Undeclared War by Dennis Chalker Read Free Book Online Page B

trusted men with him. With Paxtun’s knowledge and connections and Arzee’s manpower, their illegal and legal businesses quickly grew.
    Creating private secured bank accounts, money laundering techniques, surreptitious transport of materials across international borders, and other such skills had been part of the trade craft that Paxtun had learned during his time in the intelligence community. This knowledge base, combined with the contacts Paxtun had in the mujahideen brotherhood, helped both Paxtun and Arzee to become very successful.
    Â 
    North of the center of Detroit exist a number of smaller factories surrounded by tract houses and old neighborhoods. A loss of jobs had caused most of the factories to close down years earlier. Both the local neighborhoods and many of the factory buildings fell into a bad state of decay.
    One old manufacturing center had undergone aresurrection of sorts, though not to make cars as it had years before. The Factory, as it was known, was now a nightclub for the adventurous in Detroit. Built on the first floor of the old auto plant, just off the intersection of two major highways, the Factory was a modern playground for the clubbing youth of both the city and the surrounding suburbs. Young Canadians from across the Detroit River in Windsor also came to taste the night life at the Factory.
    The Factory had been organized along the lines of a permanently located rave. It had proven itself popular as a rave in spite of the protests of the hardcore rave devotees who insisted that such an event had to remain portable and underground to be a true rave.
    With its grittiness and progressive electronic music, the Factory won over even the hardcore ravers. A rave was a place to go to release tensions and burn off excess energies. The subculture who flocked to raves preferred a place that offered them their distinctive style of techno music, dress, dance, and visual effects. It also would allow them to combine the atmosphere with open sexual behavior and consumables that included alcohol and psychedelic chemicals.
    What neither the suburban upscale clubbers or the ravers knew was that the Factory was just another means of feeding their decadent habits and taking their money in the process. Many things went on in the six-story old building, besides the frenzied dancing and sexual antics of the clubbers. Those who wanted to could find that there was more than alcoholic drinks and exotic cocktails available tothem. Various top-quality drugs were available on the floor of the Factory.
    Sales of such things remained inside of the building and a very hard force of security goons saw to it that any entrepreneurs who sought to sell their own wares on Factory grounds quickly chose another line of work, once they had healed. Those who continued to sell never had the chance to heal after dealing with security a second time. The bulk of the security force had been recruited from the Arab community in Dearborn and surrounding areas.
    Speaking among themselves mostly in Arabic, the security people distanced themselves from the customers even as they watched them. All the security force were deeply committed believers in Wahhabi Islam, as such they considered themselves immune to the entreaties of even the prettiest of the clubbers.
    Local drug gangs let the Factory alone as long as it kept its retail share to itself and didn’t extend into their turf. If any of the dealers thought that their wholesalers might be supplied from the Factory, they kept that theory to themselves.
    Police and drug enforcement agencies never had any proof to substantiate a search warrant for the Factory. Informants knew better than to even consider dealing any information on the Factory to the authorities. The few who had tried had never been found, except as some unidentified parts left as private examples to others.
    The most modern scanning techniques and shielding kept listening devices from ever transmitting from inside