Dead Edge: the gripping political thriller for fans of Lee Child. Jack Ford

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СКАЧАТЬ also clearing his throat – a side effect of the intense vigor of the air-con – said, ‘Before I start, Mr President, can I just confirm our prisoner transfer meeting is still going ahead on Friday? I think I’m probably correct in thinking it’ll be a ghost meeting so I won’t be able to get my staff to confirm it via the presidential memoranda. As I said last week, it is a matter of urgency that we look at the current approaches to prisoners like Abdul-Aziz bin Hamad.’

      ‘Chuck, we need to get on with this, but to answer your question, yes it is going ahead, though and as I said last week to you, prisoner transfer and release of terrorists – particularly terrorists such as Bin Hamad – is no longer this administration’s policy. We do not negotiate with Al Qaeda or their off-shoots. Now, if you don’t mind, we’re on the clock…’

      With just a single blink, and not – and never – giving away his feelings unless there were deliberate and strategic motives, Chuck nodded. ‘Okay, well as we know, Boko Haram, whose official Arabic name is…

      Lyndon Clark interrupted: ‘Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad.’

      Chuck cut Lyndon a hard stare. ‘Exactly. Which loosely translates to…’

      ‘People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad.’

      ‘Lyndon, would you like to take this meet?’

      ‘If you like.’

      Chuck, not for the first time, wondered what Woods had been trying to prove putting another colored man in such a high-ranking role. First it was Teddy and now Lyndon. It was bullshit, because there’d also be an agenda. Lyndon would always be running round needing to prove something. Proving he was as up to the job as the white man. Proving he wasn’t selling the African-Americans out with his policies. Proving above and beyond anything else – including and especially being a colored man – he was first and foremost a citizen of the United States who loved his country like the founding fathers had.

      Chuck smiled. Didn’t reach his eyes. Didn’t reach any part of him. ‘There’s nothing to prove here, Lyndon.’

      Lyndon Clark touched his small goatee beard. Sneered. Which met his eyes. Which met every damn part of him. ‘I’m not following you, Chuck. Care to expand?’

      ‘What I mean is. It won’t make any difference to the way I feel about you or how you’re doing your job.’

      Woods looked at Chuck. Then Lyndon. Eyes fixed on each other. Bolted together. Felt like he could go right on and cut the air in two with a scythe. ‘Chuck, continue with what we’re here for.’

      ‘Certainly, Mr President, and just to refresh, Boko Haram – as we all know – were founded in 2002, though they didn’t really launch military operations until 2009. They’re a rebel group and self-professed Islamist movement, based mainly in northeast Nigeria, though there are offshoots in Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Recently they’ve stepped up the wave of suicide bombings, mass attacks on villages, including looting and killing, forcibly conscripting men and boys, and of course there’s also the abduction of women and children. Especially girls. I’m sure everyone remembers the international outrage and the campaign in 2014 when they abducted more than two hundred schoolgirls from Chibok town in Borno state.’

      Woods nodded. ‘Bring back our girls.’

      ‘Yeah and as yet we’re still waiting – though all here present will appreciate that’s probably not going to happen. They’ve either been forced to become slaves, married off or used as suicide bombers… The main objective for Boko Haram? To overthrow the government and create a caliphate state. Most tellingly, and a growing concern, is they’ve also pledged their allegiance to ISIL. The US designated them a terrorist group in 2013.’

      Woods looked at his watch. ‘How does this all fit in?’

      ‘Well, what we’ve been doing is working on fresh information in regards to the movements of Boko Haram. Human intelligence tells us the bomber, David Thorpe, who we now have in our custody, and are questioning in one of our sites in Turkmenistan, has direct links with a group we’ve been following in Nigeria.’

      ‘How reliable is your HI?’ Woods asked.

      ‘Very. And that’s why it’s important we question him rather than the FBI. So our operation isn’t at all compromised.’

      ‘Ok, so here’s my questions. Do you think he’s linked to the suicide bomber at Memphis airport, as well as the bombers in the other states last week? You think they were in a cell, or could it be a case of a wave of copycat lone wolves, who were perversely inspired by one another?’

      ‘I think it’s the former, Mr President. The suicide bombings were definitely coordinated attacks and it’s a likely supposition, well, more than likely according to HI, that this attack from this particular bomber was spaced a week apart from the others to create an even greater impact on the country. As in, we had the first spate of bombings, then over the following two or three days everything was on code red, the American people were afraid. Then, like a mass movement, there was a sense of a united front amongst everybody. A determination to carry on with life regardless. Stats show cancelled flights throughout the country were re-booked. A surge in people going to the movie-theater. Showing the terrorists they won’t win. And then, bang. Right out of nowhere, another bomb. Only this time bigger. Much bigger. Everybody’s worst nightmare. Causing maximum psychological impact to the American people.’

      Woods glanced over at the black and white security tape. Un-paused it. Watched it again. The bomber, David Thorpe, had walked into a coffee shop, hence the Washington Post – much to his irritation – naming the guy ‘the coffee shop bomber’ and even going on to report how the guy took his coffee.

      Non-fat.

      No whipped cream.

      Eggnog Latte complete with cinnamon sprinkle.

      Afterwards David Thorpe had sauntered over to the truck he’d driven. Locked it then walked away, only for it to explode twenty minutes later, taking down half a government building in Chatham, Illinois. It seemed almost miraculous that there hadn’t been fatalities. A lot of the area had been closed down, after reports of a chemical spill had forced evacuations across three to four blocks. However, there’d been a hell of a lot of destruction

      Thorpe’s face had been clear on the CCTV, and the FBI had picked him up easily from a small place near Willowbrook, just off state 55. A two-and-a-half-hour drive from where the bomb had exploded. Reports said, the guy had just been getting on with it. Getting on with his business like everyday folk did. Like nothing had happened.

      ‘I don’t agree,’ Lyndon said.

      Chuck leant forward. Tilted his head. ‘Excuse me?’

      ‘I don’t agree. This bomb that Thorpe used was sophisticated. The others weren’t. Far from it.’

      ‘I don’t see what difference that makes, Lyndon.’

      ‘Oh come on, it’s elementary, there’s no way a cell group jumps from the most basic of basic suicide vests made with common household products to a highly complex and powerful bomb. You don’t go down to the local drug store for that. I say this is something different. Not connected.’

      ‘Everyone’s a counter terrorism expert.’

      Lyndon СКАЧАТЬ