Chapter 9: Twisted

Abdul Ali Hassan, AKA Robert Sinclair, AKA General Robert Branch, stabbed the End key angrily to terminate the call. The men sent to assassinate the Senator couldn't confirm that they had killed him. That was irritating, but it wasn't why he was so angry.

He wanted the Senator dead for what he had done, but he was angry over more than that. The civilian, Caleb Connor, had been with the Senator. The snipers had shot Connor, and they couldn't tell him if they had killed the man. Robert was angry because they may have killed him. He planned a long and painful death for Caleb Connor and his little family. 'If the snipers have killed the civilian, the snipers would take his place, ' he decided.

"When will the captured woman be here?" Robert demanded of his assistant, Aimal.

"The truck should be here in fifteen minutes, Mullah Hassan," Aimal assured Abdul with a respectful bow of his head.

His answer was greeted by a snort of frustration. Aimal had noticed the Mullah demonstrating many signs of frustration in recent weeks. It was not a trait Aimal expected to see in a revered, or feared, teacher of Islam.

Aimal Saeed Al-Kassem was originally from Saudi Arabia. He had initially entered the United States on a student visa, and had remained on a work visa as a Professor at a community college. Eventually, he was allowed to become a naturalized citizen, and began teaching at larger and more prestigious colleges.

In reality, Aimal had been recruited at an early age to be part of an intelligence network for the House of Saud. Aimal didn't learn how many factions were within the royal family until many years later. He was gratified that the faction he worked for was growing in power.

Aimal's influence in the intelligence network grew after the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. CIA and FBI investigations had dismantled a significant part of the Saudi intelligence infrastructure. Aimal had reorganized the remaining pieces, and learned from the mistakes that had exposed so many to the US investigations. Two years after the bombing, Aimal met Robert Sinclair. Six months later, the American converted to Islam, and became Abdul Ali Hassan.

The Saudi Intelligence Officer didn't trust the convert at first. Abdul was too secretive. There were long periods of time that he couldn't be contacted. The background checks had revealed a reclusive financier, just like the American had portrayed. Over time, Aimal's trust was earned by odd bits of information and warnings from Abdul. Often the information revealed an opportunity for the House of Saud, or the Jihadists that Aimal's direct superiors supported. Warnings always prevented missteps in unlikely areas of the world. Several ignored warnings had produced catastrophes.

Suggestions from Abdul had enabled the establishment of a modified Sharia law in small pockets of the US and Canada. Once established, and the electorate was overwhelmed by a growing Muslim population, the pockets controlled by Sharia law had been able to grow. Elements of Sharia began being included in local laws and ordinances.

Abdul had counseled Aimal to run candidates for local elections, especially school boards. The candidates didn't need to be Islamic. They only needed to be sympathetic to the Islamic point of view, or weak enough to be controlled by Islamic handlers.

"Steal the minds of the children," Abdul had urged. "Do that, and victory is only a matter of when, not if."

Aimal smiled at the memory. The American Mullah had been right. The history of Islam was now being taught in American schools. Introductions to the Quran were included in lessons as 'history' while opposing religious books, such as the Bible, were restricted.

The American gained Aimal's complete trust after a rogue cell of the Saudi intelligence network helped Jihadists fly jets into the World Trade Center in 2001. That action had been wasteful and disruptive, and completely counter to the Saudi plans for the 'peaceful' assimilation of the United States. Abdul's warnings and guidance had allowed Aimal to protect the majority of his intelligence network.

The years since 2001 had been fraught with danger for the Saudi and his people. The American had guided them, protecting their anonymity, and furthering their cause. It was during this time that Abdul became known as Mullah Hassan. Instructions and guidance were couched in verses from the Quran, with explanations of how they applied. Abdul's shadow leadership had allowed them to advance their cause many years ahead of schedule, by taking advantage of America's oblivious political factions.

The menace that the mysterious Mullah represented wasn't known until the previous year, when he seemed to come out of hiding. The first thing he did was expose a Mullah in one Mosque, and a high ranking member of another, for collaborating with the FBI. Both men supposedly returned to their native countries, Syria and Turkey. In reality, both men had been tortured, killed, and their bodies fed to pigs. The warning of the lesson was not lost on the remaining Muslims.

Mullah Hassan's attitude had also changed to a more militant point of view. The practice of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' was adopted, and liaisons with Mexican Cartels were established. Weapons were being cached in Mosques and in homes. Drug mules, the people that transport the drugs for the Cartels, began utilizing Muslim contacts that couldn't be traced to the Cartels, and were protected by the Mosques. New sources of the Cartel 'product' were opened to the Cartels, and everybody profited.

"There are many ways to pare away the soft, outer flesh of a peach," Abdul had confided in Aimal. "But we are the hard pit at the center, and that is what grows the new tree. Speeding the corruption of the soft flesh, so the kernel can grow earlier, and faster, is only logical."

Aimal didn't know why the Mullah did many of the things he had done over the past year. New, covert, intelligence contacts had been established, and information flowed into his network like a flood. He suspected that all of the intelligence didn't reach him. Training programs had been established for drivers, and marksmen. Small unit training was conducted on 'farms' owned by sympathetic Muslims. Larger command and control drills had been initiated and practiced, with the express intention of taking control and directing multiple small units nationwide. The Mullah's actions and orders over the past two weeks had been particularly mysterious.

A kidnapping had been ordered of a girl the night before. The driver had been one of the best-trained, and the men with him were past masters of the art of kidnapping. The driver, while traveling on a straight road, had driven off the road, killing everyone in the car. Early investigative reports assumed the driver had fallen asleep. The brakes had never been applied.

An assassination was ordered against a US Senator. Aimal had questioned the action, but had dutifully passed the order. He considered the order unnecessarily dangerous to their network. It had never occurred to him that immediately knowing the outcome of the action would be so important to the Mullah. In just a few hours, news of the assassination would be on every television and radio station. If the assassination were successful, Americans would begin their public mourning rituals. If it were not successful, they would learn how badly the Senator was injured.

Aimal was also mystified by the order for a second kidnapping. He didn't know why the Mullah wanted the girl, and with so many strange, disconnected orders, he felt that he must ask about the action. This new woman wasn't an obscure college student. She was the owner of a restaurant. She would be quickly missed.

"Mullah Hassan," Aimal began deferentially. "You always have a reason for what you do. May I know what the reason is for this woman's kidnapping?"

Mullah Hassan considered him coldly for nearly a minute before nodding and, in a voice that sounded like winter ice, saying, "There are two reasons. A family has wronged me. An 'eye for an eye' requires me to respond, but I need more information. The failed kidnapping attempt last night was part of the effort to gain information. The Senator's assassination is the first step in that retribution. I had expected to have more information this morning, when I ordered the assassination. One of the men who were shot was a member of the family that must be punished. He is not destined to die easily, by an assassin's bullet. If the assassins killed him, they will take his place."

Aimal paled at the statement. One of the snipers was a cousin.

"What is the second reason, and what information do you hope to learn from the woman?" Aimal asked, hoping to lead the Mullah away from thoughts of killing his relative.

Abdul considered him for a moment longer before answering with, "I have investigated the man and his wife, personally. They are both too successful. The man now works for the Texas State Attorney General's office as leader of a taskforce investigating terrorism. He is getting close to our operations and he must be stopped. He solves his cases too quickly, and too thoroughly. His success rate is much higher than it was in his previous job. The wife has demonstrated the same increased rate of success as a doctor. Her diagnoses seem to be correct every time. Her corrective action is successful, seemingly every time. The son and daughter are more successful in school, too. The kidnapping last night was the second failed attempt to kidnap the daughter. Something isn't right, and I need to know what it is before I take further action. The girl that was kidnapped today may have the information that I need."

Aimal nodded in understanding and said, "We are always fortunate when personal vendettas intersect with our organization's goals and safety. How is this woman related to the family that wronged you, that would make you believe that she has information? Do you believe that we will be able to extract the information, if she has it?"

"I'm not sure if she knows what we need to know," Mullah Hassan admitted. "She is living with the Doctor's parents, so she may have the answers that we need. If not, we'll use her to draw out the others. I will learn everything that she knows. Of that, I am sure. I am an expert at extracting information, especially from women."

Aimal's phone rang and, after answering the call, he informed the Mullah of the girl's arrival in the basement garage.

"Come, Aimal," the Mullah invited. "Let me show you how to break a woman's will quickly, using pain and pleasure. She will tell us everything that she knows within an hour."