Jason Elam - Monday Night Jihad (Riley Covington Thriller Series #1)

MONDAY NIGHT JIHAD

by

JASON ELAM and STEVE YOHN

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Carol Stream, Illinois

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Monday Night Jihad

Copyright 2007 by Jason Elam and Steve Yohn. All rights reserved.

Cover photo of football player copyright by Donald Miralle/Getty Images. All rights reserved.

Cover photo of fire copyright by Veer. All rights reserved.

Author photos copyright 2007 by Stephanie Mack. All rights reserved.

Designed by Dean H. Renninger

Published in association with the literary agency of Yates & Yates, LLP, Attorneys and Counselors, Orange, California.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the authors or the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Elam, Jason. Monday night jihad / Jason Elam and Steve Yohn. p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4143-1730-4

ISBN-13: 978-1-4143-2134-9 (Palm)

ISBN-13: 978-1-4143-2133-2 (MobiPocket)

ISBN-13: 978-1-4143-2132-5 (MS Reader)

1. TerrorismUnited StatesFiction. I. Yohn, Steve. II. Title.

Saturday, December 20

CTD North Central Division Headquarters

Minneapolis, Minnesota

6:00 a.m. CST

I cant believe those idiots arent going to shut down the mall, Scott Ross said as he threw his half-full bottle of Yoo-hoo Lite into the trash can, swearing he would never again touch that perversion of perfection. His head was still spinning from the whirlwind trip that had brought him from discovery of the Mall of America as the likely target: grabbing his always-packed bag, hopping a CTD jet with Tara Walsh, flying through much of the night, and finally making their way to the North Central Division headquarters in downtown Minneapolis. Dont they realize whats about to go down?

Their exact words were, Were not going to shut down the mall during one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year because of some guys hunch, a disgusted Jim Hicks responded. Weve even taken it to the governor, whospineless wonder that he isbacks the mall folks decision. I cant believe Id ever long for a return to the days of Jesse Ventura.

Didnt Secretary Moss try to convince them?

Come on, youve been around long enough to understand Moss. He only likes to scare people when he needs more funding for Homeland Security.

Well, isnt that just ducky? We cant get backed by the wuss or the weasel, Scott grumbled, sitting down on the corner of Hickss desk that just happened to hold the remaining half of the mans onion bagel.

Hicks laughed as Scott contorted himself, trying to cleanse his posterior regions of cream cheese. Let me tell you what I need from you, Ross. I need names. I need faces. I need anything I can get that will help me pick out the needles that are looking to blow up the rest of the haystack.

Believe me, were working on it as hard as we can. Taras on the phone right now with my team back home. Theyre processing through the facial pics that our cameras snapped at all the border crossings in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana. Were filtering first on Canadian rental cars, based on the vehicle whats-his-Yemeni-name was driving.

Kurshumi.

Gesundheit, Scott said, providing his own rim shot.

Hickss glare made it clear that he felt the time for jokes was past.

You know, Jim, with that evil eye, you and Tara are going to get along just fine. So, anyway, were starting with the rental cars; then were adding a little dose of racial profilingthats our little secret, he whispered with a conspiratorial wink. Were running all those pics through our facial recognition blender and hoping something comes out of the mix. Do we have any idea how many evildoers were looking for?

Hicks shook his head. No clue. Kurshumi was really information-deprived.

When we get you the faces, whats your plan at the mall?

Weve been able to talk the governor into securing us fifty copsjust enough to cover his backside in case this thing does go down. Ive brought in the CTD ops teams from Northeastern Division and Western Division, plus the folks you brought along. That gives us sixty-six agents. Even with that many good guys on site, we still dont stand a chance without more info.

Keep the faith, Scott encouraged as he carefully checked the corner of the desk before he sat down again. Well give you something. They dont make them any better than my gang.

Saturday, December 20

North Central United States

7:10 a.m. CST

Aamir and Abdel al-Hasani prayed with their hands cupped at their chests, then wiped them across their faces before rising from their knees. Fajrthe sunrise time of prayerwas now complete.

The blessed words still echoed in Abdels mind. All greetings, blessings, and good acts are from you, my Lord.... O Allah, be gracious unto Muhammad and the people of Muhammad. The thought struck him that today would be the first day in many years that he would complete only one of the five required daily prayers of the salat. Hopefully the next time he spoke to Allah it would be face-to-face. Then he could affirm to him in person that he was the only God, and that Muhammad was his prophet.

Are you ready, mighty warrior? his brother asked.

I will be there with you on earth and in heaven, Aamir. Thats all I can say.

Are you still having doubts about?

Stop! Abdel thrust his hand in front of his brothers facea clear sign of disrespect, but he didnt care. Dont say any more. I told you I would be there with you. Leave it at that! Now, lets prepare ourselves.

Abdel pretended he couldnt see Aamirs darkening face as he crossed the room to where the vests were stored. Im just frightened, he told himself. Theres nothing wrong with that. Even Muhammad was frightened after Gabriel first visited him. As he walked back carrying the first of the vests, he reassured Aamir, I love you, my brother. There is no one else I would rather be entering glory with than you.

Abdel briefly met his brothers eyes, then quickly looked away as Aamir took the vest from him.

Turn around, Aamir softly commanded him. Abdel obeyed, and Aamir lowered the dark green vest over his head. The nylon material rested on the new white T-shirt that covered Abdels upper body, which, along with the rest of his body, had been shaved completely hairless during a ritual cleansing process they had both participated in prior to their predawn prayer. Aamir reached around to the Velcro straps in the front and pulled them tight around Abdels back.

In the closet hung a red and green flannel shirt that Aamir now brought over. While Abdel held the detonator in his hand, his older brother helped him slide his arms through the sleeves. He was very careful not to snag the long wire that connected to the vest. Before buttoning the cuffs, Aamir used surgical tape to attach the detonator to Abdels forearm. They would cut the tape prior to walking into the mall.