Homeland: Carrie's Run: A Homeland Novel Read online

  As if bipolar wasn’t bad enough, she had to be an adrenaline junkie too. Or was it something else? she wondered as they made the turn onto the Qadisaya Expressway, thick with traffic. They drove past palm trees and buildings, some pockmarked with holes from rockets and bullets. It’s like crossing a finish line; something is ending or beginning, she thought.

  Ever since that night in Ashrafieh when Nightingale had tried to ambush her, she’d been on a run, like when she was at Princeton. The longest run ever. Only now it was over. When she was running NCAA, she’d imagined she could run forever. Now she knew better.

  Take a breath, Carrie, she told herself. Time for a new run. This time the rabbit she was chasing was Abu Nazir, as the convoy drove through the checkpoint into the Green Zone, past the parade ground and the Unknown Soldier Monument, back to Yafa Street and the al-Rasheed Hotel.

  Abu Nazir. What was there about him? Something truly frightening. Men would rather die than face him. Bilal Mohamad was no jihadi religious nut and no pushover either. He was truly evil. She had felt her skin crawl just being in his presence. How was it Davis Fielding hadn’t spotted it? Or was Fielding so blinded by the sex? Maybe it was like Saul had said: his head was stuck in the ground. But Bilal had wanted to live. He had been calmly chopping up a gay friend of his so that Abu Nazir would believe him dead when she walked in. Yet when confronted with the chance to stay alive, even Bilal had preferred to kill himself rather than face Abu Nazir.

  Well, Abu Nazir, the next dance is you and me, she thought grimly.

  Walking into the hotel’s marble lobby, she was greeted by Warzer, carrying a big bouquet of roses.

  “Marhaban! Welcome, Carrie. It’s good to have you back,” Warzer said, handing her the roses.

  “Shokran, Warzer.” She smelled the roses. “Won’t your wife be jealous?”

  “She would be, if I were foolish enough to tell her. How is Virgil?”

  “Virgil is well. He’s hoping to come back.”

  She left her rolling suitcase with the hotel porter and the two of them went outside and crossed over to the Convention Center grounds. Security had improved since she’d been there last; the Convention Center was ringed by concentric layers of protection. In addition to personnel, surveillance cameras and sensors were everywhere, she noted.

  She and Warzer presented their credentials to the U.S. MPs at their sandbagged emplacement, again to Blackwater guards and at a third checkpoint manned by Iraqi ISF soldiers at the front entrance.

  “How are things, truly?” she asked Warzer as they walked down the open hallway.

  “Things are hanging by a thread, Carrie. The Iranians and the Mahdi Army are smuggling in arms and explosives. The Kurds are going their own way. The Americans are caught in the middle—and once Saddam’s trial is over and he is executed . . .”

  “Is that a foregone conclusion?”

  “Absolutely. He will be hung. Very soon now.”

  “Then what?”

  “That depends on Abu Nazir—and also you, Carrie.” He smiled.

  They were at the door of the “U.S. Refugee Aid Service.” They went inside the reception area and she told the female CIA staffer to let Perry Dreyer know she was there and to get her a vase for her roses, which she handed to the staffer. The woman got up and left, then came back and said to follow her.

  They walked into a large bullpen of a room where CIA operatives sat at computers or worked on telephones, the space busy with activity. On the wall, someone had posted framed photographs of Ambassador Robert Benson and Prime Minister Wael al-Waliki in their combat utility uniforms. There was one of the station chief, Perry Dreyer, and on a wall by themselves, the photographs of two United States Marines, labeled “U.S. Marines Missing in Action, presumed captured by AQI, Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

  The first photograph was of an African-American, “U.S. Marine Scout Sniper Thomas Walker. Captured outside Haditha, Anbar Province, May 19, 2003.” Three years. A hell of a long time to be held by al-Qaeda, if he was still alive, poor bastard. Probably not a chance in hell he was alive. Haditha, she mused. The last known location of Abu Nazir. Where she was headed next.

  The second photograph was labeled “U.S. Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody, Captured outside Haditha, Anbar Province, May 19, 2003.” They’d been taken together. She studied the photograph carefully.

  It was an interesting face, she thought.

  CHARACTERS

  (in order of appearance)

  Caroline Anne Mathison, nickname “Carrie,” Operations Officer, Beirut Station, NCS (National Clandestine Service division), CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)

  Saul Michael Berenson, Middle East Division Chief, NCS, CIA

  Taha al-Douni, codename: Nightingale, Senior Officer GSD, Syrian General Security Directorate

  Dima Hamdan, codename: Jihan, female agent for March 14 Group (Christian Maronite); location: Beirut, Lebanon

  Davis Fielding, Beirut Station Chief, Middle East Division, NCS, CIA

  Virgil Maravich, Technical Officer, “Black Bag” expert, Beirut Station, NCS, CIA

  Fatima Ali, codename: Julia; wife number one of Abbas Ali, Hezbollah brigade commander

  Abbas Ali, husband of Fatima; Commander of Hezbollah “Organization of the Oppressed Brigade”

  Frank Mathison, Carrie’s father, lives with daughter Margaret in Alexandria, Virginia; former IT systems administrator, Vietnam veteran; current status: unemployed

  Dar Adal, Former Senior Case Officer, “Black Ops,” NCS, CIA; current status: independent intelligence agent/consultant

  Ahmed Haidar, Member Hezbollah Central Council (Hezbollah’s inner governing circle), location: Beirut and Tyre, Lebanon

  David Randolph Estes, Director of the CTC (Counter-Terrorism Center), NCS, CIA; location: Langley, Virginia

  Dr. Margaret Evelyn McClure, née Mathison, nickname “Maggie”; sister of Carrie Mathison; medical doctor; lives and practices in Alexandria, Virginia

  James Abdel-Shawafi, nickname “Jimbo,” Senior Analyst II/Database Administrator, NSA (National Security Agency), Fort Meade, Maryland

  Joanne Dayton, Intelligence Analyst 2, OCSAA (Office of Collection Strategies and Analysis), Intelligence Analysis Division, CIA

  Alan Yerushenko, Deputy Director, OCSAA (Office of Collection Strategies and Analysis), Intelligence Analysis Division, CIA

  Abu Nazir, real name: unknown; origin unknown; current status: leader of AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq); location: unknown

  Abu Ubaida, real name: unknown; origin unknown; current status: second-in-command to Abu Nazir, leader of AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq); location: unknown

  Mira Berenson, née Bhattacharya, wife of Saul Berenson; born Mumbai, India; current status: Director, Children’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch organization

  Bassam Al-Shakran, origin: Amman, Jordan; current status: pharmaceutical salesman.

  Abdel Yassin; origin: Amman, Jordan; current status: student at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY

  Captain Koslowski, Captain, NYPD Counterintelligence Division, New York City

  Sergeant Gillespie, Sergeant, NYPD Counterintelligence Division, New York City

  Supervisory Special Agent Sanders, FBI Counter-Terrorism Division, Washington, DC

  Tom Raeden, Hercules Team Leader, NYPD Counterintelligence Division, New York City

  Abou Murad, fashion photographer, location: Gemmayzeh, Ashrafieh district, Beirut, Lebanon

  Rana Saadi, well-known Lebanese actress and model; location: Verdun district, Beirut, Lebanon

  Marielle Hilal, Lebanese actress and model; location: Bourj Hammoud district, Beirut, Lebanon

  Mohammed Siddiqi, boyfriend of Dima Hamdan; origin: Doha, Qatar

  Captain Ryan Dempsey, USMC; current status: Unit Commander, Task Force 145/liaison to CIA; stationed, Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

  Warzer Zafir, Iraqi national; origin: Ramadi, Iraq; current status: US embassy translator and liaison to CIA

  Abu Ammar, see Walid Karimr />
  Walid Karim, a.k.a. Abu Ammar, codename: Romeo; current status: AQI Commander; origin: Ramadi, Iraq

  Shada Karim, wife of Walid Karim, mother of daughter, Farah, and son, Gabir; location: Ramadi, Iraq

  Aasera Karim, mother of Walid Karim; location: Ramadi, Iraq

  Lt. Colonel Joseph Tussey, Commander, Third Battalion, Eighth Regiment, USMC; location: Ramadi, Iraq

  Sergeant Billings, Squad Leader, Third Battalion, Eighth Regiment, USMC; location: Ramadi, Iraq

  Perry Dryer, Baghdad Station Chief, Middle East Division, NCS, CIA; location: Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

  Colonel Salazar, Commander, 4th Brigade, 3rd Division, US Army; location: Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

  Captain Mullins, Commander, 2nd Battalion, Special Forces Group attached to 3rd Division, US Army; location: Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

  Ambassador Robert Benson, US ambassador to Iraq; location: Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

  Warrant Officer Blazell, nickname: Crimson; Assistant Team Leader, 2nd Battalion, Special Forces Group attached to 3rd Division, US Army; location: Green Zone, Baghdad, Iraq

  Ray Saunders, Beirut Station Chief, Middle East Division, NCS, CIA; location: Beirut, Lebanon

  Bilal Mohamad; current status: drug dealer; location: Minet Al Hosn district, Beirut, Lebanon

  GLOSSARY

  (in alphabetical order)

  A Primer on Lebanese Political Groups—Politics in Lebanon is extremely complex—and the penalty for a mistake can be death. This small ancient country whose history goes back to the Phoenicians in pre-biblical times, is divided along deep fault lines of political interests and religious and tribal affiliations. This volatile internal mix is further complicated by interference from outside forces such as Syria, Israel, the Palestinians, and the Sunni-Shiite divide (see page 357), not to mention the United States. In 1975, the powder keg exploded into a brutal civil war that lasted sixteen years (nearly four times longer than the American Civil War). While the Lebanese Civil War ended in late 1990, to this day, the country’s political system remains precariously balanced between opposing elements, all armed to the teeth. Governance in such circumstances is nearly impossible. The Lebanese adopted a unique form of government, in which by law, the President must be a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, the Speaker of the Parliament a Shiite Muslim, and the Deputy Prime Minister and the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Eastern Orthodox Christians.

  In order for Carrie to achieve her mission, she must navigate between these dangerous and conflicting groups and interests. In 2006, the period in which this novel is set, these groupings (also described below) included among others: Hezbollah (Shiite Muslims unofficially allied with Syria and Iran), March 14 (primarily Maronite Christians), PSP (Druze), the Islamic Group (Sunni Muslim Brotherhood) and the PLO (Palestinians).

  Note: As indicated in intelligence provided to Carrie by one of her agents, Fatima Ali, a.k.a. Julia, the Second Israel-Lebanon War, prompted by a cross-border incident by Hezbollah, will break out in July 2006.

  Alawites—A Shiite Muslim religious group, an offshoot of the “Twelver” branch of Shia Islam, primarily located in western Syria. The Alawites began as a sect that followed the teachings of the eleventh Imam, Hassan al-Askari, in the ninth century. In the centuries that followed, they achieved notoriety as warriors. Alawites represent only a small percentage of the Syrian population and might have passed unnoticed were it not that Syria has been ruled for more than forty years by a single Alawite dynasty, the Al-Assad family, who placed Alawites in positions of power. Bassam al-Assad, son of the founder of the modern Syrian state, Hafez al-Assad, was the President of Syria in 2006, the period in which this book is set. As Alawite Shiites, the Al-Assads, father and son, allied Syria with the other two anti-Western Shiite powers in the Middle East, Hezbollah and Iran.

  Al Qaeda—The global international militant terrorist organization. Founded in the late 1980s by Osama bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi jihadi, in part as a response to the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979–1989), al Qaeda (the name means “the Base”) is a combination militant Islamist terrorist network, stateless military force and a radical Sunni Muslim movement advocating global jihad. As Salafist jihadis, al Qaeda is intolerant of all persons of other religions or philosophies except strict Salafist Sunni Muslims. This includes intolerance toward other Muslims, such as Shiites, Sufis, or even Sunnis who in their view do not practice a sufficiently strict Salafist Sunni version of sharia law. The organization achieved worldwide notoriety for its attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Since then, although it has lost much of its early leadership, it has developed offshoots in other parts of the world, including among others: AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula), the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in Kashmir, AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb; North Africa), Jemaah Islamiah (a Southeast Asian Islamist terrorist group), and AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq).

  AQI—Al Qaeda in Iraq; the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda; the international Salafist jihadi militant organization founded by the Saudi terrorist, Osama bin Laden (responsible for the attack on America on September 11, 2001). AQI was founded in 2003 as a reaction to the American-led invasion and occupation of Iraq. It was first led by the Jordanian militant, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. After his death, in the Homeland version of events, AQI was led by a mysterious man with the kunya, or nom de guerre, of Abu Nazir. By 2006, when this novel is set, the American war effort in Iraq is under serious attack. AQI has taken over almost all of the vast Anwar Province that comprises most of western Iraq all the way to the Syrian border.

  COMINT—Acronym for Communications Intelligence, i.e., intelligence derived from the interception of electronic or voice communications.

  GSD—The General Security Directorate; Idarat al-Amn al-Amm; the brutal agency in charge of internal and external security for the Syrian government. In addition to suppressing internal dissent and security threats against the Assad regime, the GSD is deeply involved in intelligence work outside Syria, such as coordinating intelligence activities and information with Hezbollah and the MOIS, the Iranian CIA, both allies of the Assad regime in Syria. It is for this reason that Carrie regards a senior GSD official, such as Taha al-Douni, a.k.a. Nightingale, as a prize worth trying to recruit.

  Hezbollah—An Iranian-sponsored Shiite paramilitary and political movement based in Lebanon (see Sunnis versus Shiites on page 357). Founded in 1982 as a resistance movement against Israel in the aftermath of the First Israel-Lebanon War, its heavily armed militia and strong political presence has made it one of the dominant groups in Lebanon. There are certain areas within Lebanon that are completely controlled by Hezbollah, comprising a virtual state within a state. Hezbollah has ties to both Iran and Syria, all of them, Shiite-based. Hezbollah’s tactics have caused the United States and Israel to officially classify it as a terrorist organization. Note that Hezbollah is Shiite and al Qaeda is a radical Sunni movement, which makes them rivals, not allies.

  The Islamic Group—Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya; the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1925, whose credo involves a return to a strict Sunni Muslim version of sharia law. Although Sunni Muslims, they joined forces with the Christians in the March 14 alliance in order to oppose Hezbollah and their Syrian allies, who threatened to take over all of Lebanon.

  Lebanese Forces, Lebanese Phalange, and the Lebanese Front—The Lebanese Front or Front Libanais was formed as a right-wing ultra-nationalistic paramilitary force, primarily consisting of Maronite Christians, designed to represent and defend “Christian territory” during the bitter Lebanese Civil War. Later, the so-called Lebanese Forces, a.k.a. Les Forces Libanaises, were formed as an umbrella group, which fought as the main right-wing Christian militia force during the Civil War. The Lebanese Phalange, a.k.a. the Kataeb Party, was formed in 1936 as a Maronite Christian paramilitary youth organization by Pierre Gemayel, who modeled it after the Spanish Falange and the Italian Fascist parties. The Phalange be
came an important component of the Maronite Christian Forces of the Lebanese Front during the Lebanese Civil War.

  March 14 Group—A predominantly Maronite Christian coalition founded during the so-called Cedar Revolution, a wave of protests that swept Lebanon in the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri, the popular Sunni Muslim prime minister. In addition to its political arm, the group also includes the powerful Maronite Christian Lebanese Forces and Lebanese Phalange armed militia groups, as well as political and military support from some additional allies in Lebanon’s topsy-turvy politics: Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, the Sunni Muslim Islamic Group and also the Lebanese Armenian community. Carrie’s assumption that her female agent, Dima Hamdan, is a Maronite Christian is in part based on the fact that Dima is a secret agent for the March 14 Group.

  Maronite Christians—An early Christian ethno-religious group originating in the Syrian and Mount Lebanon regions. They began as followers of a fifth-century Syrian Christian mystic, Saint Maron, who spent his entire life on a mountain in Syria. Their church is considered an Eastern Catholic Syriac Christian denomination, unique for its liturgy, which is done in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic (the language spoken in the time of Jesus). Today, Maronite Christians make up one-fourth of the population of Lebanon and form the backbone of the nationalist Lebanese Arab parties and right-wing militias. A powerful force within Lebanon, politically and militarily, they have often been pitted against the Muslims, Druze and Palestinians in the various complex configurations of Lebanese politics. In 2006, the period in which this book is set, they are represented politically and militarily through the March 14 Group (see page 355).

  MOIS—The Ministry of Intelligence and National Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Vezarat-e Ettela’at Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran. Iran’s foreign secret intelligence service, i.e., the Iranian equivalent of the CIA. Since both Hezbollah and the Assad government in Syria have ties to Iran, it is appropriate for Carrie to assume that her target agent, Taha al-Douni, codenamed Nightingale, would have access to intelligence from both Hezbollah and Iran’s intelligence organization, MOIS.