Nervous, Khan held his breath as he stepped out of the car and glanced around. A light breeze stirred the branches of only a few pine trees. Small white clouds drifted slowly across the pale blue sky, forcing the sun to play hide and seek. Khan noticed no automobiles were visible and he could not hear any traffic sounds anywhere. He nodded, speaking barely above a whisper. “Very peaceful.” He turned to Umara. “It appears you and Tariq did well, finding this place.” Umara enjoyed seeing him smile.
The others tried to be quiet exiting the car, eager to see the house.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to be totally silent.” Umara spoke with a smile. Waving her arm, she said, “You can see the house has a very large yard all around, what the Americans call four acres. Tall, thick evergreen trees are close together, lining the property and completely shielding us.” Her smile grew even wider, proud of the place she and Tariq found. “Can you smell them, the trees? Everything is so fresh here—the flowers, the trees. I love it.”
Umara continued, “We are in Baltimore County, not the city. All the homes here along Cedar Garden Road have very large yards. Plus,” she motioned with both hands, “the houses on both sides are empty. None of the neighbors are close enough to overhear us. We can talk freely.”
Khan shook his head. “We still must be cautious. It may be all right for others listening to us as we come and go, to know we are here. But be careful what you say when you are outside. We cannot take unnecessary risks.”
Umara’s smile would not be deterred. She pointed at the three-story brick colonial that seemed like a mansion to her. “Let’s go inside.” Obvious excitement showed on her face. “It is a huge house. There is room for everyone here.”
Tariq greeted them as they entered, giving Khan the first embrace. “My brother, it is good to see you.” After greeting Rana, then Leena, he peered questioningly at Khan. “Where is Saboor?”
“He could not work with us as a team,” Khan answered, shaking his head. “He will not be coming.”
Tariq’s expression said he understood—something went wrong and Saboor had to be eliminated. Tariq nodded. “Too bad. I liked Saboor.” Shrugging, he continued. “Oh, well. I hope you had a good trip.”
Donning a smile, he said, “Let me show you the house. You can see it’s very big. Afterward we can talk about what we must do.”
Inside, Tariq led them across the spacious living room toward the back of the house. “This next space is the dining room. This beautiful table and all the chairs came with the home. We rented the house with all the elaborate furniture you will see. We did not need to buy anything.”
“Across over here,” he remarked, pointing, “is the kitchen.”
They continued moving through the kitchen and back into the entryway. “I’m sure you noticed the circular staircase when you came in. The open ceiling goes all the way to the third floor.” He smiled.
“Impressive,” replied Khan. “Let’s go ahead upstairs.”
A crystal chandelier hung at the top of the stairs, its light spreading over the staircase and well down the hall to another, smaller chandelier. “There are two bedrooms and one bathroom on this top level,” Tariq informed them. “Leena, you and Umara will stay here.”
Umara walked to an open doorway to one of the rooms. “This is my bedroom. Leena, you can have the other room.” She smiled. “I know you will like it.” She spread her arms and spun in a circle. “Everything here is so elegant.”
Beaming, she said, “Tariq, why don’t you take the men downstairs? I’ll show Leena the rooms here.”
“It’s so big,” Leena exclaimed as they entered her bedroom. “All this just for me?”
“Yes. Isn’t it magnificent?”
Leena turned in a complete circle, taking it all in.
Umara walked over to her. “Leena, all of the men have gone downstairs. Please, tell me what happened to Saboor.”
Leena quickly dropped her head and stared at the floor. A tear formed in the corner of her eye. In a hesitant voice barely above a whisper, she told Umara, “I am so ashamed, Umara.” Leena looked up at Umara, her face full of emotion, seeking understanding. The words came slowly. “He ... he raped me.”
“Oh, Leena!” She reached out and took hold of Leena’s hand. “I’m so sorry.”
Still hesitant, Leena continued. “We acted like Americans to fool their Coast Guard. I was in a bikini. The men all had shorts and fishing poles. After the Coast Guard helicopter flew away, Saboor and I went to our cabins to change clothes.” She coughed and peeked at Umara, blushing. “I had just removed the bikini when Saboor came into my cabin. He rushed over and threw me down on the bed.”
She wiped her eyes and swallowed hard. “He took his shorts off and got on the bed before I could do anything. He didn’t say a word. He just looked at me and grinned.” She started to cry. “I tried to stop him, but he was too strong.”
Umara saw a flash of anger in Leena’s eyes, but it quickly returned to overwhelming shame. She continued, still speaking slowly. “After a couple minutes, he forced my legs apart and began raping me.”
As Leena cried, Umara could hear that shame in her voice. “That’s when Kamran came into the room. He stopped it.”
Umara took hold of Leena’s other hand and held them both. “It’s okay, Leena. He didn’t hurt you badly, did he?”
Dropping her head again, Leena closed her eyes. After a moment, she shook her head. “No. It hurt bad right at that time, but I’m okay.”
Umara stared into Lena’s eyes and continued to hold both her hands. “Leena, listen to me. You’re strong. You’ll get beyond it.”
“But I am so ashamed.”
“You don’t have to be.” She nodded yes with her head and smiled at Leena. “Let me tell you about me and Tariq.”
Umara kept smiling as she spoke. “After we got here, in Baltimore, Tariq told me we both were uneasy when we talked about our pretend marriage. We were uncomfortable talking about it to others. He said we needed to practice being married so it would appear better to others. If we practiced, it would be more natural for us to act like a couple. Others would see that and believe it.”
Umara shook her head yes. “He said Allah would understand. We were doing His will to fight against the infidel Americans, so it was not wrong. Now we practice every day, sometimes twice.”
“At first I was afraid when he wanted to touch me. I was always nervous when we would practice, but I got over it. He enjoys playing with my body. Now I enjoy it too. We are like a married couple. No one can tell the difference.”
“It will be okay, Leena.” She gave her a compassionate hug. “Remember that. And if you need to talk about it, you can come to me anytime.” Smiling, she added, “Now let’s go downstairs and join the men.”
Descending to the second floor, Khan noticed that the soft gray carpet covering the stairs only covered the middle of each step. About four inches of space left on each side of the carpeting revealed the polished dark oak wood of the staircase. The color matched the paneling covering the lower half of the walls in the halls of both floors. An off-white color adorned the walls above the paneling to prevent the hallways from appearing too dark. The same light gray carpeting brightened the floor in each hallway.
On the second level, Tariq said, “There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms here.” He looked at Khan. “Kamran, please take the large bedroom with private bath. Rana and I will each have a bedroom here and will share the second bathroom.” Khan and Saleem both nodded.
Returning to the main floor, Tariq said, “There is a small bathroom on this floor, and one in the basement. We have plenty of room to work our plans here.”
“It’s perfect,” Khan replied. “Great job, Tariq. Tell me, how did you find this place?”
“I studied available rentals on the Internet. Then I expanded the search to include those for sale. This house had been for sale for over six months. The price had been reduced twice during that time. The owners moved to a new home in Georgia and left it empty. I offered to rent it if they included the furniture, and they accepted.”
“Again, you did a good job.”
Tariq nodded. “Thank you.” He motioned with his hand. “We are close to the Interstate 95 highway, and it is only a twenty-minute drive to the convention center.”
“Twenty minutes? Excellent. This will be perfect.” Khan rubbed his hands together. Turning to Leena and Umara, he asked, “Umara, do you have any tea?"
“Yes, of course.”
In Pakistan, tea is popular all over the country and holds an integral significance in local culture. One of the most consumed beverages in Pakistani cuisine, the local name for tea in Urdu is ‘chai’.
“However,” she added, “all the closest grocery store had was tea bags. They will have to do.”
Throughout Pakistan, tea is made from loose tea leaves, steeped for a few minutes and then poured into cups through a strainer. It is always served with milk. Sugar is served separately so each individual can sweeten their drink according to their own taste. Teabags are reserved for when time constraints do not allow one to prepare tea from the loose leaves.
“We are in America,” offered Tariq. “It is the land of instant gratification.”
Khan nodded. “Umara, if you have some biscuits, it would also be nice, like the custom back at home.”
A few minutes later, all five people sat around the dining room table enjoying the biscuits and tea. Khan reminisced, “This is great, but it’s too bad there isn’t some paan to share.”
The consumption of paan has long been a popular cultural tradition throughout Pakistan. Paan is a stimulating and psychoactive preparation of betel leaf combined with areca nut, mixed with a lime paste. It is chewed for a time, then spat out or swallowed. A delicacy enjoyed by many, it is almost exclusively bought from street vendors instead of being prepared at home.
“You know, it is too bad,” offered Tariq. “America is such a rich country,” he motioned, swinging his arm around, “with beautiful places like this, but yet it is still so uncivilized.”
Khan agreed. “Yes, and they don’t even know they are missing anything. They have become so self-centered, seeking only their own immediate pleasure.” He nodded. “It is too bad.”
Khan motioned to Tariq with his tea cup. “Tell me, were you able to get all the items on the list I gave you?”
“Yes. I had a little difficulty obtaining the specific rifle you requested, but I finally got the right one.”
“You had specific models you requested?”
“Yes, Rana. I researched these items carefully. I want to be sure I have exactly what I need.”
“Which is … ?” inquired Rana.
“The rifle is a Savage Law Enforcement Series 110 BA in 338 Lapua magnum with bipod. It is extremely accurate and an excellent long range weapon. Unlike most sniper rifles, this one has a five-round magazine. It is much easier to get off successive shots if needed.”
“The scope is a Vortex Viper PST. Passive Shooting Tactical riflescope. It is a 6-24 power, 50mm scope with constant illuminated MOA ranging reticles. The scope is made from aircraft grade aluminum and provides waterproof, fog proof, dust proof performance.”
“It is an expensive combination, but it will do exactly what I need,” Khan concluded.
“Yes,” said Tariq. “The total cost was a little over four thousand U.S. dollars.” He looked at Khan. “I had the telescopic sight mounted on the sniper rifle and flip cap covers added. I even purchased a carrying case for it.” Tariq waited a second. “But please tell me, Kamran, what is this for? It was not part of our plan for killing the President of the United States during the conference here at the convention center.”
“It is, in a way. Rana, Leena and I will go to New York City. We will create a distraction so federal forces cannot focus everything on the conference here. That will help us.”
Tariq glanced at Rana, and then looked back at Khan. “Can you tell us what you plan?”
Taking a bite of his biscuit, Khan sipped his tea and sat back. While focusing on Tariq, he glanced at each of the others also. “You know my brother and I were agents for the ISI. The Mossad somehow learned about a secret meeting we were attending in the West Bank, in Ramallah. They raided the place, killing everyone else, including my brother. My left shoulder and arm were severely injured. I will never regain strength in that arm.”
He took another sip of tea. “The ISI learned that Colonel Daniel Shavit led that raid for the Mossad. They would not allow me to seek revenge, so I resigned. Since then, I discovered that Israel rewarded Colonel Shavit for his success.” He paused. “He is in New York City. He is now UN Ambassador Shavit.”
Tariq nodded. “So you are going there to kill him.”
“Yes.” Again Khan sipped his tea. “The rifle is for backup if I need it. I do not think I will. I have arranged a business lunch meeting at a particular restaurant with several members of the Israeli delegation—including, and especially, the Israeli Ambassador.” Khan smiled and a strange look swept across his face. “I brought semtex to plant in the restaurant ahead of time,” he paused, “lots of it ... to ensure the Ambassador’s luncheon will be a blast.” He laughed.