Hans came into the man in the suit’s office and turned on the BBC. He did not ask permission nor speak to the man in the suit. When the man in the suit saw him heading for the satellite television set, he opted not to protest. There was a news report stating that Pakistani intelligence had arrested an IT worker who was a suspected link in the al-Qaeda communications network. They didn’t have a name yet, but they had enough generic information to finger Nedim to anyone who knew him. The report did not yet say they had turned him and were using him to infiltrate al-Qaeda operations, but that information couldn’t be more than a few hours away. Hans simply looked at the man in the suit and walked out. Both of them knew what they had to do now.<\/p>\n
The man in the suit made a phone call to his contact in Pakistan\u2019s intelligence. He arranged for a strongly worded protest to be released to the press. He needed to buy time for the couriers to be nabbed. He made certain the press release stated that the person arrested had remained in custody pending a full investigation.<\/p>\n
Hans had his own communication to make. He had to tell the team in the field to nab each courier as soon as they made the drop. They were to immediately be flown to the interrogation camp as this operation had just been burned. They were now in a race to find the destination before others found out about the operation. The others <\/i>he was worried about were the al-Qaeda leaders who were about to receive this pouch. If they got wind and ran to ground, this operation\u2019s biggest nab would vanish. Nobody knew who was supposed to receive the pouch, not even Nedim. It had to be an old-timer who didn\u2019t like technology and he had to be somewhere in the mountains, but finding him would be impossible unless they could follow the bag.<\/p>\n
There was one final duty for Hans before he could return for more instructions and a debriefing. From his bag he took a disposable cell phone and a slip of paper. He went upstairs to an empty room and made an international phone call.<\/p>\n
Nikolaus had not been expecting that particular cell phone to ring when it went off. There was only one person who had the number, and this wouldn\u2019t be good.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s me. Our asset is being outed by the BBC. Perhaps you\u2019ve seen the news? He is in the process of making a courier drop and given the situation we are nabbing each courier once they make the drop. I know the first one is a woman. Until the field report\u2019s in we won\u2019t know how many we are sending your way, but they are all coming your way. This operation is burned. We have to tie it off and get out until we manage to locate another asset.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstood. We have less than twenty-four<\/span><\/span> hours to get everything in order. You will call again to let us know when the plane is leaving?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n Nikolaus hung up and used his own disposable cell phone to make a call. He relayed to the man on the other end the story Hans had just told him. Unless something happened during the nabbing, there would be at least one woman with this bunch.<\/p>\n Couriers never knew much. Sometimes they didn\u2019t even know they were working for al-Qaeda. It sounds weird when you say it out loud, but it is true. A lot of the couriers are simply that by trade. They carry drugs, contraband and information from one place to another each day. It\u2019s dangerous, but it\u2019s a living.<\/p>\n It was agreed that most of the couriers would undergo interrogation for a week or less. So far the interrogators had all been professional, and they could tell when they were pumping a dry well. Nikolaus told him to notify the team.<\/p>\n \u00a0
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You are reading a special promotional version of \u201cInfinite Exposure\u201d containing only the first 18 chapters. This is the first book of the “Earth That Was” trilogy. You can obtain the entire trilogy in EPUB form from here:<\/p>\n