Abdulhasan Askari was the leader of the fighting forces at ground zero in the Panama Canal Zone. Most of his forces were either two-year graduates of the marine schools, or drop outs. Most were Sunnis, but a few were Shias, as was Askari. Their religious interpretations of the Quran differed greatly, but no fighters were fiercer than a motivated Shia.
Askari had been under the command of Dastyari in Australia and had been supplied weapons and explosives from headquarters. He had been praised by his superior and now it was up to him to direct the final objective. Even though he had taken a two-year associate degree from a marine school in Australia, he held an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the University of New South Wales and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Sydney. He easily qualified for the position of supervisor for computer operations at the Miraflores locks on the Panama Canal.
Most of these Muslim militants went to work in 2014 and had three years to plant explosives, put men in positions where they could do the most harm, and develop a weapons cache any self- respecting Muslim fundamentalist fighter would be proud to dip into at a time of need.
The Muslims would be hard to spot among the Panamanian workers. For the most part, Muslims had darker skin than whites, as did most Panamanians. Askari told all his men that beards would give them away, so they were all clean-shaven. It was difficult to spot them by their clothes, since they all wore the work uniforms of the Canal Zone.
Askari knew about the subs that had been sunk, the removal of all the explosives from some of the ships, and the damaged helicopters. Of course, the six scud missiles being taken out hurt a great deal, but Askari had worried the missiles would take out his men, since the scuds weren’t accurately aimed at anything. They were just meant to be a terror weapon, but now they were gone.
He would have to do the best he could. He was the leader now of all the remaining forces, which consisted of six helicopters, two submarines, and fifty armed and well-trained men. Askari also had a secret weapon he was saving until last. He was hoping he didn’t have to use it. He also had an escape plan for his family if everything collapsed on him but felt everything was ready for whatever happened during the day. This had been planned for so long and so well. It would stop much of world commerce to the West for a year and let the world know that Al Qaeda was still a force to be reckoned with.
*****
Monte and Simone woke at 6:30 am. First it was Simone who wrapped her long, tanned legs around Monte and squeezed him firmly. He responded by pressing a large erection on her stomach and then slid it down and entered her free hands. It found its way into her through self-direction.
“Went in on its own accord, my dear. Just proof I’m very talented, I’d say,” Monte bragged.
“I’m so impressed. We must have collapsed last night. I don’t even remember going to bed,” Simone said, rubbing her eyes, then grabbing Monte’s rear and pulling him hard into her so the penetration would be deeper and more intense. They came quickly, then showered together and went down to the first floor to meet the others for breakfast.
An excellent buffet was set up for all the fake tourists. The room was full of tropical shirts—palm-tree-imprinted shirts that covered the waistline and any guns placed there—and all types of shorts. The ones that bothered Lester were the men whose shorts exposed very white legs, whose feet sported black socks, and then completed their ensemble wearing dress shoes. Lester assumed these people would be shot first, and deservingly so. What did impress him were the beautiful legs of Simone, Debi, and Maria. He stared at them, trying to judge which were the most attractive. Simone’s legs were very tan and long. Debi’s legs had long been a sight that gave Lester great pleasure and were long, slender, and matched her olive complexion. Maria’s were French legs; they were shapely, tan, and made to look so sexy with the tall, casual heels she wore. All the legs were different and wonderful. Lester’s roving eye didn’t go unnoticed by Debi.
“Put your panting tongue back in your mouth, Lester,” Debi said and jabbed him in his ribs.
“I’m sorry, babe, but I was just doing quality control on our troops.”
“You’re such a pervert. A handsome one, but still a pervert,” she said, managing a crooked smile.
Lester knew he wasn’t a pervert, but he felt guilty he was so attracted to beautiful women. Since he was very young, he had found it easy to catch them. There were no more chases, no more sexy conversations, no more slipping his hand on their back as he talked to them, and never again would there be an unwrapping of the package when they were alone. He had Debi, a drop-dead gorgeous Greek Goddess, and now he was going to be a father. A damn good one, he told himself. He tried very hard not to stare at Simone’s and Maria’s legs. They had spotted him looking at their pretty limbs and both just glanced at him and smiled. Women have the strongest weapon. They control sex and pleasure. Always have and always will.
Rick had been placed in charge of all the fake tourists going in today to the visitors center, the museum, and the observation and viewing platform. He was a hell of a soldier, but many doubted his skills as a tour guide. He didn’t want to stop and smell the roses, nor would he point out volcanos or give the people information on other landmarks. Just wasn’t his style.
“This operation is fly-by-your-ass—don’t know where the crazies and Hodgies are and where they are going to attack, but I have word it will be while the ships are coming through. Even though there’s a brand-new canal for the big fucking ships, they can still only go one way at a time because of the Culebra Cut. Huge-ass ships can’t pass each other in there, so one way at a time.
“Listen up. Every six hours they change directions, but from 10:20 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., no ships will be coming through. If we can find the militants and engage them during that time, the ship will be clear of the locks; then most can be taken out before any ships or passengers will be in harm’s way,” Rick said, as he ran his hand through his buzzed haircut. His muscles could be seen bulging out of the surf boards and woody cars on his shirt.
“In the two lakes, there will be plenty of ships, but the Navy should be patrolling both Miraflores Lake and Gatún Lake. After 10:30 a.m., the vessels going through the locks will change directions and new ships entering will be sent through the opposite end of the locks. This switching-around procedure means there is no ship traffic through the canal for about three and a half hours. They go from north to south, and then south to north in six-hour shifts, but there is down time to get all the ships coming from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and then the other way around. During a full day, each group of Pacific and Atlantic ships going in each direction gets twelve hours in the canal—in theory, but down time has to be subtracted.
“We have explosives to dismantle and defuse, weapon caches to capture, and bad guys with RPGs and machine guns. Guess what? We only know where a few of them are located. Your weapons are in your backpacks along with your vests and helmets. Inside the museum, there is a movie theater, a good place to put on your vests under your shirts and emerge ready to fight. The movie is about the building of the Panama Canal—hear it’s pretty good, but don’t think we’ll have time to watch much of it. No tits or asses anyway,” Rick said, getting a round of laughter.
“I’m going to pass around the intel from NSA, which points out where we think the bad guys will be positioned. Also, it shows us where the explosives might be that our overnight Special Ops people may have missed. They’ve been at it in all three locations during the night, and they reported that huge amounts of explosives were neutralized, but they felt sure others were still there. Our bomb specialists said that all were set to go off from cell phones.”
Lester walked with the group outside the hotel and noticed three big Mercedes tour buses parked by the curb. Rick pointed to the first bus for Lester and his group.
“Lester, I keep putting you at risk. Hope our Special Ops guys took a notch out of their firepower. NSA says five helicopters from the Atlantic side got up, and one of those you sabotaged got off the ground. I’m guessing it’s the one you guys pissed in the gas tank of. Super fuel is what you gave ’em. Ha!” Rick said, laughing.
Everyone got on and put their back packs in their laps. Simone and Monte were directly behind them, and Jordan and Maria were directly across the aisle from them.
“Our cruise ship will start through and will be at Miraflores locks at about 2:00 p.m. All the passengers have been told to be somewhere on the ship where rooms or other walls will protect them. No one is to be out in the open, or on any of the top decks. The captain will not be at the wheel since the Canal Authority sends a pilot aboard. Hope we have things under control by then,” Monte said.
“Girls, hair and nails on me when it’s over. Monte will sneak you on board, won’t you, dear?” Simone said.
“You bet ya ass,” Monte said.
“Can I get my hair done, too, Simone?” Lester said, laughing.
“How ’bout we dye it blond?”
“Cool! Wait a minute! It’s already blond,” Lester said, running his hand through his thick hair.
Rick barked out instructions and paired teams so that the nonmilitary participants would take a support position behind SEAL teams and Black-Ops guys, all wearing cheap tropical shirts. The military were given the names of those going with them, but there would only be three teams that had civilians tagging along. Each fire squad had from five to seven people in it. Lester and Debi were paired with a SEAL team leader named Tank. He looked the part. The other three in his team were Buck, Herb, and Liggett.
Rick had a map of the area and there were numerous outbuildings to secure. Some of these were huge, like the visitors building and the main Miraflores control building, located between the two canal locks. Maria, Jordan, Monte, and Simone were split up into two groups with five Navy SEALs each. The SEALs probably didn’t want any of the group until Rick explained they all had seen combat—alongside him—and did well. Some of the SEALs were fresh from training and had never been shot at. Now there was respect for those who had.
“Okay! Listen up! You people have your assignments. You will be backed-up by Super Cobras, Blackhawks, and Apaches—some distance away, but should be in the theater soon. Blackhawks first, since they are close. They will take out the known gun emplacements but only after we get started. When you emerge from the movie theater, you will have your gear on and will proceed with your teams to take out and secure your assignments. All non-Muslim personnel should have been notified to stay in the visitors center and take cover. They will be needed later when the ships come through the gates. Notifying them without alerting their Muslim friends has been a bitch. A good chance they will be used as hostages if we don’t protect them, and there’s a chance they might become collateral damage. These wackos have had a long time to hide weapons and explosives—be careful. Please don’t turn this into a Charlie Foxtrot and, for you civilians, that stands for CF or Cluster Fuck. I will be on the visitors observation platform and will coordinate airstrikes and the firefights. Keep miked up. You are now in the hands of your squad leaders,” Rick said, and walked to the back of the bus to talk to some other officers.
*****
Holton answered the phone while inputting numbers into the giant behemoth of a computer. Lance leaned in to hear the cell phone conversation between his partner and Lester McFarlin.
“Holton, I’m on a bus on the way to the canal where we are going to engage a bunch of dug-in Jihadists around the Miraflores Locks and Visitors Center. You got some info that will help us? I’m worried about in-place snipers and explosives the Navy SEALs might have missed.”
“It’s good to hear from you, Lester. Be glad when we’re back on the boat choosing between cheesecake or ice cream for dessert. Here’s some info you can use. You’ll have snipers from the roofs of the visitors center, main depot roof, and the forested area across from the railroad tracks. There are six helicopters that will show themselves at some point. We are still dealing with two submarines, but I believe they’re located and hopefully we can take them out. The SEAL teams who went in after dark removed a bunch of C-4 and Emulex® from the hinges on the locks and on a couple of the electric mules which pull on the cables to stabilize the ships as they go through. Should have been more, but they only found three with explosives on them,” Holton said, as he handed the phone to Lance.
“Lester, you have to watch out for something. We don’t know why, but Askari has rented the tourist train that goes almost the whole forty-eight miles of the length of the canal for the entire day. There is a tunnel a little southwest of the locks. We think the train will come back from Panama City and stop in the tunnel. Above the tunnel, and it’s the only one on the line, is inscribed 1909 Cusa 2001 Neosho. It is seven-hundred thirty-six feet long and about twenty feet tall and fifteen feet wide. Apparently, new tracks were laid down in 2001. All of us here think he’s hiding something in there. You guys are getting help from the air. Some Columbian and US Blackhawks will get there from our Quasi-base at Tolemaida, Colombia.
“The US doesn’t have any real bases in Panama or Central or South America anymore, probably the primary reason the Jihadists decided to attack it. Instead of bases, America keeps small detachments of military forces to combat drug cartels. Also, they’re stationed there for Special Ops missions. Apaches and Super Cobras on their way from California—may be late. Hope this helps. Good luck to you guys!” Lance said and handed the phone to Holton to say goodbye to Lester.
“Lester, let those crazy SEALs and jarheads take the lead on this, and you and Debi back them up. Call us if you’re on a position and need intel. We’re here to be your eyes. Keep your ass down. See you soon,” Holton said.