The American Terrorist: The Revenge Continues

  Chapter Six

  FBI Director Sam Collins believed the attacks in Cummings may be the work of Douglas Cotton. He knew the truth and knew that he wasn't dead. Even though the attack was a little different in the type of material used, it sounded and looked like something he would do. Sam got in touch with Terry and Krista and immediately sent them to Cummings, Georgia to follow up on the attack.

  When Terry and Krista got to Cummings the next day, they began investigating the scene of the attack and all the evidence. The local police had already found the detonator box and the empty bullet cartridges in the tree line. They collected the evidence and had it ready to turn over to the FBI agents by the time they got there. Terry and Krista sent everything to the FBI National Crime Center where it had to be dusted for fingerprints to see if they had a match in the computer finger print database. Sam told them to stay in Cummings until they could see if the fingerprints were a match for Doug's. He put a rush on the fingerprints to that department so they wouldn't have to wait very long. He told Terry and Krista to start asking around in Fish Camp and the rest of the town to see if anyone had seen or heard anything that seemed suspicious. He also wanted to know who the person in the Limo was and why he'd been targeted during the attack. The attack fit Doug's M.O. accept for the two men they retrieved from the river. They looked like they had been killed with a bow and arrow of some type. He said, "If it was Doug, I believe he's still in the area and hiding out there somewhere."

  Upon further investigation into the case, Terry and Krista found out the person in the Limo was believed to be Basir Akim Baltilido. He was an American born Syrian and a suspected radical Islamic sympathizer who had once been accused of funneling money to al-Quada to fight the Americans in Afghanistan. Charges had been dropped due to lack of evidence, but he was on the FBI’s list of most wanted suspected radical terrorists in America. When Sam found out about Baltilido, he was convinced Doug had also found out about him being involved in the illegal terrorist activity and decided to blow him up.

  Terry and Krista spent several days staying at a local hotel and going back and forth to Fish Camp. They were trying to find out anything they could to try and tie something to the death of Baltilido. No matter how hard they tried to get answers, no one at the camp would give them any information regarding the men that were killed. During their investigations the FBI found out that Doug’s fingerprints were all over the detonator box and the empty shell cartridges. Sam immediately contacted them and told them that it was Doug that had carried out the attack. Now that he had proof he was the one that blew up the vehicles, he was going to send down a team to help Terry and Krista try and find him.

  When the team arrived they brought with them a few photos of Doug before he started killing people. His hair was short and he was clean cut looking and wasn't supporting the long hair and straggly beard that he now had. The team gave them to Terry and Krista to show around town. Once they had them, they started going to the hotels and restaurants showing them around to see if anyone in town had seen anyone that resembled the pictures. After a few days of going from place to place they weren't having any luck.

  On the third day Terry and Krista ended up at the local restaurant that Doug liked to go to. JoAnne was working the day they went in and ordered a cup of coffee. Once they were comfortable talking with her, they told her they were with the FBI and looking for an older gentleman. They told her they were investigating the attack that had taken place recently on Old Creek Road. Krista pulled out Doug’s pictures and threw a couple of them on the table and asked, "Do you think you may have seen this man recently in the restaurant or anywhere around town?"

  JoAnne picked up one of the pictures and studied it very carefully for a minute. When through, she grabbed the other one and looked it over. She handed them back to Krista, “That looks a lot like my friend Blake Swanson that rents my uncles old house out in the woods near Fish Camp. The eyes and mouth look the same to me. He keeps to himself most of the time, but he’s a really nice guy. He’s been coming in here for about a year and a half and everyone here really likes him.

  I was even trying to date him, but his wife died of cancer a few years ago and he still hasn't gotten over it." Terry and Krista each looked at each other and wondered if it may be Doug because they knew the story about his wife dying of cancer. JoAnne continued, "He told me that he hasn’t gotten over her death yet so he wouldn’t date me.” She shrugged her shoulders, “What's a girl gonna do, you can’t win em all.” Terry said, “Are you sure your friend Blake looks like the guy in these pictures? JoAnne replied, “Yeah, I think so. They look a lot like him to me. What do you want with him, what do you think he's done?” Terry was excited to hear the news that it could possibly be Doug, but he calmly said, “We just want to talk to him and ask him a few questions, that’s all. Can you tell us how to get to his place? JoAnne said, “Sure, go up Old Creek Road, like you’re going to Fish Camp." She stopped talking for a second and pointed at the dirt road leading out of town. "Take that dirt road and about a mile before you get to the entrance of the camp there’s another little dirt road that goes back toward the river. You have to keep a careful eye open for it, because its surrounded on both sides with bushes and trees and you could miss it. He lives in the old house close to the river. I think it's the only house in that area.”

  Terry thanked JoAnne for her information, “This is confidential information and we’d appreciate it if you kept our conversation to yourself. Don't tell anyone what you've told us. Most importantly, don't let Blake know that we want to talk to him.” JoAnne looked a little puzzled as she replied, “Okay, that’s not a problem. If that’s what you want me to do then that’s what I’ll do.” Before they left, Terry and Krista paid for their coffee and thanked JoAnne again for her help.

  Once they were outside the restaurant, where no one could see them, Terry and Krista high-fived each other. Terry said, “We have to call Sam and let him know that we finally have a good solid lead on Douglas Cotton.” “I'll call Sam and put him on the speaker phone so we can both talk to him.” When they were able to get Sam on the phone they told him what JoAnne had told them about her friend Blake Swanson and that they had found out where he lived. Terry was excited as he said, “There’s a real possibility this could be our man, boss.” Terry could hear the excitement in Sam’s voice, “Do you really think it could be him?” Krista spoke up, “We think there might be a strong possibility that it's him. It came from a very reliable source, a waitress that wanted to date him.” Sam said, “Oh! That's good news! We may have just gotten lucky! “You’ll have to go by his house and check it out and see if it's really him. If it's him, get the team together so you can help you take him into custody.” Terry told Sam, “It might take a few days for us to get close enough to him without spooking him to identify him. He's in a very secluded little house in the woods. It's on a little dirt road and there's only one way in and one way out.” Sam said, “Do whatever you have to do, just be careful. We’ve waited a long time to catch this guy. This is the first real lead we’ve had on his whereabouts. Don't get too close to him, this guy is used to blowing up things and people. I don't want him blowing you guys up just because he can.” Terry told Sam they would be careful when they went to his place and did some snooping around.

  Usually when Doug's type of suspect is apprehended it’s a joint effort with the local law enforcement, the FBI and other intelligence agencies. Sam told Terry and Krista that if it got to the point where they positively identified him and they could capture him, he didn’t want any other law enforcement agencies to be involved in Doug’s capture. He also instructed them to make sure they captured him alive. Sam said, "If we get him in custody, I want the two of you to bring him directly to the FBI headquarters at the J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington D.C. I want to talk to this guy face to face and see what makes him tick. I want to be involved in his interro
gation." Before they hung up the phone with each other, Terry told Sam they’d keep in touch to let him know how things were going.

  Doug was keeping a low profile after his attack on the Fish Camp Terrorists. He wasn't leaving the house, accept at night. He knew he should’ve thought about what he was going to do to the two guards with the dog and the Finance Minister before he just reacted and killed all of them. He couldn’t help himself, his anger for the terrorist had taken over his rational thinking and he just reacted with his emotions and not his head. Once he found out they were planning an attack on New York, he didn't want to give them the opportunity to leave the area and carry out their attack.

  Doug knew he had brought a lot of attention to Cummings from all the different law enforcement agencies, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He believed the FBI would be one of the first outside agency on the scene. He also knew they were relentless in their pursuit, once they were after their suspect. He was foolishly hoping things would die down and that everything would go back to normal for him. Little did he know, but his life was soon going to be everything, but normal.

  Terry and Krista staked out Doug’s home for a few days to see if they could get a good look at him. Since he wasn’t leaving the house during the day, they weren't having much luck. On the third day of staking out the place, they were starting to get a little restless. Krista said to Terry, “I have a plan and I want you to listen to me. Why don’t I drive up to his place alone and say I’m lost? I can tell him I’m from Atlanta and looking for my cousin that lives up here somewhere off of Old Creek Road. I can tell him that she had given me directions, but I couldn't find it and got lost.” Terry stopped her in the middle of her conversation and told her that he didn’t like the idea. “Are you crazy? You want to get yourself killed? This guy is a killer. He's killed hundreds of people. He'd kill you at the drop of a hat, if he even had an inkling you were with the FBI. It's risky and besides, what if he gets spooked by something you say and decides to kill you? I wouldn't be able to stop him from doing it. You wouldn’t have any protection out there all alone.” Krista hesitated for a minute and then continued, “I know Terry, but why don’t you sneak along the tree line of the woods and find a place where you can have your rifle aimed at him in case he tries anything crazy with me? You can watch everything as I talk to him. If he did try something, then you could just shoot him.” Terry said, "Sam wants him alive. I can't shoot him." Krista replied, "Just shoot him in the leg, dummy, you don't have to kill him."

  Terry thought about their surveillance for a few minutes and he knew they weren’t getting anywhere the way they’d been going about it. Even though he didn’t like Krista’s plan, at least it was something different they could try. “Okay, we can try it your way, we have to try something because what we're doing now isn't working. The way things are going we could be out here for a month, before we even get a glimpse of this guy. He only seems to be coming out at night and there's no way to identify him in the dark. If we do this, don’t take any unnecessary chances and don’t try to arrest him or do anything stupid like that. Right now we just want to get a positive I.D. on him and that's all. If it looks like he's getting spooked in any way, get out of there as fast as you can.” Krista smiled, “You don’t have to worry about that. I won’t be sticking around to get his autograph if he gets squirrely with me.”

  Terry said, “If we're going to do this then let’s wait until just before dark. That way I can hide in the cover of the trees and the darkness as I make my way close to the house. When I leave here, give me about 30 minutes to get in position, before you drive up and knock on his door.” Krista replied, “Okay, that sounds good. I’ll be there exactly thirty minutes after you leave.” Terry checked to make sure he had a bullet in the chamber and a full magazine stuck in the rifle, “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s do this.” Before Terry took off into the woods Krista said, “Wish me luck.” Terry replied, “Yea, good luck to both of us. I hope I don't get bit by a rattle snake, copper head or some other poisonous snake, traipsing around through these woods. I know I'm going to pick up a few ticks out there. They just love us city guys. I also hope Doug doesn't spoil our plan and kill us both.” Krista laughed, “Relax Terry, we’ll be fine. Just come back safe, okay.” Terry gave her a thumbs up and headed for the tree line.

  Terry worked his way through the brush and trees and had been in position for only a few minutes when Krista came driving up the dirt road and parked out in front of the house. She got out of her car and made her way to the front porch. She carefully went up to the front door and knocked loudly three times with her knuckles. Doug instantly threw open the door and was standing right in front of her. He’d heard her drive up and watched her from a corner of a window as she got out of her car and approached the house. Krista stood there looking Doug square in the eyes for a split second. She instantly knew it was Douglas Cotton, but she kept her cool.

  From the look on his face, Krista could tell he wondered what she was doing knocking on his front door. She immediately composed herself and began to smile and act friendly as she said, “Hi, I’m Kari and I’m lost. I was wondering if you could help me find someone.” Doug didn't say anything as he stepped out onto the front porch toward her. He reached back with his right hand and closed the door behind him.

  He stared intently at Krista for a brief moment as she spoke up again and said, “My cousin, Carla, said she lived somewhere up here. She gave me directions to her place but I lost them. I’m from Atlanta and I can’t find her place for the life of me. She told me she lived somewhere off of Old Creek Road up toward a Muslim camp. I’ve driven all over these hills looking for her house and I still can’t find it. I know it has to be around here someplace.”

  Doug knew something was fishy with her story right away because he knew there weren't any other houses on Old Creek Road. He broke his silence and slowly said, “What makes you think she lives around these parts, Sweetheart?” Krista replied, I stopped in town and they told me that Old Creek Road was up this way so I got on it and I’ve been lost ever since.” Doug smiled, “There’s nothing up this way accept for me and the Muslim Camp that’s about a mile on up the road.” Krista replied, “I know, I drove up to the guard building, but they weren’t very friendly and they weren't any help to me at all.” He lightly chuckled when she said that. He studied her for a moment and thought he might find out just how serious she was about finding her cousin when he said, “Do you want to come inside and give her a call?” Krista smiled, “That’s part of my problem, she doesn’t have a phone and I can’t call her.” Doug knew that was suspicious because almost everyone has a cell phone nowadays. He knew she was lying. He cocked his head back and raised his eyebrows, “Yeah, that would be a problem all right.”

  Doug knew she had something up her sleeve but he just wasn't sure what. She was driving a law enforcement type vehicle and she didn’t talk like she had a southern accent. He knew she wasn’t from around those parts. He told her, “Sweetheart, you’d be better off to go back into town and ask around some more and see if anyone knows your cousin or where she lives, because I can’t help you." He thought he would rattle her cage a little, "I don’t know of anyone that lives out here because I'm the only house up this way. You sure you have the right road?” Krista instantly realized that she'd made a miscalculation in not finding that out before she came up with her plan. She was feeling a little vulnerable so she quickly replied, “I thought so, but maybe I got it wrong. I think your right, I should just head back to town and start over. I guess that would be my best bet.” She thanked him for his help and immediately turned and started to walk back to her car. She was hoping that Doug wasn't going to follow her. When she was about half way there Doug yelled to her from the porch, “Hey, be careful out here in these woods at night. A girl like you could get hurt running around all alone.” She looked back at him over her shoulder
and she waved back to him. She quickly got in her car and headed out.

  Terry had been watching from the woods and had his rifle aimed at Doug, just in case something went wrong. Once Krista was back in her car and Doug had gone inside, Terry started hiking back to meet up with her. Once they were back in the car together, he couldn't wait to ask her, “Well, what do you think! Is that him? Is that Douglas Cotton? Krista was smiling, “Yes, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that’s him. We've got him Terry. All we have to do now is figure out how to get him into custody.” Terry hit the steering wheel with the palm of both hands and said, “Alright, alright! We got you sucker!”

  Once they were sure they had positive I.D. on Doug, they called Sam to let him know they had identified him. Sam was very excited to get the news and he asked them how they knew it was him for sure. Terry spoke up, “You don’t really want to know, boss. We'll have to tell you about it later.” Sam replied, "Okay, well, tell me about it when you get back. What’s your plan to capture him?” Terry said, “We’re leaving that all up to you, boss. We don't want to screw this up so you tell us what you want us to do.” Sam said, “I’ll get the task force team assembled to help you get him. We don’t want to take any chances in letting him slip away. I'll have the team meet you at your hotel tomorrow around four in the afternoon.” Terry replied, “We’ll keep an eye on his place until then to make sure he doesn’t get away from us."

  Once Doug closed the door and went back inside the house, he knew he had been caught. He knew the young woman was some type of law enforcement agent, probably the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security or from some other intelligence agency. Her story was so phony it was laughable. It didn't fit why she was really there. She was dressed different than the women from Georgia, she didn’t have an accent and the cousin story on a road where there weren’t any other houses, just didn’t add up. He figured the law enforcement agencies already had his house surrounded or it soon would be. He believed it was just a matter of time before they would have him captured.

  He sat down at the table and started to contemplate his different options. He thought that maybe he could sneak out of the house and make a run for it during the middle of the night. Once he reached the river he could climb in the water and have the current carry him miles from the house before he got out and escaped. Maybe he could get in his car and try to ditch them on one of the little country roads. Maybe he could go to Fish Camp and blend in with the rest of the Muslim men and pretend to be a Muslim. He also thought that maybe he could just kill himself before they got there. He didn't like the last option because he'd already decided that if he was going to kill himself, he wanted to take a few terrorist with him. None of the different options really appealed to him. After thinking about it for most of the night and not getting the anticipated knock on the door, he made up his mind that he didn't want to keep running from the FBI. He decided that if that young girl was the law he would just wait for them to come and get him. He resolved himself to the fact that he was ready to accept whatever fate they had in store for him.

  It was late the next day when it happened just like Doug had anticipated. It was just getting dark and the FBI agents had his house completely surrounded. Before they got there he'd wiped everything clean from his computer and was sitting at the table having a glass of wine when they knocked on his door. They knocked several times and said they were the FBI, but he just sat there and wouldn't answer the door. He waited until they broke down the door, he had his hands raised in the air as they came in with their guns drawn and ready to shoot him. They quickly threw him on the floor, face down, handcuffed him and shackled his feet. As he lay on the floor, one of the agents read him his Miranda rights and asked him if he understood them. He told them that he did understand them and asked if they would let him sit up. They just ignored his request.

  Shortly thereafter, two agents whisked him up and took him out and threw him in the back seat of Terry and Krista’s car. Krista was in the driver's seat and when Doug saw her he smiled as he said, “Hey sweetheart, I knew you were the law. I’ve been waiting for you to come and get me. You know, I let you capture me, I could've gotten away, but I’m tired of being a wanted man and I didn't have any place else I could go.” Krista didn’t say anything to him as she started up the car.

  Terry was giving the other FBI agents final instructions on what to do to secure Doug’s house before they left. Just before he got in the back seat with Doug, he told the other agents, “This guy is top secret, Sam doesn’t want the news agencies or any other law enforcement agencies around here to know we have him in custody. We have to keep his arrest to ourselves, that’s the way the boss wants it.” The other agents all agreed to keep their mouths shut. Once inside the car, Terry, Krista and Doug headed for Washington to meet up with Sam.

  They had a long ride back to Headquarters so after a few hours Terry and Krista started to get to know Doug and asking him questions about why he'd starting blowing people up in the first place. They knew that he was a retired doctor and had a few million dollars in retirement savings before he started killing people. He told them a little about Shirley dying of cancer and his daughter and son in-law being killed in a car accident, but most of his conversation was about his grandson, Michael. He told them how he and Shirley had raised him from just a little boy and how he was not only his grandson, but his best friend. He told them what a nice boy he was growing up and how respectful he was to adults and authority. He told them Michael would do whatever he was told, without fighting or arguing about it and that was a rarity in today's world.

  He told them the one thing that was always tough for him was how Michael had made up his mind that he was going to join the military after he saw the 9/11 terrorist’s attacks of the Pentagon and the Twin Towers on television. Doug had tears in his eyes as he said, “He was only around eleven or twelve years old at the time and it hurt him deeply that so many Americans lost their lives on that day. He wanted to do something to prevent that from ever happening in America again. There was nothing Shirley and I could say or do that would stop him from wanting to join the Army as soon as he graduated from high school. We had money for him to go to any college he wanted, but he'd made up his mind what he wanted. He was a great guy and I miss him every day that I’m alive. His death, at the hands of the terrorists in Afghanistan, is the reason I’ve hunted down the terrorist cells in America and blown them up. It’s why I’ve also killed a lot of the terrorist sympathizers during my attacks. I hope both of you understand, when I say this to you, I don’t really care what you do to me, because I’m already dead inside.”

  During their trip back to Headquarters Terry and Krista were starting to have a clearer picture of exactly why Doug had become the "American Terrorist." They now had gotten an entirely different perspective on him. They had started to feel a lot of compassion for him once they got to know him. They may not have agreed with the way he went about killing the terrorists, but they understood why he did what he had done.

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