Sacred Stone

Two minutes later they were airborne again.

“Ninety miles to the Red Sea,” he shouted back to the rear, “five minutes or so.”

“I have two fighter jets inbound,” the copilot said.

“Prepare countermeasures,” Reeves said.

But the jets never turned on their firing computers. They just stayed off the wingtips until the C-17A passed over the water. Then they peeled away to head back to their base.

“WE’RE OUT OF Saudi airspace,” Reeves yelled to the rear, “two hours to Cutter.”

Kasim walked to the rear of the pickup and pulled back the tarp. “Okay, men,” he said, “we did it—we’re going back to Qatar.”

The cheers filled the cargo area of the C-17A.

“Take over,” Reeves said to the copilot.

Reeves walked back into the cargo area. “I would have brought you a cooler of beer but I understand you men don’t drink. So I had the mess hall prepare a cooler of iced soda and some food in case we did have to come get you. There are some hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and such. It’s been a few hours, but they packed it in those silver insulated bags so it should still be warm. Enjoy.”

Reeves headed back to the cockpit.

“Okay, men,” Kasim said, unzipping a silver padded bag, “dig in.”

EPILOGUE

THREE HOURS BEFOREsunrise on January 10, U.S. military crews working with Saudi military and intelligence officials finished complete sweeps of all three mosques. Any explosives found were removed and destroyed, and the area was deemed safe for the hajj.

Saud Al-Sheik stared down at the courtyard as the last of the aging prayer rugs were being fitted into place. He wished he’d found the new ones but they’d disappeared into thin air—so he had the old ones dug out from storage and used again this year.

Behind the curtain surrounding the Kaaba, Abraham’s Stone awaited the faithful.

At sunrise, a sea of white-robed pilgrims began to fill the holy spots.

The hajj would go off without a hitch.

January 10, 2006, dawned clear with a light wind blowing from the east and temperatures in the low seventies. Nearly a million pilgrims crowded into Medina, where they visited the tomb of Muhammad and then boarded the large open cars on the Hajaz Railway for the 280-mile trip to Mecca.

As the train drew nearer to the sacred city where the Kaaba was located, the pilgrims disrobed and dressed in aprons with pieces of cloth over their left shoulders. Once the train pulled to a stop, the first group climbed off and began walking toward the mosque. Once inside they began the Tawaf, or circumambulation. The pilgrims started to circle the Kaaba seven times in a counterclockwise direction then, when finished, entered the Kaaba to kiss the Sacred Stone of Abraham.

As the first group filtered out, thousands more were already entering the mosque.

During the next few days, the pilgrims would drink from Zamzam Spring, have a ceremony where they stoned the Devil, and take walks to the other sacred places nearby. Hundreds of thousands would do a route from the mosque containing the Kaaba to Mina, the Mount of Mercy, Mount Namira, Muzdalifah, and Arafat.

The areas around Mecca and Medina would swarm with white-robed pilgrims.

The days would be spent with prayer and meditation, contemplation, and the Koran. At the hajj, each person would find a meaning. And all would remember it the rest of their life.

Today was just another day of many, with thousands more to follow.

P OSTSCRIPT

IN THE ENDit had all worked out. The poisoned prayer rugs were taken into the Indian Ocean and the containers dropped into a deep hole and depth-charged. Cabrillo, along with Skutter’s and Colgan’s teams, continued on the Akbarto Qatar, where they were greeted at the base in a lavish ceremony. Each of the thirty-seven men received one grade in rank and pay, with Skutter and Colgan being offered two. Skutter became a lieutenant colonel, but Colgan, offered a chance to become an officer, declined. He was happy with his current rank so he was given two years tacked onto his service time. The next day, Cabrillo, Kasim and Jones flew out in one of the Corporation’s jets and met up with the Oregonin Barcelona.

The crew from Florida hired to deliver the Akbarto the shipyard in the Mediterranean were offered double pay to complete the journey. They arrived home two weeks later than they had pla

The only Saudi injured, the guard who had cracked his head when he fell trying to escape, suffered a few months of blurred vision but eventually recovered completely. In reward for his attempted bravery, King Abdullah retired him with a full pension.

Michelle Hunt was returned to California with apologies and instructions to never discuss the matter. She mourned the loss of Halifax Hickman, but in that she was alone.

The meteorite from Greenland was taken to the laboratory at Fort Detrick, where it is currently undergoing continued testing. Woody Campbell made it through his treatment program and has yet to take another drink. Elton John tells his friends about the concert on New Year’s Eve, but few believe his account. Lababiti was tried in a secret court and sentenced to life in prison. A few weeks after returning from England with his MG TC, Billy Joe Shea got the largest order for drilling mud in his life.

The order was from a company drilling in Tibet.

And at a crowded shop in England, a man slowly rebuilt a Vincent Black Shadow.

And far out in the Atlantic Ocean, the Oregonsteamed toward South America.

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