Chapter 17: Welcome to Egypt

"They took off from Beirut over three hours ago," Juno Baccus pointed out to the Imam, the worry clear in his voice. "Maybe they went to a different airport. Or maybe the jet shot them down, and they've already crashed."

"Their aircraft did not crash, and they are coming to an airport in Egypt." Imam Niu Almasi replied calmly.

"But they should have been here by now," Juno protested. "They could have already landed at another airport."

"Sons, and soldiers loyal to the Islamic Brotherhood, are on duty at the Air Control Center," the Imam replied with an overly patient tone. "They know of every aircraft that enters Egyptian airspace. They have been directed to notify me as soon as any C-130 enters Egyptian airspace. The aircraft will be instructed to land at the International Airport for their customs inspection. The customs inspector, for which position I am duly sworn, will meet them in a hangar with plenty of our men to subdue them."

"And if they refuse to land at this airport?" Juno asked.

The Imam shrugged, and said, "A flight of Egyptian Air Force jets is on standby to encourage their compliance. Also, this airport is central to the area. If they land at another airport, we will know in sufficient time to get there and be waiting for them."

"They are devious," Juno said doubtfully. "Don't expect them to react the way you want them to."

The Imam turned his head slowly to look at Juno Baccus. His gaze was cold and angry. Niu was not accustomed to being questioned, and he fought the fury that suddenly surged through him. He made a decision while angry, which was never a good idea.

"I have seen it," Niu Almasi grated in a low voice. "I have seen their leader, a man from a far off land, tall, and with dark hair. In my vision, I have seen him stand in front of me, and I fired my pistol. Do not question me, Juno Baccus, for I have seen the future. I know the truth of what the future brings. Do not question me again," he ordered coldly.

Juno knew of Imam Almasi's ability to foretell events. The Imam's esoteric talent had enriched the Sons beyond belief, and much, much more.

In the 1950s and early 1960s, the Sons of the Viper had been little more than a struggling, secret cadre of hopeless children. Their failures during World War Two and the Korean War had decimated their ranks. Their efforts to oppose the infidels that dared reach for the knowledge of the gods could be described as ineffective, at best. Many Sons described their leadership in much harsher terms, and assassination was the primary means of advancement. Then a ray of hope, in the form of a young Iranian, who joined the ranks of the Sons of the Viper. Initially his visions were ignored, to the detriment of the Sons' leadership. The old leadership's replacements were more attentive to Niu Almasi's predictions. The Sons of the Viper began seeing small victories in their battle against the infidels. They were able to disrupt the execution of the war in Viet Nam, and to instigate disorder in the support for the war in the United States. Niu was able to plant the seeds for the eventual downfall of the United States, while America's protectors were distracted by events in Southeast Asia.

Niu Almasi rapidly solidified his place in the upper hierarchy of the Sons, and assumed full control after being named Imam in 1976. Three years later, in 1979, the Sons of the Viper struck their first major blow against the greatest infidel country, the United States, and secured a solid base of power. The US supported Iranian government was overthrown, and the US Embassy was captured. The Sons of the Viper solidified their hold over Iran, and began sending tentacles of power into other countries, all based on Niu's visions.

Niu surprised the Sons when he moved his seat of power to Egypt, after solidifying their hold over Iran. His second in command maintained control of Iran, carefully following Niu's orders. Iran's influence in the world continued to grow, until many considered the country a world power. While Iran remained the Sons' most public hidden face, the real power was grown in the shadows, in Egypt. Imam Almasi took control of a little known group that had been founded in the 1930's, called the Muslim Brotherhood. Throughout the Sons' growth in members, territory controlled, and power gained, they remained true to their roots, and always operated in the shadows. They always remained the power behind the throne.

The Imam's visions had solidified the Sons, and in the last fifty years, had advanced their goals to near world domination. The loss of Iran was a setback, but it didn't slow their growth in other countries. The new openings in the Sons' command structure were filled by Niu's handpicked supporters, and the power of the Sons of the Viper continued to grow. Members of the Sons of the Viper were ensconced in every government around the world. Nearly every major military organization had Sons in key positions. Every major company, in every country, had Sons guiding, or suggesting actions, and always reporting to the Imam. Confederates that didn't know of the Sons' existence supplied information, though few knew that his desk was the destination of their reports. Those same confederates also provided material support in the form of money, participation in civil actions such as demonstrations, and outright rebellion. Sons of the Viper kept the world at a slow boil, to reduce resources available for technological research, and to maneuver countries into position for the Sons to take complete control.

The Imam's visions fueled the perpetual battles that made the dream of peace in the Middle East little more than a nightmare. His visions nurtured the seeds he had planted, fracturing the United States. His instructions, fueled by his visions, kept the warring U.S. factions at each other's throat. He had described the peace-making efforts of the divided United States to Juno as 'forcing someone to play chess against themselves'. Wars and corruption in Central and South America were the product of the Imam's visions. Infighting between the countries of the EU was the Imam's work. The consumption of Britain by Islam in a semi-bloodless coup had been guided by the Imam's visions. The Imam's crowning achievement was the worldwide economic collapse, and seemingly perpetual recession. Juno Baccus did not doubt the power of the Imam's visions.

"Yes, Excellency," Juno said bowing low, and reverently, to the old cleric. "I will be patient and will await their arrival."

"Come in Egyptia ... Control. Come in ... Air Control. This is fli... 53 ... flight 253 ... Air Emergency. I am declaring and Air Emerg ... Can you hear me?"

The Co-Pilot, William (Wild Bill) Hitch, sat back in his seat and grinned. He had been flipping the broadcast switch off and on to simulate a bad radio.

"It looks like I haven't lost my touch," he commented to the Pilot with a smile.

The Pilot, Stan Rogers, smiled back and started to say something, but the radio crackled, "Flight 253. This is Egyptian Air Control. Do I understand correctly, that you are declaring an air emergency?"

Stan engaged his headset, and Bill leaned forward, grabbing the transmit switch again. Stan had to suppress a snort of laughter.

"You guys are nuts," Cody muttered, but he couldn't suppress a smile at their antics.

Stan and Bill were trying to ensure the Egyptians believed they were damaged badly enough to make their ruse work.

Stan regained control of himself, and keyed the headset before saying, "Egyptian Air Control. This is flight 253. Confirm. We have an air emergency."

Due to Bill's manipulation, the Egyptians heard, " ... tian Air Cont ... This ... flight 253. Confir ... have ... air emergency."

A moment later the radio crackled again before saying, "Flight 253, what is the nature of your emergency."

"Ask them to repeat that," Cody suggested. "Let them know the radio reception is messed up, too."

"Say again Egyptian Air. We have intermittent radio reception. Are you receiving my transmission?" Stan said, while Bill was carefully flipping the switch off and on.

The Egyptians heard, "Say again Egyp ... ir. We have intermittent rad ... rec ... tion. Are you receivi ... transmiss... ?"

"Negative on your reception," the radio crackled. "Your transmission is intermittent. What is the nature of your air emergency."

"Roger, Egyptian Air," Stan replied. "Transmission and reception are intermittent. Air emergency consists of damage to radios, engines, landing gear, and control surfaces. Repeat, damage to radios, engines, landing gear and control surfaces."

Bill had judiciously continued flipping the transmit switch to continue the fiction of the damaged radio. He also ensured the Egyptians received enough of the transmission to understand the damage report.

"Roger 253. It sounds like extensive damage," Egyptian Air said. "Please describe the degree of damage so we can pass it to the Damage Control Chief."

"Roger Egyptian Air," Stan said. "I think I heard, degree of damage required. Damage is as follows. Port engines are dead. Starboard engines functional, but damaged. Low fuel, less than forty minutes. Control surfaces damaged. Limited elevation control. Zero azimuth control. Landing gear deployed, but not confirmed to be locked in place. Radio transmission and reception intermittent. Current position, thirty-one degrees sixteen minutes north, thirty-two degrees sixteen minutes east. Current heading, 222.87 degrees. The only airport directly in our flight path is Cairo International. Request a cleared runway for an emergency landing."

Wild Bill's manipulation of the toggle switch was nothing less than masterful.

"It looks like you've done that before," Cody said with a smile.

Cody was surprised when Bill shot Stan a guilty look before saying, "Well, during CWII, you know, Civil War II, um ... some of the orders didn't set right. I didn't want to get thrown in the brig, but I couldn't follow the orders either."

"Neither of us could," Stan said sullenly, as unpleasant memories flashed through his mind. "They shouldn't have told us to fire on our own countrymen."

"I'm not complaining," Cody said, holding up his hands. "I was simply commenting on a surprisingly welcome skill set. That whole business was disgraceful, on both sides. You might be glad to know that it may not have been all our countrymen's fault. They may have been stupid, but they may not have purposefully betrayed our Constitution. The people that we're running from claim to be responsible for CWII. I believe them."

Bill snorted in disbelief, and started to say something, but the radio interrupted him.

"Flight 253. This is Egyptian Air Control. We have runway number two cleared, and show your arrival at Cairo International in twenty five minutes."

"We need to talk about that later," Stan growled, before he took a breath to steady his voice and turned his headset back on.

"Roger Egyptian Air Control. Cairo International, runway number two. Repeat, Cairo International, runway number two. Request medical assistance upon landing. We have fifteen wounded and seven dead," Stan reported.

"Roger, flight 253. Medical assistance required," Egyptian Air Control answered. "How were you damaged, Flight 253?"

"Roger, Egyptian Air Control. After action report required. A fighter jet used us for target practice," Stan reported. "On his third pass, he misjudged how close we were to the water. He couldn't pull out of his strafing run in time, and flew into the ocean. I never did see his markings, so I don't know who he belonged to. He may have already killed us. I'm not sure I can get this bird on the ground in one piece."

"10-4, Flight 253. All assistance will be made available at Cairo International," Egyptian Air Control replied.

Stan settled back in his seat, and said, "Now all we need to do is look like a wounded bird. Bill, feed some fuel to one of those port engines and try to generate some smoke."

"Aye, aye, sir," Bill said with a grim smile.

"You were right," Juno said excitedly, when they received the report of a C-130 entering Egyptian airspace.

The Imam frowned at the younger man for a moment in disapproval, and his eyes widened slightly as a sudden vision flashed through his mind.

"Put the communications on the speakers in the lounge," the Imam ordered over the telephone.

Then he settled back in his plush chair, and listened to the exchange between the damaged aircraft and Egyptian control.

"Very good," Imam Almasi murmured in satisfaction when the damage report came over the speakers.

Colonel Baccus frowned when he heard the report of the jet crashing. Dying in battle was acceptable. Dying of stupidity was ... stupid. He cursed the pilot under his breath.

Niu waited until the exchange was completed before he picked up the phone and ordered his senior Muslim Brotherhood commander, "Surround the airport with all available reserves. Absolutely no one leaves the airport until I personally approve it. I will personally shoot any man that allows anyone to leave. Do you understand?"

He must have received a positive response because he hung up the phone. The Imam quickly picked up a radio and said, "Major Rashida."

An answer quickly came back, saying, "Major Rashida, here."

The Imam continued with, "Move all strike personnel to stage at the airport tower."

"Does that include the men positioned at the hangar?" they heard from the radio, presumably the words of Major Rashida.

"Yes, all the men at the hangar too," the Imam answered. "A damaged aircraft will be landing. Immediately after it stops, I want the aircraft surrounded, and everyone on the aircraft captured. I want them alive. I will kill any man that kills one of them. There are injured on the aircraft, so medical personnel will be integrated with you. Do you understand?"

There was a slight pause before the answer came back, "Understood, sir."

Niu nodded and said, "I'm sending Colonel Baccus and his men to your position. They will work with your command."

He didn't wait for an answer before setting the radio down and turning to Colonel Baccus.

"Take your men to the tower," he ordered the Colonel. "Bring the Order leader to me when they land."

"I thought that we would provide security for you," Juno protested.