Three days after the President's emergency meeting, the search for Karim Haddad had spread farther than anyone inside Lebanon could have imagined.
American satellites watched highways crossing the Bekaa Valley. Intelligence analysts worked around the clock examining intercepted phone calls, unusual military movements, and financial transfers tied to senior members of the Blood Dunes. Anonymous informants suddenly found themselves being contacted by foreign intelligence services willing to pay fortunes for even the smallest piece of information.
Within the inner circle of the Blood Dunes, unease slowly transformed into panic.
Deep beneath a heavily fortified government compound, several senior commanders gathered around a polished stone table. Every man present wore the traditional black robes of the Blood Dunes, though none of them displayed their faces openly. Above them, enormous banners bearing the crimson symbol of Wrath hung from the ceiling while incense filled the chamber.
