Path To War. Don Pendleton

decided he’d leave it up to each soldier whether he wanted to use it. “What about stateside?”

      Goatee sounded irritated as he said, “What about it?”

      “Our backs covered?”

      “They are, indeed,” White Suit said. “The situation has been resolved. Those who were aware of our dipping into the Serpent Tank are no longer among the living. We’re in complete control of the tank. As for the three exterminators, they are, we understand, safely back in Peshawar.”

      Baraka didn’t feel one hundred percent reassured. Perhaps it was because he would be the spearhead, out there risking it all while these guys hunkered down in these posh digs, waiting on the final outcome. He watched as Goatee settled a briefcase on the table.

      “Now,” he said, “if you will step up, Mr. Baraka, we will go over the final battle strategy and then, sir, you are on your way.”

      To what? Baraka wondered, moving toward the table. Glory, riches or death? These men, he considered, were hell-bent on creating a New World Order in their image, one built on the blood and suffering of what would prove to be thousands of men, women and children.

      And the possibility of nuclear holocaust.

      Ron Baraka wondered right then about his own sanity, and just how far he would go to pull off the revolution of the ages.

      ONCE CONSIDERED an adventurer’s paradise, a thriving hub for artists, poets and travelers the world over, even once tagged the Paris of North Africa, Morocco, the Executioner knew, was changing, and for the worse. Situated at the far northwest corner of North Africa, its shoreline spanning both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, it was a short ferry, or hydrofoil ride from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar. Perfect, as far as logistics for extremist forays into Spain went. Times did change, Bolan realized, and with the expansion of Islamic jihad into once-moderate Morocco, there was no longer the allure of some Arabian Nights fantasy, a guaranteed peaceful stroll through the souks, a leisurely hour or so spent in a bathhouse, or wandering the kasbah, marveling at the citadels, ramparts and fortifications the old sultans had erected.

      No, the extremists had found a new home, due to both its close proximity to Europe—where terrorists could hop back and forth, planning or acting out atrocities, then seeking safe haven in Morocco—and the fact that it was inclined to cooperate with the West in its war on terror. Meaning it was fertile ground to stoke the flames of fanaticism. And with its vast expanse of desert and mountain ranges to the south of Casablanca, American intelligence was lately learning of terror camps springing up, extremists from other countries shopping here for fresh cannon fodder.

      The world, Bolan thought, was becoming darker, stranger, more vicious and savage with each passing day. If he was so inclined, he might become depressed that the scourge of Animal Man seemed to be expanding, a boiling dark cloud, where no one was safe anywhere, anytime.

      But in his War Everlasting there was no time for a dark night of the soul. It was his task, his duty to the innocent, who wished only to live in peace, to hunt down and trample the plague of evil wherever, whenever he could.

      The Cabaret Medina was next up for the Executioner’s cleansing fire.

      Bolan navigated the domed alleyways, following the twists and turns, having committed to memory the course to his next hit as drawn out by his team. With Mousuami, his thugs and the North Koreans the ghost of a memory, the soldier thoroughly trusted his team when it came to their intelligence on the players in question, the numbers, their pedigrees and such.

      And the player on deck was the great white shark of Islamic jihad in Casablanca. With luck, the soldier would net him, alive, if not thrashing.

      The souks were shut down, but Bolan found the alleys teeming with shadows on the move, the night alive, with both prey and predator alike. Swiftly passing beneath the high arch, he cut left down a wide alley, caught the muffled din of music about midway down, spotted the banyan tree that landmarked he had arrived. Several couples, spilled half-drunk through the doors of the Cabaret Medina, the establishment advertised by an ornately carved sign, trimmed in gold, and hung above the entrance.

      The Beretta 93-R already fixed with a sound suppressor for what he intended a quick and quiet hard hit, Bolan only hoped he could tip his hat to his team’s intel once again.

      He would know soon enough, as he moved inside the Cabaret Medina to a blast of American rock and roll.

      NABHAT KAIROUSH HAD a decision to make, as he considered the future of Islamic jihad, both in and beyond Morocco.

      He was gathered with his three most trusted lieutenants for their nightly situation report and brief. Before getting down to business they always gorged themselves on couscous, fruit, spicy lamb and chicken. Mohammed and Abibah were now helping themselves to fresh tea lighting cigarettes at the same time. Under the dictates of Islamic law forbidding drug use, Kairoush should have chastised Fetouka for indulging himself on the native-grown marijuana, but the man was like a brother to him, forever loyal, always ready to shed blood, a hungry eye toward the future of jihad. Men of war, he reasoned, owed it to themselves to unwind, no matter what their pleasure.

      And they were at war, make no mistake. Always braced for the worst, they kept their AK-74s canted against their chairs, a quick grab if the Moroccan authorities or the hated American FBI made it past Toulajah, who was posted outside the door watching the hall that led from the cabaret’s dance floor to the back office.

      Kairoush sipped his tea, allowed them a few moments to relax, glancing around the spartanly furnished war room. They were far enough removed from the raucous crowd, drinking and dancing the night away in the cabaret, to speak at normal conversation level, though the walls thumped to the rhythm of American rock and roll. The cabaret wasn’t only a front for washing cash that came to him by way of fellow brothers in jihad who needed to remain at large but have ready funds available, but the business raked in enough money to buy weapons, explosives, recruit and train young fighters in the camp they ran in the desert. He was responsible for three recent car bombings in Morocco that had claimed sixty-eight lives, half of the victims, foreigners of one type or other. It galled him that he was forced to kill his fellow countrymen, but the government had chosen to hold hands with the Great Satan, and a message needed to be sent to those in power.

      Sleep with the Devil, they could die with the Devil.

      It was long since time, he believed, to reshape his country in the image of true Islam. All non-Muslims were the enemy, no exceptions.

      As if reading his thoughts, Fetouka began the discussion. “I must ask again—do you feel it wise to trust the infidels in what is a venture so risky it may topple our organization?”

      Kairoush pursed his lips, bobbed his head, the great leader taking his time, considering what sage advice he could deliver. He decided simple and straightforward was best. “My brothers, first I do not trust the Americans. Bear in mind, though, they came to us, practically on bended knee.”

      “With money so that we could insure the safety of the North Koreans and grant safe passage for a suitcase nuke, which by all rights, should be ours,” Mohammed groused.

      “I concur with your sentiments,” Kairoush calmly said, looking to keep the meeting from spiraling down into heated argument. “Granted, I believe the Americans should come bearing greater gifts than a few briefcases of their hundred-dollar bills. But we can put their money to good use for our own operations. Further, I intend to meet with the head mercenary—”

      “Mercenary?” Abibah interrupted. “Nabhat, for all we know, they could be CIA, looking to walk us into a trap.”

      “I have considered that possibility, Abibah,” Kairoush answered, putting an edge to his voice, a warning he hoped the others cued in on to not interrupt again. “But when the North Koreans arrived and I met with them, I came to believe that these American mercenaries have their own agenda, one that does not involve any patriotic love of their country or any covert action against us.”

      Fetouka blew the harsh smoke out his nostrils. “What are the chances we can acquire a Suitcase