Chapter Forty-Four
Al Ghaydah, Yemen
Today was a strange day, Omar thought to himself as he rode in the passenger seat of a Land Cruiser leaving the city.
First, he had received information that one of the local fishermen had seen what looked like Westerners come ashore east of the village.
Mohammad had been forthcoming with the information when a little pressure was applied.
The fisherman he had seen with them, Amir, was not in town, but a patrol eventually picked him up heading back from the border checkpoint.
He had been more difficult to break, and considerably more pressure needed to be applied.
He took the beatings fairly well. So well, in fact, that Omar had begun to doubt the man’s guilt.
He continued, just to be thorough, and when the man began losing fingers, his story changed.
He had picked up the Americans and taken them north.
When Omar asked why, the answer was simple. They had paid him.
Omar believed him, and didn’t disagree with his reasoning.
Yemen was a very poor country, particularly out in these parts, and Amir was looking to make a living like everyone else.
It was a business transaction and Omar harbored no ill will toward the man for that, despite what had happened to his brother at the hands of the infidels.
His questioning of the fisherman was business as well, as was the death of Amir when Omar slit his throat.
He needed to be punished for his insubordination to the local Al Qaeda rule, plain and simple, and they hung his body outside his house as a warning to the rest.
The second out-of-the-ordinary thing to happen to him was a phone call.
A Russian who spoke Arabic had phoned him.
He had been given the number by Omar’s business partners in Oman, who helped provide his group with arms and supplies.
The man had offered Omar a business proposition.
There were Americans in the area who had come through Al Ghaydah, and he wanted them dead.
If Omar had any information as to their whereabouts, he would pay him for it.
If Omar killed them, he would pay him for that as well. It was a win-win for Omar.
At first he was suspicious, although the fact that his partners on the other side of the border had made the introductions eased his most dire concerns.
They were true believers and would never betray him, which meant that this offer was legitimate and that they trusted it to not backfire on him.
It seemed almost too good to be true, but here it was.
The Russian wanted to help Omar kill the Americans, and he wanted to pay him for it.
Naturally Omar had agreed and said that he would provide any information he had and allow him to operate in the area, in exchange for half a million dollars.
If Omar killed the Americans, he would want a full million.
The man agreed but said he would need to see the bodies.
Foolish foreigner, Omar thought. Omar and his men would certainly withhold information to ensure that they killed the Westerners themselves, and then they would provide the bodies, making double the money.
Which is why he didn’t call the Russian back when he received a call that his group had lost contact with a checkpoint up north.
He dispatched men to check on the roadblock, as dead phone batteries were not uncommon.
However, he had received a call a little while ago confirming that all three fighters at the checkpoint were dead, stripped of their equipment, and laid out in a ditch.
It must be the Americans, but where were they going?
Omar and the local Al Qaeda forces had very little resources up north.
Then a thought occurred to him. Omar had sent several men north to the village of Al Kharkhir, just across the Saudi border.
They were supposed to shake down the locals for money and supplies, which they usually did once or twice a year.
It was an easy target, since the Saudi government rarely made it out to the isolated town, instead choosing to stay in their border compounds like they were medieval fortresses.
That must be where the Americans were headed, to attack his men.
The cell leader called the group he’d dispatched and ordered them to go north a ways, and hopefully the Americans would give chase.
Then they were to head east a ways before turning south.
They would intercept the Americans and catch them by surprise.
Omar took another dozen men with him from the village and headed toward the area.
With any luck, while the Americans were chasing his men, Omar would surprise them in the early morning, capturing them between his forces, and adding another million dollars to their cause.