“Evelyn, you were right. The Secret Service is late, as usual. Would you wait outside in the hallway for them?”
“Sure, boss.”
“Just bring them in when they get here. Don’t knock or anything, just come on in. There are others out there to take care of security.”
“Will do.”
Osborn turned to Stephen. “I’d like to have you sit next to me near the middle of the room, so everyone can hear what you have to say.”
“Be happy to.”
Osborn raised his voice slightly. “Please, everyone. Get your coffee or juice and sit down. We need to get started.”
After everyone was seated, the introductions started. Five of the FBI team were present. Osborn and Bill Anderson sat at the table, and three others sat in chairs back along the wall. Evelyn waited outside the room and Mike was on assignment. Osborn told Stephen before the meeting that the man following him was in the hotel. He also told Stephen that Agent Borns had that man under surveillance.
Seated at the table were people from the Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, Homeland Security, one person from the Department of Defense, and one from Army Intelligence. The room was filled.
Before completing the introductions, Evelyn entered the room with two men.
“I’d like you all to meet Ed Janson and Maury Gold, with the Secret Service.” The three of them took chairs around the end of the table.
Osborn pointed to Stephen, “This is Dr. Stephen Grant, our special guest. You’ve heard me talk about him. He is considered an expert on Middle East Affairs and does ad hoc work for our government from time to time, helping with international agreements and treaties. He was part of the delegation responsible for negotiating the Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq. He does hold a top secret clearance, so we can all talk freely about our subject today.”
“Thank you, everyone,” Osborn continued, “for meeting here in Baltimore. We have all agreed that we may be facing a terrorist attack of some sort in the near future. Since the Annual Conference for Homeland Security is the only major event in the immediate future, and given that our President and several cabinet members will be present, we consider this event a likely target for such an attack.”
He paused and sipped his coffee. “Please, each of you, take time to go over to the convention center and explore any idea that comes to mind. There is an over-the-street enclosed walkway, so getting there should not be a problem.”
He took a big drink of coffee and made a face. “One day hotels will learn how to make decent coffee.” He pushed his cup away from him. “First, let’s discuss more about who these terrorists might be. That may help us identify how they have operated in the past, and possibly the type of attack we can expect.” He glanced around the table. “Who wants to go first?”
A woman from Homeland Security raised her hand and started speaking. “I think we should look at Al-Qaeda. Everything points to Pakistan as the source. Al-Qaeda has a strong base there, and they’re the obvious choice.”
FBI Agent Bill Anderson spoke up. “It’s true that the two bodies we have are Pakistani. But that doesn’t mean the whole group is from Pakistan.”
The NSA representative spoke up. “What about ISIS? Aren’t they saying their black flag is going to fly over the White House?”
“Yes, what about that?” inquired a DIA man.
“Dr. Grant,” the woman from Homeland Security asked, “What do you think? Could it be ISIS?”
Stephen shook his head. “That’s a very remote possibility. They would like it to happen, but they have their hands full where they are. They’re not ready to promote an actual attack here.”
The Homeland Security woman continued to press. “Then what about this Khorsani group? They’re Al-Qaeda, aren’t they?”
Stephen took a breath. “Yes, Khorsani is affiliated with Al-Qaeda. They follow the same philosophy. They do want to unleash an attack against a Western country. But here again, they are largely a Syrian organization. I don’t believe they’re involved in our present situation. The two bodies we have tied to the events here that we are discussing are Pakistani.”
Someone else said, “We don’t even know how many people are involved.”
A CIA man answered, “Most terrorist cells contain five or six people.”
FBI Agent Jimmie Clark, seated in the back along the wall, spoke up. “We did have one incident with ten people, but that was unusual.”
Osborn spoke up. “Let’s take another look at what we do know.” He held up one finger. “We have a Pakistani body discovered in South Carolina on a half-sunken yacht chartered out of Cuba.”
He held up two fingers. “Tire tracks from there match a stolen car from Baltimore that was left in the parking lot of a motel in Fayetteville, South Carolina.”
He held up three fingers. “Another car was stolen from that same parking lot, then later discovered in New York.”
Four fingers. “A Pakistani woman trying to take that car and drive it, pulled a gun and tried to shoot several people, including police officers. She was killed in the shoot-out.”
Five fingers. “Between the time the car was stolen in South Carolina and when it was discovered in New York, two other incidents happened there. The bombing of a restaurant, and the shooting in Central Park. Are those two items related?” He shrugged. “Could be.”
Anderson added, “We now know the bullets used in the shooting were .338 Lapua Magnum. That’s a special American made ammunition used for long-distance shooting. It’s not popular yet and a bit unusual.”
Several people shook their heads, while others just listened.
Anderson continued. “We did find two sporting goods stores in the New York area that sold some a few days before the shooting. Both stores sold only two boxes. And both stores sold the shells to the same man. A dark-complexioned, Middle Eastern man named Rana Saleem.”
One of the NSA men offered, “That’s a Pakistani name.”
“I think it’s the Muslim Brotherhood,” Ed Janson, Secret Service, said, pointing his finger in the air.
“What makes you think that?” asked the Homeland Security woman.
“That’s Egyptian,” responded a DIA man.
“I read there’s a lot of them in Pakistan.” Janson was not about to let it drop.
Someone asked, “What do you think, Dr. Grant?”
Stephen pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. “The Muslim Brotherhood is not just Egyptian. They have followers, members actually, all over the Middle East.” He looked over at Janson. “And there is a pretty large group of them in Pakistan.”
“Yes,” offered the CIA rep. “But there are a lot of terrorist type groups in Pakistan. In addition to Al-Qaeda, there’s the Pakistan Taliban, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and the Hizbul Mujahideen.”
The DIA man said, “Pakistan has one of the largest terrorist areas in the world. Pakistan’s ISI helps sponsor a lot of groups we consider to be terrorists. The center of it all is the northwestern border area of the country. It’s very rugged mountain terrain and provides ideal locations for training, and lots of places for seclusion and hiding. There have been more drone strikes there than anywhere else. It is even off limits to foreigners. They would be killed on sight.”
“Another group,” the NSA man said, “is the Harakat ul-Mujahidin.”
“Never heard of them,” the Homeland Security woman responded.
“They’re real,” the NSA man continued. “We know that their leader, Khalil, lives in an Islamabad suburb, Galra Sharif. It’s situated near the Margalla Hills in the Islamabad Capital Territory.”
Stephen spoke up. “They were formed in the early 1990s, originally known as the Harakat al-Ansar. Their primary goal is to unite Kashmir with Pakistan. They have not had any overt activities directly against the United States, but their new leader, Farooq Khalil, did have links to Osama bin Laden. Supposedly he signed bin Laden’s fatwah calling for attacks on the U.S. and Western interests. All in all, I don’t think they are really a player here.”
Janson raised his point again. “What about the Muslim Brotherhood?”
Stephen responded, “I don’t think it would have been them, but we cannot rule them out. The motto of the Muslim Brotherhood is, and I quote, ‘Allah is our objective; The Quran is our law; the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and dying in the way of Allah is the highest form of our aspirations.’”
“Wow,” offered Osborn. “That’s quite a statement.”
“I’m telling you, it’s the Muslim Brotherhood,” Janson firmly answered.
The Army Intelligence Officer added a thought. “The Brotherhood is certainly capable, but they have not been active outside the Middle East. We have no information that would lead us to believe they are ready for any activity here in the West.”
“So, Dr. Grant,” the Homeland Security woman said, “what do you really think? Do you have any ideas on who this might be?”
He pushed his cup of cold coffee away from him. “I’ve been reviewing all this in my mind while we’ve been discussing it. Like Randy, here, said, we need to take a close look at what we do know. There are some additional pieces of information to consider.”
He glanced around the room, which had become very quiet. “It has been several days since the bombing and shootings in New York. No one has claimed credit for either of those events.” He nodded. “That’s unusual.”
Several people shook their heads. One person whispered, “He’s right.”
Stephen waited a minute, then continued. “I think what we may have here is a small splinter group or an independent group, acting on their own. They may be trying to make a name for themselves, become known, and thereby get the recognition needed to be invited to join one of these other organizations. Or they could be seeking revenge for some unknown grievance that affected their lives. Remember, it is common in the Arab culture to harbor revenge and plan for retaliation that might come sometime later.”
Several murmurs filled the air. People nodded and whispered. Osborn said, “Please continue, Dr. Grant.”
Stephen replied. “They could receive additional funding from one of these other groups. They may already have received some financing from an organization, or from several individuals with similar beliefs.”
He paused to let the others consider this. Continuing, he added, “If this is an independent group, they will not stop with their previous activities. It will not be enough. Even if their cause was revenge, they will still want one last major event ─ the coup d’état.”
There were a few gasps and gulps, raised eyebrows and wide eyes. Everyone’s attention was riveted on Grant.
“It will be big. Big enough to draw international attention. They will want the world to know about it, especially the people back home in Pakistan.” His fist pounded the table. “This conference, with the President, cabinet members and various dignitaries attending, presents the type event they will be seeking. This is probably their target. And if they are an independent group, the only history we have to go on is what happened in New York.”
The room was quiet for a couple of minutes. Finally Osborn spoke to the others. “So how do we prepare, people?”
Janson, from the Secret Service, offered, “We know they used bombs and bullets. We have to prepare for that. I will be sure we have bomb people and trained dogs to sniff for explosives.”
The other Secret Service man, Maury Gold, asked, “So how do we control guns?”
Bill Anderson, FBI, said, “We’ll have metal detectors at all the entrances. But we definitely have to control both entry and exit to the center, to the entire area where meetings will be held and dignitaries are talking. We’ll need to seal off most of the center.”
Janson added, “We will have people monitoring the computerized entry areas. Badges will be required to open the doors for security and staff to enter the building at the locations not used by the public. The computer system in the security office will give us a full accounting. We can identify who opened what door, when, and how long it was open. We’ll need a couple people to work with building security to monitor that.”
“Good.” Anderson said. He turned back to the FBI men seated along the wall. “What about the loading dock area?”
Don Ellis responded, “We’ll need to keep a team there the entire time. We’d better be in position well ahead of the time required. Can we get a list of any scheduled deliveries during that time?”
Janson spoke up. “That has to be controlled. No deliveries during the main hours. All required deliveries can be made before or after the conference hours. But you need your team there the whole time. You’ll need to monitor those deliveries closely and be sure the docks are guarded properly when they’re closed.”
“Right. We can do that,” Ellis answered.
“Okay,” Janson said. “We already have a list of the staff and have checked everyone out. I don’t anticipate any problems there, but we will have people monitoring all their activities. That’s just normal protocol.”
“Do you have a list of guests and the hosts that will be greeting or escorting them?” Osborn inquired.
“Yes,” Gold answered. “We have that covered. We will instruct the hosts on the standard procedures and paths to use during the conference. Not a problem.”
“And, of course,” Janson added, “We’ll have our standard compliment of agents around the President and at various locations throughout the conference area. They’ll be monitoring the crowd as usual.”
“Do you want any extra help?” Osborn asked. “I can have additional agents at your disposal.”
“Let’s keep them in reserve. Have them present, but out of the way. I’ll let you know where we will need them, if we do.”
“Sounds good. I’ll have ten agents here before the place opens. You can use them however you think is needed.”
Osborn turned and looked around the room. “What are we missing? Anything?”
Ellis asked, “What about the coordination with the convention center security people?”
Janson answered, “We’ve already had one meeting with them, plus a couple with the Director of Security. Their entire security force will be on duty. There are 84 officers, five shift leaders, the Director and two assistants. We will have one last meeting with them the morning of the conference. I think we’re good there.”
“Anything else?” Osborn took a deep breath. “This is a big one, people. With the President and others here, we can’t afford to blow it. We’ll take a break for lunch. Get over to the convention center and scout it out. Check everything. Make notes. Then we’ll meet back here at three o’clock for a final review. Have your questions and concerns ready for that time. Okay?”
There were murmurs as people stirred.
“Stephen, why don’t you have lunch with my group, then you and I can walk around the center ourselves and see what we can find?”
“Great.”
“Okay. See everyone back here at three.”