Two Lonely Souls
Chapter 9
A Jihadist with a Crush
Isabella left after meeting with the Imans. She was physically exhausted, and had to teach the next day. She hoped Colby would not be terribly late but there was no way to tell. It had been several days since they had dinner together and she missed their time to catch up during the day. Cole brought her home, handed the keys to her car to the armed guard at the door, and rode up the elevator with her making sure she got in safely. She said hello to Rosa, suggested perhaps a light pasta salad for dinner, went to her room, showered and climbed into bed naked. She was asleep immediately.
Sometime later, Isabella was awakened by Colby bringing her dinner in bed, pasta salad, some watermelon and her favorite sparkling water. He teased her at how her long slightly curly hair was all askew since she had been too tired to comb it. She laughed slightly embarrassed and gave him a kiss, the sheet dropping down exposing most of her upper body. Colby reached over and lovingly touched her breasts tracing the lines that were becoming profound indicating the furthering of her pregnancy. He fed her some of the light food she seemed to be able to keep down and returned the tray downstairs. She was tired, and a little fearful of what might be coming, and she needed Colby more than ever now. He came back upstairs, lying on the bed while they talked of their fears, of how much he did not want her involved in this case but saw little choice, and their happiness at the news of the baby. They both imagined he or she was conceived on that night that Colby could not seem to get enough of her body. The timing was right and there had been ample opportunity. Isabella was fearful that it was still very early and she had never been pregnant before, but had been through so much in the last couple of years that perhaps her body was not ready, even if she was. Colby kissed her sweetly, touched her face gently, and gave her an encouraging smile before he went to shower. She lay there waiting for his return, knowing his touch would dissolve all of her fears and concerns and fill her only with desire and passion.
The next morning Cole came into the Penthouse much earlier than usual to talk with Colby. It had already been on the news, the Iman from the mosque they had visited the day before had been killed, his throat slit. Cole was concerned because if the Iman had been killed for looking into the terrorist situation, then they may also have seen the car. He had one of the armed guards checking the car for bombs, but for Isabella's protection they needed different transportation. Colby immediately got on the phone with the guard checking the car, and sure enough they had found a bomb. It had enough C-4 to blow a hole in the entire parking garage and possibly destabilize the entire building. Isabella had come downstairs and heard part of the conversation. Colby called Don who was already at the Iman murder site and he got very agitated by the news of the bomb in Isabella's car. He would order the bomb squad there to deactivate the device. Isabella should not leave the building under any circumstances. Colby notified the guards at the front desk to put the building on alert code red. This building, being one of most secure in the city, had a set of codes to determine the security level. If anyone in the building, or the building itself, was under serious threat the alert would go to red. No visitors, no maintenance personnel, no one except those who live there. Extra guards would be put on and the garage would be put on complete shutdown with guards and bomb seeking equipment.
Colby calmly updated Isabella on what had occurred and that they wouldn't be leaving for the day. She remained silent and absolutely calm. She had faced much worse threats then this, and would not panic. Everything that could be done was being done.
Two hours later the bomb squad took the decommissioned bomb and the car to the police bomb squad to be evaluated for a bomber's signature. The Iman's murder had upset the entire community and Don was stressed from dealing with the fall out. Another letter arrived to the FBI, which Don faxed to Isabella to translate and offer input. This letter was in a different dialect of Arabic. The author was very complimentary of Isabella's skills and assessment of his own abilities and background. Her approach to the Imans was skillful and well played. His arrogance and impression of Isabella's strengths and abilities made her sick to her stomach. She called Don with her initial assessment and faxed him the complete translation. They were all conferencing in from Isabella's Penthouse and the war room at the FBI. After reading the undue adulation in the letter directed at Isabella, everyone was very uncomfortable. This jihadist terrorist seemed like a kid with a crush, a very dangerous crush. He seemed to now have two targets, the original one and Isabella.
"Isa, I am sorry that I dragged you into this. I should never have exposed you…"
"Don, whenever your self-flagellation is over, I want to revisit our original suggestion."
"Isa.."
"No, Don. I want you to bring in Lt. Col. Tommy Gifford. If you don't do it under the auspices of the FBI, I will go over your head to Homeland Security. And don't think I won't. You are the one who always tries to work across the alphabet soups. Do it this time to save the city and to save me. Please Don, we need help. Tommy and his team can help us."
There was silence on the line. Bringing in a military Special Forces group in to support the FBI was complicated and unprecedented. He hated asking for help, but he had endangered Isabella who was their best asset and needed to replace her with a stronger team of people who could help. He had to protect the city. "Make the call Isabella. I'll take care of it on our end, but I will need your Uncle's support. No one here is going to like this."
"I'll have it done within the hour, and they'll be on a jet to LA in two. I'll let you know of their arrival time. They will stay here with me and Colby. Thank you Don. I'm calling the General now and Denny after that. They will take care of the fall out."