Agent Z and the Terrorist Threat

Later that night, Zach and his friends were standing across the street from the Westside Islamic Center. It was a quarter after nine on Saturday, and the streets were dark. The only light came from the gray brick building across the street.

“They’ve been in there over an hour,” Annie said, pacing back and forth. “How much longer do we have to wait?”

“Until they come out,” Zach answered. “According the schedule the Assistant gave us, classes run until ten.”

“Boring,” Moose muttered. He was leaning up against a large maple tree, playing with his Gameboy.

Just then, Annie stopped pacing and cocked her head sideways. She stood perfectly still for a minute, listening.

“Someone’s coming!” she whispered

The three friends moved back into the shadows. They peered down the street and saw a lone figure walking towards the Islamic Center.

“Who is it?” Annie whispered to Zach, who had removed a small rectangular object from inside his belt. It was a special belt, supplied by the Agency, with hidden pouches for all sorts of high-tech equipment.

“Just a minute…” Zach muttered, using one hand to focus the device. It was a special night-vision viewer, and it let him see things in the dark. “It’s… wait a minute… it’s Ali Masmah!”

“What’s he doing out this late at night?” Annie wondered.

“Probably going to meet his brother after classes,” Zach said. He took another look through the viewer. “Hold on. There’s somebody else coming. A bunch of people.”

Across the street, Ali had walked into the light of the lone streetlight. Zach and his friends saw Ali stop suddenly. They watched as a dozen kids – big kids – walked out of the shadows and surrounded the smaller boy. They pushed him off the sidewalk, back towards the Islamic Center’s playground.

“What’s going on?” Annie asked.

“I don’t like this,” Moose said. He turned off his Gameboy and put it in his back pocket.

The three of them watched as the bigger kids started taunting Ali Masmah. Their voices were getting louder and more abusive.

Ali shrunk back, afraid.

“We oughta help him,” Moose said to Zach.

“No,” Zach replied, grabbing Moose’s arm. “The Director said this mission is observation only. Don’t get physically involved.”

Across the street, the big kids had closed in on Ali. One of the kids reached over and gave Ali a hard shove. The smaller boy stumbled backwards, then was shoved again. This time he fell to the ground.

“I don’t care what the Director said,” Moose muttered as he broke free of Zach’s grip. “It’s not right.”

Zach watched, silently, as Moose ran across the street. His large friend threw himself into the middle of the gang, both arms flailing.

“It’s twelve to one,” Annie said, looking nervously at Zach. “Moose can’t take them all on by himself.”

Annie was right. As big and as tough as Moose was, he was simply outnumbered. Four of the boys – two on each arm – had him pinned down to the ground, while another kid kept punching him in the ribs.

“Zach?” Annie pleaded. “We have to help!”

Zach thought for a moment. Then, with a big sigh and a shake of his head, he turned to Annie.

“If I get in trouble because of this, it’s all your fault.”

Annie broke out in a big grin. She gave Zach a friendly punch on the shoulder, then ran across the street.

“Let’s even the odds!” she exclaimed.

Leaping high into the air, Annie delivered a flying kick to the kid who was hitting Moose.

Thwaaack!

The kid went tumbling backwards, into two other boys.

“Pick on someone your own size,” Moose added, swinging his arms up hard. The four kids who’d been holding him down went flying off in all directions.

“What’d Ali ever do to you, anyway?” Zach asked out loud, to no one in particular. He grabbed a baseball bat that was laying in the grass, and swung it in a wide and low arc.

Wham!

He knocked three of the attackers off their feet!

Amidst all the fighting, the biggest of the attackers stood his ground. Zach recognized him as Evan Hendricks, the captain of the high school football team.

“Why you helpin’ the Arab kid?” Hendricks asked, accusingly.

“He’s a friend of ours,” Zach replied. He still held onto the baseball bat.

“He’s one of them Muslims,” Hendricks spat out. “All them Muslims are terrorists.”

“Wise up, pal,” Zach said. He twirled the bat in his right hand, then thrust it forward – and punched Hendricks right in the gut!

Whump!

The captain of the football team landed hard on his butt, the breath knocked out of him. Behind him, Annie was delivering a powerful spin kick to two more of his high school buddies, while Moose was swinging his fists at anything that moved.

“So Ali comes from the Middle East,” Zach continued. He prodded Hendricks with the baseball bat. “Big deal. That doesn’t automatically make him a bad guy.”

Hendricks didn’t answer. He was too busy scrambling to his feet and running in the other direction. His friends followed him.

“Nice speech,” Annie said to Zach. She bent over and put her hands on her knees, catching her breath.

“It’s the truth,” Zach said, twirling the baseball bat like a baton. “Just because some terrorists are Muslims doesn’t mean that all Muslims are terrorists. Right, Moose?”

“Beats me,” Moose answered as he helped Ali Masmah to his feet. “I just don’t like big kids picking on little kids.”

Zach nodded and smiled to himself. Moose was able to simplify even the most complicated situations.

“You okay?” Annie asked Ali.

Their classmate was small for his age, and skinny. He had a bruise on his forehead and a scrape on his arm, but other than that looked okay.

“Yes, thank you,” Ali replied. He was still shaking a little from the attack. “I owe you many thanks. Surely I would have been killed without your assistance.”

“I doubt that,” Zach answered, modestly. “Beat up, probably. But not killed.”

“In any case,” Ali continued, “I am forever indebted to the three of you. It is fortunate that you happened to be walking by when I was attacked.”

He paused for a moment.

“It is curious, isn’t it, that the three of you were walking past the Islamic Center at this time of night. Are you taking classes there?”

“No, you see…” Zach started to say – then he was interrupted by Moose.

“We’re on a mission,” Moose blurted out. “For the government.”

“That’s right,” Annie added, before Zach could object. “We’re trailing two suspected terrorists who are taking classes at the Center. Maybe you could help us!”

“Wait a minute… you can’t…” Zach sputtered, trying to stop his friends from giving away their secrets.

“Who are these alleged terrorists?” Ali asked, intrigued. “Do I know them?”

“The main guy’s named Galeb Audah Saleem,” Annie said, quickly. “He’s from Iraq . You probably don’t know the other guy.”

Zach breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want Ali to know that their other suspect was his brother,  Kassim.

Ali’s face brightened up.

“I know of this Galeb Audah Saleem,” he said, the words rushing from his mouth. “I have seen him at the Islamic Center. He is indeed a suspicious person. Keeps very much to himself, he does. When he does talk, he is very critical of our country.”

“Saudi Arabia?” Annie asked, innocently.

“No, our country. The United States of America .”

Just then the door to the Islamic Center opened, and men and women started filing out. Zach motioned his friends back off the street, into the shadows.

“There’s Saleem,” Zach whispered, pointing to a dark-haired man standing by the door. He was talking to a slightly taller man with a mustache.

“Yes, that is him,” Ali confirmed. “He is talking to my brother, Kassim.”

Zach and Annie exchanged glances.

“Here’s what we’ll do,” Zach said, turning to face the others. “Ali and I will follow Saleem. Moose and Annie, you take the other suspect.”

He paused for a moment.

“When he comes out, that is.”

Moose and Annie both nodded.

“They’re splitting up now,” Zach said, after a minute. Ali’s brother Kassim crossed the street and started walking west. Saleem stayed on the sidewalk and walked east.

With a quick nod, Zach and Ali started after Saleem. Moose and Annie waited a moment, then turned to follow Kassim.

The chase was on.