The Dreadful Alchemist: A Thrilling Espionage Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense Book 1) Read online

  One evening when Ossi shared his doubts about the future with Ahmed and Abdullah, they asked him if he would like to travel and experience some adventures rather than just become another brick in the wall. Ossi wanted to know what they had in mind and they invited him to meet their spiritual guide at the community center on Friday before the morning prayers. With nothing better scheduled for that day, Ossi agreed to meet them at the back entrance of the community center.

  The two youngsters were waiting for Ossi at the appointed time, though such punctuality was untypical for them, and when he arrived they knocked three times on the small side door. It was opened by a young woman wearing a long black robe that covered her body and a chador that left only a pair of gleaming black eyes visible through the opening covered with a fine net. The way she carried herself and the mysterious power radiating from her intrigued Ossi but wisely he kept his silence.

  Without saying a word she dismissed Ahmed and Abdullah with a small hand gesture and signaled for Ossi to follow her. She led the way down a narrow bare staircase to the basement and knocked on a metal door that bore no sign. When the door opened Ossi could see that a large Afghan carpet was spread on the floor and a lone old man was seated on a low wooden chair surrounded by some cushions arranged haphazardly in front of his chair. He sensed a strange odor purveying the basement but could not quite identify it. The girl bowed towards the old man, gestured for Ossi to sit on one of the cushions and left the room, gently closing the door behind her.

  The old man spoke so softly that Ossi could barely hear him instructing Ossi to take a deep breath, hold it for as long as he could and exhale slowly. Doing as he was told, Ossi felt a strange peace and quiet come over him. The old man looked into his eyes for a long moment and Ossi felt as if all his thoughts were like an open book to the old man. After a while the old man asked Ossi what he wanted to do with the most precious gift in the world – his life. Ossi was at a loss for words but then heard himself saying in a weak voice that he wanted to do something significant, something important, something that would leave his mark on the world. He felt that this was exactly the answer the old man expected.

  The old man smiled briefly and said that he would guide Ossi along the pathway for fulfilling his true wishes, but that it would be a tortuous path with many physical and moral obstacles and that once he set foot on this path there would be no turning back. He invited Ossi to stay for a while and attend the morning prayers and sermon that he would be leading shortly and asked him to meet again afterwards.

  The old man pressed a small button next to his chair and summoned the girl, whom he introduced as his niece, Fatima. In Arabic he asked her to take Ossi to the small semi-concealed alcove above the main hall of the community center that served as a mosque during prayer time. Once again, without uttering a word, Fatima motioned for Ossi to follow her. As soon as the basement metal door was closed behind them she offered Ossi her hand to guide him through the dark corridor. When he touched her he felt as if he was hit by a surge of electricity and had to let go of her hand. He did not see her veiled face but sensed that she too was overcome by the impact of the brief physical contact. Still not saying a word she led the way up two flights of stairs, through a narrow hallway and into the small alcove overlooking the main hall of the community center. A bead curtain separated the alcove from the hall so that the people in the hall could not see who was in the alcove. Without a word Fatima departed leaving Ossi alone in the alcove.

  A few minutes later all the worshippers stood in straight lines facing the podium and Mecca. The old man slowly ascended the podium and led the prayers in Arabic. After the prayer the old man delivered a sermon in Swedish, explaining that not all the worshippers spoke Arabic beyond the verses required for prayers. Ossi could see that among the crowd below there were quite a few men of obvious African ancestry, some Scandinavian looking fair skinned men that were probably new converts but the majority of men were probably of Middle Eastern and North African descent. He quickly noticed that there were no women among the worshippers, unlike the service in the church he attended as a child and a young man.

  The old man began his sermon by quietly praising the deeds of Allah and the cornucopia his true believers were promised and then started accounting the evils brought upon the believers by the infidels. As he continued with the sermon his tone rose in volume and intensity. As he mentioned the heroic acts of 9-11 when a small group of 19 true believers sent 3000 infidels to Gehinem (hell) and the dastardly invasion of the Muslim countries of Iraq and Afghanistan that followed, his voice became exceptionally loud. When he described the way that the fraudulent Colonialists bribed and bought the cooperation of Arab despots and coerced them to join the coalition troops invading Iraq, spittle sprayed out of his mouth. He went on to describe the defeat of the Iraqi army as a test by Allah to see if the holy warriors, the Jihadists, would carry on the battle. Towards the end of his sermon, the old man clung to the podium his face took on a crimson hue as he swore to avenge the deaths of the true believers. Suddenly his voice wavered and he collapsed on the podium. Two men rushed up and carried the old man down from the podium and then into his room in the basement.

  Ossi wondered whether he should keep the appointment with the old man but before he could reach a decision Fatima quietly entered the alcove and motioned for him to follow her. She kept her hands in the pockets of her robe to discourage any contact. Once again she led Ossi along the hallway and down the stairs to the basement. When the door opened he could see that the old man was seated in his chair holding a glass of water and a person he assumed to be a doctor was taking his blood pressure. When he saw Ossi ,the old man dismissed Fatima and the doctor and spoke softly to Ossi asking him what he thought of the sermon. Ossi hesitantly replied that he knew nothing of the injustices inflicted on the Muslims and had to learn the facts before answering. The old man smiled painfully and said that his niece, who was a history major at Uppsala University, could tutor him privately and show him the true facts, since the information he would find in the Internet was planted there by the American CIA and its collaborators. Ossi barely managed to conceal his enthusiasm at the opportunity to spend more time with the enigmatic Fatima and agreed to the proposed tutoring. Hearing this, the old man once again summoned his niece and told her that she would be Ossi's tutor. She answered in rapid Arabic that Ossi did not understand but he realized that she protested against the idea and this upset the old man. He repeated in Swedish his command that she guide Ossi through the history of Islam and its relations with Colonial forces, especially after the events of 9-11. Reluctantly, Fatima faced Ossi and set a date for their first lesson to commence the following Sunday at noon in the university library.

  Ossi spent the time until their meeting trying to read as much as he could about the history of Islam from its inception in Arabia in the 7th century AD, through its period of grandeur in the Middle Ages until its present status in the 21st century. He was not able to fathom how the rift between Sunni and Shiites continued for over a thousand years with each side doing its best to send the followers of the opposing sect to meet with Allah prematurely. The more he read the less he understood how a proud nation that during the dark Middle Ages in Europe was at the forefront of science and mathematics, literature and poetry, culture and architecture, and was a considerable economic power became a symbol of backward and murderous tribal rivalry among the Muslims themselves as well as against the Judeo-Christian world.

  When he met Fatima at the university library on Sunday she was wearing jeans and a closed top that could not hide the outline of her breasts that seemed to have a life of their own moving with every movement she made. Her face was the kind that came to mind when it was said that a face could launch a thousand ships, as attributed to Helen of Troy. With a small smile Fatima told Ossi that he could close his mouth and stop dribbling and asked him to sit down across the table from her. She asked him if he had tried to study the facts about Islam's history and when he
brought up his confusion and reservations she sighed silently and told him that they would need to cover a lot of ground. Ossi couldn't have been more pleased to hear the promise of many more meetings with this lovely young woman.

  They spent the next two hours with Fatima doing most of the speaking and Ossi drifting into daydreams every so often. At two o'clock Fatima said she was famished and the two of them headed for the cafeteria and found that it was closed on Sunday. So they found a nearby quiet restaurant that was open and ordered a light lunch consisting of sandwiches. Ossi refrained from ordering beer and asked for a fish sandwich out of respect for Fatima's religion, forgoing his favorite meal of a ham sandwich washed down with a couple of beers. Fatima noticed this and smiled her appreciation which set Ossi's pulse racing. After finishing their meager lunch they returned to the library and continued the tutoring for another couple of hours. Fatima apologetically explained that as an unmarried faithful Muslim woman she could not meet in private with a man who was not a member of her immediate family but as she lived in Sweden she was permitted to meet with him in public places even without a chaperon. Much to Ossi's delight they agreed to continue the lessons at the library twice a week for two hours each time.

  After approximately ten lessons Ossi was convinced of two things: the treatment of Islam and Muslims by the US and its Western allies was unjust and that he was infatuated with Fatima and would do anything to win her heart. Fatima told him that the old man, her uncle, wished to see him again and Ossi gladly consented to meet him just before the Friday prayers. This time he made his way to the community center on his own and when he knocked on the side door it was opened by the robed and veiled Fatima. Without a word she offered him her hand and led him down to the basement giving him a small pat on the back as he opened the door and entered the carpeted hall. The old man welcomed him with a smile and asked him how his studies were going. Ossi answered that he now understood the injustices inflicted on the Muslims and said he would be ready for an advanced course on Islam if it were given by Fatima. The old man frowned and said that Fatima could continue with the history lessons but religious teachings were not for women, so he would personally become his tutor. Ossi was a bit disappointed but grasped at the opportunity to continue seeing Fatima agreed.

  The more time Ossi spent with Fatima the closer their relationship became. In no uncertain terms she indicated that she would be willing to fully give herself to him if he converted to Islam and married her in a religious ceremony. The lessons with the old man were more centered on politics than concerned with religion and Ossi gradually became convinced that he should contribute to the cause of Islam – the big prize being, of course, Fatima. So, after another three months of religious teachings on the one hand and growing fascination with unattainable Fatima, Ossi was willing to forego his atheist beliefs and convert to Islam.

  On a beautiful spring day the old man performed the official ceremony of accepting Ossi into the folds of Islam and immediately after that the betrothal to Fatima was performed. According to the teachings of Islam no alcohol was served or consumed at the wedding.

  The young couple took off for their long awaited honeymoon in Ossi's old Volvo. They left the outskirts of Uppsala and crossed the intersection leading to the A4 highway on their way to Gavle where they intended to spend their honeymoon. Suddenly a motorcycle travelling at a great speed entered the intersection and hit their car on the right side crushing the door on the passenger's side, severely injuring Fatima. The Volvo spun around and Ossi was thrown against his unlocked door that flew open and he was tossed out and his head hit the paved road knocking him unconscious. After a few moments Ossi recovered from the shock and ran back to the Volvo only to see that Fatima was being carried to an ambulance by two paramedics. Ossi managed to get on the ambulance but was told by the paramedic that Fatima was not breathing and without a pulse because her rib cage was crushed and probably punctured her lungs and heart. At the Uppsala University Hospital, Akademiska Sjukhuset, Fatima was announced as dead-on-arrival. The funeral was arranged for the next day and was attended solely by Fatima's friends and family as Ossi had gradually severed all contacts with his own family and few friends.

  The local newspaper covered the fatal accident in detail and released the fact that the alcohol content in the motorcyclist's blood exceeded the limit of 0.02% by a factor of five and that he lay unconscious in the intense care unit of the same hospital.

  The old man told Ossi that according to tradition it was his duty to avenge Fatima's death or he would not be counted a man by his Muslim friends He used the term "murder under the influence of the Satan's alcohol. Without hesitation Ossi said that his true love would be avenged. He found a hospital staff uniform, donned it and walked into the hospital room where the unconscious motorcyclist lay. Without hesitation he simply placed a pillow over the patients face, pressed down until he was sure that the man was dead, took off the uniform and nonchalantly walked out of the room and the hospital and returned to the community center.

  The old man, knowing that Ossi would be the obvious suspect of foul play, told Ossi that he had made arrangements for him to clandestinely board a ship that was to leave Stockholm the same evening heading to Beirut in Lebanon. The old man gave Ossi an envelope containing $5,000, a false passport with the name Olaf Gunther Andersson and a letter of introduction to be presented to the captain once the ship entered the Mediterranean Sea.

  Ossi disembarked at night, wearing traditional Arab cloths that covered his blond hair and his Scandinavian features. He followed the captain's instructions and entered a small, noisy café a few blocks away from the Beirut harbor and asked for Abu Yusef, the proprietor. Abu Yusef had been warned that a Swedish man called Ollie (short for Olaf Gunther Andersson) would be arriving and arrangements were made to take him across Lebanon to the Baqa'a Valley where a Hizbollah training camp operated.

  The Baqa'a Valley, 3 years earlier

  Ollie was one of the many new recruits that were sent to the training camp that was run by Hizbollah, the Lebanese so-called Party of Allah that was a political party with a military arm, or as some people regarded it, a Shi'ite militia with a political party. The instructors at the basic training camp were a motley collection of professional army officers, mainly from Iran, self-proclaimed experts, mainly from Syria and Lebanon, and some psychopaths with battle experience from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as several others from all over the Muslim world.

  The trainees were even more varied as they included volunteers from various countries in Europe, North and South America and even Australia. Some of these were simply adventurers who were just looking for action, but most believed that Islam was the only true religion and were willing to persuade everyone else of that conviction, by whatever means required.

  The training encompassed a number of activities. First and foremost was religious and political indoctrination that was meant to provide the recruits with a deeper understanding of the cause for which they were fighting. The instructors used classic brainwashing techniques, including food depravation and endless repetition to convince them that Islam is the only truthful religion and Mohammad was the only real prophet and messenger of Allah. They were also told that dying while fighting for the cause would earn them a place in paradise where each will be served by 72 virgins. For the foreign recruits there were also lessons in basic Arabic.

  The second focus was installing ruthlessness and brutality. This was done by forcing the recruits to slaughter farm animals that were confiscated from neighboring farms with a blunt knife while soaking their hands and clothes in the blood. This method was considered effective since it was used to train the Al Qaeda terrorists that seized control of the four airplanes used for the 9-11 attacks. The trainees were encouraged to spy on their fellow recruits and report any indiscretion, such as drinking alcohol or blaspheming the name of Allah. These offenses were punished severely, by extra duties like cleaning latrines, whipping, and solitary confinement and sometimes
even with a death sentence that was carried out by the fellow trainees.

  Physical fitness was assured by long marches with backpacks filled with sand, by jogging up to 40 kilometers and by carrying heavy telephone poles up and down the hills that surrounded the camp.

  Weapon training included the use of handguns, rifles and rocket propelled grenades or RPGs and small caliber mortars, as well as unarmed combat and knife duels. A special prize, proffered only to the most proficient trainees, was an advanced course in the use of explosives and demolition.

  Finally, the trainees had to traverse an obstacle course that included climbing a stone wall, crawling under barbed wire, running on a narrow wooden plank that was set 5 meters above ground and jumping down at the edge of the plank. As if this was not enough the final test was to pass this obstacle course under live fire. The instructors aimed just inches above the heads of the recruits and every so often the aim was a bit too low or a trainee lifted his head at the wrong moment resulting in one less able bodied graduate. Several trainees dropped out and a few committed suicide but the graduates were tough, ruthless fighters.

  Ollie, as he was called by all, excelled in all these classes. He was highly motivated, had arrived knowing the basics of Islam from his tutor in Uppsala, and was physically and mentally in great shape. He was marked for promotion by all his instructors and was soon selected to lead a squad of the newly anointed Hizbollah fighters.

  With his squad he was taken to a fortified outpost on a hill overlooking the border between Lebanon and Israel. From there he could see some of the villages on each side of the border and easily noted the difference between the modern agricultural techniques used on the Israeli side and the traditional methods on the Lebanese side. He saw the patrols of the three armed forces in the region – the white vehicles and blue uniforms of the United Nations "peace keeping" force, the khaki vehicles and uniforms of the Israeli patrols that always travelled in pairs and the camouflage uniforms of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) with their American made M-113s Armored Personnel Carriers. He also saw quite a lot of aerial activity by jet fighters, helicopters and unmanned drones and was told that they were all from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He was taken to one of the large villages on the Lebanese side and was shown the primitive rockets and more sophisticated missiles that were hidden in bunkers and tunnels that were dug under the school and mosque and was told that these were the insurance policy of the villagers that they would not be attacked by the IDF ground and air forces.