16
THUNDERCLAP IN THE NIGHT AIR
On board the ferryboat Ammara. Two nautical miles south-southwest of Karachi, Pakistan. Gulf of Oman. October 16, 3:11 a.m. local time (Oct. 15, 6:01 p.m. EST).
In Pakistan’s coastal region, a dilapidated ferryboat cut through the darkness, spurting coarse, black diesel filth from a low smokestack. The engines chuttered forward along the Karachi-Dubai ferry line about two miles offshore. Light waves smacked its starboard bow on exact, three-second intervals—the effect somewhat disconcerting in its perfection. The waning moonlight glowed against the otherwise-empty sea, illuminating a straight path behind them toward the west.
The American operative who had chartered the old vessel said nothing. He simply stared straight ahead. His head held rock-steady,
