Shabahh: The Phantom Terrorist

By Joseph Muratore

A page turning thriller. Shabahh (which is an Arabic name for Phantom or Ghost) is a terrorist that has previously wreaked havoc throughout Europe. Never captured or even seen Shabahh has now moved a well financed terrorist team to America to destroy the American psyche by causing, death, destruction and financial ruin to Americans from coast to coast. Shabahh wants Americans to feel the everyday pain and to live in fear like those people in the terrorist's Mid-Eastern homelands must live with. America responds by having their Secret Anti Subversive Agents (SASA) chase Shabahh in a breathless chain of events that has America reeling.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jan 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483517223

Book preview

9781483517223

Chapter One

IT’S NOT GOOD TO WiSECRACK

It was a dark misty November night in Boston. The heavy rain that had fallen earlier in the day had left large puddles and in some instances flooded streets. The bad weather hadn’t dissuaded four girl friends from attending, a two act, one-woman play in the theater section of town.

The play, acted out a scenario where a woman who had witnessed a crime, attempted to do the right thing by appearing as a witness for the prosecutors. In the process she had destroyed her life and sorely jeopardized her family.

As Julie, Carla, Rita, and Delores returned to Julie’s car in the parking garage a block from the theater, they were all commenting and arguing as to how they would have reacted to the same drama, if it had been them being the witness that they had just watched unfold in the play.

Once they were all settled in the car the conversation continued unabated, until Julie drove out of the garage and into a snarled mess of traffic. Cars were slowly moving forward due to a flooded roadway a few blocks up the street.

Carla who worked nearby, had been involved in traffic congestion in that area many times, even in dry conditions, suggested to Julie that they could probably avoid the traffic mess if she took the immediate left turn only two car lengths ahead that cut through a narrow public alley.

Julie looked ahead and commented,

You mean right there public Alley number 112, where the signs read one way, no parking on either side?

Carla responded,

That’s it, one way in our direction, turn there. We’ll avoid this traffic mess. Then we can turn right at the end of the alley and be heading toward the highway again with a slight merge. Most people don’t realize how simple it is to do this because the alley looks so narrow, but I’ve done it several times. A guy I work with mentioned it to me one day when I had complained about the traffic congestion here.

Julie made the turn and Delores commented,

Holy shit, I’d never take this dingy alley if I were alone.

Rita laughed and said,

Delores, you’re always afraid of something, what the hell you only live once. You should take a dare once in awhile to shake up your straight ass ways.

Julie stated,

To each his own. Hell Doris is even afraid to text on her cell phone.

They drove about three quarters of the way down the alley, the mist making it a little difficult to see ahead when Julie said,

Oh no, that shit head in the grey van in front of us is stopped. There’s no way I can pass by him.

Carla said,

Just pull up behind the van flash your lights, and blow your horn maybe they’ll move when they realize they’re blocking the alley.

Rita bellowed,

They realize it, some assholes just don’t care. Beep your horn until they respond.

Julie flashed her car’s lights and honked her horn once.

Almost instantly the back door of the grey van swung open and the interior van light clearly lit up the inside.

Carla responded first with a loud, Whoa!

What the four women could clearly see were two men wearing masks huddled over two men bound by their hands and feet. Both of them had hoods over their heads.

Back up quick. Delores screamed.

Julie attempted to back up the car, but in the narrow alley her tire jammed against the curbing.

Before she could attempt to straighten out her car wheel, one of the masked men jumped down from the van.

With a pistol in his hand he gestured to Julie to shut her car off and to put down the window.

She did as he requested.

The masked man asked,

What do you girls think you just saw tonight?

Carla answered,

We saw nothing but a play tonight.

Right answer. Replied the masked man.

He continued to speak to Julie.

Now slowly get a grip on yourself driver and back this car up and out of this fucking alley.

Julie nodded. She restarted her car and slowly started to back up, as Delores noted,

He’s writing down your registration number Julie.

Rita put her window down to holler,

Fuck you asshole, you can’t tell me what I saw.

Julie now had control of her car. She continued to accelerate down the alley.

With cars honking at her she backed into the mess of traffic that she had driven out of only a few moments before.

Are you crazy Rita? That’s my license plate number he wrote down, stated Julie.

Don’t sweat it, he was wearing a mask he knows we couldn’t identify anyone. Fuck him anyway. Rita responded.

After that brief verbal exchange between Julie and Rita the women rode silently for a few miles as they headed home.

Then Carla spoke up and asked,

What do you suppose we did see?

Delores answered,

I saw nothing.

Carla said,

C’mon it’s me asking not that masked guy.

Rita answered,

Probably a drug deal gone bad, those things are always the result of a drug deal. We’re gone, they’ll forget about us now.

Delores mentioned,

It’s kind of freaky huh! We saw a play about a witness deal gone awry, and now we witnessed a crime.

Carla spoke up,

Listen everyone, we don’t know what we saw, so let’s forget about it and talk about the witness in the play again.

Doris responded, I saw a grey van.

Julie stated,

"And more than that I saw their license plate number it was JUN-9543.

Street wise, Rita loudly commented.

Shut the fuck up everyone, trust me you saw nothing and you know less.

Julie pulled up in front of Delores’ house. They said goodnight to her without any new comments about their evening together.

Then Rita, and Carla were dropped off with the same goodnight routine.

Julie drove home.

The next morning was a Sunday.

Julie stepped outside of her home to retrieve her Sunday newspaper. Julie looked around. It was a nice sunny day. The storm had finally cleared the area. Julie took a couple of deep breathes of fresh air. She knew she was procrastinating. She knew she couldn’t wait to see if there was any news on what she and her friends had seen in Public Alley #112 in Boston the previous evening.

As Julie perused the newspaper she thought, ‘I’m glad I live out in the suburbs and not in Boston.’ Where she lived in Foxboro was a nice safe place to live.

Julie read nothing about the incident that she’d witnessed. The front page was still filled with news of the past Tuesday’s Presidential Election. Julie was opening the paper when her phone rang.

She answered her cell phone, Hello.

Carla was on the other end of the call asking,

Did you get your paper yet?

Yeah why? I’m just starting to read it. Julie answered.

Carla excitedly said,

Go to page two on the left side, toward the bottom, that has to be related to what we saw.

Julie did as Carla had asked and read the article.

‘Two Federal agents from immigration are missing. They were last known to be tracking some illegal immigrants from the Mid-East in Boston. They seem to have disappeared. Their phones have been disconnected and they have not reported in since 7:00PM last night.’

Julie finished reading the article and then asked,

Wow! Do you think it was the two men we saw tied up in that van?

Carla answered,

It has to be. Should we report it? You read the van license plate number.

Julie responded,

I did, but they wrote down my number too.

Carla sighed and said,

I know. Do nothing for now. Let me call Delores and Rita and see what they think. I’m glad it’s Sunday. We should all stay in today. I’ll call and ask them if tomorrow night, after we’ve all had time to digest this, if they want to meet at the Shanghai restaurant in Dedham around 6:30PM. If I don’t call you back it’s a plan.

Julie answered,

Okay, if I don’t hear from you I’ll meet you at the Shanghai at 6:30PM tomorrow.

They ended the conversation and closed their smart phones.

Julie then proceeded to write down the number of the van that she had seen the previous evening before she forgot it. She then dropped the number JUN-9543 into her purse.

Julie went about her typical Sunday routine when she had no outside dates or other plans. She washed clothes, checked her wardrobe to plan what clothing she would wear to work for the next week, then relaxed with a light lunch while she watched some QVC product presentations on TV.

Julie could feel she was nervous all day because of the previous evenings event. Since she had skipped showering that morning she felt that a nice warm shower would relax her. She would then grab her Kindle to read and go to bed early.

Going to bed early would make tomorrow arrive sooner she felt. She was anxious to meet Carla and her friends. She wanted to hear what they felt was the best resolution to the fact, that they were witnesses to possibly a major event.

Julie went into her bedroom and snapped on her TV.

The 5:00PM Eyewitness News was breaking a story.

She was stunned. The lead story was about two Federal Immigration Agents that had been found floating in Boston Harbor, with hoods over their heads. Their hands and feet were bound by wire.

Julie Immediately picked up her cell phone and called Carla.

Carla answered,

Julie, I just saw it too. Holy shit. We witnessed that.

Julie said,

I know. Now I’m scared, they have my car license plate number.

Carla calmly responded,

I know, but when I spoke to Rita she still feels that those masked guys know that we can’t ID them. They won’t care about us. Rita, for whatever it’s worth, does tend to know these things. We all agree it’s still best to meet tomorrow evening to decide what we should do.

Julie agreed. They both ended their phone conversation.

Julie looked down and found she had been nervously doodling on a notepad that was sitting on the top of her nightstand, next to the bed where she was sitting. She stared down at the words she had scribbled, witness, meeting, talk to police. She would wait until tomorrow when she met her friends at the Shanghai, restaurant. But deep down she knew what she must do.

Julie went into her bathroom and stripped off all of her clothes. More than ever she needed a warm relaxing shower.

Julie stepped into the shower enjoying the feel of the warm water rushing over her body. She washed her hair and languished in the relaxing feeling that was comforting her body for the first time that day.

Tomorrow, she decided, I’ll meet with my friends, but only to inform them that I’m going to the police. What’s right is right. The families of those two dead Immigration Agents deserve to have their killers brought to justice. No matter what Rita, Carla or Delores think, that’s what I’ll do.

Chapter Two

IT’S NOT GOOD TO BE A WiTNESS

As Julie stepped out of the shower, she reached out for her towel rack only to feel a towel being handed to her.

In a panic she threw back the shower curtain.

There stood the masked man that she had seen the night before that had spoken to her in Public Alley #112 in Boston.

Julie’s first reaction was to cover her nude body by wrapping herself in the towel she had just been handed.

She tried to scream, but only a partial scream came out. At the same instant the masked man had covered her mouth.

The man dried her mouth area with his sleeve before placing some duct tape directly over it.

Julie looked down. She could see and feel the pistol that the man was not so gently holding against her breast.

Hello Julie. the man said.

His eyes glared at her through the mask.

You can’t really be surprised that I know your name, or where you live. Having your auto registration number and friends at the registry can do wonders for discovering a person’s ID. When you’re in my business that type of information is necessary for survival.

The man motioned her out of the shower. Softly saying,

Don’t worry Julie you’re safe for now. I just want to ask you some questions, nod yes if you understand me clearly through this mask.

Julie nodded yes.

The masked man continued,

Good, now I’m going to give you some simple instructions. They may scare you at first, but go along with me and you’ll see that I won’t harm you. Then I can go on my way. I just have to be sure of a few things. I actually didn’t want to do this, but once your mouthy girlfriend told me, ‘Fuck you asshole, you can’t tell me what I saw.’ Then I have to be sure that I can tell you what you didn’t see. Do you understand me? Just nod.

Julie nodded, remembering that it was Rita who caused this man to be so pissed and concerned by her wisecrack.

The masked man reached into the left pocket of his jacket and pulled out two sets of handcuffs.

Then he repeated,

Now go along with me. Stay calm. I’m going to use these handcuffs to restrain you. I’m sure you saw the news today. These are brand new Immigration Agent handcuffs that I picked up last night. They each had two pair. They’re nice huh?

Julie was looking at him wild eyed, but if she struggled he would surely shoot and kill her. She had to trust that he would leave her alive if she followed his commands. He said he wouldn’t harm her, and she had to, no she wanted to believe him.

The masked man placed one handcuff on Julies left wrist and shackled her hand to one of the posts of her brass headboard. He then proceeded to do the same to her right wrist. He then removed two more cuffs from the right pocket of his jacket.

He then shackled her left ankle to the right side of the brass frame at the foot of the bed as he faced it.

At this point Julie was frantically trying to keep as much towel as she could around her, to keep her body from being exposed.

The masked man laughed at this saying,

Now come Julie, I’m sure men have seen you naked before. Don’t go all modest on me."

He then proceeded to rip the towel away from her body, before spreading her legs wide to shackle her right leg to the left foot of the bed.

The masked man then stepped back to admire Julie before commenting,

Wow, you look better undressed than clothed. You hide to much of your figure from others.

The masked intruder now looked deeply into Julie’s eyes before speaking,

We’re going to get serious now Julie. What you tell me will decide your fate. If you lie I’ll know.

He now proceeded to pick up Julie’s smart phone off the nightstand and placed it near her hand. He put her contact list up on her phone before asking Julie to take her fingers and touch each of the woman’s names that she had in her car with her that previous evening.

Julie felt she was trapped. She had to comply.

She touched first Carla’s, then Delores’, and finally Rita’s contact positions on her phone.

With each contact the intruder smiled.

Then he stated.

Better than I thought. You’re so very detailed Julie. Now, I not only have their phone numbers, but their addresses too and more.

He smiled before stating,

Now comes the hard part Julie. Let me look into your eyes again to see if you can convince me that you won’t go to the authorities to turn me in.

Julie incoherently mumbled,

I won’t, I won’t.

I think your saying I won’t but I not sure. The man said.

The masked intruder now stated,

I have an idea Julie. I’m going to make a video of us on my cell phone. It’ll require me to remove the tape from your mouth Julie, so if you cry out I’ll kill you. You Julie are going to perform oral sex on me while I take the video. I think that might keep you from telling anyone about me. What do you think? What does it matter what you think? That’s what I’m going to do.

The intruder proceeded to stand next to Julie. With the cell phone in his hand he recorded Julie performing that sexual act. Julie was in tears. Before he finished the intruder backed away. He placed the tape back over Julies, mouth.

Will that keep you quiet about me Julie? He asked.

With tears still filling her eyes she nodded, yes.

The masked man then commented,

There’s only one problem now Julie. That little sex act just wet my appetite for you. Now I want more. After all I’m a man and you’re an attractive woman. I’m sure you’re not a virgin. We’re almost done here Julie, just hang in there; you’ve been perfect, up until now. I actually do feel my secrets may be safe with you.

The intruder then proceeded to remove his shoes, pants and shorts, as Julie steeled herself and closed her eyes. He climbed onto Julie and had his way. It was quick but degrading to Julie.

Don’t worry. the man said. I haven’t any diseases. I noticed earlier that you have a birth control pill box on your dresser. So once I’m gone everything will be fine.

The masked intruder then got off of Julie and proceeded to put his shorts and his pants back on. He then sat on the edge of the bed to put his shoes on.

The masked intruder then asked,

What’s this Julie?

He picked up the notepad on Julie’s nightstand and read her doodled notes out loud,

Witness, meeting, talk to Police. Oh Julie what have you been scribbling? What have you been holding back from me?

At that instant Julies smart phone beeped. Julie was receiving a text message. The intruder read the message and commented.

It’s not good news Julie. It’s from your friend Carla. She texted, ‘No matter what you decide to do at tomorrow’s meeting at Shanghai’s, Doris and I have decided to go to the police. You saw the license plate number on the grey van. You should go with us.’ Oh, Julie, Julie, Julie. This changes everything. Well I enjoyed the sex. You may as well see who the final guy that you pleasured was.

The intruder removed his mask, and proceeded to take a knife out of the inside of his jacket.

Julie was struggling, bucking and looking terrified,

The man leaned over her saying,

Sshh. Shush Julie, It will be over soon.

The intruder then slid the knife across Julie’s neck, slicing her jugular vein as he watched her go limp and die,

His last words to her dead bloody body were,

I really intended to scare you and let you live. That text has finished you all.

The masked intruder now reached for his own cell phone to call his co-conspirator Talib, the other masked man from the previous evening.

He listened as the phone rang three times, then in a pre arranged signal he hung up. He then proceeded to call Talib a second time. On the fourth ring it was answered,

It’s me fifty-four.

They had agreed to never to use a name when they were on the phone. They would only use a number. The man who had just killed Julie would use the days date the 9th, times 4, and his co conspirator used the days date, times 6.

Julie’s killer responded,

Thirty-six here.

He then continued to speak,

Unfortunately the situation was unpleasant here. Circumstances, dictated, that I’ll never be able to see her again. I’m going to text you one of her friend’s names and the address. I’d like you to visit her on my behalf, and say goodbye to her for me. I have another appointment. I’d like you to call me using her friend’s smart phone at the end of your visit. Your phone has static. We’ll then meet to visit a common friend Rita. I’ll explain everything in detail when you call you me. You don’t mind doing that errand for me do you?

Talib whose phone code was fifty-four answered,

Not at all, I’ll do that and wait for your call. Text me the information now please.

Julie’s killer now sent a text to his co-conspirator using Julie’s cell phone. His phone battery was low after making the video.

He texted Talib the co-conspirator, the name, address and phone number for Delores.

As he hung up the phone he noticed it was 6:30PM.

Julie’s killers actual name, was Hamada. He was a former member of the Quds Force an elite wing of the Iranian powerful Revolutionary Guard. He resigned from them to join a group of extremists who were determined to take revenge on the Western World particularly the United States. Their intent was to have Americans live in fear and chaos, as they’ve had to live in their homelands. They operated independently from, but occasionally along with, Al Queda and the Hezbollah leaders from Palestine.

The Agents that Julie and her friends had seen bound, and hooded that previous evening were not Immigration Agents as the Government had reported.

They actually were members of SASA, a Secret Anti Subversive Agency that was established independently of all other Federal Agencies to track terrorist activity in the United States.

Those two Agents had made a grievous error the previous evening while tracking Hamada and his associate Talib.

They ended up floating in Boston Harbor as a penalty for their mistake.

Hamada put Julie’s cell phone into his jacket pocket. He saw no reason to tidy up the mess he’d made.

Fingerprints, sperm or any other traces of his DNA meant nothing to him. He was a known former Quds Agent and a marked terrorist from the U.S point of view. He felt that SASA knew he was in the United States. He just couldn’t let them apprehend him before he completed his deadly mission.

Unfortunately for Julie and her friends, that one piece of evidence, the registration on Hamada’s truck that Julie had written down could lead the SASA Agents to a trail that they hadn’t covered their tracks on yet. At the same time Hamada didn’t want a messy trail of blood that these four women had now forced upon him.

Hamada locked the door to Julie’s apartment when he exited. He then looked up Carla’s address and entered it into the GPS on Julie’s smart phone. He now had directions to Carla’s home.

As he approached Carla’s single family home, in Braintree MA he was hoping that she lived alone.

About one block from Carla’s home he pulled over, and using Julie’s phone he sent Carla a text message.

The message read,

‘Carla, I was too nervous to stay at home alone tonight, I’m almost at your house. I don’t think I was followed. I’m going to shut off my car lights when I pull into your driveway. I’ll knock, just let me in quick. I hope you’re alone.’

Carla answered her text.

‘I understand, okay, and who the hell would be here? I haven’t seen John since our last fight a month ago.’

Hamada pulled into Carla’s driveway with his car lights off. He quickly exited the car. He was surprised when the outside porch light came on.

She must have heard the car he surmised, but she won’t look out, she’s expecting Julie.

He quickly placed his pistol in his hand and knocked on the door.

Carla opened the door. Hamada bullied his way in so fast she was shocked. She had no time to react as he hit her on the side of her head with his pistol.

She slumped to the floor.

‘People are too trusting of this new technology’ he thought. ‘No words are exchanged. They just believe what they read on a text and let you in their homes. Freedom needs some constraints.’

Hamada looked down at Carla lying on the floor. She appeared rather thin and frail to him.

He thought, ‘What a terrible thing to die so young.’

Hamada now took a pistol silencer out of the left pocket of his jacket to attach it to the end of his pistol.

Carla was just starting to stir. She put her hand to the side of her head where she had been hit by the pistol. Hamada took his foot and rolled Carla flat onto her back before whispering,

I’m sorry Carla, but this will end your pain.

He then shot two bullets into her heart.

Hamada noticed Carla’s cell phone on a nearby table next to her purse and keys. He reasoned Carla’s phone could be useful later too. So he took her smart phone with him. Just, as he had taken Julie’s.

Hamada locked Carla’s door when he exited her house.

He got back into his car and drove a few blocks away, before parking in a grocery store parking lot.

He noticed the time on his car clock read 7:40PM. He lay back, deciding to rest awhile so he could give Talib time to eliminate Doris. Then he’d call him.

Talib by