The Temple Mount Code (30 page)

The van had a mounted camera that telescoped up from the top to give an overview of the attack site. It hadn’t been deployed until the attack and kidnap attempt had been initiated.

Almost immediately, the scene at the airport’s security checkpoint became much clearer. The Israeli security people responded to the attack, but it was too late to hope to control anything. Drivers behind the taxi steered wildly in an effort to get out of harm’s way and only ended up miring themselves in the resulting confusion. Vehicles slammed into each other, effectively choking off escape routes.

One of the Hezbollah attackers stopped and brought up a rocket launcher. No sooner did the long weapon rest on his shoulder than he fired. The warhead slammed into one of the outside cars broadside, flipping the vehicle into the air. It crashed down roof-first onto the car beside it with a spray of glass and shriek of overstressed metal. Flames roared from it, and the passengers scrambled out and away to escape the pyre.

By then the snipers were in place. Sharp cracks carried over the streaming audio. The synchronization between the audio and video wasn’t complete, and there was at least a two-second lag between them, giving the events a surreal feel that Davari found irritating. The uniformed security guards dropped and spun, helpless before the Hezbollah snipers.

Davari smiled in anticipation. Now that they were certain Lourds had the book, they could take him and force him to help find Mohammad’s Koran and the Scroll.

Nothing could prevent that.

Security Checkpoint

Ben Gurion International Airport

Outside Lod, the State of Israel

August 11, 2011

As soon as he realized the driver had been shot, Lourds dove for Miriam. She was already in motion, though, opening her door and throwing herself outside.

At first he thought she was running for cover, and he was vaguely disappointed. He’d thought she was made of sterner stuff, or maybe he’d only wished she was because of the journey they were undertaking. She hadn’t flinched at all when he’d told her they were going to Iran.

Instead of running, though, she stayed low as one of the vehicles behind them suddenly exploded and flew into the air. Shrapnel slapped against the taxi like popcorn popping, and tongues of fire flashed across the back glass, coming in through the hole left by the rifle bullet for just a moment before dying.

Miriam opened the car door and yanked at the dead driver. Despite her desperate efforts, she couldn’t move the bulky corpse. She glanced back at Lourds. ‘Help me!’

Galvanized into action, Lourds got out of the taxi on his side, crept up to the passenger door, and threw it open. He hesitated for just a moment at all the blood, then put both hands on the dead man and shoved as Miriam pulled.

The driver toppled out of the car as at least one round shattered the passenger-door window and rained broken pieces down over Lourds’s back. Thomas stayed low across the front seats. Miriam put her hand in the middle of his face, mashing his sore nose hard and causing him to yelp in protest as she shoved him into the passenger seat.

Behind the wheel, she shoved the transmission into reverse and backed swiftly toward the burning car atop the other vehicle.

Lourds pointed. ‘The car.’

‘I see it.’ Miriam stomped on the brake, and rubber shrieked as the tires locked up on the pavement. The taxi’s rear butted up against the bottom car, and the burning wreckage above slowly started to topple – and was heading straight for their battered taxi.

‘The
car
!’

‘I
see
it!’ Miriam changed gears and pressed the accelerator to the floor. The taxi’s engine screamed like a tortured animal, but the tires caught and propelled them forward. ‘Hang on.’

Lourds braced himself with his hands and feet as Miriam crashed into the rear of the car ahead of them. Metal crumpled, and the front windshield shattered, spraying bloody glass fragments into his lap.

Miriam shoved the transmission into reverse and backed again at a sharper angle. Lourds reached for the open passenger door, intending to close it, but one of the security posts took it off in a wrenching rasp.

This time when the taxi backed up, it hit the burning car. Flames spread across the back of the vehicle and stayed with them as Miriam sped forward again.

38

Tactical Room

Covert Operations

Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (Mossad)

Tel Aviv, the State of Israel

August 11, 2011

‘Orchid, be advised that we have a team en route.’ Tense and frustrated, Sarah Shavit watched the wallscreen in the tactical room.

Miriam Abata was showing considerable resilience despite the odds against her and the element of surprise her enemies had wielded. She had seized control of the taxi and almost fought free. Unfortunately, it looked as though the burning vehicle had spread a pool of flaming liquid across the taxi’s rear.

‘Affirmative, Gardener.’ Miriam’s voice splintered as she responded. The noise of the gunfire and her unwillingness to reveal her true identity to Lourds made her hard to understand. She wore an earpiece that picked up vibrations along her jawbone and transmitted them.

Covering her mouthpiece, Sarah turned to the computer operator beside her. ‘Have you reached the airport’s security chief?’

‘Not yet, ma’am. I’m still trying.’

‘Let me know as soon as you do.’

‘Of course.’

No longer able simply to watch, Sarah paced back and forth in front of the wallscreen. The attackers moved efficiently, mowing through the airport’s security people, predators stalking game. They wore bulletproof armor and weren’t afraid to die for their cause, and that was a terrible combination for anyone to face.

The door opened and Isser Melman walked into the room, leaning heavily on his cane. ‘I hear we have a situation.’ His stony face revealed nothing of his thoughts. ‘What happened?’

‘Orchid and her package were attacked on-site.’ No names were used inside the tactical room.

‘Do we know if they’re targeting Orchid and her package?’

‘Yes. Orchid is in the taxi. The shooters are converging on the vehicle now.’

On-screen, the taxi rammed the car in front of it again, creating more space. This time it kept surging against the other car till it fought free.

‘Who’s driving the taxi?’

‘Orchid. The first round took out the driver. The attackers have snipers on the scene who dropped the driver and the airport security team.’

Melman’s face creased into a grim smile. ‘She’s a very determined young woman.’

‘She is.’ Sarah knew she should take pride in Melman’s recognition of Miriam’s abilities and drive, and later she would. But for the moment, her heart went out to the young woman whose life could be snuffed out at any second.

The taxi finally bulled through the bottleneck created by the stalled vehicles. Fenders and bodywork dropped along the pavement behind her.

‘And a very lucky one.’

‘She makes her own luck.’

‘Do we have a team covering them?’

‘Yes. They’re moving into position now.’

On-screen, armored attack vehicles were being deployed. Mossad agents dressed in Israeli army fatigues boiled out the doors and took up positions.

‘Sniper Team Alpha in position.’

‘Sniper Team Bravo in position.’

Sarah clicked back into the frequency. ‘All sniper teams, acquire targets and take them down. Be advised your targets are armored.’

The sniper teams opened fire immediately. A handful of attackers dropped before they realized they had aggressors targeting them. Reacting quickly, they took up positions behind the stalled cars. As Sarah watched helplessly, the attackers ruthlessly killed the citizens inside the cars.

Melman’s voice was hard when he spoke. ‘Tell your teams there are to be no survivors. We already have an idea who sent these men.’

Without any remorse, Sarah relayed the command.

‘
Katsas
.’

Sarah turned to the computer tech at her side. ‘Yes?’

‘I have the security chief.’

‘Patch him through.’ Sarah heard the click. ‘This is Mossad Intelligence Division Officer Sarah Shavit. With whom am I speaking?’

The man sounded out of breath, and gunfire could be plainly heard around him. Evidently he’d gotten into the action quickly. ‘Captain David Lavi. I’m in the middle of a situation.’

‘We’re there as well, Captain. I’ve got agents taking out your attackers as we speak.’

‘Did you bring your baggage into our airport?’

Sarah ignored the angry accusation in the man’s voice. Mossad wasn’t thought well of by everyone. ‘No. We were providing a loose backup to a probable situation when this erupted.’

‘Why wasn’t my office notified?’

‘If we had known this would happen, we would have notified your office.’ Sarah hardened her tone. ‘There is a taxi that has just gotten past your checkpoint.’

‘I see it.’

‘I don’t want the occupants harmed. They are not part of this.’

‘If they don’t stop, they’re going to be shot. I can’t allow them to gain access to the planes or the buildings.’

‘Understood. I will get them to stop and surrender themselves.’

‘Do it now.’

Sarah clicked out of the channel and back into the one with Miriam Abata. ‘Orchid, local security has been notified of your situation, but not your identities. Stand down before you are shot.’

‘We’re not clear.’

‘You don’t have a choice. Do it before the airport’s security people take you out.’

On-screen, the taxi screeched to a halt. Coolly and calmly as she could, Sarah continued to watch.

Behesht-Zahra (The Paradise of Zahara)

Tehran

The Islamic Republic of Iran

August 11, 2011

In disbelief, Davari watched as his well-made attack plan fell to pieces. He cursed and wished he were there, feeling that somehow he could have saved things, but knowing in his heart that was a foolish thought, and that he would have only died with the attackers.

‘Our comrades among the Hezbollah will count this as a victory though we do not.’ The Ayatollah spoke quietly, but his rage was evident in every clipped word.

‘I apologize for this, Supreme Leader.’ Standing there, the colonel realized that his life was forfeit if the Ayatollah chose to view the situation as his fault. Mohammad Khamenei was not known as a forgiving man.

The Ayatollah shook his head. ‘This is not a bad thing, Colonel. Think of this as a feint. Perhaps we have not secured our prize yet – and we will – but we have managed to draw out our true enemies in this endeavor.’

Watching the organized warriors spill out across the scenes, taking out the Hezbollah gunners one by one and securing the area behind them, Davari nodded. ‘The Mossad.’

‘Exactly. Now we know for certain that the infidels and nonbelievers are warring against us.’ The Ayatollah took a deep breath. ‘This is proof that our war is for God. Otherwise, Shaitan would not have arrayed so many of our enemies against us.’ He smiled grimly. ‘And we will have opportunities to kill them as we search for our goal.’

On-screen, Davari saw the bodies of two Mossad agents lying on the paved road leading up to the security checkpoint. Their efforts had been costly as well.

‘Do we know where Lourds is going?’

‘Yes, Supreme Leader. Tehran.’

The Ayatollah looked at Davari. ‘He’s coming here?’

‘Yes. We confirmed his plane tickets. There is a layover in Istanbul. We could arrange an abduction there.’

‘No. The benefit of taking Lourds on Israeli soil was to give us deniability in his disappearance, and a chance to bloody Israel’s nose. If Lourds is coming here, let him come. We will make him vanish here if necessary. If he’s coming here, I believe everything we need to know to find Mohammad’s Koran and the Scroll is here. God has put our salvation in our own backyard.’

‘What if the Mossad chooses to stop Lourds from coming here?’

‘They would have already done it. And now they have no choice in the matter.’ The Ayatollah smiled. ‘Now they know that we know what is being searched for. With Mohammad’s Koran and Scroll here, they have to allow Lourds to look for it. They will also have a harder time keeping watch over him in our country. We will make that work for us as well.’

On-screen, a dark-haired black woman opened the taxi door and got out.

‘Who is the woman?’

‘According to our intelligence, she is a graduate student.’

‘Lourds has a weakness for women. When they get here, exploit that. Take that woman into custody and find out what she knows. Use her against the American infidel.’

‘It will be done, Supreme Leader.’

The Ayatollah started to walk away, then turned back. ‘Has Von Volker arrived?’

‘Yes. I have placed him in guest quarters.’

‘Good. I will talk to him soon.’

‘He won’t be able to help us with Lourds. His own wife turned against him and helped Lourds escape. He’s wanted for questioning in his own country.’

‘An embarrassing moment, perhaps, but all that can be made to go away. Politics allows convenient forgetfulness. Von Volker is still a powerful man in the Austrian People’s Party. As such, he is a friend to our country and our God. We can use him.’

Davari nodded. Then he turned back to the screens and watched the slaughter of the Hezbollah continue as the Mossad agents walked among their wounded enemies and executed them.

Security Checkpoint

Ben Gurion International Airport

Outside Lod, the State of Israel

August 11, 2011

‘Why are you stopping?’

Scared and angry, Miriam put the taxi’s transmission in park and looked at Lourds staring at her in disbelief.

‘Keep going.’