Over the previous two days, his army was mobilizing across Europe. The first instructions sent each jihadist to a hotel in one of many European cities. Each would travel alone, unaware of his compatriots’ or leaders’ whereabouts. Were they intercepted, they would know nothing of their final destination or the whereabouts of any other jihadists. Nor would they have any idea of the numbers involved. Even the leaders knew only of their own individual group’s input. Even then, they did not know how many of those Nick would ultimately use in his plan. Those details would only be made known to the individuals in the final hours before their flights.
Over ten thousand hotel rooms had been rented across the various cities that would be used as the departure points for Nick’s army. Over ten thousand jihadists ready to fight and die for Allah. They were the most vehement supporters of the various sections within the Islamic faith. Sunni, Shi’a, Wahhabi, Sufi, amongst many other smaller factions had joined as one force, sending their most devoted and devout followers to fight for the cause. Those prepared to die for their cause, Allah’s cause, were waking up on a day that would change the world for Islam and the infidel.
Each of the ten thousand would log in to an email account and receive their e-ticket and learn their ultimate destination. The emails were pre-set to be delivered at 7:30 a.m. Central European Time (CET). The logistics of the operation were mindboggling but had been expertly carried out by the Albanian bookers. Ten thousand passports had been sent to ten thousand separate locations. Ten thousand hotel rooms had been organized and allocated to ensure men who knew each other were separated and unaware of each other’s locations. It was vital to ensure that the compartmentalization of the plan was followed through until the last moment. If any man were an impostor, his knowledge of the plan and of others involved would be minimal. Ten thousand cell phones had been pre-delivered to each of the rooms for use on arrival at their destination, along with Western style clothing. All the jihadists would be dressed from head to toe in American made and branded apparel. Messages were pre-set to be delivered on arrival at their destinations, detailing the next steps to meet up with their fifty-man strike team or to maximize the delivery of the virus they carried.
Nick checked the time, 8:03 a.m. CET. The couriers that had been sent out across Europe would be delivering the special containers that housed forty-nine vials of Ebola Zaire virus. Those who would carry the virus would discover their fate with the arrival of the vial. Their fate would be sealed before the operation commenced but with the knowledge that they would be responsible for more infidel deaths than any other Muslim in history. Their suicide would be greater than any suicide in history.
Nick, like every other member of the jihadists, had received his email at precisely 7:30 a.m. CET. However his email information was incorrect. He had changed his destination but the booking still showed the destination he had originally planned: Washington, D.C. As much as he wanted to take the fight to the heart of the infidel and Washington, he had decided against it. Even with the best disguise, the security at Dulles Airport would be far greater than at any other target airport. Even though he wanted to lead from the front, the dangers of him never even arriving were too great. Washington, New York, Chicago and L.A. were too high profile and his arrival at any of those was too great a risk to the operation.
Nick logged into a travel website and looked for alternative routes from Frankfurt. The nearest to Washington and New York that he could use to meet up with others was the Frankfurt-Philadelphia route. Another less obvious but slightly further route was to Charlotte, North Carolina. He tried to remember which flight Walid was on. He knew Larbi was definitely on the Washington Dulles flight. Walid was flying into Charlotte or Philadelphia. Not wanting to be on the same flight, he booked both while there was space and he’d use whichever one Walid wasn’t on. He used a separate pre-paid card to ensure as much anonymity as possible for each purchase and thinking what the hell, he went for business class tickets. First class was, as far as he was concerned, just a step too far, no matter whose money it was.
Nick Geller had just made his second mistake.
Chapter 70
Within one minute of the first transaction, Frankie’s phone rang, along with many others in the center. Frankfurt. A hotel near the airport was being pinpointed as the location of the transaction. Frankie contained her excitement. All of the card numbers on the watch list were not Nick’s. Some belonged to innocents whose purchases coincided with Nick’s. Three false alarms had already been triggered over the last few hours. However, this was the first transaction on the watch list of cards outside the US. Frankie was still rubbing sleep from her eyes when the transaction details came through. A business class seat on US Airways Flight 701 to Philadelphia leaving at 11:00 a.m. which she quickly realized was in just over three hours’ time.
Flynn was already at her desk. “Ramstein Airbase is just 80 miles away,” he told Frankie while simultaneously talking into his cell phone.
“We’ve got a Defense Clandestine team there and…” he stopped talking, once again focusing on what was being said to him on his cellphone.
Reid moved across to hear what was happening. She watched as Frankie’s screen opened to reveal a copy of an e-ticket purchased for “James Smith”.
“Holy shit! Result!” he grinned as he relayed his news. “There is a full Marine Special Operations Battalion on the base. They’re on a stopover on the way to Afghanistan. That’s about two hundred and fifty kick ass Marines ready and itching for some action!”
“Let’s just make sure it’s not another false alarm before we go starting a war in Germany,” said Frankie.
“James Smith is one of the most common names in America. It’s about the best pseudonym he could use.”
“As you said, it’s also a very popular name which means it’s more likely to be legitimate,” cautioned Frankie.
Flynn squinted at her. “How does that make it more legitimate?”
“If more James Smiths exist than any other name, statistically, it’s more likely a James Smith will book a flight than someone with another name,” she explained.
“But it’s also the reason you’d be more likely to use that name,” said Reid.
“Exactly,” said Frankie, confusing Flynn further.
“So what we’re saying here,” said Reid, “is that we’re both right. There’s a good chance it is Nick using the common name. But there’s a good chance it is just somebody with a common name booking the flight.”
“Clear as mud,” said Flynn. “Am I sending the troops or not?”
“How quickly can they deploy?” asked Frankie.
“The DCS team can leave now and are about 45 minutes away. The Marines a little longer but they’re already gearing up and prepping the Hercules. I’d say they’re an hour and a half, two hours max, to have the full force on site.”
Frankie turned to Reid who, in turn, looked up at the gangway. Turner was appearing from his office, having been awakened at Reid’s request. He joined them, rushing to catch up with the last few minutes’ manic activity.
“So what do you think? Send in the DCS team and hold the Marines until we’re sure?” he asked, looking for thoughts.
Two nods from Frankie and Reid had Flynn hitting the speed dial button and shouting, “Go!” into his cell.
“Do you think they heard you okay?” asked Turner, rubbing his ear.