A Predictable Act

Al-Qaeda has a new leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri and he's no longer prepared to send suicide missions. It's too costly and crude. Now he intends for his fighters to survive and return as heroes and future trainers for the cause. It makes for good propaganda and fund raising amongst the rich Princes and families of Saudi Arabia.
Michael Burrows of the British SIS becomes aware of the terrorist group and their yacht. Repositioning of a surveillance satellite over the Arabian Sea produces an opportune picture of a clandestine rendezvous between a surfaced submarine and a yacht. What he does not know is the nature of the transfer between the two craft, is it a person or perhaps industrial secrets, or something more sinister. Michael correctly guesses the passage of the yacht through the Suez Canal. However, he disastrously fails to track the yacht once the terrorists enter the Mediterranean. Only after their first attack is the hunt on for the terrorists before they can strike again.