He remained in Iraq, nursing his aunt through her lengthy but terminal illness. The CIA handlers had no suspicions, and his ailing aunt was a reasonable excuse for him to remain there for an extended time. With the growing threat of Al-Qaeda and ISIS, the CIA had bigger fish to fry, and they paid no attention to him. Ignoring him was a serious mistake. Once in Iraq, a Syrian immediately realized Dayyan’s potential shortly after introductions. After careful vetting, Dayyan was introduced to an unknown man. Someone described as “very powerful.” For the next five months, Dayyan met with various people, who provided training in skills including weapons, electronics, radios, warfare tactics, and other skills of warfare. The need for some of his training made little sense, but he remained loyal and worked hard to learn. His new friends continued to provide him help in many ways after returning to the United States. Introductions and training continued for an unknown and undefined mission.
Funds provided by his handlers could be explained as money his aunt had left him. He used that money to open the small appliance repair store. He faithfully followed instructions others had drilled into him in Iraq. Money arrived sometimes in simple mailed envelopes or sometimes by a “customer” who would pay a large bill in cash. With the cash, he bought various items from a list that he had forcibly made to memorize. He bought an old seventies vintage Chevrolet Suburban and an even older Dodge crew cab pickup truck. His father passed away a few months after he returned, so he did not have to worry about the “traitor” asking questions. He took the trucks to the auto repair shop his father had worked at and, using cash, had them restore the trucks to near new condition.
He bought a few guns but not enough to raise suspicion. He started to develop a cell of wolf terrorists. He would not be a lone wolf as the American media was fond of naming terrorists. Lone wolves were known to perform stupid acts, usually resulting in their arrest or death. Dayyan was extremely careful. Vetting would occur on any new acquaintance or unknown people. Dayyan simply provided basic information on them. If there were any doubts or worries, he would ignore them and push them out of his life. Dayyan’s cell consisted of five direct “soldiers” besides himself and his friend Naseem. The other five men vetted others and built their own network of loyal followers of Islam. Each added other loyal soldiers. For added safety each group kept, their members secret for the other groups to add another layer of protection against discovery.
Dayyan now sent each of his soldiers a coded text message directing them to meet at his shop as soon as possible.
Dayyan did not have to wait long before his best friend, Naseem, showed up. Soon after Naseem’s arrival, two others from his cell showed up. About a half hour later, a FedEx driver walked in and handed a small package to Dayyan and held out the electronic tablet, which Dayyan signed. After the driver left, Dayyan took the package behind the counter and examined it. The box was about eighteen inches square and ten inches deep and heavy for its size. He opened the outer cardboard box and found a tactical plastic case with a sealed envelope taped to the top lid. The top of the envelope had a large bold message that read, “Do not open until contact arrives to verify.” There was also a set of numbers and letters under the message “3-7-H-U-8-3-S-T.”
About thirty minutes later, a man walked into the shop, Dayyan asked him, “Can I help you?”
The man answered, “I have an envelope for you.”
Dayyan looked at a set of numbers on the front of the envelope, “4-9-K-Y-3-9-7-B.” Then using a notepad, he compared the numbers to the ones in the FedEx package and he confirmed the same code.
When Dayyan finished confirming the code, the stranger asked, “Okay, my brother?”
“Yes, it appears to be,” Dayyan replied.
The two men then shook hands and exchanged names. The new man’s name was Adham. He told Dayyan he was from Syria but did not freely exchange any more information. He appeared about twenty-five years old. He was clean-shaven like Dayyan, and his English was excellent. Dayyan wondered if Adham had undergone the same training as himself. Part of Dayyan’s training was always to remain clean-shaven and dress, act, and speak as close to American English as possible. He had even taken an advanced English language course focusing on accent and true American ways of speaking. Dayyan assumed that perhaps Adham had done the same.
Adham took out his cell phone and called someone. The call was answered quickly, and he simply said, “God is great.” And he hung up.
About two minutes later, three other men of Mideastern-looking descent entered the shop. Within twenty minutes, the balance of Dayyan’s own cell arrived. This brought the count of men to ten. Dayyan locked the front door and put out a Closed sign, and the group all retreated into the back of the repair shop and started preparing for their mission.
Chapter 1
2245, Day Zero, Las Vegas, Nevada
Lee Garrett woke suddenly from a sound sleep. An eerie quiet had triggered a nerve. Yes quiet. A loud noise had not stirred him, but instead the lack of noise. Lee awoke thinking, Something is odd. The hotel room air conditioner was no longer drumming out its constant low rattle-infused sound. The symphony of music and noise from the popular Las Vegas downtown area was gone. He looked at the digital clock on the nightstand next to the bed. The clock face was dark.
Lee was on the nineteenth floor of a hotel room at the Double J hotel on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. Having gone out to dinner, he returned to his room at around 10:15. He had phoned his wife, Madison, spoke with her for about ten minutes, and then undressed, climbed into bed, and was fast asleep within moments. Now Lee guessed the time was around 11:30 to 12:00 a.m. This weird awakening displayed how humans become so familiar to noise that a sudden lack of noise can be alarming. Lee’s internal alarm had sounded loudly and clearly.
Lee climbed out of bed, found his way in the pitch dark to the window, and pulled open the curtains.
“Shit,” Lee said aloud to the empty room.
Las Vegas was dark. There were no lights as far or wide as he could see. The only lights Lee could see below were car headlamps and taillamps. There was no building, marquee, lamppost, or any common Vegas overlamped signage.
“This is not good,” Lee added as he stared from the window.
Suddenly and horrendously, a massive fireball erupted on the other side of town. Lee knew the explosion was on the other side of Interstate-15. As the fireball erupted, it grew into a monstrous red and yellow glowing inferno. Then the shock wave hit. The windows rattled and the building shook. Lee stepped back from the window fearing perhaps the glass would shatter. Nevertheless, the large windows held. He moved back in closer again and watched as the fireball climbed high into the black night and dots of fire and smoke arose around the main explosion. The glowing fires spread, all of them getting larger and burning more furiously by the second. The glow from the flames lit up the surrounding city, providing light to the pitch-black enveloping the rest of the city.
So what the hell is happening? Lee thought as he went to the table lamp and tried it. “Nothing,” He said while trying another lamp. “No go. Okay, power is definitely out.”
In the dark, Lee felt his way back to the nightstand. Lee always had a small flashlight with him when he traveled, and he kept it near the bed. He fumbled for the flashlight and his cell phone and found both on the nightstand. Lee pressed the button on the phone, and it lit up like normal. Time was 10:47. The signal meter was flat with no bars showing, and the “No signal” symbol was on. Calling 9-1-1 was pointless, Lee figured. Thousands of Las Vegas Residents and guests alike had surely seen and felt the explosion. So instead, he selected his wife’s number from the favorites list and hit