Chapter 16 Chapter Fourteen Heaven

Crowds of journalists swarmed towards Sarosville, like vultures pouncing on a carrion on the ground; The next news flash came from a mall called the Castle in Springs, Colorado, followed by news from Provo, Utah, and finally, the capital city of Demon, Iowa.This constitutes a surprisingly big piece of news.The attack on the mall in Colorado killed six students of the U.S. Air Force Academy and twenty-six civilians; several students were pulled out of the mall by their classmates in time to escape. The news of Spring City quickly spread to Provo, Utah. The local sheriff relied on his keen police instincts to dispatch police cars equipped with radios to patrol the various shopping centers in the city.Sure enough, it was found at the Provo Township Shopping Center, and it sparked a massive shootout between four armed terrorists and six police officers.These policemen were sharpshooters, but two policemen were seriously injured and three civilians were killed. A total of eleven local residents joined the shootout and four terrorists died on the spot (the FBI later described it as a failed terrorist attack) .The result in Demon City could have been the same, except that the local police reacted more slowly. As a result, four terrorists died, but they also shot and killed 31 local civilians as companions.

In Colorado, two surviving terrorists hid in a store and confronted a police Thunderbolt team fifty yards away, and the governor quickly ordered a company of National Guard infantry to come to their aid.Brother Lian is very excited because they are about to realize every soldier's greatest dream: to use force to destroy the invading enemy and throw their remains to feed the lions.As a result, it took an hour to end the whole incident.Aided by smoke bombs, these reservists ended the lives of the two convicts in a massive assault with firepower sufficient to wipe out an army; it was not at all disturbing to find out that they were Arabs Accident.

By this time, all Americans were in front of the TV, and reporters in New York and Atlanta told American audiences what they knew; in fact, these reporters didn't know much.These journalists tried to explain what happened today, but they were only as accurate as schoolchildren.They repeated the specific facts they had collected with great difficulty, and called in the comments of experts who, although they knew little, said a lot. There are also TVs in the park, and most people stop working and watch TV. God!Little Jack exclaimed.Others murmured, or had roughly the same thought in their minds, but they were more upset than the average person because they were also technically part of the intelligence community and failed to respond to this attack on their country. Action, provide strategic warning in advance.

It's easy, Tony.Wells commented that since we don't have our own field personnel to gather intelligence for us, it's going to be hard to get any kind of warning unless the bad guys are really careless with their cell phones.But the news media loves to tell people that if we track the bad guys, the bad guys will learn how to deal with us.The same goes for the staff in the White House, who like to tell reporters how smart they are and leak information on cable intelligence.Judging by the way they leak some extremely classified information, you sometimes have to wonder if they are terrorist informants.In fact, those disgusting staff members are the best at showing off to the journalists, and of course, that's probably the only thing they do.

So, all day today, the news outlets are probably going to keep shouting about another big failure for the intelligence community, right? Certainly, Wells replied, the same people who usually betrayed the intelligence community would now complain about the inadequacy of the intelligence community; .Of course, so does Congress.Forget it, let's get back to work.In order to boost morale, the National Security Bureau will definitely find a way to win back the city and launch a counterattack against terrorists. They are also human, right?They like to clap their chests and cheer after completing a certain action.Let's wait and see if our friend Shari is one of them.

But who ordered the attack?asked little Jack. Let's see if we can find this clue.But what Wells didn't say was that it was more important to figure out where these bastards came from first. A face with a location to check was more precious than a face without a location to check. Upstairs, Handley gathered his senior staff and they all sat together in front of his television. What do you guys think? Pete just called from Shalosville.Do you want to know where our two trainees are?Jerry.Lanz asked. You are joking.Tom.Davis replied. No, I'm not kidding.They killed four bad guys, and without any outside assistance, they are now back on the farm.Even better, the Marine, Brian, was considering quitting, but Pete reported that he was fine.Brian couldn't wait to get out on a real mission.According to Peter, they are ready to act.

So, we just need to find some specific goals now?Handley asked. My people will check what's coming in from the NSA.We have to assume that those villains must be in emergency contact by now.Their previous ban on contact should have been lifted by now.Rick.Bell exclaimed that if we are ready to act, we can act now, and fast. This is Sam.The department Granger is in charge of.He had been silent so far, but now he should. Oh folks, we have two little friends who are ready to go on a mission and serve some purpose.Granger said.He uses a term invented by the U.S. Army two decades ago.They're good boys, Pete mentioned to me, and judging by what's happened today, I think they've been properly inspired.

What would the other party think?Handley asked.It wasn't hard to imagine, but he wanted to hear more opinions. They want to scare us.They're targeting the middle of the United States, and Lanz spoke first, and they think they can strike fear into our hearts because they've shown us that they can hit us anywhere, not just obvious targets like New York.This is the cleverness of their actions.There were probably fifteen or twenty terrorists in all, plus some support personnel, maybe.The numbers were considerable, but not unprecedented; they maintained good security discipline during the operation.Their people are well motivated.But I wouldn't say they were well trained, they just decided to drop a mad dog in our backyard and let it bite a few little kids, that's what it looks like.It's no surprise that they've shown the political will to do something brutal; it's also no surprise that they're willing to sacrifice the lives of fanatics.This attack is essentially a low-tech attack operation, just find a few bad guys and use light automatic weapons to do it.They have shown their malevolent nature but not their true professionalism.In less than two days, the FBI could follow the trail to find out where they came from, and perhaps their entry route.They have not yet learned the skills of flying, so they may not have been active in our country for a long time. I am more interested in who is surveying the target for them.From the time point of view, they should have planned in advance, but there are not many plans, I guess it is just matching watches, it is actually not difficult.Nor did they have a plan for how to escape after the shooting. The target may have been selected by the time they entered.Judging from this, I would bet that they only entered our country for a week or two, or even less, depending on how they entered the country.The FBI should be able to find out soon.

Peter reported that the weapons they used were Engelun submachine guns.They're good looking, so they're often seen in TV shows and movies, Granger explained, but they're not very effective weapons. How did they get the weapons?Tom.Davis asked. good question.I'm guessing the FBI has got those guns from the scene in Virginia and is tracking them down based on the serial numbers on them.They're pretty good at it.We should have this information by tonight.This can help them understand how these weapons ended up in the hands of terrorists, which can then be investigated further.

What will the Bureau do, An Zuo?Brian asked. This is a big case, so they will give it a code name, and every operator in the country can participate in the case.Right now, the first thing they're going after is the car the bad guys are using.Perhaps stolen, more likely rented.Renting a car requires signing documents, leaving a copy of the driver's license, credit card, all those documents that are necessary to live in the United States.These can all be traced, and can all be traced to a certain clue, old man.Therefore, we must go all the way to track down. How are you two doing?Alexander walked into the room and asked.

Had a glass of wine and got better.Brian replied.He had cleaned his Beretta, and Dominic had cleaned his Smith.Wesson.This is no fun, Pete. It wasn't fun in the first place.Well, I just spoke to headquarters and they want to see you two in a day or two.Brian, you had some misgivings earlier, but you said you've changed your mind, is that true? You trained us to find, approach, and kill someone, Pete.I can accept this as long as it doesn't make us do something against our conscience. Dominic just nodded in agreement, but never took his eyes off Alexander. ok, very good.There is an old joke in Texas: Why are the lawyers there so good.The answer is that there are more men to be killed than horses to be stolen.Well, for those who need to be killed, maybe you can help them. You're finally going to tell us who we work for, aren't you?Brian asked. When the time comes, you will naturally know that you just have to wait a day or two. OK, I can wait that long.Brian said.He quickly did some analysis himself.Terry.Major General Brotton must have known something inside.That Weiner guy from the FBI must know, too, but this former tobacco farm where they're training now isn't part of any government agency he's aware of.The CIA had a farm near Yorktown, Virginia, but that was about a hundred and fifty miles away.This location doesn't feel like it's in the bureau, at least it's different from what he imagined, although his idea may be wrong.In fact, the place didn't smell of government at all, at least not with his nose.But anyway, in a day or two, he'll know what's going on, and he can wait that long. Is there any news about those people we killed today? not much.It'll have to be a while, Dominique, how often do they get things sorted out? By noon tomorrow, they'll be able to find a lot of information, but we don't have access to the bureau, unless you want me to No, I don't want to.We might have to let them know that you and Brian aren't new to Special Forces, but it shouldn't be too secretive either. You mean, I have to talk to Gus.Weiner talk? Maybe, he has enough weight in the bureau, you can tell him that you are now assigned to special missions, and you can convince everyone.I guess he must be very proud to have found you two masters for us.Also, you two are doing great. What we do, said the Marines, is what we are trained to do.We just had time to get everything ready, and after that, everything was automatic.In basic school, they taught me that the difference between success and failure was usually just a few seconds of thinking.If we had been in Sam Goody's when the shooting started, instead of minutes later, the outcome would have been different.Another thing is that the work efficiency of two people is four times that of one person.Someone actually did the research.Nonlinear Tactical Factors in Small Unit Engagement, as I remember its title, it was the syllabus of the reconnaissance school. Marines are really knowledgeable, huh?Dominique said.He reached for a bottle of bourbon and poured two glasses, one for his brother and one for himself. The guy in Sam Goody's was actually smiling at me, Brian recalls, and I didn't think about it at the time.I guess he doesn't seem to be afraid of death. It's called martyrdom, some people really think so, and Alexander said to them both, Well, what do you do? I shot him at close range, maybe six or seven shots in a row It was ten shots, old man, and Dominique corrected him, plus a shot in the back of his head at the end. That's because he was still moving, Brian explained, and I didn't have handcuffs to hold him.And, you know, I'm really not worried.He was going to bleed to death anyway, that's how it was going to be, he just went to another world early because of it. bingo!We guessed right, Jr. announced from his seat that Shari was one of the players, and Tony, who was part of the group.As he spoke, he pointed at the computer screen. Wells, from an incoming call from the NSA, hit the access button and saw it right away.do you know?Chickens cluck proudly after they lay their eggs, and they do it just to show the world how awesome they are.So do these birds.Well, little Jack, back to business.Uda.Bing.Shari is indeed one of the players.Who is the recipient of this letter? A person he chats with on the Internet.He mostly talked to him about where the money was going. finally!Wells said that he was looking at the document from his seat, and they wanted to see the photo of this guy, and all the information.Maybe the CIA is finally going to investigate this man.praise my lord!He paused, got his e-mail recipient list? got it.Do you want it?Little Jack pulled the keyboard, and then pressed the print key.Fifteen seconds later, he showed the file to his colleague.The number and date of the email.I can print all the emails I find interesting and why I find them interesting, if you want. That can wait.I'll pass this on to Rick first.Bell. I can wait. Did you see the TV news?Shari said this in an email to a netizen who is not in frequent contact.This should give Americans a stomachache. Yes, definitely will.Little Jack said to the screen, but you just showed your feet, Shari.I'm so sorry. Sixteen more martyrs, Muhammad thought, watching television in his room at the Hotel Bristol in Vienna.Such pain is actually very abstract.To be honest, these people are just assets that can be sacrificed.It was true that they were not as important as him, because he was extremely precious to the organization.He has an outstanding appearance and a talent for languages, so he can travel around the world; at the same time, he has a smart mind and can plan very good missions. Bristol was a great upscale hotel, across the street from the even fancier Imperial Hotel, and the mini bar in the hotel room had some nice French cognacs, and he liked the posh cognacs.The result of this mission was not as good as he expected.He was expecting hundreds of Americans to die, but ended up with only a few dozen, though, with so many armed police officers and even more armed civilians, it's a little too optimistic to expect a lot of deaths.Anyway, the strategic goal has been achieved.All Americans know they are not safe.No matter where they live, they are at risk of being attacked by his jihadists, who are willing to sacrifice their lives for Americans to feel safe.Mustafa, Shayid, Shabwi and Mehdi are all in heaven now, if heaven exists.He sometimes thought the story was for impressionable kids, or simple-minded people who would actually listen to a priest.You have to choose your missionaries carefully because not all missionaries interpret Islam the same way Prophet Muhammad did.But none of them wanted to take the story out completely, he really wanted to or, at least part of it, as long as the rest remained in the temple. He can't talk out loud about issues like this.Some senior people in the organization really believe this, and they are actually more conservative and old-fashioned than the quiet Muslims in Saudi Arabia.In his view, those quiet people are actually just some corrupt rich people in that shameful corrupt country. Spend a lot of money.And money is easy to spend.Anyway, you can't take the money with you after you die.Heaven, if it exists, does not need money, and if heaven does not exist, then money is useless.What he wants, what he wants, no, what he really wants to have in his life is power, the ability to command others, and force others to accept his will.For him, religion is the matrix that formulates the shape of the world that he wishes to control.He even prayed occasionally, in case he forgot the form, and more often when he was meeting with his superiors.But as the head of operations of the organization, it is he, not them, who decides the course of the organization to remove the obstacles that the idolaters put in their way.In choosing a course, he also has to choose their strategic nature, which derives from their religious beliefs and is easily guided by the political world they manipulate.At the same time, your enemy will let you shape your strategy, because you must counter his strategy. As a result, Americans now experience fears that they did not experience before.What was attacked was not their political capital, nor their economic capital, but the towns and cities where they lived their daily lives.This mission, from the outset, was designed to primarily kill women and children, the most precious and vulnerable parts of any society. Thinking of this, he unscrewed the cap of another small bottle of Cognac again. Later, he will connect his laptop to the Internet to receive reports from his staff from all over the world.He had to tell one of his bankers and wire some cash into his bank account in Liechtenstein.If the money in the account is spent, then nothing can be done.Then he would have to cancel the credit card account and let it disappear into nothingness forever; otherwise, the police would follow the line and arrest him with his name and possibly his picture, which was not okay.He would stay in Vienna for a few more days, then return home for a week to meet with his superiors and plan future operations.With this achievement, they will now pay more attention to what he has to say.His alliance with the Colombians had come to fruition, and although they still had some misgivings, he still wanted to pursue the victory.After a few more nights to celebrate, he will go back to his hometown to live a relatively dull nightlife, most of which can only drink coffee or tea, and then talk, talk non-stop.no action.Only through action can he achieve his superiors, and the goals he has set for himself. Jesus, Pablo.Ernesto turned off his own television set. Forget it, it's not that surprising!Pablo replied, You don't expect them to just set up a table and sell Girl Scout cookies. Yes, but this? That's why they're called terrorists, Ernesto.They specialize in attacking without prior warning, leaving people off guard.There was a lot of TV news coverage from Spring, Colorado, where many National Guard trucks were parked, making it the perfect backdrop for the live telecast.There, even two uniformed reservists dragged out the dead bodies of two terrorists, ostensibly to clean up the scene, because smoke grenades had been thrown in and started some fires, but, of course, they were actually Want to show these dead bodies.The local military in Colombia also likes to do this kind of thing.Soldiers love to show off.Also, the killers of the cartel themselves often do the same thing, don't they?But that's not what he wanted to point out.What matters to Ernesto is that he is a businessman, not a drug dealer or a terrorist.He believes that he provides valuable goods and services to the public and gets paid for them, and to protect these interests he must deal with competitors. But how would the Yanks react?asked Ernesto. They'll rant and investigate, as they do with any murder on the street, and they'll turn up a few leads, but mostly nothing, and we've got a new marketing network in Europe , this, he reminded the boss, is our purpose. I did not expect such a great crime, Pablo. But all this we have discussed before, Pablo said in the most calm voice, they hope to carry out some major demonstrations, of course, he did not use the word crime, which will create fear in the hearts of Americans.To them, silly thoughts like this are important, and we all know this in advance.It is important to us that their troublesome behavior does not interfere with our interests. There are times when he has to patiently explain things to his boss that what matters is money and with money you can buy power.With money, you can buy people and protection, and not just protect your own life and that of your family, but control your country at the same time.Sooner or later, their organization would arrange to elect someone for president who would say things the Yankees liked to hear but wouldn't do much unless they made a deal with the drug cartels, which they could live with.Their only real concern is that they might be bought to protect them by a double-faced man who might take their money and then sell them out right away, like a disloyal dog.After all, politicians all look the same.But he will arrange informants among such people to ensure his own safety.They will take revenge on such false friends, and in this case, assassinate them and take their lives.Overall, it's a complex game, but worth playing.He also knows how to manipulate people and governments, even North Americans, just let him run into them.His influence is so far-reaching that even those whose minds and souls are controlled by him still don't know who is manipulating them.This applies especially to someone who regularly speaks out against legalizing his goods.If he does legalize his goods, then his profits will be completely zero; at the same time, his power will disappear without a trace, and he cannot let this happen.no.For him and his organization, the current status quo is the most perfect temporary compromise between them and the whole world; this is actually not perfect, but in the real world, he dare not demand perfection. The FBI moved quickly.Finding a Ford with a New Mexico license plate is not very difficult, but every license plate number in the parking lot must be run through the computer and traced to its owner, in many cases, there will be a driver. The operator of the gun personally came to talk to the owner of the car.In New Mexico, they discovered that the National Car Rental Company had security cameras, that the tapes from that day were still there, and that, most unusually, another renter that day had caused direct contact from the Field Office in Demond, Iowa. interest.Less than an hour later, the FBI ordered the same agents back to check the offices of the Hertz car rental company, just a half mile away, which also had surveillance cameras installed.Based on written documents and surveillance videos of rental cars in these places, they found the pseudonyms used by these people (Thomas Salazar, Hector Santos, Antonio Quinonis and Carlos Oliver) and Also a fake driver's license copy.These files are also important.The international driver's license was obtained in Mexico City. The FBI immediately faxed copies of these licenses to the Mexican Federal Police. The cooperation was not only fast but also very efficient. Credit card numbers were investigated in Richmond, Demont, Salt Lake City and Denver.The security director of the credit card is a former senior operative of the FBI. From his computer, not only the original bank account of the credit card account was traced, but also all the way to trace that these four credit cards had been used in 16 gas stations, which clearly shows that this All the routes and mileage of the four terrorists' rented cars.Serial numbers from Englund submachine guns were handled by the FBI's sister agency, the Treasury Department's Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, Arms, and Explosives.The bureau found that the sixteen weapons were all the same firearms that were looted in Texas 11 years ago.Other weapons from the same batch have been used in drug-related shootings across the country, and the intelligence opened up a whole new line of investigation for the FBI to pursue.At the four major crime scenes this time, investigators also collected the fingerprints of all the dead terrorists, and at the same time drew blood for DNA comparison. Of course, the cars rented by these terrorists were all driven back to the FBI's various offices, and they were thoroughly checked for fingerprints or samples that could be compared with DNA to investigate whether someone else had also taken these cars.Managers and staff at every hotel were interviewed, as were staff at fast food restaurants, as well as local bars and other restaurants.Investigators also took the hotel's phone call records to see if the people had ever called outside.It turned out that most of their calls were made to providers of Internet connection services.The terrorists' laptops were removed and dusted with white powder so they could be fingerprinted and analyzed by the bureau's technicians.A total of 700 operators were assigned to participate in the investigation of this case.The code name for this case is ISLAMTERR, which means Islamic Terrorist Most of the victims were sent to local hospitals, and those who were able to speak were interviewed by investigators that night to see what they knew or could remember.The bullets taken from them were collected as evidence, compared with confiscated weapons, and sent to a brand new FBI laboratory in northern Virginia for testing and analysis.All of this information is centrally sent to the Department of Homeland Security, and from there, of course, all the information is distributed to the CIA, NSA, and other intelligence agencies in the United States.The intelligence officers of these units have already ordered their field personnel to go out and track down relevant intelligence.These intelligence agents also ask foreign intelligence agencies in friendly countries to see if they can provide relevant information.All these intelligences were finally integrated and transmitted to the park bit by bit through the CIA/NSA connection.All the intercepted data was entered into the large central computer in the basement of the park, and then classified, so that the analysts who came to work early in the morning could access it. Upstairs, everyone has gone home from get off work except for some security and cleaning staff.Workstations used by analysts are protected against unauthorized activation.Security here is tight but deliberately low-key and monitored by CCTV. While in his apartment, Jr. thought about calling his father, but decided not to.He will likely be attacked on television and in the print media, even though it is his style not to say anything directly in order to keep current President Ed.Kirti was able to let things go.There was a private secure phone line known only to their children, but Jake Jr. decided to let Sally use it because she was more excitable than he was.Jack Jr. sent an email to his dad instead, which basically said, this is such a mess, I wish you were still in the White House.But he knew that old Jack would most likely think, God, I'm not in the White House anymore, but he might want Kirti to listen to his adviser, he's a good adviser, and Think twice.His father may also call some friends abroad to see what they know and what they think, and maybe he can convey some high-level opinions to them, because foreign governments always pay attention to what he says in private.Old Jack is actually still in the system.He could call those friends who stayed over from his presidency and find out exactly what happened.But it never occurred to him to do so. Handley had a secure phone in his office and at home, a model STU|Five, the latest from AT&T and the NSA, which had come to him informally. He is using this phone now. Yes, that's right.We can have this information tomorrow morning.Sitting in an office now, looking at a blank screen in a daze, is of no use.The former senator spoke rationally while sipping bourbon and soda.Then, he listened to the next question asked by the other party. Possibly, he replied to the fairly obvious question, but there's no concrete evidence of what you're expecting, yes. Another lengthy question. We currently have two people and are about ready.Yes, that's right, there were about four people on the other side.We are going to strictly inspect them tomorrow, yes, it is tomorrow.Jerry.Lanz is taking care of this matter, and Tom.Davis Yeah, you don't know him, do you?Negro, from across the river.He was quite smart, very good at financial matters, and he was out in the field.It's strange that you haven't met him face to face.Sam?He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, no exaggeration.The problem is finding the right target.I know you can't get involved in this.Forgive me for calling them targets. A lengthy monologue, plus a key question. Yes I know.That's why we're here.Soon, little Jack, soon, thank you, brother.Bless you too.Shall I meet you sometime?He hung up the phone, knowing very well that he would not see this friend any time soon, perhaps never in person.It's really a pity.It's a pity that not many people can understand this kind of thing, and it will take another phone call.This time use an ordinary telephone. Caller ID let Granger know who was calling, and he picked up the phone. How are you, Gray? Sam, those two recruits, are you sure they're ready to go out on a big mission? They are well-prepared and adequate for the mission.The operations leader assured his boss. Take them here for lunch.You, me, them, and Jerry.Lanz. I'll call Pete early tomorrow morning.There is no reason to fight now.After all, it's only a two-hour drive. Very good, are you a little worried? Gray, you have to eat the pudding to know whether it is good or not, you know?Sooner or later we will find out. Yes, that's right.See you tomorrow. Good night, Gray.Granger hung up the phone and continued reading with his head down. Morning television news across the United States has been particularly sensational; in fact, the news has hit the world.From CNN, Fox, NBC, and every other news outlet that has a TV camera, via satellite feed or live OB van, the big news is being reported to the world.It is impossible for a big news like this to be suppressed by other news, unless a nuclear war breaks out.European newspapers routinely expressed sympathy for this latest American disaster, but soon stopped reporting it, or simply forgot it as if it never happened.The American news media keeps talking about how scared the American people are.Of course, this is not supported by any poll numbers, but ordinary people all over the United States suddenly began to buy weapons, the purpose is to protect themselves, but this project may be difficult to achieve, or completely useless.The police don't have to wait for instructions from their superiors to keep an eye out for anyone who might come in from a country east of Israel, and if there's a dumb lawyer who dares to say it's racist, hell.Because the serious crime the day before yesterday was not done by a tourist group from Norway. Church attendance went up, up a little bit. All over the United States, as people go to work and at work, they start asking their co-workers: What do you think about this?At this time, my colleagues will just shake their heads and go back to work, work, and concentrate on making steel, cars, or delivering letters.In fact, they were not particularly frightened, because although four such horrific incidents occurred, they occurred far away from most people, and the occurrence of such incidents was not enough to pose a serious threat to personal life.但國內所有的人心裡都知道，在某個地方有某些人，真的需要好好給他們一個教訓。 十二哩外，葛瑞．漢德雷正在翻閱報紙。紐約時報是由專人送來，華盛頓郵報則由平常的送報車送到。這兩份報紙的社論好像都是同一個人寫的，全都呼籲冷靜和謹慎，並且指出，這個國家有一個總統會對此一事件做出回應，同時冷靜指示總統應該好好思考一下，再決定要採取何種行動。論壇版的文章更有趣，有些專欄作家確實反映出一般老百姓的想法：舉國呼籲政府應對此事展開報復。對漢德雷來說，好消息是他也許真的能夠對此事展開報復行動；而壞消息則是即使他真的這樣做，而且做對了，也不會有人知道。 總之，這個星期六的新聞可熱鬧了。 園區停車場裡停滿了車，但開車經過的人並不會注意到。新聞報導說，前一天的四起屠殺案，將會引起金融市場的不安；事實上，今天稍後果然證實這種猜測是正確的。 小傑克很正確地推斷，今天應該穿比較休閒的服裝上班，因此開著他的悍馬多功能車時，下半身穿著牛仔褲，上面是一件套頭毛衣，腳下穿著膠底帆布鞋。 安全人員倒是全身制服，當然了，而且如同往常一樣面無表情。 小傑克在八點十四分走進辦公室時，東尼．威爾斯正好打開他的電腦。 嗨，東尼，小傑克向他打招呼，今天的電訊如何？ 自己看吧，他們可沒睡著。威爾斯對他的實習生說道。 knew.小傑克把咖啡放在桌上，坐進他那張舒適的旋轉椅，然後打開電腦，通過保護電腦內容的安全檢查系統。今天早上，從國安局這個機構是從來不睡覺的傳來很多資料。他很快就發現，他一直在追蹤的那個人，對這則新聞相當注意。 可以預料得到的是，國安局如此有興趣的這個人，並不是美國的朋友，但即使如此，小傑克還是對他看到的三封電子郵件的某些內容大感吃驚，甚至被嚇壞了。他記得，當美國軍隊進入沙烏地阿拉伯，追剿現在已經解散的伊斯蘭聯合共和軍時，自己當時的感覺，以及當他看到敵軍一輛戰車被砲火直接擊中而爆炸起火時，突然湧現的那種滿足感。他當時完全沒有想到那三個葬身在戰車鋼鐵裡的人有多可憐，只覺得他們拿起武器對抗美國人就要付出代價，並且是風險很高的代價。就像賭博一樣，既然賭輸了，就要付出代價，這才叫賭博。當時會那樣想，部分原因是他當時還很小，對一個小孩子來說，每一件事都是以他所知道的那個世界為中心在運轉，不過這樣的幻覺會隨著時間慢慢消失。但前一天遇害的大部分人都是無辜的老百姓，並非戰鬥人員，而且大部分是婦女和兒童，從他們的死亡中得到快感根本是純野蠻行為。但眼前就是這樣子。到目前為止，為了解救回教祖國，美國人已經兩度流血，有些沙烏地阿拉伯人竟然還會這麼做？ Damn it!他低低罵了一聲。阿里親王就不會像這樣。他和小傑克的父親是朋友，也是好夥伴。他們會到彼此家裡做客。他自己和阿里說過話，所以很了解他的想法，也很仔細聽過他說話。是的，沒錯，他那時還只是小孩子，但他知道阿里不是這樣的人。不過，他的父親也絕對不是變態凶手泰德．邦迪（編註：Ted Bundy，美國著名的連續殺人魔，本身為知識分子，殺害多位女大學生），只不過，邦迪還是美國公民，甚至可能還曾經投過票。因此，在某個國家生活，並不會自動讓你成為這個國家的親善大使。 並不是每個人都愛我們，孩子。威爾斯看著他的臉，說道。 我們曾經做過什麼傷害他們的事情嗎？asked little Jack. 我們是附近街坊裡最大、最富有的一家，孩子。我們說什麼都算數，即使我們並不會命令別人做什麼。我們的文化力量是最強勢的，不管是可口可樂或花花公子雜誌。這種東西可能會違反某些人的宗教信仰，在世界某些地區，左右著人們思想的是宗教；他們並不承認我們的宗教自由原則，如果我們允許某些違反他們深深信仰的東西存在，那他們一定認為，這是我們的錯。 你在為這些鳥兒辯解嗎？asked little Jack. 不，我只是解釋他們的想法。了解某些事情，誰不表示你一定贊同它。星艦迷航影集中的史巴克曾經這麼說過，但很顯然地，小傑克並沒有看過這一集。你的工作就是了解他們的想法。 very good.他們正在想，這下子你們完蛋了。我了解這一點。現在我要去查查一些數字。小傑克把電子郵件內文放在一邊，開始查看金錢流向。嗨，沙里今天也在工作，這裡有一些東西是他在家裡做的，是不是？ 沒錯，電腦就是這麼方便，威爾斯說，不過，他在家裡沒有像辦公室這麼多的設備。有任何有趣的流向嗎？ 只有兩筆，都是轉進列支敦斯登銀行。我來看看這個戶頭裡的情況。小傑克移動滑鼠，取得這個戶頭的支出情況。金額並不特別大。事實上，以沙里的標準來看，可說是少得可憐。只有五十萬歐元，大部分用在信用卡簽單上，都是他自己的費用，還有別人的。 嗨，這個戶頭支付了很多信用卡的簽單。小傑克對威爾斯說。 real? 是的，看來有十二筆左右。不，一共十六筆，除了他自己的信用卡之外？ 把這個戶頭的情況告訴我。威爾斯下令。十六，突然間似乎成了很重要的數字。 這是個數字戶頭。國安局在這家銀行的戶頭程式裡安裝了後門，因此才能取得它的資料。戶頭裡的錢不算多，但卻是祕密帳戶。 你能夠調出信用卡號碼嗎？ 戶頭號碼？no problem.小傑克選了帳戶號碼，把它剪下，貼到新戶頭上，然後列印出來，再把印出來的紙張交給對面。 You look at this.威爾斯說著，把他自己的一張紙交給小傑克。 小傑克接下，馬上覺得這些戶頭號碼看來很熟悉。你這張表是什麼東西？ 里奇蒙的那些壞蛋全都有信用卡，用它們買汽油，跑遍全美國對了，看來是從新墨西哥州出發。小傑克，你昨天有跟烏達．Bing.沙里連上線。看來，好像就是他在支付他們所有的費用。 小傑克再看看手中的兩張單子，把兩張單子相互比較。然後，他抬起頭來。 damn it!他罵了一聲。 威爾斯則想著電腦和現代通訊造成的奇蹟。沙洛斯維的那群槍手曾經使用信用卡購買汽油和食物，沒錯，而他們的小朋友沙里則匯了一些錢進入某個銀行戶頭，付掉這些簽單。他可能會在星期一取消這些銀行戶頭，讓它們從地球上消失。但他這樣做已經太遲了。 小傑克，是誰告訴沙里把錢匯進銀行戶頭？我們替自己找到了一個目標，威爾斯心想，但沒有說出口來。也許不只一個目標。