Protocol 15 by Nathan Goodman

Author:Nathan Goodman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: espionage and spy thrillers 2016, thriller books to read, thriller novels best sellers, spy novels, CIA spy series, best thriller authors, best thriller novel 2016
Publisher: Thought Reach Press
Published: 2016-04-01T00:00:00+00:00

39

THE RAVEN'S CRY

Yasir Planking wood mill. Kakaheer, northern Pakistan.

The old man ambled out of the trees and walked down the hillside the way any nomad would. His skin was dark and made no effort to hide his years. He carried only a long walking pole, sauntering in the bright sunlight toward the rear of the wood mill. Khalid placed a nervous hand on an automatic rifle which lay against his side, but Waseem Jarrah only smiled.

“Right on time.”

Jarrah walked toward the man and the two embraced.

“Salaam alaikum. Peace be with you,” the old man said.

“Wa alaikum as Salaam And also unto you.”

“It has been a long time, my young friend.”

“Too long,” Jarrah replied. “But nothing is too long in the service of Allah. Come, come inside, where we begin our final act of service together.”

“We have been waiting, and now the time is here.”

“Farooq, let me introduce you to Khalid Kunde.”

“There is no introduction necessary. I know the boy,” the old man said. “He will not remember me, but I was there at his birth and at his dedication.” The elder’s voice was raspy.

Khalid stared at the man, bewildered. “My dedication?” he said.

The elder placed an arthritic hand on Khalid’s shoulder.

“Yes, my son. You and your brother, at the time of your births, were dedicated to the service to Allah. Now, your time has come. We have hours of work ahead of us. But first, we will eat and have tea. Come, come.”

There was a giddiness to his demeanor and it reminded Khalid of an old storyteller that used to visit his home when he was a little boy.

“Your name is Farooq?” Khalid said. Before closing the sliding door, Khalid stared out into the bleak landscape, searching his mind for a face that would not surface. He turned toward the old man. “What is your full name, sir?”

“Ah, well. We will have time for that. We will have time for that later, my good boy.”

Khalid whispered to Waseem, “This is the expert we were awaiting? Who is he? Why does he know me? He is to disassemble the weapon? Are you sure?”

Waseem shook his head. “So quick to doubt. So full of questions. Appearances can be deceiving.”

Four hours later, after having separated the tertiary solid-fuel rocket booster, the remaining half of the missile body was uprighted and moved onto the dirt floor, using the crane and winch system. The old man spent another two hours separating the flattened nose-cone at the tip of the rocket to reveal what was underneath: ten deadly warheads. Each warhead was over four feet in height and independently encased inside its own sharply pointed cone, known as a dunce cap. The dunce caps strutted upward like sharpened fingers of retribution.

“You must have trained years for this very moment,” Khalid said in revelry.

He looked to the elder but received no reply.

The man’s wrinkled forehead furled, but his focus appeared unbreakable. After several long moments, the man looked at him with the eyes of a lion and said, “Not for this moment.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.