TURMOIL IN PARADISE

By Perry Diaz

The CIA's top operative was on the hunt for terrorists who were determined to assassinate the American president and the ten Southeast Asian leaders at a summit in Kauai, Hawaii.

Ted Morrow, who had just saved the American president and the Polish prime minister from an assassination attempt in Washington, DC, was sent to East Java to investigate two bombings at the Surabaya Zoo and the Borobudur Buddhist Temple. He teamed up with Scott Burnham, his boss, and Leilani Ramirez, a Filipino sniper, to hunt for the terrorists in Southeast Asia.

After successfully terminating the terrorists, the trio were sent to Washington, DC, to hunt for the North Korean assassins who were sent to the American capital to assassinate President Stevenson for shooting down a North Korean missile launched over the Pacific. It set Morrow and his team on a trajectory that would bring them to Macau to hunt for an Indonesian traitor who conspired with the North Koreans against the CIA.

Morrow teamed up with Leilani Ramirez, the sharpshooter, to foil the assassins who traveled to Washington, DC, to detonate a miniature nuclear bomb. And just at the moment, the North Korean assassins were about to detonate the miniature nuclear bomb, Leilani shot the North Koreans, thus preventing a nuclear blast on American soil. But Kim Pak-il, the North Korean supreme leader, was furious, and he vowed to assassinate Stevenson. He found a way to do it.

He would send assassins to assassinate President Stevenson who was going to preside over a summit meeting of the ten leaders of the ASEAN countries to be held in Kauai. The question is, how would the North Koreans accomplish the mass assassination that would trigger the demise of the American president and the ten Southeast Asian leaders all at once?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9781684985753

Book preview

Contents

Prologue

Part 1

Chapter 1: Bombings in East Java

Chapter 2: CIA Goes to Davao City

Chapter 3: CIA Meets PIA in Davao City

Chapter 4: Filipino Sniper

Chapter 5: First Kill

Chapter 6: First Encounter

Part 2

Chapter 7: Filipino Assassination Squad

Chapter 8: CIA Meets BIF Informant

Chapter 9: Ambush in East Java

Chapter 10: CIA Investigates Hassan

Chapter 11: Nikolai Petrovsky

Chapter 12: The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

Chapter 13: Traitor Unmasked

Chapter 14: Morrow Kidnapped in Davao City

Chapter 15: CIA Goes to General Santos City

Part 3

Chapter 16: Chinese Assassination Squad

Chapter 17: CIA’s Man in Beijing

Chapter 18: Plot to Bomb ASEAN Summit

Chapter 19: Operation Blue Sea

Chapter 20: Spy on the Run

Chapter 21: Firefight at the Safe House

Part 4

Chapter 22: CIA Goes to East Java

Chapter 23: Merdeka Palace Meeting

Chapter 24: Assassination of Abdul Jafar

Chapter 25: Change of Summit Venue

Chapter 26: Summit to Be in Hawaii

Chapter 27: Stevenson Convenes National Security Council

Chapter 28: Stevenson Sends CIA Agent to Cambodia

Part 5

Chapter 29: Shock Wave in Beijing

Chapter 30: Stevenson Calls Philippine President

Chapter 31: Leadership Shake-Up in China

Chapter 32: White House on Red Alert

Chapter 33: Camp David

Part 6

Chapter 34: Zhou in Command

Chapter 35: Quevedo Convenes Emergency Meeting

Chapter 36: Quevedo Calls Zhou

Chapter 37: Quevedo’s China State Visit

Part 7

Chapter 38: North Korea Launches Missile

Chapter 39: Stevenson Convenes Emergency Meeting

Chapter 40: Kim Pak-il Plans His Revenge

Chapter 41: CIA Sends Top Spy to China

Part 8

Chapter 42: North Korean Assassins Enter America

Chapter 43: Murder in Beijing

Chapter 44: Zhou Talks to Stevenson

Chapter 45: North Korean Assassins in Washington, DC

Chapter 46: North Korean Assassins Identified

Chapter 47: National Security Council Emergency Meeting

Chapter 48: North Korean Assassins’ Final Act

Part 9

Chapter 49: China Aborts Taiwan Invasion

Chapter 50: Show of Force

Chapter 51: War in the Natuna Islands

Chapter 52: Quevedo Threatens Zhou

Chapter 53: Stevenson Calls Zhou

Chapter 54: Kim Pak-il Is Furious

Chapter 55: CIA Agents Meet at Merdeka Palace

Part 10

Chapter 56: Zhou Convenes Security Council

Chapter 57: Zhou Orders an Attack on the Natuna Islands

Chapter 58: China at War with Indonesia

Chapter 59: Love Bird and General Go

Chapter 60: Indonesia Overwhelms China in the Natuna War

Chapter 61: Zhou Explains to Security Council

Chapter 62: Bad news

Part 11

Chapter 63: Mission to Macau

Chapter 64: The Hunter and the Hunted

Chapter 65: Who Is Love Bird?

Chapter 66: Stevenson Talks to Blackstone about Family

Chapter 67: Love Bird’s Identity Disclosed

Chapter 68: General Go’s Mistress

Part 12

Chapter 69: Zhou’s Rule Ends

Chapter 70: ASEAN Summit in Kauai

Chapter 71: Debriefing

Chapter 72: FBI Raids the Orphanage Home

Chapter 73: Agent of Influence

Epilogue

Turmoil in Paradise

Cast of Characters

The Americans

The Filipinos

The Russians

The Chinese

The Indonesians

The Cambodians

The Singaporeans

The North Koreans

The South Koreans

Prologue

Ted Morrow, one of the CIA’s top agents, was driving his Jaguar two-seater sports car when he got a call from Elle Miller, the special assistant to CIA Director Carl Reddington. He just left Clyde’s Bar, one of the Capitol City’s hangouts, where he and the tightly knit Langley spooks usually get together on Friday nights for drinks or dinner. It was time to loosen up, considering the kind of work they do. It’s probably the only time the boys could spend time together shooting the breeze.

Ted’s cell phone rang. He looked at the screen, and it was from Elle. What does Elle want? It’s already past 6 pm. Didn’t she know that it’s Friday night? Unless it’s an urgent call. When Elle called at night, that meant that the CIA Director was looking for him. Elle had served CIA Director Reddington loyally since President Stevenson appointed her six years ago. Prior to that, Elle served as legislative secretary to the Senate president. Over the years, Elle had been a dependable, reliable, and competent employee of the CIA. She could have become a special agent like Ted and maybe even rise in the CIA hierarchy like Marissa McDonald who moved up the ladder as a special agent sixteen years ago and who was now the director of Counterintelligence Mission Center, or CIMC, arguably the most important component in the intelligence service.

But Elle didn’t like working in the field. She had watched too many James Bond thrillers, and she didn’t like the cloak-and-dagger work. But don’t get her wrong; she gets along with the Langley crowd in a culture dominated by men.

Hello, Elle. How are you doing, sweetheart?

I’m fine, Ted. Are you out with the boys again?

Yep. The usual get-together.

Don’t you ever get tired talking about yourselves, Ted?

There is always something new to talk about, sweetheart.

Oh, I see. Must really be exciting being a spook, huh? Elle said.

Every moment of it. Like you just called me. I bet there was some terrorist bombing somewhere in the world. Am I right? Morrow said.

Indeed, there was. Some terrorists in East Java just bombed the Surabaya Zoo and the Borobudur Buddhist Temple. You’d better pack up and fly to the Philippines to meet with the Filipino counterterrorist specialist to discuss your new assignment. But here is Carl. He wants to talk to you directly, Elle said.

Are you ready, kiddo? Reddington said without the usual How are you? which meant only one thing—this was an urgent call. Reddington and Morrow had become good buddies since Morrow joined the CIA five years ago.

Reddington remembered the time, three years ago, when Morrow saved President Stevenson from an assassin who pulled a gun when Stevenson was walking with the visiting prime minister of Poland. They were taking a stroll on Lafayette Park talking to the large crowd of Polish Americans. As usually was the case, the president and the prime minister were surrounded by several Secret Service agents. They formed a diamond security formation—one on each side and two in front and two at the back of the two leaders.

Morrow was the one between President Stevenson and the crowd. It was the hardest position since he had to control the crowd from getting too close to the president.

And then it happened. A man in front of President Stevenson reached for his gun in his breast pocket. Morrow immediately saw what the man was trying to do and instinctively reached for his own gun. As the gunman drew out his gun, Morrow pushed him, which caused him to trip. At the same time, Morrow pulled the trigger and shot the assassin three times, one in the face and two in the torso. The assassin fell and died.

Since then, Morrow had been getting plum assignments from Reddington, who apparently had developed a high degree of respect for him.

I want you to go to the Philippines to investigate the bombings in East Java, Reddington said.

Why the Philippines, sir?

You’re going to hook up with the deputy director of the Philippine Intelligence Agency. PIA is the equivalent of our CIA. And be prepared because we’re meeting the president in a couple of hours.

It must be something important that President Stevenson would want to talk about it personally, instead of just his boss, which is unusual.

Morrow, dressed in his best, went to the White House. It’s not every day that he’s meeting the president of the United States. He wanted to impress the president. Who knows? This assignment could be his ticket to a promotion.

Deputy Director Scott Burnham of the Counterintelligence Mission Center was already there when Ted walked into the Oval Office.

Howdy, Ted? Scott greeted Ted.

Hello, Mr. President. Morrow ignored Burnham. I must defer first to Stevenson, he thought.

Let’s get to the point, the president said. You’ve met Elle Miller, the special assistant to CIA Director Carl Reddington, right?

Yes, sir. She and I have worked together before on another assignment, Ted replied.

Elle is assigned to confidential and classified meetings because of the levels of her security clearance, which are all three levels: confidential, secret, and top secret. That’s why whenever sensitive information is being discussed, Elle is requested to sit in.

Elle acknowledged the president, Thank you, sir.

Go ahead, Scott. You may start the discussion, the president said. By the way, I think you and Morrow will make a good team.

Oh no! Here comes trouble, Scott mused.

Part 1

Chapter 1

Bombings in East Java

Six explosives were detonated at the Surabaya Zoo, while two of the three explosives placed in Borobudur’s large Buddhist temple failed to detonate, which left the monument intact. Immediately, the Buddhist community in Central Java rejoiced, claiming that it was a miracle that spared the monument from destruction.

Buddhism seems to be very steeped with myths, legends, and superstition. Although Buddha rejected superstition in his teachings, Buddhists live their lives full of superstitions. So when the monument failed to detonate, most Buddhists would immediately attribute it to superstition—a miracle, which among Christians would also be the easy way to explain the event.

The Surabaya Zoo was not as lucky as the Buddhist temple. The zoo had a collection of more than 3,400 animals from more than 350 species. The animals included some rare varieties such as white rhino, barking deer, pygmy hippo, Sumatran tiger, and Bengal tiger, to name a few.

In the past few years, the Surabaya Zoo had received complaints about its treatment of animals from activist groups such as the Jakarta Animal Aid Network. The situation reached a point where The Jakarta Post had called it the Surabaya Zoo of Death. The forestry ministry revoked Surabaya Zoo’s license after several animals died, which included a rare Sumatran tiger, African lion, Komodo dragon, babirusa, wallaby, Bawean deer, and crocodile. This led the zoo management to ask the local police and the East Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency to conduct an investigation. They found out that negligent keepers were to blame for most of the animal deaths. But it was too late; several of the animals were in bad condition and had died.

An autopsy performed on the animals found plastic and wood inside them. Activists were outraged when they found out that a tiger died—one of only a few hundred Sumatran tigers left in the world—after suffering from extreme digestive disorders.

An online petition that called for the closure of the zoo due to continued mistreatment of animals reached 885,000 signatures, which caused the zoo to close. However, after a year, the government made some improvements and renovations to the zoo. Since then, the zoo reopened to the public.

Interestingly, the recent bombing of the zoo only caused a few animal deaths. What the bombers did was to detonate a giant monument depicting a white shark and a crocodile fighting each other, which makes one wonder, Was the bombing at the Surabaya Zoo done by animal rights advocates? What was their message?

Evidently, animal rights activists had been very active lately. But to the public’s horror, they had graduated from peaceful protests to deadly bombings to express their disdain for the way animals were treated in the zoo. Their message was crystal clear—treat the animals nicely or suffer the consequence, which would cause human deaths.

The other bombing occurred at the Borobudur, a seventh-century Buddhist temple near the town of Muntilan in Central Java, Indonesia. It’s the world’s largest Buddhist temple. The temple consists of nine stacked platforms topped by a central dome. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 statues of Buddha.

The monument is a shrine to Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. Pilgrims are guided through an extensive system of stairways and corridors. Borobudur has one of the largest and most complete ensembles of Buddhist reliefs in the world.

Borobudur is Indonesia’s single most-visited tourist attraction, which makes one wonder, Who wanted it destroyed and why?

One needs to know that Buddhists are peace-loving people. Therefore, it would surprise no one if the perpetrators were not Buddhists but Muslim terrorists who were expressing their deep animosity against the Western powers that they accused of causing all the problems the Muslim world have been experiencing at their hands, more specifically the United States.

*****

President Dane Stevenson called CIA Director Carl Reddington, CIA Deputy Director of Counterintelligence Mission Center Scott Burnham, and CIA Special Agent Ted Morrow to a meeting at the Oval Office. President Stevenson is a stickler for details. He wants to hear the minutest detail. But he has a short attention span. He’s known to cut you off when he’s inundated with too much detail.

Scott Burnham described the two bombing incidents, The bombings occurred at the Surabaya Zoo and the Buddhist temple in East Java. More than 130 people were killed and more than two hundred were injured at the Surabaya Zoo when a stampede occurred after the bombs were detonated. Nobody was injured in the Buddhist temple bombing, but it demolished several Buddha statues.

Gee, must be pretty large bombs, huh? Stevenson asked.

We received reliable information that the Bangsamoro Islamic Front—BIF for short—was involved in the bombings. I understand that they provided the suicide bombers, Burnham said.

Who is the BIF? Stevenson asked.

The BIF is a Muslim separatist group that wants to establish an independent Muslim Mindanao. Currently, it operates in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao—ARMM for short—which is recognized by the Philippine government. It has an elected governor and board of five elected officials, Burnham said.

But why did the BIF—a Filipino group—bomb the Surabaya Zoo and the Buddhist temple that are in East Java? What does BIF have to do with places in East Java? Stevenson wondered.

The BIF is associated with the Jihad Islamiyah, the largest terrorist group in Indonesia. They’re both committed to the establishment of a Muslim alliance that encompasses Indonesia, Mindanao, and Borneo, Burnham explained.

Other than the human casualty, what was the extent of the bombings in East Java? Stevenson asked.

Burnham said, Several bombs were detonated at the zoo during the peak hours when thousands of people are entertained by different animal shows, particularly the tiger show, which includes several rare white tigers. The aquarium was a total wreck. And the Komodo dragons were almost wiped out. But it’s the loss of human lives that caused a great deal of concern and apprehension. It is one of the most visited attractions in Surabaya. The zoo occupies fifteen hectares of wildlife. It has more than 3,400 animals from more than 350 species—

Okay, Stevenson interrupted, I’ve heard enough. I’d like you—he pointed at Morrow and Scott—to go to Davao City in the Philippines to set up a safe house, one is already being equipped with communications stuff as we speak, and establish a command and control office. Also, a Filipino counterterrorist specialist, who happens to be a sharpshooter, a sniper, will meet you there too.

Why Davao City? Weren’t the bombings in East Java? Burnham asked.

Yes, but we need to work with the Philippine Intelligence Agency, which is allied with us. We’ll be relying on their contacts in Mindanao and Indonesia. You will establish a command-and-control post in Davao City, Stevenson said.

Who else is going? Morrow asked.

Well, it will just be you and Burnham for now until we know the scope of the operation. You will meet the Filipino sniper and the Philippine Intelligence Agency deputy director in Davao City, the president said.

Filipino sniper? Hmm… Does he know how to shoot? Just kidding, Morrow said.

Yes, as a matter of fact, it’s a woman… Burnham said.

A woman sniper? Morrow was surprised. Don’t they have any good snipers in the Philippines? Morrow is used to working with male snipers when he was in the military. But that’s okay, I’m open-minded, he thought.

Yes, a woman sniper. And you’d better practice your shooting expertise because you’ll work with her as a team—a shooter/spotter team. I understand she had more than fifty confirmed kills since she joined the force. And I understand you yourself had about thirty? Stevenson asked.

Thirty-three kills so far, sir.

That’s good enough, Ted. You and Scott will make a good team.

Thank you for your confidence, Mr. President.

You’ll be leaving tonight and will be in Davao City, Philippines, by tomorrow evening in one of the CIA’s Gulfstream jets. Any questions?

None, Burnham said.

That will be all then. Good luck, the president said.

This assignment would give Morrow an opportunity to become visible and impress President Stevenson. He sensed that his star would shine over the CIA sky. Not bad for someone who had just been with the CIA for only five years.

But his five years with the CIA had been a roller coaster and never had a dull moment. He had spent two years in Iraq where he almost lost his life when his battalion was engaged in a fierce firefight in Fallujah against the Islamic State (IS). The city had just been captured by the Islamic State, which cut off the city from the Iraqi forces.

His battalion, which numbered about nine hundred soldiers, was under siege for more than a month. Morrow and his comrades-in-arm were surrounded by about four thousand IS fighters. The siege ended when reinforcements arrived from Baghdad. Morrow’s battalion suffered heavy losses—about four hundred were killed and three hundred wounded. Morrow was one of them. However, he was able to continue fighting. But the enemy suffered more than two thousand deaths and about five hundred wounded. Morrow received the US Army’s second-highest military decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross, for his extraordinary heroism in combat with the enemy. Morrow was proud of getting the prestigious medal. Just imagine, the second-highest military medal, he thought.

He was responsible for saving the lives of seven of his comrades who were wounded and holed up in a hole. With IS fighters around them, Morrow was able to get hold of a machine gun and held the enemy at bay, killing them as they tried to attack his team. Reinforcement arrived after two days fighting in the hole. When they arrived, Morrow was down to his last clip of ammunition. Ten more minutes, and he too would have been killed. He also received the Purple Heart for his wounds.

After his tour in Iraq, Morrow was deployed to Afghanistan for three years. It was in Afghanistan where he was assigned as a sniper. He was assigned to fight the Taliban in the mountains of Afghanistan. Armed with an M82 Barrett sniper rifle, he killed a total of thirty-three Taliban fighters within a period of two years. His longest recorded kill was 2,900 feet away. He was one of the best snipers in Afghanistan.

Morrow thought that he would be using his sniper skills when he teamed up with Leilani Ramirez. And he looked forward to it.

He could see himself moving up fast in the ladder at the CIA. Heck, why not? He’s good and very motivated.

Morrow mused, Going on a mission with the deputy director of CIMC is quite an honor for me. This would be an opportunity to earn some points for future promotional opportunities.

He drove home, thinking what he’d bring with him to East Java. He decided to travel light.

Chapter 2

CIA Goes to Davao City

CIA Special Agent Ted Morrow and Deputy Director Scott Burnham boarded the Gulfstream jet to fly them to Davao City to meet the Filipino sniper and the director of PIA, the Philippine Intelligence Agency.

They were the only passengers in the Gulfstream jet. There were two stewardesses on the plane catering to just the two of them.

How are you, gentlemen? asked one of the stewardesses, a buxom blond woman with an air of superiority.

What’s your name? Morrow asked.

Lara, the stewardess answered without giving her last name, which was the rule in the airline industry. But rule or no rule, she said, My last name is Carter just so you know if we meet again.

Gee, thanks, I’ve been wondering about that. So it’s Lara Carter?

Yes, Mr. Morrow…

Call me Ted, honey…Ted Morrow.

The other stewardess joined them shortly.

Lara introduced her, This is Andrea Davis.

Care for some drinks, gentlemen? Andrea asked.

What do you have? I’ll have Scotch on the rocks, please. And by the way, this is Scott Burnham, my boss, Morrow introduced Scott.

And what do you want to drink, Mr. Burnham? Andrea said.

Do you have Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky? Burnham asked.

The twenty-five- or forty-year-old?

I’ll try the forty-year-old.

We happen to have one, Mr. Burnham. You have an expensive taste. That’s about five grand a bottle, sir, Andrea said.

Oh, well. Charge it to Uncle Sam, my dear…

Andrea. Andrea Davis, sir.

Thank you, Andrea.

Andrea went to get the bottle of Glenfiddich. She walked with her hips swaying, which made Morrow whistle. Andrea looked back, smiled,