I kept at it, repeating my pitch again and again. “What did the Englishman want you to do? He’s the guilty one, not you or your friends. We already know this. Just fill in a few blanks for us. You’ll be able to go home.”
Then I repeated the same questions about the Wolf.
Nothing worked with any of the terrorists, though, not even the young ones. They were tough; more disciplined and more experienced than they looked; smart and clearly very motivated.
Why not? They believed in something. Maybe there’s something to be learned from that, too.
Chapter 51
THE NEXT TERRORIST I chose was older, ruddily good-looking, with a thick mustache and white, nearly perfect teeth. He spoke English and told me, with some pride, that he had studied at Berkeley and Oxford.
“Biochemistry and electrical engineering. Does that surprise you?” His name was Ahmed el-Masry, and he was number eight on Homeland Security’s hit list.
He was very willing to talk about Geoffrey Shafer.
“Yes, the Englishman came here. You are right about this, of course. Video- and audiotapes don’t usually lie. He claimed to have something important he wanted to talk to us about.”
“And did he?”
El-Masry frowned deeply. “No, not really. We thought he might be one of your agents.”
“So why did he come here?” I asked. “Why did you consent to see him?”
El-Masry shrugged off my question. “Curiosity. He said that he had access to tactical nuclear explosive devices.”
I winced, and my heart started to beat a whole lot faster. Nuclear devices in the metropolitan New York area? “Did he have the weapons?”
“We agreed to talk with him. We believed he meant suitcase nuclear bombs. Suitcase nukes. Difficult to obtain, but not impossible. As you may know, the Soviet Union built them during the Cold War. No one knows how many, or what happened to them. The Russian Mafiya has tried to sell them in recent years, or so it’s rumored. I wouldn’t actually know. I came here to be a professor, you see. To look for employment.”
A shudder passed through me. Unlike conventional warheads, suitcase nukes were designed to go off at ground level. They were about the size of a large valise and could easily be operated by an infantryman.
They could also be concealed just about anywhere, even carried on foot around New York, Washington, London, Frankfurt.
“So, did he have access to suitcase nukes?” I asked el-Masry.
He shrugged. “We are just students and teachers. In truth, why should we care about nuclear weapons?”
I thought that I understood what he was doing now—bargaining for himself and his people.
“Why did one of your students kill herself diving from a window?” I asked.
El-Masry’s eyes narrowed in pain. “She was afraid all the time she was in New York. She was an orphan, her parents killed in an unjust war by Americans.”
I nodded slowly as if I understood and sympathized with what he was telling me. “All right, you haven’t committed any crimes here. We’ve been watching you for weeks. But did Colonel Shafer have access to nuclear weapons?” I asked again. “That’s the question I need answered. It’s important for you, and for your people. Are you following me?”
“I believe so. Are you suggesting that we would be deported if we cooperate? Sent home? Since we’ve committed no actual crimes?” el-Masry asked. He was trying to pin down the deal.
I came right back at him. “Some of you have committed serious crimes in the past. Murders. The others will be questioned, and then they will be sent home.”
He nodded. “All right, then. I did not get the impression that Mr. Shafer had tactical nuclear weapons in his possession. You say that you’ve been watching us. Maybe he knew that also? Does that make sense to you? That you were set up? I don’t pretend to understand this myself. But these are thoughts that pass through my mind as I sit and talk to you.”
Unfortunately, what he was telling me made sense. I was afraid that might be what had happened. A trap, a test. It was the Wolf’s pattern so far.
“How did Shafer get out of here without our seeing him leave?” I asked.
“The basement in the building connects to a building to the south. Colonel Shafer knew that. He seemed to know a lot about us.”
It was nine in the morning by the time I left the building. I felt exhausted, as though I could lie down and sleep in an alleyway. The suspects would be transported soon, and the whole area was still shut down, even the Holland Tunnel because of our fear that it might be a primary target, that it might suddenly be blown up.