-30-: The Daily Express Chronicles, #3

Books by James A. Anderson

-  30 - (2013)

Checkmate & Other Stories (2013)

The Scorpion (2012)

Deadline (2010)

For My Dad

Alexander J. Anderson (1923-1993) – Royal Air Force during WWII, Printer and Typesetter

He instilled in me the love of reading and writing. Thanks, Dad.

PROLOGUE

PARIS, FRANCE

THE MAN sat in the chair. Terrified.

He looked rapidly about him in the stark, bare room. His charcoal eyes flickered back and forth. He was alone and naked in the chair.

Saul Rubinek had been abducted last night by two men in ski masks while walking home from the Jewish Social Centre where he had been playing cards and imbibing some French beer. He was thrown into the trunk of a Mercedes and spirited off in the night.

He was confused and frightened.

Why have they taken me? What are they planning to do with me? Where the hell am I?

Rubinek looked around the room. It appeared to be very sterile. Nothing in it except him and the chair he was sitting in. Dark green walls and directly across from him a large mirror on one wall. He wondered if it was a two-way mirror and people were observing him from the other side.

Rubinek was correct.

Three men were standing in front of the mirror watching the naked man in the chair.

Are we ready to begin the experiment? asked a tall, bearded man in an Armani suit.

Whenever you give the word, Effendi, replied the third man standing furthest to the right near a control panel with lots of lights, buttons and switches.

Let us proceed!

The third man pushed a large red button.

The three watched.

Saul Rubinek heard a hissing sound, but could see nothing. He thought it was coming from a large grate above the door.

Two minutes passed. Rubinek sat quietly wondering what was happening. He didn’t feel anything yet. Two more minutes and suddenly he felt tightness in his chest. He found it difficult to breathe. He inhaled sharply trying to force air into his lungs. They felt like they were about to explode.

Rubinek tried to stand, but his legs were weak and rubbery. He was gasping for air now desperately and his head felt like a thousand hammers were striking it. His eyeballs felt like they were about to pop out of his head. He moved his fingers up to massage his face and felt liquid running down his cheeks.

He gazed at his hands. Blood. His eyes were bleeding.

What is happening to me? What is going on?

Rubinek felt like he was strangling. He started to froth at the mouth as white foam emerged through his teeth. He keeled over and fell from the chair onto the floor. His body twitched for a few seconds. Then it was over.

Excellent! It is done, said the bearded man.  The viral agent is very effective. Death within five minutes.

Yes, the Zyklon C attacks the respiratory system and virtually turns it into mush, said the second man who was a scientist aiding the cause of the Jihad.

How many canisters do we have, Ahmed? asked the bearded man, more commonly known in international circles as The Scorpion. Abdul al-Sharif was his birth name.

He was six-foot two inches in height and weighed about 190 pounds. He now had a heavy beard which he had grown after his Operation Saladin in Canada last year.

He barely escaped with his life after things went wrong in the attack on the North American infidels. (See The Scorpion [2012] published by Amazon and Createspace).

The Scorpion was a terrorist whose true identity was unknown to the world’s security services. They had no photos or fingerprints on file. His deadly sting was felt in many forms of destruction – bombs, assassination and poison. He did whatever was necessary to achieve the aims and objectives of his Al Qaeda faction.

Most people who came across the Scorpion did not live to tell of the experience. But his aborted suitcase nuclear attack on Toronto had been thwarted by a journalist named Trevor Trevanian and his MI-6 girlfriend Lynne Whitfield.

The Scorpion managed to escape, but the two witnesses were able to give a good description of him to police and the world’s security services. A very accurate artist’s sketch had been circulated widely through Interpol. Hence the beard to help the Scorpion disguise himself.

We have six canisters of the biological agent, said Ahmed Zaif, the Al Qaeda scientist. But we can produce more in a few weeks if necessary.

"No, that should be enough for Operation Mecca. We will teach the American infidels a painful lesson they will not soon forget. They will be on their knees begging for our mercy. It will be all we will need in Washington.

The Scorpion was returning to North America to finish his Jihad.

––––––––

CHAPTER 1

WASHINGTON, D.C.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, the President of the United States.

Press Secretary Linda Hunt introduced the President and promptly Mark Swift walked up to the podium with the presidential seal emblazoned in front. He stood for a moment in front of the battery of microphones and faced the horde of media gathered in the White House James Bradley Press Room.

Trevor Trevanian stood in the front row just to the right of the President holding out his digital recorder to pick up the President’s remarks. Now the Washington correspondent for the Toronto Daily Express, Trevanian was still getting adjusted to the White House and these press scrums.

He was transferred here three months ago from his former post in London, England. The Washington and White House posts were the prime foreign correspondent positions for any journalist. Trevanian had earned his spurs through many foreign postings in Bosnia, Afghanistan, London and now Washington, the power base for world politics.

Trevanian won international recognition through his famous interview with terrorist mastermind Osama bin laden before the infamous Saudi met his end at the hands of Navy Seals in a raid in Pakistan.

He furthered his reputation last year by thwarting a plot by Al Qaeda to blow up the CN Tower in Toronto with a suitcase nuclear device. He also published a book outlining his foreign adventures which hit the best seller lists.

Now here he was in Washington reporting on the Beltway political scene and brushing shoulders with the world’s powerbrokers.

This news conference had been called to address the changing political situation in Syria and the Middle East. The rebels had finally triumphed and the government of President Hafez Assad had been toppled. Assad met the end of many dictators. Killed by his people.

I want to say that the United States offers its full support to the new provisional government in Syria, said President Swift. We will provide whatever financial aid and logistical support they need. It is our hope that this will be the start of a new era in the Middle East. Coupled with other changes in that area, we hope it will herald peace and greater stability and closer ties with the United States of America and its allies.

Swift went on to add a few more comments and then took questions from the news media.

Mr. President, do you think the new regime will have a more positive relationship with the U.S. and with Israel? shouted Tom Bell, a TV reporter from NBC.

Well, Tom. We can only hope. We have supported the opposition in its cause and their representatives have indicated a willingness to establish a government with more freedoms for its people and to talk with Israel. I’m always in favor of talk rather than fighting.

Trevor jumped into the fray. Mr. President, the United States has had a checkered history in that part of the world. You are not particularly liked in many of those countries and terrorists continue their struggle to impose their will in many areas. Al Qaeda is still very active and a threat to western ideals and culture. What do  you plan to do to address those issues and do you think the United States can make friends with Syria, Iraq, Iran and others in that region?

A good question, Trevor, replied Swift. And not one with easy answers. I know we have made some serious mistakes in that region in the past, but we try to learn from those mistakes. The U.S. has done many good things at a heavy price for our people as well as the men and women in our armed forces. We have brought liberty and removed oppression for some, but there is still a lot to do. My administration is committed to bringing peace and prosperity to the Middle East and to foster the Arab nations and Israel co-existing in harmony. As for the terrorists, we will never negotiate with them and will continue to eradicate them.

Swift went on to answer a few more questions from the journalists before his press secretary wound up the session and escorted the President from the room.

Well, Trevor. Did you get the answer you were looking for? asked Tom Bell who was standing next to him. Swift’s a master at the ‘don’t answer the question with a direct response.’ Welcome to the White House bullshit brigade.

I’m used to dealing with politicians, Tom. They are no different in the U.K. or other countries I’ve been. We ask the questions and they try to spin it to their advantage. What else is new? It’s all part of the game.

Wanna go grab a beer before we file our stories? I’ve got a couple of good watering holes near here I can show you.

Sure. Lead on.

Trevor followed Bell out of the press room. He would file his story later and then he was looking forward to getting together tonight with Lynne for dinner.

Lynne Whitfield, his MI-6 girlfriend, had also arranged a transfer to Washington. Her cover was as Cultural Attaché with the British Embassy, but her real work involved anti-terrorism liaison with the CIA and Homeland Security. They lived together in an apartment in Georgetown.

A spy and a journalist. Quite the combination. But it worked for both of them.

The spy who loves me, thought Trevor.

––––––––

CHAPTER 2

TORONTO, CANADA

THE NEWSROOM of the Daily Express was a hive of activity.

Reporters were at their desks writing stories or on the phone conducting interviews and chasing down leads. Editors and sub-editors were busy editing copy and getting it in shape for tomorrow’s paper.

Braden Young, managing editor of the paper, looked at the scene with a sense of personal satisfaction. He was just happy to be back at work and doing something productive.