SEVENTY-SIX

THE PRESIDENT ’ S PRIVATE STUDY

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON, DC

Damn it, Chuck,” said Jack Rutledge, who hadn’t slept in two days. He punched the remote and turned off his television. “We’ve got a major terrorist crisis on our hands. I don’t have time for this Mickey Mouse stuff. I thought we agreed you were going to take care of this.”

“We’ve been trying, Mr. President.”

“So why the hell do I keep seeing Helen Carmichael in front of TV cameras?”

“She’s a senator. They constantly court the media. That’s what they do.”

“Don’t give me that crap, Chuck. I thought you were going to talk to her.”

“I did,” said Anderson. “And the DNC chairman.”

“And?”

“ Carmichael fought it tooth and nail. Just like we expected her to do and-”

“The DNC chairman promised he’d get to the bottom of it and clean it all up, right?”

“Right,” replied the chief of staff, “but-”

“Russ Mercer doesn’t take orders from our side of the aisle.”

“No, sir, he doesn’t.”

“What about Carmichael ’s source within the CIA? Are we any closer to figuring out who the hell it is?”

“A federal judge approved a warrant and we have the man we believe to be the leak under surveillance. Gary Lawlor is coordinating the investigation with the FBI and hopes to have something for us very soon.”

“He’d better,” said Rutledge. “From what I hear, Carmichael is ready to go public with Harvath’s name and service photo any day now. What about the subpoenas she served us?”

“Nothing to worry about. I’ve met with the White House counsel, and we’re going to ignore them.”

“We are?” said Rutledge. “What kind of liability does that open us up to?”

“It’s just an opening salvo. She knows she can’t compel us to appear. But word is Carmichael has had the Capitol police warm up a couple of the jail cells they have up on the Hill.”

The president didn’t look pleased.

“Don’t worry,” said Anderson. “It’s a media stunt. It makes for good television, but that’s all.”

“I beg to differ with you,” said the president. “It makes for terrible television.”

“As far as this administration is concerned, you’re right, but she’s grandstanding. She knows that no sitting president would respond to her subpoena. It’s all smoke. The only way she’ll be able to move this forward is to get enough consensus to appoint a special prosecutor.”

Rutledge pushed his chair away from his desk and looked back out the window. “Do you want to remind me again why I agreed to run for a second term?”

“Because the people want you,” said Anderson, “and because Carmichael couldn’t stick anything to you even if she had a roll of duct tape.”

“I wish I could be as confident about this as you are.”

“Trust me. We’re going to come out on top of this.”

“Any word from USAMRIID?” asked Rutledge, changing the subject back to the one that he had been obsessing over ever since it broke.

“No. Nothing new. The civilians who were exposed to the illness are still in quarantine and the CDC is working with the people at Fort Detrick, trying to come up with some answers.”

“What’s your gut tell you, Chuck? Are we going to come out on top of this one as well?”

“I don’t know, Mr. President.”

“I don’t know either,” replied Rutledge, “and it scares the hell out of me. We don’t have much time left.”

SEVENTY-SEVEN

SWITZERLAND

Harvath struggled to piece together everything he was hearing-not only from the Aga Khan, but also from outside the curtained windows where he could make out the sound of an approaching helicopter. Claudia and the rest of the team would not have had enough time to return to Sion and exchange their gliders for something better suited to land on the inhospitable property. All he could think of was that it must have been the Aga Khan’s helicopter coming to ferry him to a meeting in Geneva.

The man studied the look on Harvath’s face and said, “I urge you to take what I’m telling you very seriously. The Ottoman Empire was the only power to ever fully unite the Muslim countries of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and keep them united for over six centuries.”

“But it eventually fell,” replied Harvath.

“Only eighty-plus years ago, which in terms of history, especially Muslim history, isn’t even the blink of an eye. With the rapid advancement of science and Western technology, they were no longer strong enough to keep up a conventional fight. So, instead, they decided on a different course. They stepped back, allowed their dynasty to transform into what is present-day Turkey, and waited for the moment when they could return to reestablish their empire. Millions of Turkish people still greatly identify with their Ottoman heritage. The question ‘Kimsiniz Bey Efendi’ is still asked today as it was over seven hundred years ago during the caliphate. Who are you and what have you contributed toward the greater glory of our people?

“A core Ottoman leadership still exists, though they don’t publicly use the term Ottoman to describe themselves. That being said, there aren’t many Turks who wouldn’t leap at the opportunity for their country to again be seen as one of the most dynamic social, cultural, and religious forces in the world.”

Harvath had trouble believing what he was hearing.

“The Ottoman sultans ruled through succession, through one family,” said the Aga Khan. “That family didn’t just disappear when the empire came to an end. A direct heir to the sultanate still exists. Someone who can trace his lineage back to the very first caliph and a history of Muslim strength and unity that will appeal to all Muslims throughout the Islamic world.”

“And Hannibal ’s weapon? The illness?” asked Harvath, less concerned with the history lesson than with getting the answers he had come for.

“It’s all part of their plan to recreate the great Muslim caliphate.”

Putting the pieces together in his mind was like trying to stack cinder blocks on top of wine glasses. He needed to bring things back around to the beginning. “How’d you go from being partners with Akrep to kidnapping Tokay as an act of self-defense?”

“The expeditions carried out by the Islamic Institute were extremely expensive,” said the Aga Khan. “Hundreds of millions of dollars were being spent. The institute was always running low on money. That’s why Akrep came to me. He presented his grand plan for uniting all Muslims and asked if the Shia would help with the financing. We never intended for anyone to die.”

“But the bioweapon was to be used as a means of ridding the world of all non-Muslims,” said Harvath, skeptical of the man’s professed naïveté.

“The idea was to only use the threat of the weapon to scare the Western powers and their troops out of Muslim countries.”

“And you believed that?” pressed Harvath. “Without some show that the weapon really worked, how could you expect anyone to take you seriously?”

“You’re right,” replied the Aga Khan. “I soon realized that without proof, there was no way the weapon would be taken seriously. Because it possessed the abhorrent characteristic of needing to be reconstituted in human hosts before it could be used, Akrep suggested we conduct a trial somewhere which would eventually be discovered by the Americans.”

“ Iraq,” responded Harvath. “Asalaam.”

“Correct. Not only would we be able to reconstitute the illness and bring it out of hibernation, but the aftermath would send a clear signal to the United States and its allies that they had a very serious new force to contend with. But I allowed myself to forget my history, “He replied. “Many Sunnis hate the Shia, but the Ottomans were the ones who gave birth to the idea that we Shia are worse than Christians.”