Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [67]
As the last few details of their new timeline fell into place, Mustafa rose to his feet. “My brothers,” he said with gratitude in his voice, “you have planned well. Speed and surprise are the two critical elements in our plan, and we must keep the loyalists off balance and unable to regroup for an effective counterattack. There are five pivotal timeframes that must be met. I’ll use X hour—the 0300 attack time—as a reference point.
“By X plus 12 hours—0300 to 1500 hours—the king, royal family, and key civilian and military commanders must be eliminated. Cut off the head, and we’ll only have to deal with the carcass of a floundering beast.
“By X plus 24 hours, the coup must be materially completed. We will then announce to the world the new regime in Saudi Arabia. We will warn the infidels that any retaliatory strikes will result in the detonation of dirty bombs that will turn Saudi oil fields into a radioactive wasteland for the next fifty years.
“By X plus 30 hours, we will release the first of three mandates to the world: the Five Demands we have so painstakingly crafted. The remaining mandates will be released shortly thereafter. We will also announce the cessation of oil exports and instruct Saudi tankers to return immediately to Saudi Arabia.
“By X plus 48 hours, we will detonate a fifty-kiloton atomic bomb to demonstrate our nuclear capability. We will warn the infidels that we have the delivery systems to make good on our threats.”
Mustafa was pleased to see they were taking notes. Though they knew the timetables by heart, he could never go over them too often as far as he was concerned.
“Failure to meet these timetables will negate the only two advantages we have: speed and surprise. I ask you—I implore you, my brothers—to carry out your assignments with ruthless efficiency. Our success depends on it, particularly in the first twenty-four hours of the plan, when we are most vulnerable. Now, are there any further questions?”
“As things now stand, what do you see as the greatest threat to our plans, Prince Mustafa?” For once, Bawarzi asked a good question, Mustafa mused.
He replied, “Our two greatest threats are the risk of discovery due to significant troop movements and the stepped-up airwave communications required to deploy our forces in short order, and failure to take out key leaders and facilities in the opening hours of our plan, thus enabling loyalist forces to regroup. If either occurs, our plan is doomed. The Zionists are also a wild card. We can’t say for sure how Israel will react, particularly after they realize that the Five Demands require an end to their existence.”
Mustafa quickly quashed any discussion of how to mitigate the challenges. They had to focus now, he knew, on only those things within their control, leaving all other, uncontrollable events to the will of Allah. There was precious little they could do about them, so why worry about it now?
At 1030 hours sharp they said their prayers and left their ramshackle headquarters for the last time. By this time tomorrow they would either be occupying the royal palace in Riyadh or dead. There could be no middle ground.
24
The White House
26 September 2017
Media experts predicted it would be the most highly watched event in history, and analysts and news teams alike planned accordingly. The Burkmeister/McCarty press conference was moved from the Brady Press Room to the East Room of the White House to accommodate more than three times the normal contingent of reporters, and it was still considered the toughest ticket in Washington to get. As at a Cape Canaveral space launch, the tension escalated as the countdown to launch neared zero.
The two leaders entered the crowded room together and were immediately accorded a standing ovation in a show of respect and patriotism. They took their seats behind a table on a raised platform and the room went quiet.
“Good morning, and thank you for coming,” Burkmeister stated. He quickly read through