David A Rollins is a former advertising creative director who lives in Sydney. He is working on his next book.
Praise for Sword of Allah:
‘[Sword of Allah’s] cross-cutting often beautifully rendered as it drives its compelling narratives along’
THE AGE
‘This is a racy book that is both entertaining and gently informative. It is a good read for those who like fast action and enjoy being just a little bit scared’
WEST AUSTRALIAN
’A chilling but thrilling study of the post-September 11 world’
GOLD COAST BULLETIN
Praise for Rogue Element:
‘a ripping, high-octane page-turner’
BRISBANE NEWS
‘Shrieks across the page like a scramjet and hits home like a small nuke. Totally awesome’
JOHN BIRMINGHAM
Also by David A Rollins
ROGUE ELEMENT
First published 2004 in Macmillan by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited
This Pan edition published in 2005 by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited
St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street, Sydney
Copyright © David A Rollins 2004
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission
in writing from the publisher.
National Library of Australia
cataloguing-in-publication data:
Rollins, David A
Sword of Allah.
ISBN 0 330 42149 2.
1. Terrorists – Australia – Fiction. 2. Terrorism – Fiction. I. Title
A823.4
The characters in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons,
living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group
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Author photograph: Samantha Rollins
These electronic editions published in 2007 by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd
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Sword of Allah
David A Rollins
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For Jack, Bart, Ruby and their mum
Acknowledgements
An enormous amount of research goes into a book like this. Much of it is desk research, but not all.
I’ve called on several sources without whose help this book would be lame. A couple I’d like to publicly thank but can’t. They’ve signed secrecy agreements with various governments and are a little nervous about any public spotlight. Not because they’ve done anything wrong, but because they want to keep their lives uncomplicated. And who can blame them for that? The reason these people helped me is purely so that the facts, when facts need to be told, are indeed fact and not fabrication. Notice I didn’t say ‘fiction’, because this book is as much about fiction as anything else. None of the events in this book has happened and I hope they never do. But I digress.
Where the Special Air Service is concerned, I called on the services and knowledge of an experienced officer from that regiment. I couldn’t have written this book without his patient assistance. So, thank you very much, Captain X – you know who you are.
The Royal Australian Navy figures in this story. I admire anyone who goes to sea, and most especially when it’s in the defence of their country. Mark, a former RAN communications NCO, tirelessly put up with my incessant emails and questions about seemingly insignificant details, and then put in the time and the effort to read an early draft of the story. Thanks, Mark, for all your help, which was always delivered with a smile.
Wing Commander Peter Spiess, from RAAF Williamtown, helped me bring to life the F/A-18 sortie towards the end of the book. I also received assistance from a former USAF F16 fighter pilot who patiently helped me on a number of details. I’d like to point out that while the radio work between the pilots featured in the story is reasonably authentic, it’s a little overstated in parts to make the meaning clearer for the reader.
Thanks also to Bonnie Warn from the Australian Federal Police for pointing me in the right direction on a few issues.
The medical information contained herein was vetted by my friend and personal physician, Dr Malcolm Parmenter. Malcolm also suffered through an earlier draft and pointed out several flaws that I’ve since bandaged.
I’d like to thank the search engine Google.com for saving me a good year in research time.
I’d like to thank Andrew Sargant, my friend and former business partner, for his eternal encouragement and willingness to read unfinished manuscripts. Thanks, Sarge, I owe you.
Then there’s Rose Creswell and Annette Hughes, from the Cameron–Creswell Agency, thank you for believing in me.
And finally, I’d like to thank the people at Pan Macmillan: the fiction publisher, Cate Paterson; the senior publicist, Jane Novak; and all the fantastic, hardworking sales representatives nationally and internationally, who made the writing of this book possible.
Contents
Glossary
Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea
The Persian Gulf
Manila, Philippines
Ramallah, West Bank, Israel
Australian Defence Force HQ, Russell Offices, Canberra, Australia
South Java, Indonesia
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Via Veneto, Rome, Italy
Nam Sa River, Myanmar
US Embassy, Canberra, Australia
Australian Federal Police HQ, Canberra, Australia
Jakarta, Indonesia
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Jakarta, Indonesia
Amman, Jordan
Jakarta, Indonesia
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Australian Defence Force HQ, Russell Offices, Canberra, Australia
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Flores, Indonesia
Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Sirkin Air Force Base, Israel
Central Intelligence Agency, Australia bureau, US Embassy, Canberra
Flores, Indonesia
Manila, Philippines
Flores, Indonesia
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Camp Echo, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
; Manila, Philippines
Camp Echo, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Port Botany, Sydney, Australia
Australian Defence Force HQ, Russell Offices, Canberra, Australia
Tamarama, Sydney, Australia
Richmond, Melbourne, Australia
Australian Federal Police HQ, Canberra, Australia
Flores, Indonesia
Central Intelligence Agency, Australia bureau, US Embassy, Canberra
Sydney, Australia
Australian Defence Force HQ, Russell Offices, Canberra, Australia
Flores, Indonesia
Nam Sa River, Myanmar
Manila, Philippines
Diego Garcia, Indian Ocean
Nam Sa River, Myanmar
Ten miles due south of Thai–Myanmar border, 35 000 feet
Nam Sa River, Myanmar
Flores, Indonesia
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Flores, Indonesia
Bangkok, Thailand
Flores, Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Arafura Sea, 15 000 feet
Flores, Indonesia
S10°30'10" E126°15'02", Timor Sea
Flores, Indonesia
Australian Defence Force HQ, Russell Offices, Canberra, Australia
Sirius 3, Bayu-Unadan field, Timor Gap, Timor Sea
S10°51'12" E126°17'09", Timor Sea
Indian Ocean, 25 000 feet
S11°05'50" E126°18'42", Timor Sea
Sirius 3, Bayu-Unadan field, Timor Gap, Timor Sea
Sirius 3, Bayu-Unadan field, Timor Gap, Timor Sea
Port Botany, Sydney, Australia
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Timor Sea
Glossary
ADF Australian Defence Force
AFP Australian Federal Police
AGL Above ground level
AGM-154D Guided missile (JSOW)
AH-1 (Zefa or Cobra) Helicopter gunship
AIM-9 Air-to-air heat-seeking missile
AK-47 (Kalashnikov) military assault carbine
AMSL Above mean sea level
ANZUS Australia–New Zealand–United States defence pact
APC Armoured personnel carrier
APFSDS Armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (tank-fired round)
AS Able seaman
ASIO Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
ASIS Australian Secret Intelligence Service
ATO Australian Tax Office
AV-TUR Aviation jet fuel
AWACS Airborne warning and control system
AW-1W Super Cobra helicopter gunship
BI Babu Islam
BK-117 (Eurocopter) Helicopter
Blackhawk (S70 A9) Helicopter
BUFF (B-52) Big Ugly Fat Fucker
B-52G US long-range bomber
CDF Chief of the Defence Force (Australian)
CFDP Combat Forces Digitisation Program
CIA Central Intelligence Agency
CMDR Commander
CO Commanding officer
CPU Central processing unit
C-4 Plastic explosive
C-5A (Galaxy) transport aircraft
C-130 (Hercules) transport aircraft
DEA Drug Enforcement Agency
DG Diego Garcia
D-G Director-general
DIO Defence Intelligence Organisation
DIP Desired impact point
Dragon Warrior Unmanned aerial vehicle
D-9 (Caterpillar) Armoured bulldozer
EA-1729 LSD
F/A-18 Jet fighter plane
FNC80 Indonesian army issue assault carbine
Fox one Radar-guided missile launched
Fox three Guns selected
Fox four Ram
GLTD Ground based laser target designator
GPS Global positioning system
H&K MP5SD Heckler & Koch machine pistol
HAHO High altitude high opening (parachute jump)
HALO High altitude low opening (parachute jump)
HE High explosive
HEAP High-explosive armour piercing
HEAT High-explosive anti-tank (tank-fired round)
Hercules C-130 transport aircraft
HUD Head up display
IAF Israeli Air Force
IDF Israeli Defence Forces
IFF Identify friend or foe
IIR Imaging infrared
INS Inertial navigation system
IR Infrared
JSLIST Joint service lightweight integrated suit technology (chemical warfare suit)
JSOW Joint stand-off weapon
KC-130 Airborne fuel tanker (Hercules-based)
KC-135 Airborne fuel tanker (Boeing 707-based)
KIAS Knots indicated air speed
Kopassus Indonesian special forces
LAV Light armoured vehicle
LM Loadmaster
LS Leading seaman
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (hallucinogenic drug)
LTCOL Lieutenant colonel
MBT Main battle tank
M1Abrams US main battle tank
M16A1 US military assault weapon
M16A2 Current issue US military assault weapon
M2 Heavy machine gun
M203 Grenade launcher
M36A2 Fragmentation grenade
M4A2 Assault carbine favoured by special forces
M61A1 20mm Gatling gun
M82A1A Sniper rifle
Merkava Mk IV Israeli main battle tank
METFOR Meteorological forecast
Minimi General-purpose machine gun
Mossad Israeli external security organisation
NBC Nuclear biological chemical (warfare)
NCO Non-commissioned officer
NVG Night vision goggles
OA Opening altitude
PC3 (Orion) Anti-submarine warfare aircraft
PDA Personal digital assistant
PFC Private first class
PNG Papua New Guinea
Prowler Unmanned aerial vehicle
RAAF Royal Australian Air Force
RHIB Ribbed-hull inflatable boat
RPG Rocket-propelled grenade
SAR Search and rescue
SAS Australian Special Air Service Regiment
Sayeret Israeli special forces
Shin Bet Israeli internal security and counterterror organisation
SLAP Saboted light armour piercing round (armour piercing bullet)
SOP Standard operating procedure
S70 A9 Blackhawk helicopter
S70 B2 Sea Hawk helicopter
TACBE Tactical beacon – low power signal device and transceiver
TCCC Transnational Crime Coordination Centre
TDC Throttle designator control
TNI Tentara Nasional Indonesia (Indonesian army)
TNI-AU Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Udara (Indonesian air force)
TOW Tube launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missile
TSS Tank sight system (external video cameras)
UAV Unmanned aerial vehicle
USCENTCOM United States forces in the Middle East region
VHF Very high frequency
VX Nerve agent
WMD Weapon of mass destruction
X Executive officer
XO Executive officer
Zefa (Cobra) AH-1 helicopter gunship
Z80 Computer chip
What an excellent slave of Allah: Khalid bin Al-Waleed, one of the swords of Allah, unleashed against the unbelievers!
Prophet Mohammed, may His name be praised
Fight and slay the pagans (infidels) wherever you find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem of war.
Qur’an, Sura 9:5
Make God laugh. Tell Him your plans.
Anon
Western Highlands,
Papua New Guinea
‘This looks bad,’ said Sergeant Tom Wilkes of the SAS, the Australian Special Air Service Regiment, thinking out loud. He was referring to the road ahead. It snaked up across the mountainside, a ribbon of orange mud that sucked at the tyres of the Land Rover and slowed the convoy’s progress to a walking pace. Wilkes repeatedly ran the flat of his hand across his short-cropped brown hair, vaguely reassured by the rough prickling on his palm. It was a habit he wasn’t aware of, something he did when he was stressed or concerned.
‘How did I know you were going to say that?’ said Ellis, used to his sergeant’s mannerisms. The jungle of the New Guinea highlands lay around them, heavy with the daily monsoonal downpour that had only just let up. The green mass pressed in on the road, overhanging it, trying to suffocate it, reclaim it. The Land Rovers bounced over tree roots that gave the tyres momentary purchase before the wheels sunk to their axles once more in the cloying mud. It was the perfect place for an ambush. Wilkes turned around briefly to check on the passengers cramped together in the back seat.
Bill Loku, the member of parliament for these parts, had been happily pointing out various landmarks in the low country, but as the altitude had increased, so had his unease. He said, ‘Mi gat wari. Mi laikim stap.’
‘He’s worried, wants to stop,’ said Timbu, the translator.
‘Not here, mate,’ said Wilkes looking out the window. ‘We can’t turn around.’
Loku sat in the back of the Land Rover with Timbu, Lance Corporal Gary Ellis and Trooper James Littlemore. It was hot, cramped and uncomfortable, but there were more pressing concerns than mere comfort. The politician looked decidedly tense, eyes darting left and right, shoulders bunched and rigid. Everyone felt it – the certainty of being spied on, watchful eyes hiding in the jungle, waiting for the right moment. Not everyone was happy with the government’s performance, and in these parts unhappiness was apt to be expressed in a most violent way. It was Loku’s first return visit to the highlands since taking up full-time residence in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea.
Wilkes could only just penetrate Loku’s accent, and the fact that he slipped in and out of the local pidgin English didn’t help his understanding any. But Wilkes didn’t need to be a linguist to know when a man was shitting himself. ‘Isn’t this where those coppers were shishkebabbed?’ asked Ellis innocently.