80

SOMEWHERE IN YEMEN—20 MAY

Abu Nakba woke before dawn.

Dressing himself in his usual robe, he took his cane and hobbled down the stairways of the house he had been given for the duration of his stay. His knees ached. So did his back. And he was winded by the time he reached the living room. Nevertheless, he opened the front door and made his way—slowly and with a great deal of discomfort—to the small mosque across the street. As he did, the muezzin began the call to prayer.

The founder and spiritual father of Kairos entered the simple stone structure, performed his ablutions, then removed his sandals, padded his way into the sanctuary, and bowed his face toward Mecca in prayer. When he was finished, he reversed the process and eventually got himself back to the house. He made himself a small pot of tea and sat down at the kitchen table before putting on his reading glasses. Opening his laptop, he entered various passwords, clearing several levels of security, until he found the latest batch of encrypted messages from operatives around the world. Ignoring most for now, he zeroed in on the two most important to him.

The first was from Tariq Youssef.

The Kairos security chief’s scouting report was lengthy—nearly nineteen pages, including photos and maps. Abu Nakba read every word on every page. He watched every video and scoured every map. He could not help but smile, however faintly, with a sense of pride at his man’s thoroughness and attention to detail, yet what interested him most was the simple conclusion.

NRG Stadium in Houston is an attractive target.

It can hold up to 72,220 people. Local media anticipate a full crowd.

The stadium has a retractable roof, though it is rarely open and will likely be closed due to the forecast heat during the pope’s visit.

My team and I have no doubt our rockets will easily penetrate the translucent fabric roof.

Further, we believe the stadium’s unique design will amplify the shock waves of our explosives and trap most of the gas and radiation of our weapons, killing or at least maiming every single person inside.

Downsides include the fact that there are not any high-rise buildings near the stadium. This means we would not have the ability to shoot from a high angle down at the stadium’s roof. There is the risk, therefore, that we could misjudge some of our fire, sending our rockets over the stadium and into the surrounding parking lots rather than into the heart of the facility.

However, George Bush Intercontinental Airport is only twenty-two miles north of the stadium.

Since President Hernandez will not be attending, it is unlikely that antiaircraft missiles will be positioned around the stadium during the event.

It is likely, however, that a number of police helicopters will be patrolling the airspace near the facility, and a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and H125 A-Star helicopter from U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be on hand as well. Whether they will be armed with live rockets or missiles is unknown at this point.

Nevertheless, we conclude that should you authorize the airborne option, we can still secure a jet and fly it into the stadium. This would likely give us the highest chance of maximizing the death of the pope and most, if not all, of those attending the Mass.

There was something very attractive about the idea of launching a series of major attacks in the heart of one of America’s “red states,” the Libyan mused. Was it not Republican presidents who had initiated the most wars and “counterterrorism operations” in the Muslim world? Afghanistan. Iraq. And his home countries of Libya and Palestine. To name just a few. And had it not been a Republican—Andrew Clarke—who had thwarted Tehran’s operation to acquire nuclear warheads from the North Koreans? Had it not been Clarke and his operatives who had killed his plot to blow up the so-called “peace summit” in Jerusalem? And interfered with his plans in Lebanon?

Allah had already punished Clarke through his massive and almost certainly lethal stroke, and for this he was to be praised. But was there not so much more to avenge?

Intrigued and heartened by the prospects in Houston, Abu Nakba turned to the report from Zaid Farooq.

Might the Miami option offer more?