Shadows of the Deep by David Evans

Author:David Evans [Evans, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Loudhailer Books
Published: 2024-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15: Showdown on the Open Sea

Kasim Asfour had dedicated a decade of his life to the murky tapestry of Al-Qaeda, ascending from an inconspicuous arms peddler to a linchpin in the group’s formidable hierarchy. His last four years were consumed by the orchestration of a bold heist, a masterpiece of subterfuge and guile. As an undercover agent, his allegiance lay with a black operation faction tacitly endorsed by power players within the halls of Washington—a cabal that included a former commander-in-chief and the sitting vice president, not to mention a deputy director of the CIA who pulled strings from behind a veil of secrecy.

Asfour, with the cold precision of a seasoned chess player, had choregraphed through the ranks of the terrorist cadre, adopting their creed and methods with chilling indifference. His rise was marked by calculated brutality, where not even the lives of his compatriots were spared. There was an unnerving absence of empathy within him, a sociopathic strain that rendered his conscience barren—a trait that made him the perfect impersonator of an Al-Qaeda operative, undeterred by the moral weight of his actions.

The Reef Explorer, a colossal vessel with over 2,000 passengers and 500 crew members, presented a daunting challenge. Attempting to control such a fully laden behemoth with a mere 20 men seemed impossible, even with their substantial firepower. Asfour recognized that since the tragic events of the Twin Towers, people had come to associate terrorist attacks with a singular outcome: their own death. Faced with the sheer number of potential adversaries on board, both men and women would likely fight back, believing they had nothing left to lose. Asfour had meticulously studied the heroic resistance on “Flight 93” and understood how it had inspired countless individuals to take action.

Based on the information extracted from Cummings, Aziz had learned that approximately 700 passengers and 200 crew members would disembark in Limassol for excursions or planned days ashore. Most would return late in the afternoon via tender, leaving behind around 250 passengers and 200 crew members who remained on the ship. The catamaran, with its morning and afternoon bookings, would return at 12:30 pm, bringing back a manageable number of people who could easily be accommodated in the 400-seat theatre nestled in the ship’s bow on decks four and five.

Including Aziz himself, there were sixteen combatants aboard the catamaran, with four additional specialists set to join them at the appropriate moment. Asfour’s men were well-versed in the plan; the eight Africans had been unwittingly used as pawns, believing themselves to be critical players but never knowing when or where the true leaders would enter the game.

Aziz issued orders for all the men to discard their green coveralls, replacing them with colourful speedo swimming trunks. The visual illusion was crucial; they needed to appear as though they were simply returning happy passengers to the Reef Explorer. Awaale translated Aziz’s instructions for his seven comrades who did not understand Arabic. Command and control were Aziz’s specialties, and he efficiently organized his men into distinct combat units.

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