Sacred Stone

“I know it’s a powder keg, Mr. President.”

“Powder keg!” the president exploded. “It’s much worse than that. If Hickman has poisoned prayer rugs and switched Abraham’s Stone and something like you theorize happens to it, I see three major things that could happen. The first is a given—the Saudis cut off oil shipments to the U.S. That will plunge us into another recession and we’re barely out of the last one—that would be a shock that our economy just could not stand. Second, the fact that Hickman is an American will fan the flames with the terrorist elements. They will be swimming to the U.S. to wreak havoc. Let’s face it, the U.S.-Canadian and U.S.-Mexican borders are sieves. Short of us erecting walls, there’s not much we can do if someone is determined to enter our country. The third is possibly the worst. If the Greenland meteorite is shattered and releases a virus similar to the one that was in the Arizona sample, then the other two might be mute points. The oxygen could be sucked out of the atmosphere like water down a drain, then we’ll all be breathing dust.”

Overholt nodded slowly. “The first two are easily handled if what the CIA doctor learned from the captured combatant is true. That Hickman is pla

“Unfortunately, as much as I’ve tried to wean the Israelis from American aid, I’ve been mostly unsuccessful. The Arab world believes the United States and Israel are closely tied—and we are. If the blame goes to Israel, it would be overrun with Arab troops from any nation that has troops. And we know what would happen then.”

“The Israelis would go nuclear,” Overholt said.

“So what are we left with?” the president asked. “Give me the out.”

“The only way we can put this thing to bed is to eliminate the prayer rugs, capture Hickman and somehow replace the meteorites if he has already switched them, then search the holy sites for explosives.”

“All without the Saudi Arabian government knowing what we’re doing,” the president said. “That’s a tall order.”

“Mr. President,” Overholt said, “do you have a better idea?”

ON JANUARY 4, 2006, at 5 A.M. Qatar time, the telephone in Cabrillo’s hotel room rang and woke him.

“It’s me, Juan,” Overholt said. “I’ve finished meeting with the president and have your orders.”

Cabrillo sat up in bed. “What’s the verdict?”

“He wants to do it all without Saudi cooperation,” Overholt said. “I’m sorry but that’s the only way we see this working.”

Cabrillo exhaled and the sound carried over the telephone line. “We have six days until the hajj, when two million pilgrims will be all over Mecca and Medina, and you want me to send a team inside for what?”

“First, you find Hickman,” Overholt said, “and determine the status of the meteorite—if he has switched it with Abraham’s Stone, you switch it back. Then you search al-Haram and al-Nabawi mosques and make sure they are not wired to blow during the hajj. Then you and your team get out of Saudi Arabia before anyone knows you’re there.”

“I hate to talk business when you are talking fantasy,” Cabrillo said, “but do you have any idea what this is going to cost the United States?”

“Eight figures?” Overholt guessed.

“Maybe nine,” Cabrillo said.

“So you can do it?”

“Maybe, but I’ll need all the resources of the Department of Defense and the entire intelligence community on our side.”

“You call,” Overholt said, “I’ll make sure they jump.”

Cabrillo hung up and dialed a number.

AN HOUR LATER, while Cabrillo was still back at the hotel showering, Hali Kasim walked out onto a runway in front of a hangar on the edge of the U.S. Air Force base in Qatar. Thirty-seven men were milling about—the entire number of Muslim U.S. military men from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to the continent of Africa. All had been flown in yesterday from their various postings on military jets to Qatar.

Not one man had been told why they were sent for.

“Gentlemen,” Kasim said, “form ranks.”

The men lined up and waited at parade rest. Kasim studied a sheet of paper.

He looked up and addressed the men. “My name is Hali Kasim. I served seven years in the United States Navy as a warrant officer W-4 in underwater demolition before joining the private sector. I have been recalled to active duty by presidential decree and given a field rank of commander for the purposes of this operation. According to my docket, the next highest ranking man here is a United States Air Force captain named William Skutter. Would Captain Skutter please step forward.”

A tall, thin black man dressed in a blue Air Force uniform took two steps forward.

“Captain Skutter,” Kasim said, “is my second in command. Please come over here next to me and face the troops.”

Skutter walked over and pivoted on his heel and stood alongside Kasim.

“Captain Skutter will be dividing you into teams according to your various service ranks in the next few hours,” Kasim said. “Right now I want to explain why each of you was selected to appear here today. First and foremost, all of you are United States military perso

No one moved.

“Very good, gentlemen,” Kasim said, “we have a special operation we need you for. If you could follow me into the hangar, we have assembled chairs and a briefing area. Once you are all seated I will begin to explain.”

Kasim, followed by Skutter, walked toward the hangar.

The men filed behind. There was a series of blackboards surrounding a podium, several long folding tables with various weapons and devices displayed, a water cooler and several rows of black plastic folding chairs.

The men filed into their seats as Kasim and Skutter walked to the front.

49

EVEN IN Acountry as steeped in tradition as Saudi Arabia, the modern world has a way of intruding upon the past. The Prophet’s Mosque in Medina was one such example. A massive construction project initiated in 1985 and completed in 1992 expanded and updated the facilities. The area was enlarged fifteenfold to cover an area of nearly 1.8 million square feet. The additional space allows almost three-quarters of a million visitors to be in the site at the same time. Three new buildings were added, along with a massive courtyard built from marble and inlaid with geometric designs. Twenty-seven additional courtyards topped with intricate retractable domes now graced the skyline, along with two more large areas that are topped with six large mechanical umbrellas that could be opened or closed depending on the weather.

Six minarets, soaring 360 feet in the air, were constructed around the perimeter—each topped with giant brass crescents weighing nearly five tons. Ornate tiled and gold gilding were added to various areas, and spotlights and beacons illuminated the various architectural details.

The physical plants were completely reworked. Escalators were installed to move the pilgrims to the upper levels, and a gigantic air-conditioning system was built. The cooling system, one of the largest ever constructed, pumps seventeen thousand gallons per minute of chilled water through pipes that were tu

The entire system is managed from a control center a little over four miles from the mosque.

The rebuilding of the Prophet’s Mosque and the additional construction around the Kaaba in Mecca were estimated to cost the Saudi Arabian government nearly $20 billion. The primary contractor for the massive construction project at the Prophet’s Mosque was a company owned by the family of Osama bin Ladin.