Jihad

CHAPTER 106

Joseph Roberts, the young man Tommy Karr and Lia DeFrancesca had followed, was really Jamari Dicoda, a twenty-three-year-old Detroit resident who had spent two years in a medium security prison, but had no known connection to any terrorist organization. According to his prison records, he was a Christian; however, the same records indicated that about midway through his prison stretch he asked to be placed on a pork-free diet. The Desk Three analysts took that to mean that he had converted to Islam, a not uncommon occurrence in prison.

“Or maybe he just doesn’t like pork,” said Rubens.

“I didn’t say it was a lot to go on,” admitted Telach.

“Is he still on parole?”

“Ended a few months ago. Johnny Bib hasn’t been able to dig up anything more recent. He doesn’t have a driver’s license or credit cards.”

Rubens nodded. Legally, there was no reason to search the compound where he had gone. Common sense, on the other hand, argued that it should be checked out. Not only was the compound protected by armed guards, Desk Three had traced the limited liability company on the tax rolls to a nonexistent address in Baton Rouge. There was no other listing of the company anywhere.

If they were operating overseas, Rubens could have relied merely on common sense to approve the operation. On American soil, however, he had to take legalities into account — the form of them, if not the substance.

“Is there anything we can connect here to Asad’s murder?” Rubens asked.

Telach shook her head. “They haven’t paid their property taxes in two years,” she said.

“I hardly think that would justify a raid. We’ll have to use the imminent danger clause in our finding,” Rubens told Telach. “I will handle the legal end. Get a force in place.”

“Right away.”

When Telach had gone, Rubens picked up the phone to tell Bing and, through her, the president. Using the finding — the formal document authorizing the Deep Black mission — as the legal authority for the search was not a panacea. It greatly complicated the prosecution of anyone who might be apprehended at the site, since citing it at trial might open a legal Pandora’s Box exposing covert operations around the world. It was one thing to do so in the case of someone like Asad bin Taysr, one of al-Qaeda’s most important leaders. Here, they were likely to capture mere foot soldiers, if they captured anyone at all.

On the other hand, Rubens couldn’t allow whatever Asad had been planning to proceed. If he had a chance to stop it, he had to take it.

He used that exact phrase to explain his reasoning to Bing. Uncharacteristically, she didn’t criticize his decision — in fact, she was so quiet that he almost asked if she was still on the line when he finished.

“You’re proceeding on your own authority, then,” she said finally.

In other words, if something goes wrong, I’ll hang you out to dry.

“Yes,” he told her. “That’s right. We’re following the finding and I’m proceeding as I see fit.”

“Very well,” she said, promptly hanging up.