Terror Royal -- Part 2

Suvarnabhumi – 10 am

Nick Harding watched the latest arrivals file past the one-way window as they approached the immigration hall: Tired travelers from many countries filed past. Nick watched them all, mentally comparing them to the photos he had studied for hours.

At last, he spotted Ali Ibn Khaldun, the last of the terrorists to arrive in Bangkok. He spoke to the senior Immigration officer standing behind him.

“Khun nee pen Ali Ibn Khaldun.” He said pointing to the terrorist who had just walked past. The officer left the room and hurried out to the immigration hall. He walked past his officers and saw Ali in row three. He walked on a little way and then returned to stand behind the immigration officer on row three.

He looked at the row or people lining up to have their passports stamped. He leaned down to the immigration officer and told him to report to the office after Ali had been processed. Then the officer walked back to where Nick was waiting.

“Yes, sir. That is Ali Ibn Khaldun. My officer will tell us the name he is traveling under as soon as he has processed him.”

As they waited, the officer called two of his men and told them to watch Ali. They were not to let him leave the arrivals hall.

The officer left his desk and walked into the senior officer’s office after Ali had passed through to the Customs hall.

“Sawadee krup.” He said as he wai’d the senior officer.

“Khun nee chai sheu aria?” the officer asked brusquely what name Ali was using on his passport.

“Aadil Ibn Qadi, krup.”

Nick nodded. “Tell your men to let him go. We will take over from here.”

He thanked the officer for his help and left. He talked into his mobile phone for a moment as he walked to the exit area. As he arrived outside a Toyota Innova taxi with tinted windows pulled up to the kerb. Nick got in the back seat and waited. They didn’t have long. Ali walked out with just a sports bag slung over his shoulder. A man Nick had not seen before met Ali. He looked almost Western; probably a Circassian Nick thought to himself.

The two men embraced and then walked to a car parked ahead of Nick. They got in and drove off. Nick’s driver followed at a short distance. It was unlikely they would be spotted following their quarry. Bangkok is full of taxis any time of the day or night.

*******************

Both cars followed the highway up to Rama 9 Road and turned right at Rachadapisek Road. Ali’s car turned into a small lane just past Robinson department store and made its way through the narrow soi to a small serviced apartment on the right. There was nowhere to park, so Nick told the driver to stop about twenty meters up the road. He took off his jacket and shirt, leaving a t-shirt on. Mussing his hair, he looked like one of the dozens of poorer travelers who frequented this area.

He got out of the car and walked slowly back to the serviced apartment. Nick chuckled to himself. Calling the place a serviced apartment was a disservice to the plush apartments in the upmarket areas of Bangkok. This seedy building offered a small room with a bathroom, wheezing airconditioning, or just a fan, and nothing else. The only service consisted of a bed sheet change once a week.

Nick walked in through the front door. He passed a small Internet area with five machines on the left. A couple of tables on the right were there for anyone hungry enough to chance the menu. One of Nick’s men was sitting at a computer. He spent most of his time using the Internet so that he could watch the comings and goings of the guests. When he wasn’t there, he was in his room on the second floor where the rest of the terrorists were staying.

As Nick passed through the second door into the reception area he was greeted with a smile from one of the receptionists. He approached the front desk and asked in Thai if they had any rooms available.

The girl replied that unfortunately the guest standing next to Nick had just taken the last room. Nick nodded and looked at the room number as the other receptionist handed the room key to Ali.

The whole team was finally assembled here. The others had arrived over the last four days. It was time to ramp up the surveillance. Nick wasn’t going to let this terrorist attack happen.

*******************

As Nick walked into the ops room at the US Embassy, he could hear his boss Roger Thornhill on the phone telling someone to go back and check again.

“What was that about?” Nick asked when Roger hung up.

“I was talking to Bob O’Reilly in Islamabad. He told me they haven’t been able to track down where Ali and his boys have been for the last two weeks. Bob said they had followed the trail to Singapore, where Ali’s team split up. We know that they have all flown in from different countries, but we still don’t know why it took them so long to get here.”

“Maybe he’s looking in the wrong places. Let me see what I can do Roger.”

Roger shrugged. “Why not? You have always thought outside the box. Give it a try and let me know what you learn.”

Nick walked into his office and sat at his computer. He started checking passenger manifests for all flights out of Singapore on the day Ali and his team landed. It was hard work, but Nick worked steadily. He was a master at seeing patterns where no one else could.

A few hours later he walked into Roger’s office. “I think I know where they have been.”

“Give.”

“I checked hotel check-ins on the day they arrived in Singapore. They all split up to different hotels. Ali stayed at the Royal Hotel on Orchard Road. The rest of the team stayed at two or three star hotels scattered around the city. Every hotel guest has to be registered with the local police, who then send the information to the central registry database. From that it was easy to track them to the flights they took to Syria.”

Roger lifted an eyebrow. “Syria? Go on.”

They all ended up at the Madrasa Halawiya mosque in Aleppo. One of our agents filed a report of unusual activity there. Did you know that it contains a tomb associated with Zachary, father of John the Baptist?”

“Really?” he said dryly. “Go on.”

“Well, this mosque is suspected to be an important part of the al-Qaeda network. From what I could gather, they spent some time there in meetings with senior al-Qaeda operatives. Then they started leaving one at a time to various cities in Asia. And then they flew in separately to Bangkok.”

“Your conclusions?”

“I think they are waiting to pick up the equipment they need for their operation and scouting the target. My men are watching them closely.”

“Orders have just come in from the boss. We are to watch and wait. If it looks like they are ready to make their move we have been ordered to eliminate them.”

“That won’t sit well with our Thai hosts.”

“That’s too bad, I’m afraid. These men are too dangerous to allow them to get away from us. And if the Thais find out who their target is they will try to do the job for us. That could compromise the whole operation.”

Nick looked at Roger for a minute, shrugged, and got up to leave. Roger said just before he got to the door.

“Nick, we have to find out who their target is.”

“Understood, Roger. We’ll find out soon enough.”

*******************

Ali was bored. Ahmed wouldn’t let them go anywhere in this wonderful city he had heard so much about. He wanted to go and see for himself if what he had heard was true. He wanted to visit the bars, watch the girls, have a drink. He’d never even had an alcoholic drink in his life before. He felt he should be able to do at least that before he died.

He took the lift down stairs and sat in the Internet cafe. A waitress came and asked him in English if he wanted something.

“Coffee. Bring me a coffee.”
 
She nodded and scurried off. When she got to the kitchen she pulled out her mobile phone and called her minder, Group Captain Somphob.

“One of the terrorists has come downstairs. He’s sitting in the internet cafe.”

There was a click and she put the phone back in her pocket. She took her time making the coffee. Just as she was about to deliver it, Somphob and two Thai security men walked in the front door. They grabbed hold of Ali in a smooth motion, gagged him, and dragged him out to the car waiting outside. They bundled him in and drove off as fast as they could.

*******************

Nick clicked off his mobile phone and walked quickly into Roger’s office. “Someone just snatched Ali from the hotel. One of my men is following on his motorbike now. They appear to be heading to ISOC headquarters. It looks like our operation is blown.”

“I doubt it Nick, or the Internal Security Operations Command would have been on my back already. It looks like they have been watching for terrorists as well. It’s time for me to go and have a talk with Group Captain Somphob Klaengworn.”

*******************

They removed the blindfold from Ali’s head. He looked around, fear showing in the whites of his eyes. Ahmed would be furious when he found out he’d been snatched. He was more afraid of Ahmed than of the little Thai men clustered around him. One leaned forward and asked in passable English.

“Are you Ali Ibn Khaldun?”

Ali was shocked. How did they know his name? He decided to brazen it out. He shook his head.

The back of his head exploded as someone hit him with something hard but yielding. He shook his head to clear the stars before his eyes.

The man asked him again. And again Ali shook his head, with the same result.

This time, the man leaned forward and looked into his eyes. “We know who you are Ali. Please don’t lie to us. You will only suffer needless pain. Tell me the truth and you will be spared.”

Ali shook his head, trying to see clearly. The man took it for another denial and nodded his head. The man behind Ali hit him again. Ali screamed.

The man in front of him leaned forward again. Ali groaned. “Tell me your name. Are you Ali Ibn Khaldun?”

Ali nodded.

“Ah. Now we are getting somewhere. Why are you here in Bangkok?”

Ali said, “I am a simple tourist.”

Again, his head and his right ear exploded in pain. Ali screamed.

“Why are you here in Bangkok?” the voice was rougher, more insistent.

“I came with my friends.”

“Are your friends all staying at the same hotel as you?”

Ali nodded.

“And are they here to tour Thailand too?”

Ali nodded, and then stopped. He shook his head. “No, no, they are here on gem trading business.”

This time his shoulder at the base of his neck exploded into savage pain.

The grilling continued. Each time his torturer chose a new place to inflict exquisite pain. But Ali did not reveal anything else. He just kept on insisting they were in Thailand to do some gem trading.

Group Captain Somphob’s mobile phone rang. He answered. After a quick conversation he hung up and told his men to take Ali to a holding cell for a while. They dragged him away as Somphob went up to his office.

*******************

Ahmed called Ali on the house phone to invite him to go downstairs with them for dinner in the small restaurant. The phone rang in his room but there was no answer. He hung up and tried again. Maybe he had called the wrong room number. But still he got no answer.

Worried, he went down the hall and banged on Ali’s door. Mousuf stuck his head out of his door to see what the noise was.

“Get back into your room and don’t move until I tell you to.” Ahmed yelled. Mousuf pulled his head in and slammed the door shut.

Ahmed raced down the stairs to the ground floor, hoping that Ali had just gone down to the restaurant instead of waiting for the team. But when Ahmed looked in the restaurant it was empty. Only the pretty waitress was there. She smiled. He scowled back.

Ahmed went up to the front desk to ask if they had seen Ali go outside. The two girls just looked at him, smiled, and shook their heads.

These people! He thought to himself. All they do is smile and they don’t know anything. Ahmed went out to the Internet cafe, but Ali was not there either. He stood there a moment wondering what to do. Then he saw the convenience store opposite. He went over there and looked around. No sign of Ali there either.

He returned to the hotel and went back upstairs, trying to appear calm. But he was seriously worried. If Ali had disappeared, where had he gone?

*******************

Roger was ushered into Somphob’s office. He took a seat after shaking hands with the Thai spymaster.

“Welcome to see me Mister Roger. What can I do for you?”

“It seems we are both working on the same problem, so I thought I had better come and discuss it so that we can cooperate.”

“What problem are we talking about, Mister Roger?”

“Ali Ibn Khaldun?”

“Ah, that problem. Yes, is very unfortunate. We let he into Thailand before we know who he is.”

“And do you know about the other men who are here with him?”

“Other men, Mister Roger? Please to tell me.”

Roger told Somphob about the plot to kill one of the Royal family. Somphob was shocked. The King and the royal family are revered in Thailand. Any attempt to assassinate one of them would be a major disaster.

“Mister Roger, I am very happy you come see me about this now. My people only know Ali, because he come here before make trouble down south. We think he come back go to south again. But you say he part of big conspiracy, we must arrest the other men immediately.”

Roger disagreed. “Somphob, I think it would be better for us to keep an eye on Ahmed and his team so that we can pick up the other people in the conspiracy too.”

Somphob thought for a moment and then nodded. “But what we do now with Ali?”

“Has he revealed anything about his purpose for being here yet?”

“No, he tell us he come as tourism, and then for make gems business. He is in holding cell now waiting for me to finish meeting with you.”

“Then I suggest you let him go. Tell him that as he has done nothing wrong this time you are letting him go. And tell him that as long as he does not go down south he is welcome to stay.”

“Okay, I will do that. Then we watch, hey?”

“Yes. I suggest you put your men in and around the hotel, because they fit in better. My men will form an outer circle of watchers. When any of them leave the hotel we will follow them, while you continue watching the hotel. They must not be out of our sight for one minute.”

“No problem Mr Roger. My men very good watch all the time.”

He handed over a folder. “This is the information you will need to keep track of these people. Copy the pictures of each terrorist and make sure your men know who to look for. Thank you for your cooperation Somphob.”

“No, no, thank you. You make very good cooperations. We catch these terrorists for sure. Everyone happy, yes?”

Roger smiled, got up and shook hands with his Thai counterpart. He hurried back to the embassy to change the surveillance arrangements.

*******************

Ahmed called his controller in Bangkok.

“Rashid, we have a big problem. Ali has disappeared. We cannot go ahead with the business now.”

Rashid Mehdi was a southern born Thai. He had gone to university at Medina, where he had been recruited into al-Queda. After extensive training, he had returned to south Thailand where he led the insurgency against the Thai government. It was he who had stepped up the bombings and drive-by shootings a few years ago when the Thaksin government took such a hard line against the separatists. Since then, he had been waiting for al-Queda to approve this operation.

He had started by flying to Pakistan where he met with Lieutenant General Nadul Raja of the ISI. Although Raja appeared to be a hard line army man, he was secretly in league with al-Queda. When he heard Rashid’s plan he supported it fully. As he told Rashid one evening after prayers, if the Thailand Muslims were to rise up against the Buddhist oppressors they would ignite a flame that would sweep across many other countries. Raja would use the opportunity to raise a revolt, overthrow the current military regime, and install himself as President instead. Then he would turn Pakistan into a real Islamic state.

Raja would supply all the help Rashid would need. It would be easy enough to set up. There were plenty of Pakistani’s going in and out of Thailand all the time on business or pleasure. Raja would send his agents to deal with Rashid for the explosives and logistics.

Now, thanks to Raja, Rashid was ready to deliver the explosives to Ahmed. But if Ali had blown their cover the whole operation would be finished.