Fueling the Rage Read online

  The East West Fund was registered in Antigua as a Wealth Management Corporation. Antigua had no inheritances tax and no income tax. The island nation did not have enough banking presence to directly receive the deposit of the additional billions into the account. The EWF had been built gradually and the bank prepared for each deposit. The largest deposits had been twenty five million dollars and over time the account had received billions. None of the deposits required the assistance of English or American banks.

  The Antigua bank was not able to pay interest on new funds until they were reinvested into other banks around the world. Up to twenty five million dollars Antigua laws allowed the bank ten days to redeposit, but if deposits were larger amounts, only American and English banks had the resources to take the redeposit, and these transfers were visible. Henry was the only trustee of Ali’s will. His estate was determined to be ten billion dollars by the Iranian government and they took two billion in taxes. With Iranian taxes paid, the free and clear owner of all the known wealth was Henry’s and he knew that there would be an automatic transfer of two billion to Antigua. That transfer of dollars to Antigua was too big and would eventually expose all of the EWF’s American holdings.

  Henry was worried about the bombing that had killed hundreds of Americans in Kansas. Malcolm was surely planning some great battle for his jihad. Henry was sure that when the destruction was over, Malcolm also expected to simply show up in Libya and retire. It could have been possible if Antigua did not file paper work with London and New York banks. Antigua needed to temporarily redeposit excess East West Fund dollars and gradually move them to their secret account. The holding banks are required by law to examine every transaction over $10,000 in the history of the Antigua account. That means they will see every account that removed or added money. They will see Malcolm’s account if any transfer was over $10,000 dollars. America would then review every account that received or deposited funds into Malcolm’s account. If Henry’s guess was correct the process would eventually draw the Americans a total picture of the holdings East West Fund.

  Henry knew that it would take time for this to happen. Most of this work is done by new hires of the SEC, but at some point a red flag would alert the IRS. The IRS would look closer and they would bring in the FBI and Treasury Agents. Those actions would require the US Attorney General to obtain court orders. Then the CIA would kill him. He guessed that he should have at least six months to live. Henry was thinking about Malcolm, who was running the American operations. Maybe I could stop the jihad. I will need to talk to Malcolm, but I know the Internet and my phone calls will be monitored by the NSA. I do have the African bank accounts. All it takes is for me to move from town to town spending all the money I want. I can live in mud huts and have families all over Africa. I would be miserable, but maybe I would live more than six months. I must fly to Tampa, Florida, America.

  Henry was proud of his new Gulf Stream G5. He kept it at his great home in Muzuk, Libya. He had rebuilt the hanger near the home to better service the new plane. He had a ground crew of ten locals trained to maintain the beautiful Jet. There were six retired Libyan Air Force pilots in the village who took turns piloting for him. He even arranged for stewards and cooks to make his trips more pleasurable. On every trip he would take two of the prettiest girls in the town to serve his food and beverages. The villagers all loved being part of the process. Muzuk was the perfect low cost location for the G5. He would arrange a trip to Tampa and pay a surprise visit to Malcolm. He had great confidence that he could stop the jihad. He knew that after all, Malcolm was a reasonable man. At this point in time he did not know Bryan Washington. Malcolm knew Bryan and Malcolm worried about controlling Bryan. Malcolm thought that Bryan Washington was maybe not a reasonable man.

  Malcolm Akiff was closing in on his ultimate battle of jihad. The news of the ayatollah being killed shocked him. The cable news network’s barely mentioned the death. The Internet was a better source for information. He had hired a tutor to teach him Farsi. After six months of lessons he was now able to comfortably read the Iranian blogs. There were rumors that Americans were responsible, but there were few facts to support the theories. He needed two more months to put everything together for the jihad. His biggest worry was the transportation of his new army to Muzuk, Libya. He wished he could get feedback from Henry about the logistics. Malcolm’s plan was being implemented by Bryan to build steel buildings in all of the target cities. They were big enough to hold his ambulances and fire trucks and to secretly facilitate the transfer of nitrates and diesel fuel into his vehicles for jihad.

  Bryan Washington would be supervising all of the steel building construction sites for Malcolm. His building at the farm was complete and he had enough room to park six converted ambulances and two hollow pumper fire trucks. In addition, there were several Georgia Haulers semis with tractor trailers full of nitrates and tankers full of diesel fuel. There were enough materials to fill the ambulances, fire trucks and to half fill the tankers. He had eleven drivers and twelve workers and the small army was moving the wet and dry chemicals into the vehicles. They would all be loaded by the time the word was given. With little notice, they would roll from all of his buildings as wonderful tools of mass destruction.

  Bryan loved his job and he liked Houston. He had never had Mexican food before his trip to Texas, and he also liked the Muslim workers that he was using. Like him, they were all prison converts to Islam. None of them would talk of the entry requirements for the job, but everyone knew about the crematorium and cemetery that was next to the site of the new Houston steel building. Sometimes there would be jokes when smoke came from the chimney of the crematorium. The Houston steel building would offer a large secure space. In two weeks the construction would be completed. After this construction was finished, Bryan’s job was to organize the stocking of the ambulances and fire trucks.

  Bryan’s next construction site would be in Tampa, Florida, and then he would go to Atlanta, Georgia. There was already a newly constructed building in Atlanta and his job there would be the stocking of Malcolm’s biggest supply of ambulances and fire trucks. Malcolm had instructed Bryan to burn Atlanta to the ground. This would be the key starting point of the jihad. They would not only use ambulances and fire trucks, but would also use every possible Georgia Hauler semi with a tractor trailer. They would use the new steel building behind Industrial Diesel to fill them and they would be parked with their destructive loads all around Atlanta. The ambulances and fire trucks would be used to penetrate special targets. Two of the tractor trailers properly parked would be able to level the gold topped capitol building in downtown Atlanta.

  Henry had received his clearance to fly to Tampa, Florida. He would make a short stop in Antigua to see if it was possible to stop the transfer of funds to London and New York. The Americans required him to wait twenty days before he could make the trip. The day Henry was told to wait, the sales manager of the steel building distributor called Malcolm, “We had a cancellation and we can save you $24,000 if we can deliver your Tampa building this week. Is your site ready?”

  Malcolm was now a business man and even though he would shortly abandon all of his holdings in America, it was an offer he would like to accept. “Yes it is and I have permits and the slab is poured. Can you help us build it?” He knew that Bryan could then go directly to Atlanta and start stocking vehicles with the explosives.

  “The cancellation included installation and we’ve a team ready to build it to your specifications in two weeks.”

  Malcolm called Bryan. He told Bryan to stock Houston and then go to Atlanta and stock every possible vehicle he could. Bryan had placed an order for fifty flexible bladders and each bladder had a thousand gallon capacity. They would simply strip the ambulances and fire trucks of their insides and place in them as many bladders as possible. The bladders would be filled with the explosive mixture. This would save a lot of time and there would be no special construction needed. Industrial Diesel had dozens
of ambulances waiting for refurbishment and he could not wait to try placing a bladder in an ambulance. The long haul tractor trailers could be fitted with them. The dry material would be delivered from Tampa, Florida by Georgia Haulers tractor trailers and the diesel fuel would be delivered in tankers from Houston, Texas. Bryan made a call to the bladder supplier and offered to pay a ten percent premium if the bladders could be immediately shipped to Atlanta. The offer was accepted they would be at the Georgia Haulers yard in five days.

  The FBI and the state police were following every lead, but they still had nothing solid. They were interviewing all of the Islamic clerics in the Topeka area. These interviews were requested as totally voluntary. The FBI was looking for ideas from the clerics. Of course if they would not cooperate, it would also be considered a lead of sorts. The three largest mosques were all very cooperative with the FBI, but they learned nothing new about the bombings. Three of the smaller mosques were adamant in their refusal to talk. They threatened the FBI with harassment complaints. The FBI apologized for the intrusion and the apology was reluctantly accepted in all cases.

  The three were all Black Muslim mosques. They considered themselves complete outsiders from the American system. The FBI made the decision to infiltrate these small mosques. It was a simple operation. Two black FBI agents would dress down and knock on their door and ask if they could join. In two of the mosques they were accepted with open arms. Within a few days the agents understood the two mosques. They were filled with 1960s black power radicals. Most of the members were on Social Security and they were looking for younger blacks to join. The agents quickly understood them better as black social clubs. These were not places for white people, but the agents rated these mosques as non-threats. The third small mosque was called the Peace Mosque and it was a little different. The agents were not accepted as members. Their membership seemed to be connected with their prison ministries. The Peace Mosque was highly praised by the warden of the state prison located in Topeka. Getting into the Peace Mosque organization would be more difficult, but it was certainly not impossible.

  A black FBI agent made a visit to the State Prison of Topeka. The head warden was Phillip Tripper and by every measure he was a very special man. He kept his guards and prisoners both under control. At the same time he was respected by both. The prison was mostly a medium security site that housed a total of 4,000 prisoners. About 500 were in the maximum security section. The agent’s name was Stan Cleveland. He interviewed Warden Tripper about the Peace Mosque and he responded, “We had a large population of difficult young black prisoners. They were brought up from their early teen years in an institution of one sort or another. They had no controlling family or were written off by their family after their second or third arrest. They were kept in institutions until their mandatory release age of eighteen and were soon arrested again and sent to jail. Eventually after several arrests and releases they end up here at the State Prison.”

  “Where does the Peace Mosque fit in?”

  “Their cleric is our Muslim Chaplain and seems to find a way to reach the men I was just talking about. Most of their converts are able to live a calmer sort of life in prison. Several have made drastic changes in their lives and are more likely to participate in formal education or job training programs. We watch them carefully and, after considering the severity of their crimes, we allow some of them to be paroled to the Peace Mosque. The State of Kansas pays for their room and board at the mosque until they reach a level of proficiency at their work. Five have run away, but over thirty have stayed on the job and met their parole requirements.”

  “Have you recaptured any of the escapees and could I meet some of the converts and the cleric?”

  “We have not been able to find any of the escapees. I would need a court order to meet your request to interview converts or the cleric.”

  Agent Cleveland dropped the paperwork on the Warden’s desk, “In that case Warden, I have a court order allowing the FBI to place an undercover agent or agents into this facility.”

  “Will it be you?”

  “No sir, I have a life.” They both laughed.

  *****

  Ivan, Bill and his new family arrived at Mac Dill, Tampa, Florida at 0100 hours local time. A greeting party was sent to meet their plane. The Group and Bill’s parents were there as the door of the naval G5 opened. The Major quickly entered the plane before anyone was allowed off and delivered a complete new white naval uniform to Bill. The Major asked him to change into a new uniform from civilian clothing and he followed instructions. The uniform held the markings of a full Navy Commander. He was given three new metals including a presidential citation for gallantry. He dressed in his new uniform and took Sarah’s arm and together they were first off the plane. They were followed by Ivan and then Sarah’s parents and brother. The General saluted and then embraced Bill and Ivan. For about 20 minutes they all got to know each other a little better.

  The General then made an announcement and requested that Ivan step forward. He was called to attention and was presented with the Mossad’s highest award for bravery. After that ceremony they were all directed to temporary housing. As they walked to the parking lot Sarah and her father were the first to noticed three new cars. There were two Volvos and a Land Rover parked in reserved parking spaces.

  The Major announced, “I suggest we take separate cars to housing. Please follow the blue van.” He then handed Sarah, Ike and her father the keys to their new cars.

  Everyone was leaving for base housing. The Realey family was excited about their new cars. Bill was still standing near the General. “We need you for an important job. I know you must be ready to quit this crazy outfit of ours, but someone just killed hundreds of people in mid America. Entire families were killed and we don’t have any clues to help solve this monstrous act. I think you may be able to stop the next round of bombing if you do this job. That is why Sam died while asking for nothing for himself. Give your new family a chance to adjust. We will take good care of them.”

  Bill thought. Why the sales pitch? “What do I need to do?”

  “You need to go to Topeka, Kansas and infiltrate a mosque. We believe this is where the Kansas bombings may have been planned. It is possible that in some way they could be connected to the ayatollah and the Tampa bombing.”

  “I will just knock on their door and join. It can’t be that hard.”

  “They get their members from prison converts. You need to join in prison and then get into the mosque.”

  “That doesn’t seem that hard.”

  ”We need to make you black. In fact we need to visit the base doctor right now.”

  The doctors gave Bill a complete physical and what he thought was a flu shot. He showed no signs of physical damage from the plane crash and after the physical was completed the General joined Bill and the doctor.

  “Doctor could you explain what is going to happen to Bill?”

  “This treatment is going to temporarily change the level of the melatonin content of your skin. It will darken your skin color to almost black and last about two weeks after the treatment ends. The shot I gave you at the beginning of your physical started the process. Tomorrow I will run some tests and set the dosage of your maintenance pills.”

  “When do I leave for Kansas?”

  The General answered, “We need to complete preparations for your incarceration. There are a lot of records that need to be created. I believe that we can get you ready in four days.”

  The General and Bill went to base housing to join Ivan and the others. All of the doctors were getting along nicely. It was arranged that Sarah and her father would attend special classes at the University Medical School. They would receive special tutors in addition to the training. It would take almost two years to complete their training and internships. At that point they should be able to practice in Florida. Until that time they would all receive living allowances and housing. Ike would attend officer’s training school and be giv
en the same Air Force rank that he had held in Iran. Mrs. Realey could enter the University of South Florida for any courses she wants. Sarah and her mother talked to Bill’s mother about wedding plans and setting a date.

  Bill then addressed everyone, “I have a new job to do. I will be leaving in four days. Until that time we can just all enjoy each other and the area. We can all eat breakfast together in the morning. After lunch tomorrow I would like to take Sarah to the beach.” She was shaking her head in agreement. He was looking at her father, “If it is alright with you?”

  “It is quite alright with me. I believe in America there are no rules. Or is it that Sarah is now in charge?”

  They all went to dinner together and then watched television until bed time. The next morning breakfast was served at a large table in the officer’s mess hall. Bill would be the last to arrive. This was the first good night’s sleep he had had in weeks. It was nice to be in a secure environment. Maybe prison would not be that bad. He got out of bed and was going to get a shower. He noticed that his hands were dark black. He went to shave and the face in the mirror was black. He was totally black. He dressed and went to breakfast and joined his group and sat next to Sarah. At first she didn’t recognize him.

  Sarah’s father was the first to speak, “Is that you? You have changed.”

  “This is a camouflage that I must wear for my next job. It will be gone when I come back.”

  Even the General was shocked at the effectiveness of the treatment. Bill took Sarah to the beach for a wonderful afternoon. It felt a little strange that they were both wearing American bathing suits, sitting close together, and watching the gently rolling surf of the Gulf of Mexico. He was amazed at how quick Sarah had adopted to this crazy life of his. His left arm reached around her shoulder and he pulled her closer. At the same time his right hand touched his hip and it felt a little naked without his Glock 23.