The First Raindrop of the Storm

By Vincenzo Spiaggi

Iran wants to start the end-of-days-war with the West. To that end, a plot is afoot to kill seven key world leaders, thereby forcing the West to respond militarily.

Twenty-two jihadists are on the loose in America, preparing to form an Iranian caliphate when the end-of-days-war ends.

Additionally, a host of Iranian operatives and sympathizers within the American government are aiding Iran in its attempt to turn the world to ashes.

Can Johnny Skull and his WI-7 teammates succeed in saving the world from destruction?

WI-7s road to success is circuitous, but the ultimate outcome will surprise even themselves.


Another exciting voyage into the world of war between the future and the past. Spiaggi has spun another classic spy thriller. A fast-paced tale of good versus evil, and how things always work out for the best if you just allow events to unfold by themselves.
Xenio Y. Zachariah, Literary Consultant

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524647605

Vincenzo Spiaggi

Vincenzo Spiaggi, a native of New York City and a graduate of The City University of New York, is a geologist, novelist, journalist, fine arts photographer, and screenwriter. He has lived and worked throughout the United States, in Canada and the Middle East. He currently resides in rural upstate New York.

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© 2016 . All rights reserved.

Cover photo courtesy of Melissa Rubin Butz

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/26/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-4761-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-4760-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016917993

Print information available on the last page.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Prologue Thursday, November 28, 2013

1 Thursday, January 2, 2014

2 Friday, January 3, 2014

3 Saturday, January 4,and Sunday, January 5, 2014

4 Monday, January 6, 2014

5 Tuesday, January 7, 2014

6 Wednesday, January 8, 2014

7 Thursday, January 9, 2014

8 Friday, January 10, 2014

9 Saturday, January 11, 2014

10 Sunday, January 12, 2014

11 Monday, January 13, 2014

12 Tuesday, January 14, 2014

13 Wednesday, January 15, 2014

14 Thursday, January 16, 2014

15 Friday, January 17, 2014

16 Monday, January 20, 2014

17 Tuesday, January 21, 2014

18 Wednesday, January 22, 2014

19 Thursday, January 23, 2014

20 Friday, January 24, 2014

21 Saturday, January 25, 2014

22 Sunday, January 26, 2014 to Thursday, January 30, 2014

23 Saturday, January 25, 2014 (flashback),Monday, March 31, 2014,and Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Epilogue

In memory of

Cheryl Jane Estelle

1950-2015

Dearest friend. Godspeed.

Let us remember that history is more than the worst of its events,

That all times bear the burden of their uncertainties,

But also carry within them the seeds of greatness.

Looking back on this time, it may be that it is not the defeats we will recall,

But how they readied us for the fight ahead.

Daniel Greenfield

A brief review of the previous nine books of the Johnny Skull Series

Small-Town Weekly (Book 1)

T he Valentine Voice is a mess. This small-town weekly newspaper is suffering from listless reporting, lifeless news presentation, and dwindling advertising revenues, all a result of its inexperienced, inept and feckless management, and a lack of effective community awareness.

Into the equation enters Johnny Skull, an itinerant newspaper editor who has made a career of revitalizing failing small-town weeklies and turning them into successful entities by upgrading their writing, reporting, photojournalism, and community advocacy.

Via his editorials, feature articles and interaction with the locals, we learn about Johnny and how he transforms the woeful newspaper into an award winner in just one year.

His efforts, and the efforts of his newly energized, all-woman staff, are woven into the events and fabric of the town and county, including a tornado, a successful high school sports year, a surprise visit to the town by a rock ‘n’ roll legend, a mystery woman who sends love letters to Johnny, a major fire, and a multiple-murder spree.

Small Pebbles, Long Shadows (Book 2)

The editor of The Sheridan County Sunrise disappears.

A sports reporter is brutally murdered.

The sheriff’s investigation hits a dead end.

The star quarterback at the local high school has a troubling past and is walking an emotional tightrope. His cheerleader girlfriend is bothered by his occasional disappearances.

What is it about the missing editor’s past that leads to the uncovering of a terrorist plot?

The newspaper’s new editor, Johnny Skull, leads an investigation into the previous editor’s disappearance and sports reporter’s murder, and finds more questions than answers; but finally, all clues lead to a rural mosque and its radical leader.

Set in the beautiful foothills of the Bighorn Mountains of northern Wyoming, this is a tale of mystery, love, international politics, personal awakening, and individual triumph.

Happiness Is The Road (Book 3)

Johnny Skull’s life experiences from 1998 to 2006 are explored during his wedding celebration in the fall of 2007.

Documented is the young newspaperman’s odyssey from the time he graduates from the University of Arizona, until just before he takes a job at The Valentine Voice, the setting for the first Johnny Skull novel.

This story, via flashbacks, follows Johnny’s career through seven different jobs as he learns the publishing business … and life lessons that are priceless.

In Texas, at his first job which lasts only one day, he is run out of town by the sheriff’s daughter. In Kentucky, he saves the life of his future boss and earns a job at a newspaper in Maine. In North Dakota, he rescues a newspaper from mediocrity and brings it into the twenty-first century.

In Colorado, Johnny starts a brand-new weekly newspaper, only to lose his job just days before 9/11/01, when a new owner acquires that publication. In Arizona, he resurrects a failing mining magazine to its former respected status, and becomes a successful fine-arts photographer.

As the communications and publications director for a trade organization in Washington, he goes head-to-head with his new boss who has some strange views on intra-office relations. And in Nevada, he helps a congressman get elected.

But the story also reveals the dark-side of ex-Marine Johnny Skull, as he uses the lessons he’d learned from his grandfather to avenge the honor of his friends.

The Great Sicilian Rabbit Hunter (Book 4)

A little-known, but particularly evil, Nazi war criminal is on the loose. He escapes to South America after WWII, then eventually makes his way to North America, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

Newspaperman Johnny Skull, with help from a well-connected U.S. congressman, an Israeli Secret Service agent, and a terrorist-tracking organization known as World Interconnect (WI-7), is on the Nazi’s trail, one that leads from Italy to Argentina to Mexico to Arizona to British Columbia, and finally to Wyoming.

The story follows the military careers of U.S. Marine lieutenant Johnny Skull, and his grandfather, a former U.S. Army major, as they hone their particular skills in hunting down the world’s evil thugs. The story also revisits the life of the Nazi, and his metamorphosis from a bumbling fool to a ruthless killer.

A Tribute To His Heroes (Book 5)

At the end of the previous book, Johnny Skull discovers a fortune in gold and cash in an abandoned coal mine. He then proceeds to give many of his friends a cash gift of $20,000 each, but he remains the anonymous gift giver.

The story follows the recipients of the gifts and how their new wealth affects their lives.

A sub-plot of the story is the murder of a radical Muslim cleric, how that murder intertwines with the lives of several characters, and the international intrigue that builds thereafter.

The Natural Order Of Human Events (Book 6)

Family members of the Secretary General of the United Nations are murdered in a homicide bombing in Jerusalem. Overcome with grief, the Secretary General then takes his own life.

His successor, Mikki Paarsalu of Estonia, vows to reform the corrupt international organization; but during his acceptance speech, he offends a few people and makes a few new enemies.

The story chronicles the efforts of Paarsalu’s enemies as they try to teach him a lesson for his public humiliation of them. His enemies include a powerful mullah at a mosque in Boulder, Colorado, and a Middle Eastern ambassador to the United Nations.

The story also tracks the efforts of Paarsalu’s friends as they try to protect him from his enemies. Working in his behalf are: Johnny Skull, who is on his own mission of revenge; a U.S. congressman and an Israeli Mossad agent; several reporters for The Sheridan County Sunrise, an award-winning weekly newspaper in the Village of Story, Wyoming; and members of World Interconnect (WI-7), an international terrorist-tracking organization. WI-7 believes that the Yemeni jihadist, Abu Zulu, is the man behind the plot to harm Paarsalu.

Time To Lean, Time To Clean (Book 7)

Interwoven between scathing indictments of the American president and international jihad, is a story of terrorism, foreign intrigue, incompetence at the highest levels of the American government, and creative patriotism.

Vespa Jiggs, the American president’s puppeteer, is not whom she seems to be. Following the path of her own secret agenda, she is planning a catastrophic event that will forever change the world’s political course.

But the killing of Osama bin Laden – an action she vehemently opposed – causes her to change her plans when one of her operatives talks a little too freely to the wrong people about her planned terrorist event.

Once again, Johnny Skull and World Interconnect (WI-7) rise to the occasion to save the world from the evildoers.

The Antelope Farm (Book 8)

The American president’s friends, top advisors, and co-conspirators are disappearing at an alarming rate. With the 2012 election just around the corner, and with his key people nowhere to be found, the president is concerned that, without them, he will lose his bid to serve another four years, thereby foiling his efforts to destroy the United States from within.

Only the organization known as World Interconnect (WI-7) knows where the missing persons are. In an effort to destabilize the president’s re-election campaign, the international anti-terrorist organization not only kidnaps those people who are important to the president, they also uncover a network of radical jihadists who are working toward the overthrow of the United States government.

One-Legged Geese (Book 9)

World Interconnect (WI-7) is on a mission to eliminate a North America-based, Iran-sponsored network of jihadists. But the Iranian government and the Boston Mafia are on separate missions of their own; coincidentally, and incredibly, their independently arrived-at missions are identical, and WI-7 is caught in the middle of an international race to turn the world upside down.

Key Members of

World Interconnect (WI-7)

– North American Division –

WI-7 Directors

Jack Davidson – Executive Director, New York City.

Greta Vogelein – Western Regional Director,

                             Denver, Colorado.

Mikki Paarsalu – Member, Board of Directors,

                             New York City.

                     (Secretary General of the United Nations)

H. Mathias Neimark – Member, Board of Directors,

                                  Washington, D.C.

                             (Vice President of the United States)

WI-7 Operatives

Johnny Skull – Patagonia, Arizona.

Paul Davidson – Story, Wyoming.

Reva Kahani – New York City (also a Mossad operative).

Jenny Jessup – Story, Wyoming.

Levi Ashkelon – Deming, Washington and Tel Aviv,

                            Israel (also a Mossad operative).

Morty Cohen – Spearfish, South Dakota.

Solomon Cohen – Spearfish, South Dakota.

Yali Shevet – Denver, Colorado (also a Mossad operative).

Jarvis Greene – Washington, D.C.

Ibrahima Oosminaqi – New York City.

Xerxes Malouffi – London, England.

WI-7 Consultant Status Force Members

Saundra Jessup – Story, Wyoming.

Jimila Jimmie Masroun – Laramie, Wyoming.

Fannie Scalisi – Laramie, Wyoming.

Morning Rae Ferris – Deming, Washington.

Della Casias – Denver, Colorado.

Sue Ellen Richey – New York City.

Virgil Thorpe – Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sister Hernanda Molina – Ignacio, Colorado.

Sheila Adler – Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Faith Hunter – Ruidoso, New Mexico.

Mario Genduso – Brooklyn, New York.

Skeeter Abravnel – Raton, New Mexico.

Prologue

Thursday, November 28, 2013

T he lifeless, disembodied spirit hovered languidly above the deadly and chaotic scene outside a popular sidewalk café in Wellington, New Zealand. It saw the physical destruction, it heard the screams of the children, and it saw the blood seeping from beneath the body of the lifeless woman lying on the cold, concrete sidewalk. But when it noticed the blond-haired man crawling toward the dead woman, it knew its mission had failed, because the man – Monte MacKenzie, the Prime Minister of New Zealand – had been the primary target; and he was still quite alive.

The hovering soul looked around for its own body, but saw only bits and pieces of it scattered here and there: the bloodied torso with the explosive vest in tatters; the red sneakers with stumps of the lower legs still attached; the yellow jacket with one shredded arm hanging from one sleeve; and the severed head with the black baseball cap miraculously still in place.

But most of all, the spirit of the man who had been the radical Muslim jihadist Muhammad Akbar el-Pupiq, was disappointed because he had not immediately been welcomed into paradise by Allah, the prophet Mohammad, and the seventy-two virgins. That glorious welcoming ceremony had been promised to him long ago: from his early days at the madrasa school in rural Iran, when he first mortgaged his soul to become a martyr for the greater good of radical Islam.

Once again the spirit looked all around, searching for signs of his god and the prophet and the smiles of the virgins, all welcoming him with open arms … but he saw nothing. He scanned the stunned and bleeding crowd of injured people, and the trees, and the clouds … again, nothing; his promised greeters were nowhere in sight.

Then, as he glanced toward the entrance of the café, he noticed his three injured comrades leaning against a wall, holding their heads, trying to stop the bleeding caused by shrapnel from the same explosive device that had taken his own life and the life of the prime minister’s wife, Allison MacKenzie. One of those men, while severely injured, was still holding onto a small, shoulder-mounted video camera.

Ever since Muhammad Akbar el-Pupiq had been secretly relocated to New Zealand by the Iranian government after his release from the Guantanamo Bay prison in early 2012, his task was to portray himself as a harmless, if somewhat vocal, spokesman for the growing Muslim community on this southwest-Pacific island paradise. Whenever there’d be a perceived injustice toward Muslims anywhere in the world, el-Pupiq would jump onto his soapbox and rant for the local television cameras, imploring them to record, and broadcast, his outrage. The locals called him New Zealand’s Bearded Blowhard, for he was always there to cry victimhood, even though he and his flock at Wellington’s Huuta Porirua Haleema mosque had always been treated with tolerance and deference by the local non-Muslim population. He had been regarded as a harmless nuisance and a curiosity, but nothing more than that; and certainly not one to be taken too seriously.

Many times before, he’d threatened to immolate himself to show his displeasure with the way Muslims were treated in the predominantly non-Muslim countries of the world. But, for one reason or another, he’d always weasel his way out of his promise of self-inflicted martyrdom. All he’d ever wanted was notoriety and fame; instead, he’d become a joke, a novelty, a laughing stock. Everyone knew he was just crying wolf, if only to bring attention to himself. He’d always attracted curious onlookers to his threats of suicide; but when the disappointed crowds walked away laughing from the venues of his would-be demise, he knew he’d have to do something really big in order for them to take him seriously; and, of course, to forward the cause of radical Islam on this island-paradise outpost.

So, when el-Pupiq received his orders from Hakeem Sakeemi – the man who was the real puppet-master and power-broker in Iran, the man who told the supreme ayatollah and the Iranian military and the Iranian Secret Service what to do – he was thrilled he’d been chosen to be the one to begin the end-of-days holy war between Islam and the rest of humanity.

The Iranians’ ambitious plan for a worldwide conflagration was to bring the non-Muslim world to its knees by assassinating the leaders of seven important Western countries – the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Russia, Australia, Israel, and New Zealand – and el-Pupiq’s assassination of New Zealand’s prime minister was to be the beginning of Iran’s, and Islam’s, end-of-days attack on the West, which eventually would lead to the destruction of the world and paradise for all.

Actually, the assassination plan was first proposed to the Iranians by the seditious previous American president who’d been working with the Iranians to destabilize the world’s order. His secret plan, with Iran’s assistance, was to assassinate the leaders of Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and Israel, ostensibly to create an East-West Power Axis with himself controlling the West and Iran controlling the East.

But when the former American president (and his former vice president) disappeared on June 3, 2013, and a new, anti-jihadist president came to power in Washington, Iran’s Hakeem Sakeemi added the name of the new American president, Joseph Ballantonio, to the list of six. The multi-assassination plan was now exclusively owned by Iran.

But, alas, el-Pupiq had failed.

As the sad spirit hovered above the scene of carnage, it asked itself, How did I miss killing the prime minister? I would have loved to have killed his entire family, but I succeeded only in killing his wife. Is that why Allah and Mohammad and the virgins have not yet greeted me at the gates of paradise? Are they upset with me for not killing the prime minister, which was my primary goal? Will they ever forgive me? Will they ever allow me into heaven?

Seconds later, it felt the weightlessness leaving its spirit; and, as a certain heaviness came over its soul, it saw the concrete sidewalk racing up to meet it. At that moment, it knew that everything in which it had ever believed, and everything it had ever been taught about his religion, was a lie. Then everything went silent, then dark, its soul dissolving into the ether of space.

*   *   *

On June 3, 2013, the previous American president and vice president, along with the previous president’s top advisor, Anita Stubblefield, were kidnapped by World Interconnect (WI-7), a secret, New York City-based, international terrorist-hunting organization; they were taken to a remote detention center called The Antelope Farm in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota.

The Antelope Farm, located about twenty-five miles southeast of Newcastle, Wyoming, just across the state line at the site of the old coal-mining ghost town of Dewey, South Dakota, was, to the public, an exotic-animal game farm, supplying non-aggressive ungulates (mainly African antelope, and African and Asian buffalo) and large flightless birds to zoos and hunting ranches. In reality, The Farm was a front for a detention center for the safe keeping of America’s dangerous political enemies. Over the past few years, more than twenty-five guests had been kidnapped and subsequently detained on site. A few were returned to society, but many others died there.

The property surrounding The Farm is dotted with a number of abandoned, underground coal mines. WI-7 had used at least two underground mine shafts as the final resting place for the bodies of those guests who had died at the site. One of the mines is the secret repository of a small nuclear bomb which had been taken from the deep-cover Iranian agent Vespa Jiggs, a former top aide to the previous president, who, at the time, was in the process of attempting to start a nuclear war – using that nuclear device – between Islam and the rest of the world. The detonation mechanism for that nuclear bomb is safely stored in a safe in WI-7’s regional office in Denver.

However – and mainly because only WI-7 agents and its associates knew the truth about the kidnappings – the public was led to believe that the previous president and vice president were assassinated by Allah el-Ghatqis, a group of radical Muslim jihadists with ties to the Iranian military. This resulted in the ascendancy to the office of the American presidency of Joseph Ballantonio, the former Speaker of the House, an ex-Marine and a staunch anti-jihadist politician. However, the men who were actually killed were the previous president’s and vice president’s doubles; to date, no one has publicly learned of that deception.

Complicating the situation is the fact that the murders of the doubles actually were carried out by the Boston mafia, and not by the Iranian-sponsored jihadists. But, to date, the Boston mafia still doesn’t know that the men they murdered were not the former president and vice president; and the Iranians still think their gunmen did the job, even though those Iranian gunmen have since disappeared.

The Boston mafia and the Iranians are happy; both think they actually did the dirty deed. And, of course, WI-7 is happy, because the removal of the previous president and vice president from office went a long way to begin the salvation-and-healing process of the body politic and culture of the United States of America.

The reasons for the attempts on the lives of the previous president and his vice president were simple: the Boston mafia wanted the previous president out of the way because of the namby-pamby, less-than-serious way he was dealing with Islamic terrorists; and the Iranians wanted to start a holy war with the West by guaranteeing that a new, anti-jihadist American president would be more apt to act tough with radical Islam, thereby goading radical Muslims all over the world, led by the Iranians, to take up arms against the West and plunge the world into a religious, Armageddon-type conflagration. And the first step in that holy war was to be the assassination of the prime minister of New Zealand, kind of an in-your-face-we-can-kill-anyone-we-want-anytime-we-want sort of thing.

Presently in residence at The Antelope Farm are: the former president, who is in failing health; the former vice president, who is living out his own childhood dreams of not being responsible for anything; the former president’s top advisor, Anita Stubblefield; Stubblefield’s twin brother, Muhammad Achmed Almadi, the former radical-Muslim Minnesota congressman; and Muhammad Dammahumi, the former Iranian ambassador to the United Nations.

During 2013, WI-7 successfully completed a program of systematically eliminating key America-based jihadists and radical mullahs – including the munitions depots at almost two dozen American mosques – who were preparing to aid Iran in their plan to destroy the United States from within. The Iranian embassy in Ottawa, Ontario, was the control center for that plan. The agent who had originally coordinated that effort was a man named Mahmoud bin Mahmoud ali Mahmoud, who had been kidnapped by WI-7 in 2012. After ali Mahmoud committed suicide at The Antelope Farm, his successor in Ottawa, a man named Zayim Djillalia, tried to rally the America-based jihadists to complete Iran’s holy mission to destroy the United States; but he failed miserably as WI-7’s agents eliminated them all, including Djillalia. He was replaced by a man named Ghanze Mishoogha, who was summarily eliminated by one of WI-7’s agents.

Then, in late August 2013, Maleni Dammahumi – the daughter of Muhammad Dammahumi, the recently abducted Iranian ambassador to the United Nations – arrived in Ottawa to try to re-establish Iran’s North American jihadist network. However, since the new American president had taken office, the holes in the Mexican-American border, and the Canadian-American border, had been, for the most part, plugged; but a nucleus of replacement jihadists had already infiltrated into the United States, a legacy of the lax immigration and border-control policies of the previous American president. Therefore, it was just a matter of time before the new top Iranian spy in Ottawa secured and organized her new martyrs in place, to begin, once again, the process of building an American-Islamic insurrection from within … no matter how long it would take.

*   *   *

In an effort to incorporate the assassination of New Zealand’s prime minister into a recruiting tool for would-be jihadists in North America, Maleni Dammahumi – a thirty-something spy with a significant record of successes – had suggested to the fifty-something Iranian strongman Hakeem Sakeemi that the Wellington slaughter be recorded on video. To that end, three jihadists had been dispatched to Wellington to aid in the documentation of the event. The ensuing explosion had been videotaped, and, via a closed-circuit satellite uplink from a small, shoulder-mounted video camera, it was simultaneously televised live from outside the café in Wellington back to Hakeem’s office in Tehran, and also to Maleni’s office in Ottawa.

Immediately after the smoke had cleared – when it was evident that the mission’s primary objective had failed – Maleni called Hakeem to register her displeasure at the outcome. I suggested to you that we shouldn’t have used el-Bupqis for the job, she said snarkily. The man’s an idiot. If there’s a way to screw things up, he always seems to find that way.

I’m sorry, Maleni, said Hakeem, but he was the only one in New Zealand who wanted to do the job, and he was the only one we could trust.

And how’d that work out for you … huh, Hakeem? She sounded like a mother scolding a child. Maybe you should get a whole new team of killers for the Southwest Pacific region … Oh well, at least there’s one good thing that came out of this …

What’s that?

"… el-Bupqis is dead. Now we won’t have to worry about him screwing things up anymore. Maybe you can find some competent people for the next one."

Yes, I guess you’re right, Hakeem said sheepishly, realizing that Maleni’s aggressive manner was controlling the conversation.

After a moment of silence, she asked, So, how’re your plans coming for the other assassinations?

They’re coming along just fine. He did not elaborate on his answer.

She looked into the phone and smirked. "I’ll take that to mean that you’re not too far along with your plans … Anyway, would it be too presumptuous of me to ask to be placed in the loop concerning these assassinations of yours? I mean, it was nice of you to allow me to link-up to today’s live assassination attempt, but I warned you about using el-Bupqis; perhaps I didn’t make my case strongly enough. If anything, I know how to judge and utilize key personnel, and I certainly would have used someone else. And if you include me in the loop from now on … well, who knows, I just might be able to make a meaningful contribution now and again."

Thinking she was trying to belittle his own judgement, Hakeem said, haughtily, "Well, don’t forget, it was my judgement and planning that eliminated the American president and vice president just a few months ago."

Not only did Hakeem not know the truth about those assassination attempts, it never even crossed his mind that that attempt by the Iranian assassins had failed miserably.

That may be true, Maleni said, "but until your gunman make an appearance at your doorstep and personally claim credit for those murders, you really don’t know who did the shootings, now do you? Not only that, but that ali Mahmoud fellow and his Allah el-Ghatqis band of killers took credit for the shootings. And I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’ve never even heard of Allah el-Ghatqis, and that you haven’t personally spoken to ali Mahmoud in about a year and a half. As a matter of fact, no one else has heard of Allah el-Ghatqis, either. I mean, how can you be so sure that it wasn’t someone else who did the killings?"

Indeed, the two men Hakeem had sent to kill the previous American president and vice president, had been eliminated by Israeli Mossad agents the night before the assassination attempts were to take place in Bucharest, Rumania, and Dublin, Ireland.

The following day, June 3, after the Boston mafia murdered the previous American president’s and vice president’s doubles, Jenny Jessup, WI-7’s computer-tech wizard, informed the world it was Allah el-Ghatqis, a group led by Mahmoud bin Mahmoud ali Mahmoud, who had done the deeds. It also was Jenny who fabricated the name Allah el-Ghatqis out of thin air. Since then, Hakeem Sakeemi and his minions in the Iranian government’s inner circle, have been waiting for ali Mahmoud to return to his rightful position of power in the Iranian intelligence-community’s hierarchy. (Of course, ali Mahmoud had died by his own hand a year and a half earlier at The Antelope Farm, and it was ali Mahmoud’s cell phone that Jenny – posing as ali Mahmoud – had used to make contact with Hakeem Sakeemi, using text messages exclusively.)

Shocked that anyone would question the fact that his men actually carried out the assassination of the previous American president and vice president, Hakeem retorted, "I don’t know what you’re talking about. Of course it was my men; and I am a little insulted that you might even think it wasn’t."

"Now Hakeem, don’t get your burqa in a twist. I was just raising the possibility, is all, mainly because your gunmen have disappeared. Look, if you want me to revamp our North American jihadist network, you’ll have to let me be creative … and that begins with you allowing me to question some of the things you do, and vice versa. You know, like being each other’s alter egos; a mutual sounding board, so to speak. But we have to trust each other. It’s the only way we’re going to be successful."

Hakeem knew Maleni was a smart, headstrong young lady, and he didn’t want to throttle her abilities to get things done just so he could put her in her place as a woman. Her successes in seducing important international CEOs – men and women – had landed Iran many favorable industrial and military contracts in the past, and Hakeem needed her to be free to ply her wiles and wares in North America in order for her to be successful at her new job as the leader of Iran’s North American espionage effort. And her track record as an assassin of certain selected enemies of the Iranian regime, while limited in its scope, also proved to be useful. And even though she’s only in her early thirties, and even though she’s a woman, Hakeem knew Maleni Dammahumi was his ace-in-the-hole to rekindle the flame of jihadism in North America. He also knew that his own political fortunes were intricately tied to this rising star. Her future successes would make him look even smarter than he really was.

But, being a traditional Muslim man, it grated on him to think that his fortunes were, indeed, tied to a woman; and one of the reasons he’d sent Maleni to Canada was to get her out of his immediate sphere of influence in Tehran, lest she cause trouble by exposing his occasional lack of judgement, such as choosing the wrong personnel to do specific jobs.

However, what Hakeem didn’t know about her was that her loyalty was to her missing father, and that finding him was more important to her than anything else. Indeed, she accepted the position in Ottawa simply because of its proximity to the United States, the venue of his disappearance, and she wanted to search every inch of America to find her father. (Of course, she was unaware of his incarceration at WI-7’s The Antelope Farm.)

I agree, Maleni, Hakeem said. "I didn’t mean to demean your abilities, nor your intentions. I know how committed you are to our cause. By the way, how are your new efforts proceeding in the Canadian capital?"

Well, little by little, I’ve been making contact with our new recruits in the U.S; twelve so far. Most all of them are new to the West and Western culture, and most don’t know the English language very well. But I think that, in time, they’ll acclimate. I don’t specifically know at this time how many of them are out there, but they all have the contact information of their stateside coordinators, so it’s just a matter of time before I really know what I’ve got to work with. Whomever decimated our network earlier this year did a really good job of it. Also, I’m finding that the staff members at the embassy here in Ottawa are not as sharp as they could be; and, for the time being, I’m running my little department all by myself. Sooner or later, though, I’m going to have to find me a personal secretary I can trust. That will come in time, I’m sure. I’ve already notified our U.N. Consulate in New York City that I’m looking for a trustworthy secretary. Maybe they can find someone for me.

And have you heard anything concerning the whereabouts of your father?

No. Nothing yet. However, I have made contact with Mikki Paarsalu, the Secretary General of the United Nations. He said he would do all he could to find out about my father’s disappearance. He feels that he owes me his help because my father disappeared from Iran’s office at the United Nations. Also, I have spoken to one of his associates, a woman named Sue Ellen Richey, who just happens to be the previous U.S. ambassador to the U.N. She said she would help me in my efforts to track down my father. I mean, I’m assuming he’s still alive, even though he’s been missing for a few months now.

Muhammad Dammahumi, while holding the position of Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, had acted as the agent through which American congressman Muhammad Achmed Almadi – who was now incarcerated at The Antelope Farm – smuggled munitions into the United States, to be distributed to various radical mosques. When Almadi was kidnapped by WI-7 in June 2013, and fearing torture, he told his WI-7 captors about Dammahumi. Almadi also mentioned that the previous American president was the kingpin behind the arms smuggling program. Then, when WI-7 and the Mossad kidnapped Dammahumi, and without much cajoling, he willingly corroborated Almadi’s testimony concerning the previous president’s role in arming the radical mosques. He figured that his own skin was more important to him than his loyalty to his Persian superiors, or to Islam. The spilling of his guts was what bought him his life, and WI-7 hoped he would continue to reveal Iran’s secrets to them. WI-7’s plan was to continue the interrogation of Dammahumi after the first of the year.

Dammahumi had a checkered past; but mainly he had been a top diplomat and, at the same time, a general in the Iranian army in charge of procuring all kinds of arms for Iran’s North American jihadists; that was the reason he’d been elevated to his former post at the United Nations. But because of WI-7’s efforts in eliminating Iran’s America-based jihadist network and confiscating the weaponry he’d provided, Dammahumi would have had to start all over again by supplying new munitions to a whole new set of bad guys. Now, his daughter Maleni, unbeknownst to him, is saddled with that daunting job. She probably was chosen to head up the Canada-based operation because of her association with her father, he having taught her everything she knows about being a spy. However, being as cunning as she is, she probably would have risen to a position of high prominence in Iran’s foreign service sooner or later, even without her father’s connections.

Well, said Hakeem, I wish you good fortune in finding him. Anyway, keep me posted concerning that and the coordination process of your new recruits.

I will, Hakeem. And you make sure you keep me in the loop … okay? I may be a woman, but I’m as evil as any of you men.

Hakeem said goodbye … then he shivered. He, of course, did not tell her of his secret plan to assassinate the Australian prime minister sometime before the end of that very day.

*   *   *

That same day, in the lovely mountain village of Story, Wyoming, nestled in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, WI-7’s annual conclave of its North American agents convened to discuss that year’s accomplishments, which included the elimination of the America-based, Iran-backed jihadists and radical mullahs, the confiscation of munitions from almost two dozen radical mosques, the confiscation of tens of millions of dollars from jihadist’s bank accounts, and the replacement of the previous president with a true patriot, the anti-terrorist, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Joseph Ballantonio; the latter was a program which had been, in effect, a coup, led by WI-7. The previous vice president was replaced with former Nevada congressman H. Mathias Neimark, a secret member of the board of directors of WI-7.

At the meeting were: Jack Davidson, WI-7’s New York City-based Executive Director; Greta Vogelein, WI-7’s Denver-based Western Regional Director; and WI-7 Board of Directors’ member Mikki Paarsalu (who is also the Secretary General of the United Nations). Also present were WI-7 full-time operatives Johnny Skull, Jenny Jessup, Levi Ashkelon, Yali Shevet, Morty and Solomon Cohen, Reva Kahani, Ibrahima Oosminaqi, Paul Davidson, and Jarvis Greene; and consultant status force members (that is, part-timers) Saundra Jessup, Fannie Scalisi, Jimila Jimmie Masroun, Morning Rae Ferris, Della Casias, Skeeter Abravnel, Sue Ellen Richey, Sheila Adler, Mario Genduso, Virgil Thorpe, Xerxes Malouffi, and Sister Hernanda Molina.

One of the main topics of discussion was Maleni Dammahumi, Iran’s recently installed, Canada-based ramrod in charge of the re-establishment of an Iranian-sponsored North American jihadist network. It was suggested that WI-7 agents Sue Ellen Richey and Ibrahima Oosminaqi – both of whom are lesbians, and both of whom are known to, and respected by, the bisexual Maleni Dammahumi – be part of a program whereby Sue Ellen and Ibrahima could get close enough to Maleni to learn of her jihadist-networking plans. Of course, all those present knew of the kidnapping of Maleni’s father by WI-7.

As the meeting was about to end, Jack Davidson received a call from Vice President H. Mathias Neimark. Immediately, Jack placed his cell phone on SPEAKER mode so everyone in the room could hear what he had to say.

The somber voice of the vice president said, "The wife of the prime minister of New Zealand has been killed by an Islamic homicide bomber in Wellington. Just before the bomber detonated his explosive vest, he yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ three times. The terrorist was Muhammad Akbar el-Pupiq, a well-known, New Zealand-based Iranian jihadist who had been released from Gitmo in 2012. He’d been broadcasting for three days on social media that he was going to do something that would make Allah proud of him. But no one took him seriously, mainly because he’d threatened to commit mayhem and suicide many times before; but he hadn’t followed through on those threats ... until now.

The prime minister, the vice president continued, "was moderately injured in the blast, although he probably was the primary target. Both of his teenage children escaped with minor injuries. Several others have been hospitalized ... It seems that this never-ending war with radical Islam will be never ending for a long time to come, and I do believe that this action by the Iranians was merely the first raindrop of the storm that is about to hit us … Godspeed to you all."

Less than a minute later, after WI-7’s North American staff had intellectually digested the vice president’s message, Jack’s cell phone rang again. The call was from Yavneh Udewitz, a former Mossad agent now working for WI-7 as the manager of The Antelope Farm in South Dakota. He’d called Jack earlier in the day, telling him that the previous president had suffered a massive stroke.

With the phone still on SPEAKER mode, Yavneh said, Jack, the resident in Room Number 1 has died. Everyone knew he was referring to the previous president. I guess the stroke he suffered earlier today was just too much for his frail body. How do I proceed?

Jack thought for a moment, then said, We’ll dispose of the body in the usual manner. He was referring to their practice of dumping weighted bodies down deep, flooded coal mine shafts on WI-7’s property surrounding The Antelope Farm. I’ll have the Cohens come by Monday to give you a hand. Until then, keep it on ice.

I will ... By the way, Jack, he did say something just before he died. I mean, he had a little trouble speaking, but I definitely heard him say this, and I quote: ‘Being the President of the United States was just a steppingstone job for me. The job I really want is to be the Secretary General of the United Nations. That’s where the real power is. That’s where I can do the most damage to the United States,’ unquote. Poor guy didn’t even realize he was on death’s doorstep. Anyway, I recorded it all.

After the call ended and the laughter in the room died down, Jack said, "Really? How comical is that? The United Nations is where the real power is? For goodness sake. I guess he was as misguided and delusional as ever, even when he was dying ... Oh well, let’s have brunch. And I hope you all will be joining us for Thanksgiving