Collateral Damage - Marc Cerasini [87]
Jack sat down. Layla breezed past him and out the door, avoiding his gaze. Henderson activated a digital recorder on the desk. Jack heard a voice speaking Arabic, then the translator talking over him.
"America's alliance with our enemy has torn the Middle East apart," the translator said in a robotic voice. "The people of America spit in our faces every day. They must be punished for their transgressions and they soon will be. And we, the Arab peoples, can profit from America's pain."
A pause, then the Arabic voice spoke again.
"The Muslim world is ready to rise up and smite America," said the translator. "When the terrorism comes... America's economy will suffer enormous losses. Europe is much more stable, and so is its currency. It would be wise to switch our currency standard from dollars to euros before catastrophe strikes..."
The speech continued, but Henderson turned the recorder off.
"The man you heard was Abbad al Kabbibi, the finance minister for the Saudi government," he told Jack. "Minister Kabbibi made those remarks last month, in a secret meeting with key representatives of the Arab League."
"Kabbibi," Jack said. "As in Said Kabbibi?"
"Turns out our fugitive terrorist Biohazard Bob is the first cousin of the Saudi Arabian Finance Minister. What a coincidence."
Jack frowned. "And Soren Ungar?"
"Kabbibi has formed an alliance with Ungar," Henderson replied. "And Ungar, in turn, has aligned himself with French financial institutions and banks in Greece, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Germany, and Japan. As far as we can tell, Soren Ungar now controls two-thirds of the U.S. dollars on the currency market. Perhaps more."
"So he is engineering a currency crash," Jack said.
"That's what Berkovic thinks now, too," Henderson said with a nod. "But this goes further than that. Finance Minister Kabbibi is talking about switching the Saudi currency standard from the dollar to the euro. The harm that would do to our economy would be irreparable."
Henderson rose, placed the palms of his hands on the desk.
"Think back to what happened to Great Britain's economy when the world switched from the pound to the dollar. Their standard of living dropped and continues to fall, unemployment rose, investments fled for greener pastures. The Brits have never recovered from the blow."
"What about the currency reserve held by the Chinese?" Jack asked.
"The Chi-Coms would have no choice but to dump dollars, too, once a run starts. That, or they collapse along with us."
Jack's face flushed. His fingers tightened on the chair's armrest. "These attacks were nothing but a ploy," he said, unable to hide his outrage. "Just an excuse for Soren Ungar and the Arabs to dump our currency. The Hawk, the zealots from Kurmastan, maybe even Ibrahim Noor himself, they're nothing but pawns in the world's biggest currency scam. Collateral damage, just like their victims." Jack locked eyes with Henderson. "Will Ungar pull the trigger when the markets open in the morning?"
Henderson shook his head. "He's going to wait until the full impact of the U.S. attacks set in. He's got the perfect forum, too. In two hours and fifty minutes — two-thirty in the afternoon, Geneva time — Soren Ungar is scheduled to make his annual speech before the International Board of Currency Traders in Switzerland. That's when the little bastard is going to drop the bomb."
Jack leaned forward, his voice quiet but tight. "He has to be stopped."
"How? Assassination of a foreign national is illegal, under penalty of U.S. law. Besides... we don't have the assets to move that quickly."
"Yes we do." For the first time since he entered the office, Jack smiled. "I know a man stationed in Geneva right now. If anyone can pull off an assassination like this, it's Robert Ellis."
"Ellis, huh?" Henderson nodded. "Yeah, he is good... but it's doubtful anyone at CTU will green light the operation. Not even Richard Walsh would sign off on that — too much heat. And you can forget Nathan Wheelock. Mr. Clean would never get his hands dirty with authorizing an assassination on foreign