The Beijing conspiracy

CHAPTER 74

F orty-eight hours after the attack on Sydney, the news of the US President’s flying visit to Canberra was being greeted with mixed views.

‘For security reasons, the Americans don’t want the visit announced until the last minute,’ the Prime Minister said, looking around the cabinet table, ‘so for now it doesn’t go outside this room.’

‘Bugger me,’ the Liberal Party’s campaign director muttered from his seat against the cabinet room wall. He had an election to worry about and with Sydney in ruins, a visit by the American President was the last thing he needed. ‘A couple of things, Prime Minister,’ he said, resolving to do what he could to put the visit on hold, but wary of his boss’s stubborn allegiance to Australia’s great and powerful ally. ‘My research is showing that President Harrison is not going down too well in the electorate, which will play right into the hands of the Opposition. Given the preparation for one of these visits we’re not going to be able to keep it a secret for long.’

‘The White House wants the President’s visit kept quiet, and that’s what I’ve agreed to,’ the Prime Minister replied angrily. The strain of the past two days was clearly evident.

Sydney had been brought to a standstill. With the CBD effectively isolated from the north shore, the transport system was in chaos and traffic was in gridlock. The huge Royal North Shore hospital was isolated, as was the North Sydney business district. Thousands of people had been laid off work and divers were still recovering bodies from the flooded tunnels. The Australian stockmarket had plunged based on fears of further attacks and Wall Street and London had also fallen sharply. The State’s economy was in tatters, threatening to have an impact on the national economy. Anger over Australia’s close ties to the United States was growing, but the Prime Minister stubbornly refused to distance the country from President Harrison’s policies.

‘There’s to be no announcement on President Harrison’s visit until I say so,’ the Prime Minister added, closing the meeting.

The next day, alongside the pictures of the fallout from the carnage in Sydney, The Sydney Morning Herald carried a companion story on the front page: PRESIDENT HARRISON TO VISIT CANBERRA

Michelle Gillard was one of the best-connected journalists in the country. She had had an exclusive scoop, much to the annoyance of the rest of her colleagues in the Parliamentary press gallery. News of the impending visit only served to further alienate Australians, already in a state of shock over an attack launched against them because of Australia’s unswerving support for an American Administration that was increasingly despised in many parts of the world.

Ahmad Rahman picked up the papers from his local newsagent at the Ainslie shops. For the past eighteen months, al-Falid’s young recruit and the other two members of his cell had been renting a house in the quiet leafy suburb near the Australian War Memorial. They had kept to themselves, working shift work at a call centre, never missing a rent payment and making sure that their lives appeared perfectly normal. To the neighbours they were just ordinary, fit young men with an interest in bushwalking.

As Ahmad read Michelle Gillard’s report on President Harrison’s impending visit, he sent a silent prayer of thanks to Allah. The chance that the five cells around the world had all been preparing and praying for had come to him. Ten days from now the President of the United States would be in Canberra for just 24 hours, but Ahmad was sure it would be long enough. The President will be accompanied by a 650-strong entourage and is expected to attend an official dinner hosted by the Prime Minister at The Lodge, a short distance from the American Embassy where he will be staying. The following day, before flying out from Canberra in the afternoon, the President will address a joint sitting of Parliament. The Australian Federal Police are refusing to comment and Defence didn’t return The Herald’s calls but sources close to those involved in the planning have indicated there will be more than 500 police officers on duty, supported by members of the military’s Special Forces Tactical Assault Group, as well as other military and police personnel trained to deal with any chemical and biological threats. Protesters are expected to number in the thousands but they will be kept well away from the official residences and from the Parliament which will be closed to the public for the duration of the President’s stay. The Prime Minister’s office is refusing to confirm or deny the visit.

Ahmad smiled. Whenever a government refused to confirm or deny it was a sure sign that a story had credibility.