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  As he spoke, he glanced around the room, making eye contact with each person, letting them know the gravity of the situation and how vital their role was in stopping it. "In the past, we've received hundreds of reports of possible terrorist attacks, but to my recollection we've never received one like this. According to our sources, a team of American soldiers is planning an assault on Meccan soil. These men are highly trained and highly motivated to carry out such a mission. As of now, we don't have a definitive time frame. However, if their goal is maximum devastation, our best guess is it's going to be carried out today."

  That was news to Payne. "Based on what?"

  Harrington pointed to an older man, who wore a civilian shirt and tie, not a military uniform, like the other Taif personnel in the room. The man had white hair and dark skin, possibly indicative of Middle Eastern descent, although he spoke with no accent except when he used Arabic terms that rolled off his tongue with the fluidity of a native speaker.

  "Right now, we are in the middle of Dhul al-Hijjah, the most sacred month of the Islamic calendar. Translated into English it means Lord of the Pilgrimage. It is the time when Muslims converge on Mecca to complete the hajj, one of the five pillars of Islamic faith. It is a journey that all Muslims are expected to make during their lifetime."

  He tapped a few keys on the laptop in front of him, and a graphic listing the Islamic months was transmitted to a large video screen on the far wall. Everyone turned to get a better view.

  "Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the one we use in America, the Islamic calendar is lunar. It is roughly eleven days shorter than our calendar, meaning Islamic holidays are celebrated eleven days earlier than the previous year—at least according to our calendar. This year Dhul al-Hijjah started on December 23."

  Payne instantly recognized the date. It was the day that Schmidt faked his own death.

  It corresponded with the beginning of the hajj season.

  "You might be wondering, why is this date important?

  The answer is quite simple. The hajj is very structured. Pilgrims must perform specific tasks on specific days, or else they do not meet their sacred obligation. That means on any given day, at any given time, we know exactly where the majority of pilgrims would be."

  "How many are we talking about?" Jones asked.

  "According to the Ministry of Hajj, which just released official data, there are nearly two point four million pilgrims in Mecca this year, nearly one point seven million from countries other than Saudi Arabia."

  Click. A new graphic explained the pilgrimage, day by day.

  "The hajj itself doesn't begin until the eighth day of the month, when all pilgrims walk from Mecca to the village of Mina, a journey of five kilometers, where they spend the night in forty-four thousand fire-resistant tents that the Saudi government assembled. All of the tents are white, but signs are color-coded by nationality so pilgrims can stay with their own. For prayer and safety."

  "Define safety," Payne said.

  "The Saudis would love you to believe that the hajj is a safe journey, but that's misinformation. The truth is, several people die in Tent City every hajj. In the past, the biggest concern was always fire. Blazes swept through every year until they put up fire-resistant tents. Now the biggest issue is disease. All those people coming from all those countries and assembling in one spot? The numbers are mind-boggling. On average, there are more than fifty people sleeping in each tent."

  Click. A picture of Tent City filled the screen. White tents in straight rows stretched as far as the eye could see. Like snow-covered peaks in the desert sand.

  "From here, the hajj continues forward. But pilgrims will return to Tent City on their return trip to Mecca."

  Click. The next photo showed a massive plain that surrounded a granite hill.

  "Day two begins before dawn. They journey to the Plain of Arafat, where they ask Allah for forgiveness for all their sins. In the background you can see Mount Arafat. It is where Muhammad delivered his farewell sermon in 632 ad. Muslims also believe that Adam and Eve were reunited on this hill two hundred years after their separation, punishment for their disobedience."

  "You mean the Adam and Eve?" Payne asked.

  "One and the same. Most people find this surprising, but Muslims and Christians have many of the same core beliefs—including the same god. The confusing part is each group calls their figures a different name. Christians say God. Muslims say Allah. But it's the same deity. In fact, if you go through the Old Testament, you'll see several of the same names, albeit with different spellings, in the Qur'an. Adam, Eve, Abraham, Ishmael, Hagar, and so on."

  Harrington cleared his throat. "Professor, please get back on point."

  "Yes, sir." He clicked on the next photo. It showed a long stone wall that was surrounded by pilgrims, all of them dressed in white. "Today is the third day of the hajj. Pilgrims will perform ramy al-jamarat, or the stoning of the devil, after the noontime prayer. They are required to throw pebbles, which they collected last night at Muzdalifah, at three stone walls that represent the temptations of Satan. Until recently, they threw pebbles at large pillars called ja-marat, but the crowds have grown so large in recent years that they decided to build long walls to spread the people out instead of having them crowd around pillars. In the past, hundreds have been trampled and killed."

  Next photo. It showed a slaughterhouse in Mina, filled with lambs, cows, camels, and goats.

  "After the stoning, pilgrims are expected to slaughter their best animal, called udhiya. This represents the sacrifice that Abraham was willing to make when God commanded him to sacrifice his son Ishmael. In the past, pilgrims did the slaying themselves or directly oversaw the process. But now they are able to buy a sacrifice voucher that ensures an animal will be killed in their name. Today more than four hundred thousand animals will be slain."

  Click. A map of the hajj path filled the screen. It pointed out all the locations he had described. An arrow showed the traffic flow as it left Mecca and went to Mina, the Plain of Arafat, and returned to Mina. The final arrow pointed back toward Mecca.

  "The ritualistic slaughter marks the beginning of Eid ul-Adha, the Festival of the Sacrifice. It is celebrated throughout the Islamic world, even by Muslims not in Mecca. Male pilgrims mark this occasion by shaving their heads, which represents the cleansing of their sins through the hajj."

  Click. A photo of the Kaaba and the Black Stone.

  "Later today, pilgrims will start their journey back to the Masjid al-Haram, or the sacred mosque, to complete a ritual called the Tawaf az-Ziyarah. Using the Black Stone as a marker, they must walk around the Kaaba seven times in a counterclockwise motion, which signifies the unity of all Muslims to worship one god. With each rotation they will try to get closer and closer to the stone itself. The truly blessed will get to touch it or even kiss it."

  Click. An overheard view of the Great Mosque.

  "From there, Pilgrims will honor Hagar's search for water by walking back and forth between the two hills of Safa and Marwah. These hills are actually contained inside the mosque, a building so large it can hold nearly one million people."

  "Did you say million?" an officer asked.

  The speaker nodded. "Not to mention the other million or so who will be standing outside the mosque, waiting to get inside."

  "And this is happening today?"

  He nodded again. "More than two million Muslims in one city block, all of them with the same goal. To get as close to the Black Stone as possible."

  * * *

  38

  The Pentagon

  Arlington, Virginia

  The White House was notified of the situation, but they passed the buck to the Pentagon, claiming they were more equipped to handle this type of crisis. Whether or not that was the case, they were given an hour to sort through the political hotbed and reach a decision.

  On the surface, it seemed like an easy choice. Rogue U.S. soldiers were planning an assault in Saudi Arabia, where fifte
en thousand Americans were participating in the hajj. What was there to even think about? They knew that a small explosion, if positioned in the right place in the Great Mosque, would kill far more people than 9/11, and the resulting panic would create a human stampede, the likes of which mankind had never seen. Injuries and fatalities would be so substantial that military experts couldn't even agree on a projection.

  And that was with a small explosive.

  If Schmidt had access to a larger device, the devastation would easily exceed Hiroshima, where an estimated forty-five thousand people died from the initial blast.

  This should have been a no-brainer. Something needed to be done.

  However, the longer their discussion continued, the cloudier the issues became.

  Mecca was a restricted city, one where the United States wouldn't be granted access no matter how compelling their argument was. That meant the only way to get troops inside the city was by force—something they wouldn't risk, since Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, was one country they couldn't afford to piss off—or through stealth, which might have been possible if they were given enough time. But in their opinion, it wasn't the type of operation that could be arranged in a few hours.

  From a political standpoint, a failed mission would have been far worse than no mission at all.

  Religion complicated things even further. If word ever leaked that they had violated Islam's most sacred city on one of its holiest holidays, the United States would feel the wrath of every Islamic nation for years to come. Homeland Security would have to come up with a threat level that was more severe than red, because every terrorist in the world would be gunning for revenge.

  Sure, the Pentagon realized they might—and the key word was might—save thousands of lives in Saudi Arabia, but how many Americans would be killed in the future because the United States had invaded Mecca? How many cities would be bombed? How many schools?

  It was a compelling argument.

  However, in the end, their decision hinged on one main factor. If the Pentagon knew with absolute certainty that Trevor Schmidt was planning an attack that day, they would have given their stamp of approval for a preemptive assault. But based on their current intel and all the negative ramifications if they were wrong, they simply weren't willing to risk involvement.

  The verdict did not surprise Colonel Harrington. From the moment Trevor Schmidt disappeared, Harrington sensed (he potential for a world-class shitstorm. Of course, he never imagined it would elevate so quickly. If so, he would have been more forthright with Payne and Jones from the beginning. Who knows? Maybe that would have made a difference. Maybe they would have figured things out sooner. Maybe this whole situation would have been averted.

  Unfortunately, men in his position were often placed in no-win situations, asked to keep secrets for the good of the country, secrets that sometimes conflicted with other promises that were just as important. At some point they are forced to choose between the two, and when they do, it's rarely a simple choice. They must ponder all the consequences before they make their decision, always weighing the good and the bad, the long term and the short term.

  But today, with millions of lives on the line, none of that was necessary.

  Harrington knew he had to come clean ASAP if they wanted to stop Schmidt.

  The conference room was cleared of everyone except Harrington, Payne, and Jones. They sat at the far end of the long table. They talked softly so no one in the hall could hear.

  "I just got word from Washington," Harrington said. "We've been told to do nothing."

  Payne didn't flinch. "No shock there. That's what we expected."

  "Do you agree with it?"

  "We wouldn't have flown in from Korea if we did."

  "So, you were willing to go to Mecca?"

  Payne nodded. "I'm still willing to go to Mecca."

  Jones agreed. "I hear it's lovely this time of year."

  "In that case," Harrington said, "there are some things you need to know about Schmidt. Things I should've told you long ago but wasn't allowed. Hell, I'm still not allowed. But if we're going to prevent this tragedy, you need to know everything."

  He paused, trying to figure out where to begin.

  "In early November, French authorities nailed a terrorist named Abdul Al-Amin, a member of the Soldiers of Allah. They busted him on a weapons charge, nothing too major, but for some reason he started talking. He gave up names, places, exact dates of future attacks. The type of in-tel that can make a difference. Obviously, we were skeptical at first—I mean, this seemed a little too easy—but every time we heard something through the grapevine, we were able to verify it. Small things, big things, everything checked out."

  Payne nodded. He had heard the same story from Nick Dial.

  "We knew every country in the world wanted to get their hands on Abdul's bosses, men who were responsible for hundreds of deaths around the globe, not to mention millions of dollars in damages and manpower. But how could we let that happen? We were the nation they had targeted the most. No way in hell we were going to let some third-rate country snatch these guys before we could."

  He paused, taking a moment to calm down. "We got word that Hakeem Salaam and all of his top advisers were meeting in Kuwait. If true, it was a once-in-a-decade opportunity, because none of us really knew what Salaam looked like, and he was the key to that organization. Thankfully, we had recent pictures of his lieutenants, so we figured if we tracked them, they would lead us right to Salaam."

  "Did Schmidt lead the mission?" Jones asked.

  Harrington nodded. "Went off like clockwork. We nabbed Salaam and two of his top men. Picked them clean. Took them out through the Persian Gulf and straight to Jeju."

  "Why there?" Payne wondered.

  "Why not? We figured no one would ever look for three Arabs in Korea, and as far as we were concerned, that was Ihe key. No one could know we grabbed these guys. Not Homeland. Not the CIA. No one. That edict came straight from my bosses. We were the ones who caught these assholes, so we were going to milk them before anyone else got the chance."

  "Is that where Sheldon comes in?"

  Harrington shook his head. "I know you have a problem with Dr. Sheldon. He told me about your outburst in the cave. But believe me, the guy knows his field. That's why I chose him to re-create the crime scene. I figured he could shed some light on certain things."

  "Such as?"

  "What really happened in there," Harrington said bluntly. "At first, the interrogations were going well. Schmidt gave me regular updates, most of which paid off. We busted smaller cells, stopped some arms deals, that kind of thing. But nothing major. No grandiose schemes, like we thought we were going to get."

  "Why not?" Jones wondered.

  "Because Salaam wasn't talking. According to Schmidt, no matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Salaam to talk about anything important. And as you know, that doesn't happen in the real world. This ain't the fuckin' movies. If we want you to talk, we'll get you to talk. You guys should know that."

  He paused for a moment, trying to decide how much he should tell them.

  "Ultimately, Schmidt got desperate and went way too far. He handcuffed Salaam to one of his advisers—someone who'd been spilling his guts from die very beginning—and shot the bastard in the head. Just killed die guy in cold blood. After that, Schmidt threw them in a cell and left them there for several days. One alive, one dead, but still chained together."

  "Jesus," Payne whispered, stunned that it had gone that far. "Did he tell you this himself?"

  Harrington shook his head. "We found out about it later. Schmidt was required to keep a video log, describing all the techniques he used and the results he achieved. When we arrived in Jeju, we found some of his files, a whole lot of blood, and three dead Arabs in a back cell."

  "Including Salaam?"

  "At first, mat's what we diought," he said cryptically. "Remember, we had no idea what Salaam looked
like. We had a rough description—age, nationality, and so on—but we couldn't identify him on site. All we knew is that he was meeting with his top advisers in Kuwait, and we snagged everyone in the room. So we assumed we had him."

  "And?"

  "After we hauled the bodies out of the cave, we ran preliminary tests—ballistics, DNA, et cetera—and came to a disheartening conclusion: the dead guy wasn't Hakeem Salaam."

  "How do you know?"

  "Because we got a positive ID. And let me tell you, we fucked up bad on this one. Not only wasn't the guy a terrorist, he was a Saudi official who worked for the Ministry of the Interior."

  Payne winced, realizing that Schmidt would have known whom tiiey grabbed very early in the interrogation process—if he didn't know from the very beginning. That meant he spent several days torturing a government official, learning inside information about a multitude of topics. In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of the Interior was responsible for public safety on many different levels, including the police, fire services, passports, and civil defense. In addition, it handled security for all major sites, such as Muhammad's tomb in Medina and, more importantly, the Great Mosque in Mecca.

  "Obviously," Harrington admitted, "there's no way of knowing what Schmidt learned. But according to Dr. Sheldon, we have a pretty good idea of how he's going to use it."

  * * *

  39

  Dr. Ernie Sheldon appeared on the video screen in the Taif conference room, the same screen that had illustrated the days of the hajj. He was somewhere in a secure facility, no longer hiding behind the mask he wore in the cave. Both literally and figuratively. Harrington had finally given him permission to talk about his work.

  "During the past several years," Sheldon said, "we've been conducting human-based experiments in compounds around the world. Ways to extract information and methods to prevent the same. Some people think our biggest concern is how to get secrets from the enemy. Sometimes it's more important to protect your own."