No Fortunate Son (Pike Logan, #7)(21)

Ignoring the outburst, Kurt said, “What do you mean, Kerry?”

“Well, it still doesn’t ring true to me. I just can’t see them able to conduct such a wide-ranging operation.”

President Warren said, “And neither could your organization on September tenth. We’ve always discounted the threat. I don’t intend to do so again.”

Kerry bristled, and Kurt backed him up, saying, “There’s more to it than Kerry’s gut feeling. I agree with the CIA on assessments of the operation. Besides just being able to coordinate it, they’d have to execute, and we’d have some indication of Arabic men doing the job. We don’t. Which means they might have help from a non-Arabic group, like what used to happen in the ’70s and ’80s. Maybe there’s an Islamic organization behind it, but we shouldn’t discount help from someone else. Someone who could penetrate, like the Japanese Red Army at the Lod Airport.”

Billings said, “What the hell are you talking about?”

Kurt rolled his eyes, disgusted at the lack of knowledge on basic terrorism. “The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine . . .” He paused and said, “You know who they are, right?”

Billings grew red and nodded. Kurt continued. “The PFLP couldn’t penetrate Israeli airport security because of their nationality. They hired terrorists from the Japanese Red Army to attack for them. In 1972, the Japanese terrorists came into Israel as tourists, then began flinging hand grenades and shooting up the place. I’m saying it could be the same here.”

Billings said, “But that was when the radical ideology was similar. When all the groups had a Marxist bent. This Islamic thing is different. They’d never accept help like that.”

Kerry said, “There’s something more. In Islamic videos, they almost always cut the head off of the victim on camera. Like Daniel Pearl. Like those Islamic State barbarians in Iraq.” He saw everyone react to his flat words and said, “Look, let’s deal with this clinically. Get over the death on-screen. It’s horrific, but getting emotional won’t solve any problems.” He turned to the president. “Sir, I’ve never seen one where they simply shoot the victim, especially since the Islamic State came around. It’s crucifixions and beheadings all the time. Shooting happens in tit-for-tat reprisals on the battlefield, but not in a staged video designed to maximize propaganda value. Designed to elicit maximum fear. And there’s no talking. No shouting Allahu Akbar along with something we have to translate. This was done on cards, like they didn’t want us to hear them speak.”

Kurt said, “And that final card is interesting. ‘Reap what you sow’ is a Christian thing from the Bible.”

President Warren said, “Is it? Only Christian, I mean?”

Kerry said, “No. It’s in the Quran as well, but only in concept. You’ll find plenty of references about doing good to gather good or doing evil to gather evil, but you won’t find the words reap and sow like you do in the Bible. Maybe they’re poking us in the eye by using it, but it’s another data point.”

President Warren considered the words, then said, “At this point, it’s irrelevant. We go with what we know. We have no indication of any other groups and every indication it’s from some Islamic terrorist organization. They’ve mentioned Yemen twice, and that matters. We’ve never had an indication that Islamic groups were connecting to organizations they would consider infidels, but we do have a ton of connections between Islamic groups. That I could believe. Right now, we focus on the Islamic ones.”

Kurt said, “Sir, you know if they get them to the FATA tribal lands in Pakistan, or the Sada’a Province of Yemen, we’re out of luck. Shit, even if they get them to Mali or some of the outlaw lands of Libya that have been created since Qaddafi fell, we’ll never find them.”

The president looked at Kurt and said, “That’s where you come in. We’ll provide all the intelligence we have, but nobody has the agility across the globe like you do. Everything we do as a government is compartmented by region or even nation. I can do a fine job of crime-scene work in Okinawa, or counterterrorism in Somalia, but when that shifts to another theater, we’re f*cked. The guy who finds the lead in Okinawa can’t follow up in Mali. He has no global experience, and he’ll just pass his information into the network. Unlike you. You can work across bureaucratic boundaries. And you have.”

Kurt looked at George and saw a slight nod. He said, “Sir, we need to talk about that. I’m with you on the threat, but I want to make sure you understand what you’re asking. I do this, and there’s a good chance the Taskforce will be exposed. A very good chance.”

He saw Billings draw back, not liking the words. Understanding what exposure could cause and not liking having his skin in the game. Billings said, “What do you mean by that?”

“You heard me talking about cover before, but it’s more than that. Sooner or later, this is going to break in the press, and it’s going to be ferocious. If I resolve the problem, there will be no way to keep it secret. It’s not like causing a terrorist to disappear who nobody knew about in the first place.”

Billings said, “I thought you could do this without any fingerprints. That’s what you always brag about.”

“I can, right up until we have a bunch of rescued hostages in the press. We won’t be able to keep it secret, and like bin Laden, everyone will want to know how it was done.”