AllFreeNovel
Share Us
POTOMAC RIVER
Mustafa al-Yamani had tears in his eyes. It was exactly as he'd dreamt it would be night after night for nearly a year. They rounded a slight jog in the river, the clouds parted and beams of sun shown down brightly on the massive dome of the U.S. Capitol. The swordlike Washington Monument shot upward, marking the center of the National Mall, and the cap of the Jefferson Memorial lay in the foreground, partially concealed by a row of trees. He could not see the White House but he knew where it was, just beyond the Washington Monument. He had studied the maps over and over until each detail was seared into his memory, and now he would destroy it. Everything in sight would be leveled in a little more than an hour.
The fathers of America had designed their capital city to form a crucifix. The Washington Monument marked the center, with the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial forming the longer center line while the Jefferson Memorial and the White House formed the shorter horizontal line. The Americans were modern-day crusaders trying to stamp out Islam. They'd even backed the Jews in retaking the Holy Land. It was time to begin a new crusade. Acrusade for the people of Islam.
Al-Yamani smiled at the view in front of him. It was just as he had dreamt it would be; the sun shining down through the parting clouds, the green trees and blue water. For the sun to come out at the exact moment when he laid eyes on the city was further proof that Allah was guiding them.
Al-Yamani placed a frail hand on Hasan's shoulder. "You have done well. There is nothing they can do to stop us now. Continue to the spot by the Tidal Basin and drop the anchor. I am going below to pray. You and Khaled may join me when you are ready."
Al-Yamani called out for Khaled. The man came up the stairs to the bridge area and stood by al-Yamani.
"I do not think I have the strength to walk. Would you please carry me below?"
Khaled nodded, choking back tears. He bent over and cradled the bravest man he had ever known. L
ooking like a man clutching his decrepit and dying father, he walked him down the stairs and into the cabin where he gently set him on the floor. Al-Yamani kneeled on the floor, brought his palms together, and began reciting asura.
* * *
Eighty-Nine
WASHINGTON, D.C
The blue-and-white helicopter flew through the sky a mere 300 feet above the treetops of the lush Potomac River Valley. When they reached the tall Francis Scott Key Bridge, they slowed from 140 mph to 80 mph and dropped down another hundred feet. The boat would not be able to navigate the river any further upstream than this. The pilots cut around the east side of Roosevelt Island and took the Georgetown Channel. They passed a series of docks on the east bank where large tour boats where docked. So far theScandinavian Princess was nowhere in sight.
Rapp continued looking out the port window and called General Flood on his phone. "General, we're coming up on the Roosevelt Bridge. Can you give me an idea what the picture looks like downriver?"
"The AWACS is tracking twenty-six contacts within ten miles of the capital. That's up from eighteen just five minutes ago."
"How many of those contacts are headed north?"
"I don't know. Let me check."
Rapp could hear the chairman of the joint chiefs talking to someone. He came back with an answer in short order.
"Twenty-one of the twenty-six are headed upriver."
"General I want the AWACS controller to vector us in on each contact. Find out what channel they want my pilot on." Flood came back with a quick answer. Rapp passed the information on to the pilot and then asked for the status on SEAL Team Six.
"They're about twenty minutes away, but we've got a slight problem."
Rapp noticed a note of hesitation in Flood's voice. "What's that?"
"The president just informed me that Team Six is to be used only if the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team is not in position."
"And what did you say to that?"
"I said, yes, sir, and informed the CO of Team Six of the situation."
Rapp swore and looked out the port window at the Lincoln Memorial. "When is HRT expected to be in position?"
"I'm hearing thirty minutes."
It matched the same information he'd received from McMahon. "All right. I might be calling you back and asking to be patched directly through to Six's commanding officer. Any problem with that?"
"That depends on what you want to talk to him about."
"You know exactly what I want to talk to him about."
