The Panther

Chet said to us, “The place on the hull where the jihadists detonated the explosives was the ship’s galley where crew members were lining up for lunch, which is why there were seventeen dead and thirty-nine injured.” He thought a moment and continued, “So it would seem that Al Qaeda knew the location of the galley and knew it was the first lunch shift.”

I thought about that. A hundred or more crew members clustered in the galley for lunch. And right on the other side of the armored hull was a boat filled with maybe seven hundred pounds of explosives. The question was, Did Al Qaeda know-or did The Panther know-where and when to detonate those explosives? Or, like most of their successes, was it just dumb luck?

Chet concluded his briefing, “The crew fought the flooding and had the damage under control by nightfall. Divers on board inspected the hull and reported that the keel was not damaged, so the billion-dollar ship was salvageable.” He continued, “Because we have no military base in this part of the world, the Cole was on its own for a while. But there was a Royal Navy frigate in the area, the HMS Marlborough, that proceeded at top speed and provided medical and other assistance. Eleven of the most injured sailors were flown by medevac to the French military hospital in Djibouti for surgery before being flown to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. The rest of the injured-and the dead-were flown directly to Landstuhl.” He added, “Fortunately, none of the thirty-nine injured died, but many are disabled for life.”

No one had anything to say, but then Chet surprised us by suggesting, “Let’s say a silent prayer for the dead and injured.” He bowed his head, so we all did the same and said a silent prayer.

I’m not good at this, but I did pray that the two suicide bombers were burning in hell with their dicks blown off and not getting any wine or sex in Paradise. Amen.

“Amen,” said Chet, then he started the engine and we headed back.

I looked at Chet Morgan, who was staring off into space with those glassy blue eyes. This guy was either very good at what he did, or very nuts. Maybe both. In any case, he needed close watching.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Chet opened the throttle, and we were making good time around the peninsula and back toward Elephant Rock.

There were a lot of big dorsal fins gliding around close to the boat, and if Kate and I had been alone now with Chet and his Glock, I might have been a little concerned. But then I remembered that we were here to be Panther bait, not shark bait.

Chet said to his captive audience, “If you recall, we weren’t certain that Al Qaeda was responsible for the Cole attack. This was pre-9/11 and Al Qaeda was only one of many terrorist groups that were causing us problems.”

Right. And Al Qaeda never claimed responsibility for the attack. But on the Arab street, the word was out that Al Qaeda was behind the Cole attack, and Al Qaeda recruitment went way up, just as it did after 9/11.

Chet continued, “By August 2001, right before 9/11-about the time Mr. Corey was here-we identified Bulus ibn al-Darwish, al-Numair, The Panther, as one of the three main plotters. That’s when a lot of this started to make sense.” He asked rhetorically, “Who else could have thought of this, organized it, and executed it so perfectly? It had to be an American.” He reminded us, “Most of these so-called jihadists are too stupid to even think of something like this, and too inept to pull it off.”

I partly agreed, but I said to him, “Some of the top guys are very smart and very sophisticated.”

“True,” replied Chet, “but I see a Western-educated head behind this attack. Not someone like bin Laden who’s really a country bumpkin and a clueless fundamentalist and two-bit philosopher who has his head in the clouds when it’s not up his ass.”

Interesting, and maybe true. At least the CIA thought so.

Chet continued, “No, it was someone who understood us. Someone who had knowledge about our idiotic Rules of Engagement, and someone who may have had some knowledge of the Cole’s layout and the time and date that the Cole would put into Aden Harbor, and the time of the refueling and the first lunch shift. Also someone who understood the psychological impact of an attack on an American warship that caused the death of so many American sailors.” He added, “This bastard, Bulus ibn al-Darwish, has a big hate toward America and this attack was a manifestation of that hate-a humiliating kick in our balls.”

No argument there, and I’d add that Chet Morgan had a big hate, too. I guess we all did, but Chet seemed to be taking it more personally than most of us. I mean, we’re not supposed to get into the hate game, which can screw up your judgment and your performance. You need to be cool, and most people in this business are cool to the point of cold-blooded. Hot is not cool.

But Chet had been here a long time, and he was probably frustrated and under pressure to get results. Plus he had more info than we did about The Panther, including the asshole’s psychological profile. As sometimes happens in a long investigation, the case officer starts to obsess on the fugitive and begins to see him as the cause of all his problems. It’s kind of complex, but I’ve been there. The other thing that struck me was that Chet, who had initially come across as a bit burned out, was now very animated, like a switch had been turned on. Or maybe the khat had kicked in. Or the hate.

Chet continued, “This attack has not been fully avenged. But it will be. These bastards, including Mr. al- Darwish, have to learn that there is a price to pay.”

“They know that,” Kate assured him, “and they are ready to pay it.”

“And we’re ready to make them keep paying.”

Chet was into revenge, which was good regarding terrorists, but maybe not so good regarding Ms. Mayfield whacking Chet’s colleague. But that was another subject, and probably not on today’s agenda.

I wasn’t sure I had a good take on this guy, but I was certain that Buck knew about him, though Buck doesn’t always share.

Chet had said he’d been here since the Cole was bombed, but I didn’t remember him. On the other hand, the spooks were in and out, flying off to Sana’a, Djibouti, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. And even when they were in the Sheraton in Aden, they were nearly invisible. Part of their mystique.

It must be a lonely job, and I often compared CIA officers to vampires who only hung out with other vampires and had no human friends. That’s not nice. Maybe I have CIA envy.

Chet continued his history of the Cole incident and said, “The first FBI agents sent to Yemen in response to the Cole attack worked in a very hostile environment. They were met at Aden Airport by Yemeni soldiers pointing AK-47s at them when they got off the plane.” He confided to us, “I was with the FBI that day, and I can tell you, we thought we were going to get into a firefight right there on the tarmac.” He added, “Assholes.”

So, another ugly American who didn’t like the Yemenis. How are we going to win this war on terrorism if we don’t win the hearts, minds, and confidence of our Islamic allies? Right? I mean, true, they were assholes. But they were our assholes.

Also, I was sure that Chet had been very frightened that day when he was threatened by Yemeni Army guys with lots of firepower. And when you let something or someone frighten you, you get very angry later. And you want to redeem your manhood-by killing someone. Same as on the mean streets of New York. Maybe that’s what some of this was about.

Chet continued, “Speakers in the Yemeni Parliament were calling for jihad against America, like it was us who did something wrong, and this was broadcast live on radio and TV every day.” He added, “Most of the Americans here-tourists, oil workers, and businesspeople-left the country quickly.”

Buck informed us, “The embassy was in lockdown and we sent all nonessential staff to Oman or Riyadh.”

Chet nodded, then went on, “The Yemeni government was sending us mixed signals. They said it was okay to bring our people in, but when we got here, we were threatened.”

Buck explained, “There was a lot of confusion and panic within the government.”

Ours or theirs?