Chapter 105: Reaction

The Meeting of the Indonesian National Security Ministry

In a conference room within the Indonesian National Security Ministry, the Minister of Security was listening intently as a colonel from the military intelligence department reported on the recent series of bombings.

“General,” the colonel began, “there have been lapses in our work. Initially, we believed the terrorists were foreign operatives, so our attention was focused on hostile foreign forces. Domestically, we concentrated our investigations on foreigners residing in Jakarta. We failed to notice unusual activities within the country. Our focus was on politically related incidents and individuals; ordinary criminal cases were no longer within our scope. This oversight allowed the terrorists to exploit a gap.”

The Minister, himself a senior military officer, was addressed as “General” by the colonel.

“Continue. What new information do you have?” the Minister inquired.

“Recently, our intelligence department stumbled upon a detail regarding a bombing extortion case from a few months ago. The criminals involved used C4 military-grade explosives, the same type used by the terrorists in the recent serial bombings. Both were from our military arsenal, specifically the C4 that had gone missing. Moreover, the firearms used in the extortion case were American-made military weapons, and the arsenal that exploded contained a large stock of American firearms. Therefore, we deduced that the perpetrators of the extortion case and the terrorists behind the bombings are likely the same group.”

“Alternatively,” the Minister offered his perspective, “the extortionists might have acquired the C4 and firearms from the terrorists through other means, such as purchase.”

“That is possible,” the colonel acknowledged. “Initially, we thought so too. But the case files we reviewed contradicted this theory. The only criminal who had direct contact with the investigating officers was a professionally trained individual, highly skilled in various military techniques. This leads us to suspect that the extortionists themselves are terrorists, not just ordinary criminals supplied with weapons by terrorists. Furthermore, terrorists typically avoid contact with outsiders to maintain secrecy and security, especially before an operation. It’s unlikely they would supply weapons to common criminals.”

“Could they be raising funds for their operations?” the Minister asked.

“They could,” the colonel replied. “But they have safer means, like extortion or robbery. Using the extortion bombing case as a lead, we reviewed recent criminal records in Jakarta. We uncovered several useful clues.”

“The extortion bombing case consists of eight related incidents, with ransom demands totaling nearly ten million US dollars. Yet, the Jakarta police have no trace of the ransom money, and no new wealthy individuals have emerged in these months, which is unusual. Typically, ransom is for money, and after months with no attention, the money should be in use by now. The lack of movement suggests the funds were transferred abroad, likely for terrorist activities. Following this clue, we compiled a list of criminal cases involving military-grade firearms and found several gang-related incidents with signs of terrorist involvement.”

“One incident involved two small gangs in Jakarta, a police officer, and one of our own officers who were killed by an explosion in a hotel restaurant. The casualties were comparable to the bombings, but since most victims were gang members, it drew little attention. Another case involved an attack on the underground money exchange of Hudomo Habib, the leader of Jakarta’s largest gang. Nearly a hundred people died, and Hudomo Habib disappeared. We believe terrorists were gathering intelligence. Our files indicate a close relationship between Hudomo Habib and the deceased Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs in the bombing. Hudomo Habib’s disappearance shortly preceded the serial bombings. We suspect that the terrorists may be domestic factions rather than foreign enemies, or perhaps foreign and domestic hostile forces are colluding.”

“At present, that is all we know. We have only a vague profile of the terrorists, making it nearly impossible to capture them. The descriptions provided by the police are too generic to identify specific individuals. Additionally, we suspect there is a mole within our ranks. Based on the explosion and sinking of the ‘Fatahira’-class frigate, the terrorists had intimate knowledge of the ship’s design. The explosive charges targeted the vessel’s structural weaknesses, causing it to split and sink easily. This strongly suggests an insider leak.”

At that moment, the telephone on the Minister’s desk rang. He answered promptly, and the colonel paused his report. After listening, the Minister said, “Send the materials over immediately!” Then, hanging up, he turned back to the colonel.

“Your assessments are accurate. Just now, thousands of leaflets fell from the sky over downtown Jakarta. They were distributed by an organization called the ‘Indonesian Freedom Alliance,’ which has claimed responsibility for the arsenal explosion and the recent four serial bombings. They are calling on Indonesia’s proletariat, intellectuals, and businesspeople to unite against our military government. The leaflets will be delivered to you soon—see if you can glean any clues from them. I must meet with the President. In situations like this, the President will convene a meeting to discuss countermeasures. I will brief him on your findings. As for the mole, I believe that decision lies with the President. Our government is not what it used to be,” the Minister remarked meaningfully.

“Yes, General! Our intelligence department will continue the investigation,” the colonel affirmed.

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