Midnight Sun (49 page)

In
addition
to
studying
petroleum
engineering
at
Manchester
University,
Steven
Farrah
had
been
the
star
defender
for
three
consecutive
years,
where
he
led
numerous
shutout
games
with
his
aggressive
tactics
and
powerful
play.
A
master
of
the
slide
tackle,
upon
graduation
he
was
offered
a
position
in
the
lineup
of
internationally
renowned
Manchester
United.
They
expected
him
to
take
them
to
the
top
that
season,
and
many
spoke
of
the
young
Farrah
earning
a
spot
on
the
national
team
for
the
next
World
Cup.
The
club
was
shocked
when
just
two
weeks
before
the
training
season
was
scheduled
to
start,
he
informed
the
team
manager
that
he
could
not
play,
and
promptly
vanished
from
the
world
of
football
before
ever
setting
foot
on
the
pitch
in
a
professional
match.

Steven
’
s
parents,
both
naturalized
British
citizens,
had
been
on
holiday
in
their
native
Kosovo
just
before
the
outbreak
of
the
Kosovo War
and
were
stuck
when
the
fighting
spilled
over.
They
were
driving
along
a
back
road,
trying
to
find
a
way
out
of
the
country,
when
they
were
stopped
at
a
well-defended
roadblock
manned
by
Serb
soldiers.
Their
British
passports
convinced
the
soldiers
to
let
them
pass,
but
the
few
minutes’
pause
proved
fatal.
An
American
air
strike
appeared
faster
than
anyone
could
react.
Two
massive
bombs
slammed
into
the
Serb
position,
killing
the
soldiers
and
the
Farrahs,
their
bodies
shredded
by
masses
of
shrapnel
that
tore
into
the
vehicle.
In
the
mangled
heap
of
glass,
steel,
and
flesh, Steven’s happy
life
and
his
football
aspirations
were
shattered.
The
US
formally
apologized,
but
nothing
that
could
be
said
or
done
would
bring
his
beloved
mother
and
father
back.
A
moment
of
error
gave
birth
to
an
enemy,
and
a
young
man's
athletic
dream
was
replaced
by
a
nightmare
reality
of
blood.
From
his
comfortable
British
middle-class
existence
Steven
evolved
into
a
cold-blooded
killer.
The
transition
had
been
surprisingly
short,
and
even more
surprisingly
easy.
He
went
from
training
camps
in
Libya
and
Afghanistan,
to
field
operations
in
Chechnya
and
Kazakhstan,
and
finally
covert
operations
in
Holland,
Germany,
his
native
Britain,
and
eventually
the
Great
Satan
itself,
the
United
States.

The
years
stretched
on
and
the
targets
blended
into
one
another
until
Steven
Farrah,
an
articulate,
well-educated,
handsome
socialite
found
himself
in
the
most
unlikely
of
places
for
a
boy
from
Manchester.
Here
he
was
in
Alaska,
with
the
opportunity
to
fully
avenge
his
family
materializing
before
him.

Chapter
10

Alaska Railroad Maintenance Yard

Anchorage