Part One: October: Chapters 5-8 Summary

This section opens with the arrival of a fax at the office of the London Times, a message which is immediately passed on to Britain's Security Service and Secret Intelligence Service. Ultimately, it is forwarded to CIA headquarters and distributed to several offices, including that of Michael Osbourne, the officer assigned to a Muslim terrorist group known as the Sword of Gaza.

Chapter 6 focuses on the background of Michael Osbourne and his immediate response to the airline strike. He is not at CIA headquarters by choice. A former field agent, his identity had been comprised, and he was forced back to a desk ob. He is housed with several other officers, each with a specific terrorist watch assignment. He has received the fax from London and a forensics report on the whaler found drifting with...