They Disappeared

63

New York City

Across Manhattan at the NYPD’s Real Time Crime Center, Renee Abbott typed with incredible speed as she processed Jeff Griffin’s eavesdropped call.

He’d captured the suspect’s manifesto, which was clearly meant to be delivered after an attack. Renee alerted the Joint Terrorism Task Force, then sent them the message, which was shared instantly with national security agencies.

The Secret Service, Homeland, the CIA, NSA, Defense, FBI and other security experts moved quickly to study it. Taken with the known facts of the abductions, murders and microdetonator, deeper examination of the information was needed to reveal the target and the people behind the plot. The full message stated:

“Greetings from God’s slave to the United Nations. You did not start this tragic war but if you are people with courage, determination and humanity, you will acknowledge our action today as the final call to peacefully end our struggle for a free nation.

“To date, twenty thousand of our children have been murdered by the occupational forces, and the UN does nothing. You force us to avenge the atrocities committed by these criminals-everyone must be made to understand our pain.

“We offer a solution for peace. Withdraw the troops, dissolve the puppet regime and acknowledge a free and truly independent Mykrekistan. We will end our armed struggle and any further nation-liberating acts of self-protection. We offer peace. The choice to accept it is yours.”

In Washington, FBI counterintelligence examined the statement’s text, as did the Secret Service’s domestic and foreign intelligence branches.

In Langley, the CIA saw a link to the message and the most recent chatter captured by the NSA’s listening station in Darmstadt, Germany. “The game is going ahead as scheduled. Our team is favored to win.”

According to CIA intelligence, there were six different insurgent groups in the Caucasuses confirmed to have committed various acts of terrorism in support of the violent nationalist movement in Mykrekistan. The agency needed to do more analysis to determine which terror group had the money and ability to carry out an attack in the U.S.

Investigators had less than two hours before the president touched down in New York for his event with the British prime minister later in the day. Other world leaders continued to proceed with their scheduled engagements related to the United Nations General Assembly.

In Brooklyn, Iron Shield, the Secret Service’s security command center for the UN gathering of world leaders, issued a top-secret threat alert. The center then double-checked the real-time whereabouts of every dignitary through encrypted radio contact with protective details.

Within minutes of the preliminary analysis, security chiefs ordered immediate protective action.

“Start evacuating the Security Council and General Assembly, the entire UN complex. We have a credible and potentially active threat,” said Adam James, a senior agent with the Secret Service. He then called in to Iron Shield for a status report on the Russian delegation.

“Right now the Russian president and the president of Mykrekistan are at Ground Zero for a memorial ceremony,” said Tate Eason.

“Get the detail on the line. We need to postpone, or delay.”

“Sir, it’s already started.”