Jihad

CHAPTER 40

Asad leaned back, trying to stretch his legs without getting up. Three men had joined the al-Qaeda leader in the small, underground burial chamber; they huddled knee to knee on the rug Katib had set out before going back to join the rest of the bodyguards.

More than a thousand years ago, rich Christians in the Byzantine empire had built this room and the surrounding crypts as a place to remember their dead. The thick bronze and other metals would make it impossible for radio waves to penetrate, lessening the chance that the Turks — or the Americans, who were their masters — would find a way to listen in. This was his only meeting in Istanbul where such precautions were necessary, and in truth Asad realized they were extreme even in this case. But he could not resist the symbolism of meeting here to plan the West’s funeral. Nor could he resist the opportunity to lecture his followers.

“The first stage of our war has been largely symbolic,” he told the two men who had come to see him. “The martyrs struck at the heart of Western arrogance and power on 9/11. The crusaders struck back in a way that made our battle explicit. Each day, hundreds of brothers join our ranks — in Iraq, Afghanistan, in Egypt, in Spain, in France — in America itself. Now the time has come to move our attacks beyond symbolism. We prepare the war to strike at the economic heart of the corrupt barbarians who enslave us. We will strike at that lifeblood.”

“With God’s help,” said the man on his right, a tall African brother from Somalia.

“And yours, sheik,” said the other. Shorter, he was a light-skinned Libyan.

“The ship?” he asked them.

“It will arrive at the rendezvous point within a few hours,” said the Somalian. “Everything is prepared. Even the papers, if it is stopped.”

Asad nodded. The American project was a complicated plan, involving three different stages; the preparation of the Aztec Exact represented only the first. The last would be most difficult and required him to travel to America to initiate it — a task he welcomed with relish. Asad would personally set the keystone attack in motion; the honor was his right as commander.

“We are ready to do more, sheik,” said the African. “Say the word, a thousand brothers will join you.”

“For now, you have done enough. There will be other chances in the future.” He bowed his head. “Let us pray before we go.”