Tehran Decree by James Scorpio

computer’s calculator. Then he
estimated speeds and distances covered with possible fuel stops. He
crunched the numbers in his head several times making absolutely
sure they were accurate and reliable, even though the computer
supposedly supplied accurate data; from past experience he knew
that the computer was only as good as the operator and wasn’t
always totally reliable.
    One thing he liked to do was organise and improvise
on the spot; it was a very necessary skill for a successful
terrorist. Thinking on ones feet would commence from the word go
and continue until the mission was well and truly over.
    Tentatively he made two bookings, one for a Lear jet,
and the other for a helicopter. In the back pages of his diary he
also penciled in two other companies which supplied similar
aircraft -- these he would access if the current firm failed him
for some unforeseen reasons. Back-ups were essential and well
illustrated by the Iranian hostage situation fiasco code named
Eagle Claw. The operation resulted in eight American deaths and
total humiliation on the world stage. This was largely due to
equipment failure, inclement weather and most important of all,
lack of efficient back-up. Had a second independent stand by team
been available the operation could well have been a great success
for the US. Kazeni was determined to learn not only from their own
mistakes, but those of the enemy as well.
    He had considered tendering the companies between
each other for the best offers, but eventually discarded the idea.
Time was short and money was not a problem in the devious world of
the BIB.

    Chapter Twenty-one

    White House, Washington
    David Bourne dropped a heavy brown envelope in the
vice presidents ‘IN’ tray, smiled slightly at his superior, and
left the room without a word.
    Jenkins finished his coffee, peered around the office
area, then carefully slit open the envelope with his silver letter
opener. He browsed slowly through the photocopied material stopping
at a recent communiqué. He cursed, openly repeating the ‘F’ word
several times, the bastards were still cutting him out of the loop.
He wasn’t sure if this was the ingrained treatment most vice
presidents got when placed in charge during a presidential absence
or not. It was akin to a locum doctors position, where people
always avoided making an appointment with a locum MD whenever their
favourite doctor was on leave.
    The only other option was almost certainly personal
and he didn’t really care about the reasons, he had his own way of
dealing with such things. Contempt was best stemmed by an equal and
opposite dose of the same thing and when combined with Fabian like
tactics, it was devastatingly successful, the only problem with
this approach was that it became addictive, and was the quickest
way to a life of self corruption.
    In any case, he much preferred being treated with
contempt, it tended to clear the air of bullshit and gave him a
reason to be irascible. He shrugged off this latest dose of human
nature and continued his monitoring.
    Most of the info was outdated and run-of-the-mill
stuff, but occasionally a gem would be found among the rubble. He
stared at the penultimate page from the end. It was an update of
the presidential motorcade route in Sydney. A thoughtful Australian
commissioner of police had added an extra notation to the security
listing.
    Apparently, one security barrier at the airport exit
end of the cross city tunnel would be briefly removed to allow a
group of US and Australian service veterans to cheer and wave
farewell to their president in a more personal way. A hasty apology
was given by an inspector Jarvis, who pointed out that the vets
would be fronted by a row of federal police right up until the
moment the presidential motorcade passed by, then the police line
would break allowing a gap of several metres to allow both
president and veterans to wave to each other. A fifteen second
window would be allowed before the police