When Harvath’s BlackBerry rang, he was still in a state of shock. Though nearly every civilian in New York City would find it impossible to use their cell phone at this moment because of the overloaded system, Harvath’s worked because it was tied to a special government program that granted priority access in times of crisis or emergency. Excusing himself, he walked to the other side of the roof. “Harvath,” he said raising the device to his ear.
“Scot, thank God,” replied his boss, Gary Lawlor. “Where are you?”
“In Manhattan. Twenty-third and First, on the roof of the VA Medical Center.”
“What can you tell me about what’s going on there?”
“We’re under attack. That’s what’s going on here. I just saw an NYPD helicopter blown out of the sky by an RPG. And from what I’ve heard, all the bridges and tunnels into and out of Manhattan have also been destroyed.”
“That’s exactly what we’re hearing here at DHS. All available local, state, and federal assets have been dispatched-marine units, aviation, you name it. They’re revving into full-blown search-and-rescue mode right now.”
“If you want me to suit up,” responded Harvath, “just tell me where I need to be.”
Lawlor pulled a paper from his desk and said, “There have been explosions at Air Traffic Control radar stations in New York and New Jersey, which have knocked the ATC system off-line in your area. Based on the intel I’m seeing, I’m worried that whoever did this may have a secondary agenda.”
“You think they’re trying to pull another 9/11?”
“We have no idea. When the sniper situation broke out at LaGuardia, the FAA started diverting flights, but anything is possible. Since you’re there, we need you to figure out what’s going on.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“I don’t know. From what I hear, it’s already anarchy in New York. They’ve got a lot of good people on the job, but their coordination is falling apart, just like on 9/11. Everyone’s rushing to the nearest attack site to try to help pull out survivors. The overwhelming number of sites is breaking down response capabilities. I won’t be able to get you any support. At least not right now.”
Considering the magnitude of the attacks, Harvath wasn’t surprised, but he needed more information to go on. “ Gary, there are eight million people in New York City. Who am I looking for and what is the target?”
“A communication was intercepted earlier today. In it was a reference to ‘Allah’s bombmaker,’ who had been brought ‘against his will and in violation of international law’to New York City.”
“That’s impossible,” said Harvath. “No one could have put something like this together that fast. We grabbed Sayed Jamal this morning. How would anyone know we have him, much less where we have him?”
“That’s what you need to find out,” responded Lawlor, “I want you to question Jamal yourself. If this turns out to be an al-Qaeda operation, there’s a good chance he had a hand in planning or training the people involved. Either way, he may know the end game.”
“He’s in JTTF custody now. Why don’t we let their interrogators handle it?”
“Because somebody had to have leaked the fact that we grabbed him and have him in New York, that’s why. Until we can identify and plug that leak, I can’t trust anyone else but you on this. Is that clear?”
“Have you tried reaching the president?” replied Harvath, who could tell by the tone of his voice that Gary Lawlor was just as angry as he was.
“Of course I’ve tried, but DC’s just as chaotic as New York right now. Apparently, he was someplace in Wisconsin, but now they’re rushing him to Air Force One. Listen, we both know that he’s going to be locked down so tight only his closest people will have access to him for the next several hours. We’re on our own and I’m giving you a direct order. Lean on Jamal as hard as you have to. I don’t want any more people to die. We’ll worry about the consequences of the interrogation later.”
That was all Harvath needed to hear. But convincing the JTTF to allow him to conduct the kind of interrogation on their prisoner that he wanted to conduct, even after today’s events, was something that Harvath thought was going to be a lot easier said than done.