The Saladin Strategy by Norm Clark

Author:Norm Clark
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Norman Clark
Published: 2011-05-05T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 50

Langley, Virginia

The Lost Dutchman bar

Jack tempered his excitement for the new intel as best he could on the drive to the surprise meeting set up by Clay Van Allen.

They exchanged waves with Clay’s large bodyguard at the corner table as they passed by to enter the office.

“Welcome gentlemen,” said Clay. “Take a seat.”

“What’s up?” asked Marvin.

“I heard from my man.”

“Damn,” said Jack. “Sure didn’t take long.”

“The action went down two hours after Georgie setup.” Clay leaned over his desk. “Two mercenary types hooked up with General McCallister at his home. They took his boat to a large oceangoing yacht in the bay and transferred a wooden crate. From a distance, Georgie estimated the size at three to four feet in length and eighteen inches square, which is perfect for a W-80 warhead.

“They returned to the boathouse, and the mercs left the area in a small Zodiac boat stashed on the beach. With no sign of the General, Georgie checked his status and found him on his boat shot to death execution style.”

Marvin sat erect in shock. “My God! You mean they murdered him?”

“They eliminated a loose end,” said Jack.

“Unbelievable,” murmured Marvin.

Clay checked his notes. “One more item from Georgie, the name of the yacht is ‘Playtime’. I called my yachting world contact for background data. An Omani Sheik, unfriendly to the western world, owns her and an identical sister ship. ‘Playtime’ cruises the western hemisphere while the other covers the Middle East and Europe.”

“The delivery by boat makes sense since the destination is a small seaport in western Pakistan, but I can’t quite put the pieces together,” said Jack.

“It sounds perfect,” said Clay. “What’s the problem?”

Jack hesitated, then retrieved a plain, letter-size manila envelope from his tote and handed it to Clay.

“What’s this?

“Copies of intercepted e-mails from and to the Jihadist ramrod of this mission,” said Jack. “They’re stapled in chronological order, and I’ve footnoted our interpretation of their code words on the applicable pages.”

He removed the contents and locked his eyes on the first intercept. “Fits right into your scenario Jack,” he said as he flipped the page to expose the second message. He read page two and rechecked his notes. “What do ya know, ‘Monkey Business’ is the name of the sister ship.”

Eyes wide, Jack’s body straightened. “Of course,” he said. “They’ll use ‘Monkey Business’ to make the delivery. Those waters are their crew’s backyard.”

Clay nodded and read number three. “So, when ‘The Judge’ lost contact with the Russians, he solicited the acquisition team to complete the delivery. Why didn’t he use his people?”

“A non-Arab crew on a pleasure cruise will draw less attention and suspicion,” said Jack.

“Your viewpoint’s a far cry from the Jihadist’s paradigm, but it makes sense,” he said. “I have to assume ‘Vengador’ will fly to Marseilles and take ‘Monkey Business’ out for an open water transfer of the warhead.”

“How long will it take ‘Playtime’ to be in position for the transfer in the Med?”

“Oh…seven or eight days,” said Clay.

“Read the final e-mail.”

Clay stared at the last page and set the copies on his desk.

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