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Mike had been plucked out of that human resources class at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, California. From there he was whisked off to a short but intense special orientation and training at the CIA center in Langley, Virginia. This was an accelerated class for specially qualified personnel like Petty Officer Mike Assad, who had unknowingly been given a complete security evaluation far beyond the norm due to his ethnicity. When he successfully completed the course, and impressed his mentors and instructors enough with his intelligence, physical conditioning, and raw guts, they had a doozy of a job waiting for him. He was assigned to penetrate the Islamic terrorist organization al-Mimkhalif; not in America, but over in a hot spot in Pakistan.
    He went to Buffalo, New York, in the guise of being an underachieving, angry young Arab-American with little education. He began attending services at a mosque known to be a recruiting center for al-Mimkhalif. A Saudi clergyman invited Mike and other young men to attend some special classes at the mosque. It was at these so-called sessions in Middle Eastern culture and philosophy that he was recruited i nto the fanatical organization and sent to Camp Talata in Pakistan.
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    NOW, out in the open country around the terrorist center, Mike Assad sat feigning study of the Arabic lessons under the tree. After an hour passed, he stood up and casually stretched. He took a steady but subtle look around to make sure he was unobserved. After sitting back down, he pulled a sheet of paper from his notebook. He wrote a quick note regarding the new method of delivering arms and supplies, then wrapped it up tightly and stuck it into an empty aluminum tube. Mike stood up again for another survey of the nearby countryside before placing the tube into a hollowed-out area beneath the tree roots.
    With that done, he gathered up his lessons and walked back to the camp.

    Chapter 3.
    TIE ZAUBA FAST ATTACK SQUADRON
    THE most elite unit of the Oman Navy was the crack Zauba Fast Attack Squadron stationed at the clandestine Taimur Naval Base along a lonely part of the coast between the city of Salalah and the Yemen border. This outfit, whose name meant "Storm" in Arabic, was operating far outside normal SOPs of the Oman armed forces. Outwardly, it seemed to be a run-of-the-mill antismuggling unit, but in reality its sole purpose was to conduct quick-reaction missions. The squadron was bullied through its duties by its egotistical and hard-driving commanding officer, Commodore Muhammad Mahamat.
    The officers and sailors were handpicked, superbly trained, and blindly loyal to Islam and Mahamat in that order. All officers were required to be fluent in the English language before assignment to the squadron. The enlisted sailors had to pass I. Q. tests and have superlative service records. They were immediately put into English classes to develop a strong working knowledge of the language. All personnel were sent to facilities of the United States Navy or Britain's Royal Navy for advanced studies in technical and tactical subjects.
    Because of these special qualifications, all personnel received extra pay, rations, and perks not enjoyed by the rest of the Navy ; earning all this through a demanding and continuing program of training exercises that kept them away from their homes most of the time. Morale was high among the men and their families due to their excellent living conditions and opportunities to purchase and enjoy luxury goods from the West.
    The commodore ran his squadron using a Province- class British fast-missile vessel as his flagship. She was named the Harbi-min-Islam , which translated into English as "Spear of Islam." She carried a generous supply of French-built Exocet MM-40 missiles loosed from two quadruple launchers situated amidships. The main gun located on the bow was an Italian OTO compact gun that could kick out 6.3-kilogram shells at a rate of eighty-five rounds a minute. A Swedish