CHAPTER 29
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. -William Shakespeare
TERRORISTS BELIEVED TO HAVE DIED
IN W. VIRGINIA MINE EXPLOSION
CHARLESTON, W. VA - After a three-month reign of terror, a two-day manhunt and a tense standoff between suspected terrorists and a small army of federal, state and local law enforcement officials, two massive explosions in an abandoned West Virginia coal mine have apparently ended the manhunt- and the terrorists’ lives.
It was about 8 p.m. yesterday evening, just as the sky was beginning to turn dark, when the explosions ripped through an abandoned mine in Fayette County West Virginia where the three suspected terrorists were thought to be hiding. It is believed, although not yet verified, that the terrorists themselves detonated the first blast, choosing suicide rather than capture. The second blast may also have been detonated by the terrorists using a timing device, or it may have been the result of gases trapped in the mine being ignited by the initial explosion.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the terrorists were in the mine at the time of the explosion,” says FBI Special Agent Tony Giordano, who headed the manhunt for the three men since Wednesday when they were identified in a photograph taken shortly before the explosion on the Washington Mall at the entrance to the Smithsonian Metro Station. “They were tracked to the mine and then they fired upon the team of law enforcement personnel who had them surrounded. They knew that there was no way for them to escape, so they apparently chose to take their own lives rather than face the humiliation of spending the rest of their lives in an American prison.”
FBI Associate Director Carl Drake, the head of the special terrorist task force that was set up after the first explosions three months ago, said that the nation owes a debt of gratitude to all of the men and women serving on the task force for finding and bringing to justice the men responsible for the deaths of many prominent Americans. He also called Agent Giordano “a true hero,” for moving the other law enforcement personnel away from the mine shortly before the explosions.
“Agent Giordano was truly an agent of God yesterday,” Drake said. “The Lord directed him to move the law enforcement personnel out of harm’s way and he heard the Lord’s word.”
According to the morning paper, it was over. The terrorists were dead. Giordano and Drake were heroes. Americans could resume their normal lives, whatever that meant.
For Toby, however, there was no closure. Something just didn’t seem right.
“Did you see the article in The Herald today?” he asked Trey during breakfast at their Charleston, West Virginia hotel. “Where are the bodies? Where is any direct evidence linking the three men in the photo to any of the bombings? Doesn’t anyone care that no law enforcement personnel ever saw these men?”
“Settle down, Toby,” Rawlings responded. “The investigation isn’t closed. Drake is sending a team of forensics experts down to the mine to search for any evidence that will tell us conclusively once and for all who the people in the mine were and whether they were connected with the bombings.”
“I can tell you right now that they won’t find anything useful,” Sullivan said decisively. “You were there. You heard and felt those explosions. You know as well as I do that they won’t find any fingerprints. Hell, they probably won’t find any fingers. Maybe they’ll find some teeth or pieces of teeth, but what good will that do? We don’t have dental records of the suspects. No, there won’t be enough left of whoever was in that mine to determine if they were even from this planet.”
“So what are you suggesting?” Trey asked. “Are you saying there wasn’t anyone in the mine? We both heard the shooting, and we both heard and felt the bombs. There were definitely people in there and I’d say that the chances were very good that those people were the terrorists. Who else would have explosives like that and blow themselves up except for Muslims who have this strange belief that there are virgins waiting for them in heaven?”
“Maybe you’re right,” Sullivan said, “but I would feel a whole lot better about this case if I could see some real terrorists - alive or dead.”
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“Do you feel better about things now that all of the evidence is in and it supports the theory that there were three men in the mine and that their facial features and teeth make it likely that they were the men in the photo?” Trey asked Toby when the preliminary forensics report was released a week after the West Virginia explosions.
“No, do you?” he answered with a question of his own.
“Why wouldn’t I,” Trey answered. “Everyone that matters is satisfied. Drake is convinced the terrorists are dead. The director is convinced. The president is convinced. And even the American people are convinced. You saw that poll in the paper this morning: seventy-nine percent of those who were aware of the bombings believe that the terrorists were in the mine and killed in the explosions.”
“Well, I don’t think I’ll ever be completely convinced, because I never laid eyes on the terrorists alive or dead, and it is difficult for me to believe what I can’t see,” Sullivan said, “but it doesn’t matter much what I think, because the taskforce is going to be dissolved and that will be that.”
“That’s true,” Trey answered as he sifted through some mail that had been placed in his in-box. “Oh, here’s one for you,” he said as he handed an envelope to Toby.
“For me? I wonder what it is?” Sullivan asked as he tore open the padded envelope.
“It’s a DVD with a note: ‘Sorry I forgot to give you this at the Smithsonian. I found a memory chip that I had just taken out of my camera before the explosion. I put all of the photos on this disc. It probably doesn’t mean anything now, but I found the card you gave me and thought I should send it to you.’ It’s from some guy named Marvin Moore.”
“Well, he’s most likely right. It probably doesn’t mean anything, but he took the time to send it, so I’ll take the time to look at it - but it will have to be later after our close out session with Drake.
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“Could you believe that meeting today?” Toby asked Tad as they were having a glass of wine before dinner. “It was more like a prayer meeting than a closing meeting.”
“Yes, and I don’t think Drake appreciated you disturbing the mood by insinuating that the forensics report wasn’t conclusive enough,” Tad responded.
“Well, it wasn’t conclusive enough and you know it,” said Toby. “Not even a jury of 12 evangelical Christians would have convicted three unidentified Muslims of the bombings with that little evidence. It was a decision based on wishful thinking rather than evidence- which reminds me, I might have in my possession the only real piece of evidence I have ever seen or touched during this investigation.”
“Oh yea, what is that?” Tad asked with obvious curiosity.
“This,” Toby said as he pulled the photo disc out of his briefcase. “Let’s watch it on the big screen.”
Toby put the disc in the player and turned on the large television monitor. Then he began flipping through the digital photographs.
After seeing the first five photos of Marvin Moore’s family in front of various D.C. sites, Toby started pushing the advance button a little more rapidly. After looking at 20 or so more, he suddenly stopped and went back to the previous photo. Walking closer to the screen, he pointed to a man standing near the entrance to the Smithsonian Metro station. “Is that who I think it is?” he asked Tad.
“Who?” she asked. “That guy with the beard?”