The Lion's Game

  "I'm sure."

  "You made a positive ID?"

  I thought I just answered that question. I said, "We spoke, Tom. Hanging from our parachutes." I added, "Kate was quite close to him-- about six inches, nose to nose--and she IDed him by name. Khalil." I asked him, "Is that positive enough?"

  Tom Walsh would not tolerate sarcasm from his FBI agents, but he'd learned that the NYPD on his Task Force could be a bit cranky--especially the contract agents, like me, who could tell him to take his job and shove it.

  Having said that, I now needed this job to find Asad Khalil. So maybe I should be nice to Tom.

  Walsh said to me, "In your report, you suggested that Asad Khalil has returned to CONUS with the intent of exacting revenge on the people in our Task Force who worked on the original case three years ago."

  "That's right."

  "And that's why he attacked Kate."

  "I think that's a very logical assumption."

  "Right... but... that seems like a very elaborate plan. You know?"

  "Psychopaths engage in elaborate rituals, Tom."

  "I know... but..."

  Tom Walsh knew he needed to be more patient with me than he usually was. My wife was in critical condition, and I was distraught. He actually didn't care about my emotional state--except as it affected my predictably unpredictable behavior--but he did care about Kate, who was one of his own. He liked her personally and professionally, plus losing an agent was not good for a supervisor's career. Walsh, though, had some cover there because Kate was off-duty when it happened.

  In fact, he said to me, "I didn't know you and Kate skydived."

  "We were going to surprise you with that."

  He changed the subject and said, "You reported that Kate's duty weapon is missing, and so is her cell phone."

  "Correct."

  He made an intelligent observation: "The Glock in Khalil's hands is a problem, but most likely he already has his own weapon. The real problem is the cell phone."

  "Agreed. But it could be an opportunity."

  "Correct. The Communication Analysis Unit is running a trace on its signal."

  "Good. But I'm sure Khalil turned it off. He's not stupid. The opportunity comes if he turns it on to use Kate's phone directory."

  "Right. But assuming he's savvy, he knows he can't keep the phone on for more than a minute or two before CAU pinpoints the signal." Walsh added, "I'm sure he has his own cell phone for long conversations, and since we don't know his number, it can take us awhile to trace his signal if and when he calls one of our phones."

  Tom Walsh doesn't exactly talk down to people, but there's a thin line between him stating the obvious and him thinking he's giving you new information. I resisted telling him I really understood the technology and said, "Maybe we'll catch a break."

  "Maybe." He reminded me, "Remember that Saudi guy who forgot to turn off his cell phone?"

  "I do." I stated the obvious: "The Saudi guy was sloppy and stupid. Asad Khalil is not."

  "Most of them are stupid."

  There was some truth to Walsh's statement. Most of them were stupid. But even stupid people get lucky, and if the truth be told, sometimes we were more stupid than they were. That's how 9/11 happened--their stupid luck, our stupid heads up our asses. We've got a lot of that straightened out now, but the other side was getting a little smarter. In this case, Asad Khalil started out smart three years ago, and as I said, I didn't think he'd gotten stupider since the last time he was here.

  Continuing with the subject of stupid, I said to Tom Walsh, "I assume you sent out a mass text message to all agents regarding this incident."

  He replied, "Of course."

  I reminded him, "If Kate's cell phone is actually in Khalil's hands, Khalil is now able to read all our text messages."

  There was a short silence on the phone, then Walsh said, "Damn it."

  I took out my cell phone and saw that I, too, had Tom's text message, though I hadn't heard the chime. I retrieved the message and read: NY ATTF--FBI Agent Kate Mayfield criminally assaulted in Sullivan County, NY. Possible suspect, Asad Khalil, a known terrorist, Libyan national. Her medical condition classified. See your e-mail for full details, updates, and operational instructions, or call Ops Center. Amber alert. BOLO and APB sent. Walsh, SAC, NY ATTF.

  So that is what Asad Khalil had most probably read, right from the boss. Walsh was correctly withholding Kate's medical condition, leaving Asad Khalil wondering if he'd had a good day or a bad day. In any case, Khalil now knew that everyone was looking for him--but he knew that anyway.

  Walsh said, "We'll cut off the service to that phone immediately."

  "Good idea. But before you do that, send out a final text saying, 'Two Libyan informants in NY Metro have come forward with info on suspect Khalil in CONUS. Check e-mail for details and operational instructions regarding apprehending suspect.'" I added, "Or something like that."

  Walsh was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Okay. I'll do that."

  And take credit for it. I said, in case he didn't fully get it, "That should spook him, and maybe keep him away from his resources here and mess up his game plan."

  "Right. Good."

  Tom Walsh and I discussed cell phones for a minute, since that was about all we had at the moment.

  While I was half-listening to Walsh, I had a thought that I should have had an hour ago and said to him, "You should also alert George Foster."

  "Right... we've contacted everyone about the attempt on Kate's life. You saw the text."

  "I did. But what I'm saying, Tom, is that Khalil is here for revenge, and George was on the original team assigned to meet Khalil at the airport three years ago, and George worked the case." I added, "Assume Khalil knows George Foster's name."

  "Okay."

  Tom Walsh wasn't around when Khalil was here with a long list of must-kill people, and Walsh wasn't fully appreciating the nature of the beast. I suggested, "Call George yourself, or have him call me."

  "All right."

  I wanted to impress on Walsh the serious nature of this problem-- and also ruin his day--so I said to him, "You should not think that Asad Khalil hasn't considered killing you as well."

  There was silence on the line, then Walsh said, "We have no idea what his intentions are, aside from his attack on Kate." He added, "And by the way, I'm wondering, why didn't Khalil just pull a gun and blast both of you on the ground? You know? This skydiving knife attack really doesn't make much sense."

  "Not to you. But it does to him." I suggested, "When you get to the office, pull up The Lion file and see what Khalil did last time he was here, and how he did it."

  "All right." He informed me, "We're managing the news on this, John, so be careful what you say, even to the State Police."

  "I think I said that in my recorded report."

  "Right. Also, there are some agents from Washington on their way there, and I'll assign a detective and an FBI agent from the Task Force."

  I informed Walsh, "The guy who is handling the case here is Senior Investigator Matt Miller of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation." I gave Walsh Miller's cell phone number and said, "He seems competent, and he's got the troopers out looking for Khalil."

  "Good. We will assist in any way we can."

  "He's looking forward to that."

  Tom Walsh advised me, "The CIA may also have some interest in this case."

  The best reply to that was no reply, and I said, "There's a guy you need to locate. His name is Elwood Wiggins, a.k.a. Chip Wiggins. He was one of the pilots on the Libyan air raid back in eighty-six, and he was on Khalil's original hit list, but we got to him before Khalil did. Wiggins is in our file. Last known address, Ventura, California. When you locate him, have the local FBI office pay him a visit and tell him the Libyan is back." I added, "Also, he needs protection." Actually, I was certain that by this time what Chip Wiggins needed was an undertaker. I said to Walsh, "But we may be too late for that."

  Walsh staye
d silent for a moment, then said, "All right. I'll let you get back to Kate--"

  "She's still in surgery."

  "And if you feel you need to take leave time to be with Kate--"

  "I will, after we find Khalil." On that subject, I said to him, "I assume I am the case agent on this investigation."

  There was a silence on the phone, then Walsh said, "Well--"

  "Tom. Don't mess with me."

  "Excuse me, Detective. I believe I am still in charge of this Task Force."

  "And I believe I should be the CA."

  He replied, "The thing is, John, if Kate... takes a turn for the worse, or whatever, then you will want some time off, and I need to assign this case to someone who can stay with it."

  "I will stay with it. I am very motivated."

  "Yes, but you don't know how you'll feel if Kate--Look, to be quite honest, you may be too emotionally involved to... use good judgment in dealing with the Muslim community."

  I thought he was going to mention Big Bird's assault on me, but he didn't, so I assured him, "I have very good relations with the Muslim community in New York." That was actually true, though I had perhaps gotten a little rough with a few of them, but that was immediately post-9/11. I've been a lot nicer in the last year or so. Well... unless you count Big Bird. But he wasn't a U.S. citizen.

  Tom Walsh said to me, "John, I will promise you this--you will be assigned to the case, but I can't promise you that you will be the lead case agent. I'll think about that. Meanwhile, George Foster will lead the FBI end, and you work well with him." He added, "End of subject."

  No use arguing and pissing him off, so I said, "All right."

  "Good. Meanwhile, I'll speak to Captain Paresi and have him call you." He let me know, "I've asked the hospital to keep me updated. My prayers are with Kate."

  "Thank you."

  "One more thing. If the State Police apprehend him, and if we don't have any agents there yet, please don't speak to the suspect or do anything that might compromise our case against him."

  "Why would I do that, Tom?"

  "And keep in mind, John, that Khalil may have a wealth of information that we can coerce out of him."

  "I won't kill him."

  He didn't respond to that directly and said, "I know you're angry, but don't get yourself in a bad situation." He reminded me, "We don't do revenge--we do justice."

  Is there a difference? I replied, "Right."

  We hung up, and I walked back to the waiting room. I went to the window and looked out at the countryside and the mountains. The sun was still high above the distant peaks in a blue, cloudless sky. The morning of September 11, 2001, had been a perfect day, like this.

  Kate and I had arrived separately at the North Tower, and we each thought the other was inside the building, so when it collapsed, I thought she was dead, and she thought I was dead. That day changed our lives, but it didn't change our careers.

  I kept staring out the sunlit window. It was a beautiful world, and ninety-five percent of the people in it were beautiful. I, unfortunately, have spent most of my life with the other five percent, trying to whittle them down to about four percent.

  I had mostly gotten over the serve-and-protect thing years ago, and what motivated me for most of my police career was my own ego--I was smarter than any killer who had the audacity to murder someone on John Corey's beat. Then came the Anti-Terrorist Task Force, and I got a little patriotic buzz going, especially after 9/11.

  And now it all came down to personal revenge and me asking God to help me kill Asad Khalil. And I was sure that Khalil was right now asking God for the same favor.

  Only one of us was going to have his prayers answered.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  I stood in the empty waiting room, watching the clock on the wall. It had been over an hour since Kate was wheeled into surgery, and I was beginning to think that this might be a good sign. How long does it take to bleed to death? Not very long. How long does it take to repair a severed artery? Maybe two hours.

  My phone rang, and I saw that it was the cell phone of Captain Vince Paresi.

  I answered, "Corey."

  "John, how is she?"

  "Still in surgery."

  "Mother of God... I can't believe this. How are you doing?"

  "Okay."

  He said, "I've been working the phones since I heard from Janet." He assured me, "We're gonna get this scumbag, John."

  I allowed myself a small smile at the familiar NYPD profanity. Paresi and I had some issues, but we came from the same mean streets, and we knew a scumbag when we saw one.

  Paresi got to the business at hand and said, "I listened to your report, and I spoke to Walsh a few times." He assured me, "I think Walsh and I are on the same page with this."

  "That's good." Captain Paresi was in command of the NYPD detectives assigned to the Task Force, and he was my immediate supervisor, while Tom Walsh was Kate's boss and also the FBI Special Agent in Charge of the whole show. That said, I called the Special Agent in Charge "Tom," and I called Paresi "Captain."

  Paresi continued, "Tom told me about Kate's cell phone and that some of our texts might have been read by Khalil."

  "Right." I asked, "What did you send out?"

  "Well... I text messaged every detective on the Task Force to report for duty and to immediately begin surveillance on the usual locations where Islamic radicals are known to meet and congregate, including mosques, hookah bars, social clubs, and so forth, with special emphasis on the Libyan community."

  "Okay. And that only went to the detectives?"

  "Right. So Khalil didn't see that on Kate's phone."

  "Good. No use sharing everything with the suspect."

  "Right." He continued, "We're waiting for the go-ahead to pull in the usual suspects for questioning, and we'll be contacting our sources inside the Muslim community."

  Captain Paresi went through the standard response drill. I knew all this, of course, but Paresi wanted me to hear it from his mouth.

  Terrorism aside, an FBI agent had been attacked, and she was married to a retired cop. That made a subtle difference in the police response. Sometimes not so subtle--as when some uncooperative people got lumped up.

  Paresi asked me for some suggestions based on my past encounter with Asad Khalil, and he also asked me what the ATTF knew about Khalil and who he should speak to.

  Well, he'd already spoken to Tom Walsh, who apparently had not been helpful or who didn't know too much himself. I had to think about what I could tell Paresi, and what was still classified or on a need-to-know basis.

  The file on Khalil had never been closed, of course, and after he had disappeared three years ago, the then Special Agent in Charge of the Task Force, Jack Koenig, had formed a special team consisting of Kate, me, George Foster, and our only Arab-American on the Task Force, Gabriel Haytham, an NYPD detective. The purpose of this team was to follow every lead and tip that had to do with Asad Khalil. Koenig had given us the not very clever code name of Lion Hunters, and we were to report directly to him.

  Well, Jack Koenig was dead, as was Captain Paresi's predecessor, David Stein, both killed in the collapse of the North Tower, and over the years the leads and tips from domestic sources and various foreign intelligence agencies and from INTERPOL had gone from a trickle to a dry hole. One theory was that Asad Khalil had met his end in some unknown and unpublicized way--perhaps as a jihadist fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan or elsewhere. We'd also sent word to Guantanamo to see if he'd washed up there, but he hadn't. Another theory suggested that Libyan Intelligence had terminated Khalil for some reason, possibly because he was more of a liability than an asset. My own theory was that Khalil was teaching a course in cultural diversity at Columbia University.

  In any case, neither I nor Kate ever believed that Khalil's silence meant he was dead or retired. Unfortunately, we were right.

  I said to Paresi, "Regarding what we know... the ATTF file on this guy is pretty thin, but you can ac
cess it when you get to your computer."

  "That's what Walsh said."

  "There is another computer file that contains a complete report on what happened three years ago. That file, however, is highly classified and on a need-to-know basis, and only Washington can give you access, and they probably won't."

  "Right. Why should they share information with the people who are looking for this guy?"

  In truth, there is more information sharing since 9/11, but old habits die hard, and when the CIA is involved, you're lucky if they tell you who you're supposed to be looking for, and anything you give to them gets stamped Top Secret and you can't get it back.

  I informed Paresi, "Three years ago, Koenig and Stein assigned me, Kate, George Foster, and Gabe Haytham to stay with this case. No one ever cancelled that assignment, and we have a paper folder on Khalil, and Gabe can give it to you." I explained, "The last time Asad Khalil was here, he was working for Libyan Intelligence, and his contacts here were all Libyans. Our folder contains the names, addresses, photos, and particulars of Libyans living in the New York metro area who we've spoken to over the years. That's a good starting point for surveillance." I added, "As for invitations to come in for a talk, I don't think we want to tip off the Libyan community that we're looking for Asad Khalil." I suggested, "Let's hold off on that. We'll just watch them for now and also see if anyone comes to us."

  "I'll run that by Walsh, and I'll ask Gabe for the folder." He said, "I assume Walsh has a copy of this folder."

  I didn't reply, which means no.

  Captain Paresi asked me a few more questions about what happened three years ago, and while I was answering, another thought popped into my head, which I should have had much earlier, but... well... I asked Paresi, "Has anyone called or heard from Gabe Haytham?"

  "I don't know. Why do you ask?"

  I replied, "The question is, Does Asad Khalil know of the existence of Gabriel Haytham, Arab-American, on the Anti-Terrorist Task Force? If so, Gabe may be targeted by Khalil, who would consider him to be a traitor."