The Cartel Affair

by William E. Boone

  “Skipper, I just wanted to let you know that I got in touch with Muskrat and he’ll be in first thing tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, Squeaker. What did he say when you told him I was back?”

  “All he said was ‘oh shit’, and then he said he would be back tomorrow.”

  Travis hangs up and thinks about Muskrat and all the time they had spent together. What could possibly make Muskrat turn? Hell, what could make any of them turn for that matter? They had been through Hell and back together and each one trusted the other with his life. Travis didn’t like the feeling he was getting from this.

  Director Turner calls Travis and asks him to come to his office.

  “Come on in, Travis, I have someone I want you to meet. Travis, this is Assistant Director Chuck Smith. Chuck, this is Travis Bones.”

  “Travis, it’s good to finally meet you. I have heard nothing but good things about you.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Smith.”

  “Please call me Chuck.”

  “All right, Chuck. To what do I owe the honor of meeting you?”

  “Director Turner will be going out of town on personal business and I’ll be handling the situation until he gets back.”

  “When will you be leaving, Director?”

  “Tonight right after this meeting. Chuck is up to speed on everything that’s happening with the situation, including with your family.”

  “Chuck, do you have any questions?”

  “No, but I would like to sit down with you and get your take on things - if you have the time.”

  “That would be fine.”

  “Gentlemen, if you don’t mind, I’ll go ahead and take my leave and let you two discuss whatever you need to talk about. Feel free to use my office for as long as you need.”

  “Thank you, Peter. I think we’ll take this to my office.”

  Director Turner leaves and Chuck and Travis make their way to Chuck’s office.

  “So Travis, I understand that you were responsible for bringing down Senator Baker and his wife Joanne.”

  “Yes Sir, I was. I got lucky and figured it out before they could do anything about it. Believe me, they tried.”

  “So I understand. I also understand that it was not luck that you figured things out. Director Turner speaks very highly of you.”

  “Thank you, Chuck. I just took the information I was given and did what I was trained to do with it.”

  “I think you’re going to have a long and very successful career with the agency. I read your test scores and I can honestly say I have never seen anything even remotely close to what you scored. It’s going to be a pleasure working with you.”

  “Thank you again, Chuck. I give all the credit to my parents and family for teaching me to never stop learning and giving me the ability to put that knowledge to good use.”

  “So what do you think is happening with your team, and do you think there’s more than one member involved?”

  “I personally can’t wrap my mind around the idea that one of my guys could do such a thing. I know I have to be realistic about the situation, but something is just not adding up.”

  “Do you have any theories as to what might have happened and how it came to be?”

  “The only thing that makes sense is that somehow, somewhere, someone got to one of the group. But the problem with that theory is the fact that we have run over 300 missions together and I know these boys better than I know some of my family. I just can’t come up with anything that would make one of them turn on the rest of us.”

  “What makes you think it was one of the guys?”

  “There were only three members in the room where the call was placed. Those are dedicated lines and cannot be manipulated from outside of the Op’s Center.”

  “You know anything can be breached. Hell, you do it for a living. Getting in where you’re not supposed to get in. Suppose it wasn’t breached in the Op’s Center. Maybe it was breached before it got to the Op’s Center.”

  “If that were the case, then it wouldn’t have shown up on the comm sweep. Anything done before the Op’s Center is dedicated also. It wouldn’t have come to the Op’s Center. It would show up on the telephone companies’ logs, but not ours. It had to be done inside the Op’s Center.”

  “You’re sure that no one else had access to that room during that time?”

  “I was gone at the time it happened, but from what my guys are saying, no one else was in the Op’s Center but team members. Just to be sure, I’ll have Squeaker run a log on the entry door access pad for that day.”

  “I doubt anything will show up, but you never know. Maybe the team was preoccupied and didn’t notice someone else in the Op’s Center.”

  “Hell, at this point I’m open to anything.”

  “I would like to have Agent Walbach pull the jackets of all team members, including myself, and rerun background and financial checks.”

  FIFTY-TWO

  Langley Op’s Center

  TRAVIS GOES DOWN to the Op’s Center and calls a team meeting.

  “Ok, men. We have a situation. It’s not one that I’m comfortable with, and it’s one you won’t be comfortable with. With that being said, we have a breach in security. I don’t know how, but we do. Someone placed a call from the computer room, and according to the logs, only three team members were in the room around the time the call was made. You all know how I feel about you. You’re my brothers and I love all of you. That’s what makes this so difficult for me. I truly do not believe that anyone in this room did anything but their duties. However, as per protocol, each member will have his jacket double checked, including myself, and backgrounds will have to be rechecked. It’s not comfortable for me and I’m sure it won’t be for you either.”

  “Skipper, why are you checking yourself? You weren’t even here at the time it happened. We understand about the team being checked; we were here, but not you.”

  “I’m a member of this team, and as such, I’m subject to the same rules that everyone else is. I will not be the one doing the checks. I have asked Agent Walbach to do the checks. That way, there can be no hint of impropriety. We have been through Hell and back together many times. I believe in my heart that we all will be vindicated in the end. It’s a process that has to be done and we’ll make the best of it.”

  “Skipper, we are with you 100 percent.”

  “I’m glad to hear you say that. I didn’t expect anything less from you guys. Squeaker, I need you to pull a log for the entry door the day this occurred. I want to know if anyone other than team members were in the Op’s Center that day.”

  “Roger, Skipper. I can have that for you in about two hours.”

  “Good. We’ll all go about our duties as normal. I want nothing to change. Dismissed.”

  The team starts going about their duties as expected. Travis walks to his office and waits for the door log. He sits back and contemplates about how someone could have gotten in the Op’s Center without being seen.

  “Skipper, I have the door logs you asked for.”

  “Come on in, Squeaker. What have you found?”

  “I came up with one anomaly. You’re not going to like who it is.”

  “Is it someone not on the team?”

  “Sort of.”

  “What do you mean, sort of?”

  “He’s not a direct team member, but he’s associated with the team.”

  Travis looks at the logs and can’t believe his eyes. Never in a million years would he have guessed this name. It has to be a mistake. Travis looks at Squeaker with rage in his eyes.

  “Squeaker, did this person enter the computer room?”

  “Yes sir, Skipper. About two minutes before the call was made.”

  “I need to go see Assistant Director Smith right away.”

  Travis takes off upstairs to the Assistant Director’s office. Assistant Director Smith isn’t in his office when Travis arrives. Travis decides to sit and wait for him to return. Travis’s mind is
reeling. He can’t believe the name that showed up on the log. If what he suspects is true, the entire agency could be in jeopardy.

  “Travis, I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”

  “No Sir, but I have something I think you need to see.”

  Travis shows Assistant Director Smith the door log for the entry and computer room door.

  “You’re certain this is accurate?”

  “Yes, Sir. There’s no doubt. This system was put into place to track things such as this kind of anomaly.”

  “What do you propose we do?”

  “I think the first thing we need to do is talk to the President and get his take on the situation.”

  “Let me make a call and see what I can set up. I’ll let you know as soon as I can get something arranged.”

  “Thank you, Sir. In the meantime, I’ll talk to Agent Walbach and have him stop the checks on the team and run checks on this person instead. My team and I will do some checking of our own also.”

  Travis returns to Agent Walbach’s office to let him know about the change of plans. Travis goes back down to the Op’s Center to get started and wait to hear from Assistant Director Smith.

  “Gentlemen, we need to do a deep dive into this person. We need to find out everything we can including what he had for breakfast this morning. Is everyone clear on this?”

  “Roger, Skipper.”

  “I want no stone left unturned. If what I suspect is true, time is of the essence. I want a full rundown - personal, financial and anything else we can come up with. Be ready to deploy on my word. We have a major security breach here and the sooner we plug it, the better off we’ll be.”

  “Roger, Skipper.”

  “Do it!”

  Travis goes to his office and waits for the call from Smith. If this is true, Carpenter can kiss re-election goodbye. Hell, everybody might kiss their careers goodbye. As Travis is contemplating his next move, the phone rings.

  “Travis, I have a meeting set for seven pm tonight. You can ride with me.”

  “I’ll meet you upstairs beforehand. I’ll hopefully have more information by that time.”

  “Come to my office about six and we’ll go from there.”

  Travis shows up at Assistant Director Smith’s office at five minutes to six. They both move downstairs for the ride to the White House. When they’re in the car and traveling to their appointment, Travis shows Smith what they’ve found since they last talked.

  FIFTY-THREE

  Oval Office – The White House

  TRAVIS AND ASSISTANT Director Smith discuss the findings on the ride over. As they approach the White House, Travis lets Smith in on what he intends to ask the President. They arrive and wait in the Oval Office for the President’s arrival.

  “Hello, Chuck. Hello, Travis. Please be seated and tell me what you’ve found. You’re going to have to have cold hard facts if you intend to expect me to make a major decision at this stage of the game. You know after everything that has happened, I stand next to no chance of being re-elected. It’ll take a lot for me to make a move on a major player at this point.”

  “Well Mr. President, if you look at the facts and listen to what Travis has to say, you might not have to make that decision. Travis has a unique solution for this problem that just might make your re-election a little less hard to pull off.”

  “Hell son, if you can pull that off, I’ll sign off on anything you want at this point. Not really, but I’m most interested in listening to what you have to say. Travis, the floor is yours.”

  “Thank you, Mr. President. As you’re well aware, the last thing you need right now is another scandal. We have a rogue agent at the CIA. He can bring a lot of heat down on you at the moment. If you allow me and my team to bring this to a conclusion for you, we can make it look like an assassination by a foreign government or radical party from that country, and we can make the rest look like you’re the President who’s cleaning up a corrupt government. That will go a long way towards helping you secure re-election.”

  “You definitely have my undivided attention. How do you propose to accomplish this magical solution?”

  “Well Mr. President, first you need to look at the evidence that we have against this agent. Once you do that, I’ll lay out our plan to right the ship.”

  “Ok. Let’s see what you have.”

  Travis hands the documents over to the President. The President looks them over and grows increasingly disturbed.

  “I don’t see how in the Hell you’ll be able to take this and turn it into a positive situation, Travis.”

  “That’s the beauty of this plan, Mr. President. You’ll come out smelling like a rose and the country will be pissed off that a foreign group would have the nerve to try and pull something like this off. If you give the word to retaliate against those responsible, that will boost your stock with the general public and make them feel like you’re a President who won’t stand by and let someone do something against the United States and get by with it.”

  “Do I really want to know what you’re planning, or will I be better served not knowing?”

  “Personally Sir, I think plausible deniability is the best route for you to take. We’ll run the operation and take care of the problem. All you have to do is believe us when we tell you who’s responsible and give the word for us to take care of the perpetrators. That way, the problem is solved, and we can eliminate a problem group we wouldn’t normally have reason to go after.”

  “You make it sound so simple. What kind of guarantee do I have that this will work the way you say it will?”

  “You just have to trust the professionalism of my team and me to do what we say we can do, Sir.”

  “Hell, at this point what do I have to lose? Make it happen and may God be with you on this one.”

  “Thank you, Mr. President. Once all is said and done, if you want to know the particulars of the mission, I’ll be more than happy to give them to you, Sir.”

  “If you pull this off, you can write your own ticket. I will probably never want to know how you did it.”

  Everyone laughs and Travis and Assistant Director Smith head back to Langley to set things in motion.

  FIFTY-FOUR

  Langley Op’s Center

  TRAVIS AND SMITH arrive back at Langley. Smith goes to his office to arrange transportation for the mission. Travis goes down to the Op’s Center to brief the team.

  “Gentlemen, we have a hard target. We’ll be going into this with no prep time and not knowing exactly the parameters of our target. We don’t know what he’ll be doing, or where in the building he will be exactly. We don’t have the luxury of recon on this particular target. We’ll get in, take out the target, and get out without being seen or heard. Any locals or innocents will be tranquilized and not harmed. Are we clear on this?”

  “Roger, Skipper.”

  “We’ll be doing a halo jump into the area with a rooftop landing, so everyone needs to be heads up on this. We can’t afford to have anyone hurt on the landing. Understood?”

  “Understood, Skipper.”

  “Good. Be ready and staged at 11:00 hours.”

  Travis and the team are ready at the appointed time. They assemble and load up for the ride to Andrews. When they arrive they board the C-130 on the tarmac. This will be a long and bumpy flight so they’ll rest on the way. There’ll be no rest once they arrive. The flight will be 12 hours with in-air refueling. The destination is Brasilia, Brazil. The team will be landing on the roof of the San Marco Hotel. It’s in a noisy section of the city which will help hide the landing. They have managed to come up with the original specs for the hotel. According to sources inside the country, there have been no renovations done to the building since it was built in the 60’s. At least Travis and the team will have basic intel. They settle in for the long flight.

  FIFTY-FIVE

  Brasilia, Brazil

  TRAVIS AND THE team make last minute equipment checks. They’re five min
utes out from the jump. They’ll jump from 30,000 feet and free fall till 2,000 feet before deploying the chutes. It’ll be an extremely hard landing. It’ll be a night landing on a rooftop they’re not familiar with. Travis and his team stage at the rear of the aircraft and prepare to jump.

  The ramp lowers and Travis and team jump into the empty abyss of the night sky. Travis and his team rocket toward the unknown situation on the ground. The team watches their wrist altimeters and at 2,000 feet they separate and deploy their chutes. As the chutes open one by one, the team releases their tether straps for their equipment bags.

  One by one they all land on the roof with no problems. They gather their chutes and stash them on the roof, so the wind doesn’t bother them. They gear up and form up on Travis. Spider will the first one over the wall. He’ll locate the target and the best route in. Genius will find entrance into the building from the roof. Falcon has rooftop duty, directing what the locals are doing. Trojan will be ready with any diversions needed. Guardian will be on the insertion team in case any locals get in the way. Merlin will be on the insertion team in case any magic needs to happen. Boomer and Muskrat are on the insertion team. Beaver will make his way to ground level in case an alternate path of escape is needed. Brutus will be on the insertion team to take out anybody needing to be dealt with. Squeaker will be doing what Squeaker does best - monitoring everything. Details are set. Time to execute.

  Spider goes over the side and starts searching for the target. Genius is in the process of gaining entry to the hotel interior. The rest are waiting on Spider. Spider radios Squeaker and the others. Target has been acquired. He’s on the top floor in the center room on the west side of the building. Time to go to work. Genius gains access to the top floor. The insertion team makes entry.

  “Check the hallway.”

  “There’s one guard on the door.”

  “Tranquilize his ass and get him out of sight.”

  “Roger that, Skipper. He’s down and out of sight.”