by Jake Aaron
“Ted, I’ll get to it. Do you have a new candidate for the grid? Otherwise, I’ll start beating the bushes.”
“Harry, the new deputy director just signed off on one. The target fits your criteria in every way.”
“We’re good to go then. Would you work out a contact phone number for your people? Ted may have some limitations on which numbers the magazine grid will support.
“I’ll get right on it, Harry. Want to knock back a few brewskis after work?”
“Ted, I’ll take a rain check. I am on the next flight back to Bangkok this evening. I am wondering, could I possibly see the file on Phillipe? I know it’s not customary …”
“I can’t do that, Harry.” Ted pulls a file from his desk drawer, puts it on his desk, and opens it. “Harry, I’m going to get some coffee. Get you one?”
“Thanks, Ted, two creams. No powdered creamer; otherwise, black.”
“I’ll be back in exactly 10 minutes, Harry.”
Gunnar does a quick scan of the file. He notes the case officer recommending the hit was Eileen Sanders, endorsed by Randal Higgins. The date on the page was November 22, 1963, the day JFK was shot. He looks disinterested and relaxed when Ted returns.
Gunnar slugs down the coffee mimicking Ted. Mirroring builds rapport. “Ted, I’ve taken more of your valuable time than I promised. Thanks.”
“What’s in the box?”
“Ted, some things I ran into in Okinawa. Think you’ll enjoy them.”
Harry shakes Gunnar’s hand, “Thanks in advance for the Okinawa surprise. I’ll open it as soon as I get back from the meeting I’m late to.” They both laugh.
After the meeting, Ted opens the box to find three brightly colored, blown-glass fish. Harry, you rascal, he smiles. You noticed my office collection! The guy is a born operative. Analysts like me, we don’t observe.
*****
Two days later in Bangkok, Gunnar lies in bed with Eileen. “That was fantastic. I really missed you!”
“That goes double for me, cowboy.” Eileen smiles. Her mood is almost giddy.
An overhead fan cools the couple. Gunnar has his arm around Eileen. “That recent termination of Philippe Boutin. How about that? Did you ever have anything to do with him or his people?” Gunnar speaks casually.
Click. “Can’t say that I did,” Eileen’s1 words seem unguarded and natural. “What brings that up?”
Inwardly, Gunnar is troubled. He felt that disturbance in the atmosphere microseconds before she replied. He has not sensed it since his recuperation in the Philippines when she was his nurse, with a hidden agenda. He swears he could almost hear it — the signal of her purposeful intent to deceive, the click.
“Oh, there was some low-level buzz at Langley about it,” Gunnar answers. “That’s all. Give me a kiss!” He laughs on the outside.
Gunnar wonders, had Alex eliminated another accomplice in the crime of the century?
END
Other books by Jake Aaron: Custos: Enemies Domestic, Custos: Stalker, and Custos: The Fin. Custos: Stalker is a midquel that occurs during Custos: Enemies Domestic. Custos: The Fin is a prequel that occurs prior to Custos: Enemies Domestic. All are available on Kindle.
I Shot JFK is available in paperback on Amazon.
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About the Author
The author is an award-winning essayist in competitions at college, the Freedoms Foundation, and a major command of the United States Air Force. He is a distinguished graduate of a United States service academy and was first in his MBA and MS engineering classes. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross as an aircraft commander in combat. Later, he was the first pilot to land his series jet on McMurdo Sound’s ice runway in Antarctica. He served as an instructor pilot, flight examiner, acquisitions program manager, engineer, senior command-and-control director, and squadron commander. In a subsequent career, he was a top territory manager for several leading international medical companies.
