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

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СКАЧАТЬ Haram, who we think all these recent bomb attacks are linked to, have also developed connections and taken on philosophies of other militant groups, such as Al-Qaeda and, as I say, ISIL. Therefore, using such an elaborate bomb isn’t so far removed as you think.’

      Woods said, ‘What do we know about David Thorpe personally?’

      ‘Born 1966. Nigerian descent. He’s single. Newly divorced, though he separated from his wife five years ago. One child aged ten, but apparently he doesn’t see them much if at all. He works full time at a local car showroom. After his wife left him, he rediscovered his religion, though it wasn’t long before he began to study Wahhabism – a form of Islam widely practiced in Saudi Arabia. Wahhabism is seen as an ultra-conservative branch of Islam and is often referred to as the revolutionary branch. It also forms the fundamental ideology of ISIS, Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab, as well as several other jihadist groups. And what they say is the reason behind all their actions is to form a caliphate.’

      Woods nodded. ‘And the problem with a caliphate is that it’s the model of Medina, all about expansionism.’

      Chuck said, ‘Give me a government and a foreign policy which isn’t all about that and I’ll give you Switzerland.’

      Against his better judgement, Woods smiled and Lyndon shook his head, speaking thoughtfully. ‘Boko Haram just don’t travel though, Mr President. I don’t buy it.’

      Woods looked at Lyndon. ‘Think about it, though. When Al Qaeda first started out, AQ wasn’t an operational organization like it is now, but only an idea. There was only Bin Laden and Abdullah Azzam. But unlike his counterparts, Bin Laden decided on the idea of fighting the far enemy instead of the near enemy which had previously been targeted, and over time his idea became a franchise. Jihadists from all over the world came to him based on his philosophy of the far enemy. He trained them in guerilla techniques and warfare – basically how our CIA had trained him during Afghanistan’s war against Russia. He is also funded these franchise associated groups, and lone wolf operators, who were deadly and driven on by Bin Laden’s philosophy. So maybe these bombers, although linked to Boko Haram, have taken on the philosophy of the far enemy… Us. America.’

      Taking a sip of water, Chuck looked at the President. ‘Dar al-harb. Land of war. That’s what’s happening here. Terrorist groups feel they can validate what they do, attacking the far enemy, because they feel they’re fighting a holy war. And that’s my guess on what was driving David Thorpe.’

      Woods, feeling the first tingle of pins and needles in his fingers, stretched his hand out. ‘I mean, I understand you’d want your own land and county. Right now in the world there isn’t an official Islamic state. That can only happen when there’s a Caliph and Caliphate, and apart from the problem with expansionism, there’s nothing wrong with a Caliphate in its purest form. People don’t get that Islam isn’t just a religion, it’s a way of life for an individual and a society as a whole. It’s a system; a ruling, economic, administrational, social, penal and personal one. But what’s happening here with all the jihadist movements, well, that’s about terror and our job is to stop it. But the damn problem is the whole thing has created such a divide, not only within the Muslim community, but within the world as a whole.’

      Chuck agreed. ‘Which goes back to our bomber, David Thorpe. He became very vocal about his allegiance to such groups, but in particular to Boko Haram. Hate preaching. Speaking of violence. And eventually he drew the attention of the authorities. A few years ago Thorpe was put on the federal No-Fly List.’

      ‘He’s still on it, I take it,’ Woods said.

      Chuck shook his head. Contemplated taking a sip of water. Changed his mind before stifling a yawn. ‘Nope.’

      ‘Jesus, Chuck, you kidding me? What happened?’

      ‘What I can see from the data he was taken off about a year ago.’

      ‘You need to bury that one.’

      ‘Well, someone along the line clearly thought Thorpe was no longer a danger.’

      ‘Until he blows up a building. And why Chatham? What’s there? It’s just a pretty village south of Springfield.’

      Deciding he needed to let the yawn out and not bothering to cover his mouth, Chuck shrugged. ‘Excuse me, I was up late… Sorry, what was I saying? Oh yeah, it’s a real tragedy, sir.’

      Woods peered at Chuck from above his rimless glasses. The man was cold. Didn’t even try to hide it. But then, it took a certain sort of someone to work in CTC and, over time, desensitization took over.

      ‘And as for the question, Mr President, of why Chatham? Who knows? He might have just put a pin in the map. But we’re looking into that.’

      John Woods turned to Teddy Adleman, who’d been uncharacteristically quiet. He suspected the reason Teddy had said nothing was that his feelings towards Chuck Harrison were the same as Woods’. The least time having to converse with him the better.

      ‘What do you think, Teddy?’

      Teddy nodded to Woods. Nodded at Lyndon. Didn’t bother looking at Chuck. He spoke in a hushed voice. ‘So if we’re saying Thorpe isn’t a lone wolf, and he’s linked with the other bombers, my question is why didn’t he kill himself too? Like the others. I see the profile and I get it. But Lyndon’s right, something just doesn’t fit…’

      Woods was curious. ‘Go on.’

      ‘The fact is, Boko Haram is a domestic terror group. Focused on their country. This, as far as I know, will be the first time they’ve come outside the immediate vicinity of Nigeria and the neighboring countries.’

      ‘Chuck, you want to pick that up?’

      ‘Mr President, there’s a first time for everything. There’s a metamorphosis in terrorism. What was once is not necessarily any longer.’

      ‘And apart from the No-Fly List, and a couple of interviews with the FBI, there was never any other eyes or ears on David Thorpe?’ Woods asked.

      ‘None.’

      ‘Is he talking?’

      ‘Nothing, but hey, we can easily remedy that. It’ll be like the good old days. Show him we mean business.’

      ‘For God’s sake, Chuck, are you seriously talking about EI? And just for the record, wherever it’s carried out, it’s not okay. Torture is never okay.’

      Chuck shrugged again and took another sip of water and leant back on his chair and winked at Lyndon and pulled at the hair in his ears and said, ‘Hey, whatever happened to having a sense of humor? But for my record, I disagree, and when it comes down to it, I don’t care what any of the liberalists say. I know for a fact every citizen, senator and even you, Mr President, would be calling on a guy like me to get the information from a prisoner, if that prisoner had taken and kidnapped a loved one. They’d be begging me to use enhanced interrogation; water board the hell out of that son-of-a-bitch like there’s no tomorrow. And it wouldn’t matter to them what I did as long as I brought their kid or whoever it was back home safely. I know you’d want me to get the information from a person who took your son, wouldn’t you, Mr President? No matter what it took.’

      Woods said nothing.

      ‘Think about it, Mr СКАЧАТЬ