, this one is reliving his victories and forgetting his defeats. But Zuhair said, “Yes, sir.”

The Panther turned to Lieutenant al-Rashid and commanded, “Speak. What do you say?”

Sayid al-Rashid said nothing, but then drew a deep breath and said, “I can certainly see the concerns of Captain Zuhair, but…” He glanced at Zuhair, then said to The Panther, “But I can also see that what you say, sir, is true.”

The Panther nodded.

Al-Rashid continued cautiously, “We… Captain Zuhair and I are simple soldiers, sir, and we think of tactics. But you, sir, know of strategy. And it is an excellent strategy. To throw fear into the government and cause strife within the government-”

“And between the government and the Americans.”

“Yes, sir. And of course, our victory tonight will be all the greater because of your leadership and planning.”

The Panther nodded curtly, then said, “If there is nothing further, I suggest you speak to each man now to be certain they understand the plan of attack.” He also said, “You will say nothing of what you have just said to me.”

“Yes, sir.”

He reminded them, “It is six kilometers to the oil installation, and if you start now, you will be there in less than two hours.” He ordered, “The attack must be completed at least two hours before dawn so that we may withdraw into the hill camp under the cover of night.”

Both men replied, “Yes, sir,” then Captain Zuhair said, “Nabeel would like a word with you.”

“Now?”

“He says it is important.”

“All right. Tell him to come in.” He also ordered, “You stay.”

Lieutenant al-Rashid ducked out of the hut and returned seconds later with Nabeel al-Samad, a junior aide to The Panther.

The Panther looked at his aide in the dim light of the candle. Nabeel, like himself, had lived in America, though Nabeel was an occasional visitor who went there only for business-Al Qaeda business. And also to deliver a verbal message now and then to the family of Bulus ibn al-Darwish, and to bring a message in return from his father, mother, and sister. Nabeel had already done this three days before, so what now did he want?

The Panther asked his aide, “What is it, Nabeel?”

Nabeel al-Samad made proper greetings, then said, “Sir, I have just heard from our friend at El Rahaba.”

“Yes? And what do you hear from our friend at the airport?”

Nabeel reported, “There is an Egyptair flight arriving in Sana’a at two forty-five this morning. The manifest for this flight lists two Americans from New York City who are traveling on diplomatic passports.” Nabeel also said, “We knew of these people perhaps two weeks ago when the American State Department applied for visas in their names.”

“Yes? And?”

“One of these Americans is a man named John Corey, and the other is a woman called Katherine Mayfield, who is his wife.”

“And they are diplomats?”

“No, sir, they are both agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

The Panther nodded and said, “Continue.”

Nabeel further reported, “Our friend in the New York consulate office informed me when I was in New York that these agents had arrived to pick up their visas, and our friend gave me copies of the visas and their passports. Both of these agents had listed their home address as the government building in which they work. Further inquiries revealed to me that they both are employed in the office of what is called the Anti-Terrorist Task Force.”

Again, The Panther nodded and motioned Nabeel to continue.

“This, as you may know, sir, is an internal American security agency, but the agents are sometimes sent to various places in the world-”

“Yes, I know that. They are here.”

“Yes, sir.” Nabeel continued, “The man, Corey, was in fact in Aden approximately three years ago. Now he is back.”

The Panther stayed silent awhile, then asked, “And how is this man and this woman different from the other American agents who come here?”

Nabeel informed The Panther, “These two agents have been specifically placed by name on the assassination list of the Supreme Council.”

“Yes? And why?”

“This man, sir, is the American agent who killed Asad Khalil, The Lion, in New York.”

The Panther nodded. He certainly remembered that. Was it a year ago? Perhaps less.

Nabeel reminded The Panther, “Asad Khalil had traveled to New York to kill this man, Corey, and his wife, Mayfield.”

“Yes, I recall.” But it had not gone well. Khalil was a Libyan, and he had gone to America on an earlier mission to avenge the bombing of his homeland by the Americans. He had exacted a degree of revenge, but not all that he wished. So he returned. And this time, they killed him.

Khalil was not within Al Qaeda, but he worked with Al Qaeda. And thus the Supreme Council had sought to avenge his death by calling for the assassination of this man Corey, who had killed the great jihadist, Asad Khalil, The Lion.

The Panther inquired, “Why do you think this man has come to Yemen again?”

Nabeel replied, “Perhaps, sir, to kill you.”

That came as no surprise to Bulus ibn al-Darwish. The Americans had a special hatred of Muslims who had been born or achieved citizenship in America and then joined the jihad.

The Americans, he understood from his more than twenty years in that country, were so arrogant as to believe that anyone who lived among them would come to love them and love their corrupt and licentious country. And when you did not love them, they hated you for your lack of appreciation of them and their wonderful nation. True arrogance and true vanity. Pride goeth before destruction, as it is written in the Hebrew Book of Proverbs.

And of course, the Americans in Yemen were here to avenge the killing of seventeen seamen on the American warship. And Bulus ibn al-Darwish knew from his parents and other sources that his name had been placed on what was called the CIA kill list. And this list, according to custom, or perhaps law, had to be approved by the President of the United States. That was interesting. Interesting, too, that this man Corey, who was perhaps here to kill him, was himself-along with his wife-on a similar assassination list that was approved by the Supreme Council of Al Qaeda. So the hunter and the hunted were listed for death. The question was, Who is the hunter, and who is the hunted? The answer for now is, Both are both.

Also, he knew, his mother and father had engaged an American attorney to have his name removed from the CIA list. Corey’s name would be removed from the list of the Supreme Council when he, Bulus ibn al-Darwish, killed him.

The Panther thought about all this. To him, it was an honor to have his name placed on that American list. But his mother and father-and probably his sister, who was an American-would rather see him rotting his life away in an American prison. They did not understand him because they had been too long in America. They did not understand martyrdom, and perhaps they had even ceased to believe that martyrdom in jihad earned a man his rapid ascension into Paradise. His parents, he thought, would someday go to hell.