Operator Down

by Brad Taylor

  An innocuous statement that would be expected from an innocent tourist, but it set Lurch off. He became visibly incensed, and Aaron realized he’d made a mistake. Lurch smacked him on the side of the head hard enough to drive him to the floor, screaming, “You do not make demands! You have no embassy here. You have nothing.”

  Lurch paced around, wanting to hurt Aaron, but something held him back. He returned to Aaron and snatched his head by the hair, jerking it upward. He said, “I was told not to harm you, so I won’t. But that’s just for today. Tomorrow night, you are mine. And I’m going to have your little bitch with me. Maybe I’ll use her right in front of you, after I’ve had my way with you.”

  He flung Aaron to the dirt and stormed out. Thomas reached for Aaron’s hand, helping him to his feet. “It’s not good to antagonize them.”

  Aaron rubbed his head and said, “Yeah, I didn’t know that before.”

  Thomas laughed, then turned serious. “You are in significant danger. I feel I must tell you that. General Mosebo is not a man to cross. There will be pain.”

  Aaron pursed his lips and said, “Or it might be a way out.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not leaving here without Alexandra, and he’s bringing her to the interrogation.”

  “How does that help?”

  “Nothing. Forget I said it. Let’s work on the window again. I’m close to creating a hole we can all get through.”

  Thomas saw the absolute conviction on his face and said, “You truly believe you are leaving here, don’t you?”

  Aaron smiled and said, “Yes, I am. And I’m bringing you with me. I promise.”

  56

  I felt my phone vibrate but was afraid to leave Shoshana alone with the target. No telling what she would do. I looked at Jennifer, held up my cell, and glared at her. She nodded.

  I exited, looked at the screen, and saw it was the Taskforce. I answered and heard, “Go secure. Calling back in two.”

  I did as the disembodied voice asked, and the phone rang again. I answered and heard, “Colonel Hale wants to do a VTC right now.”

  I said, “I’m in the middle of something. Tell him I can’t do it. I don’t even have a computer here. I’ll call him back.”

  The guy on the other end said, “This is at the request of Colonel Hale. You’ll do as you’re told.”

  I grinned, knowing the guy on the other end of the line thought he had absolute power. He believed, because Colonel Hale had told him to call, that he was above the Operator, but he wasn’t. I decided to screw with him. I said, “Who the fuck is this? Just so I know when I get back to DC.”

  I heard a spluttering, then, “I’m just relaying the message, man.”

  He’d turned human all of a sudden. I chuckled into the phone and said, “Hey, I’m just kidding. Tell Yoda I’ll be up in twenty minutes. I’m really in the middle of something.”

  “Who’s Yoda?”

  “The man who you told me to call.”

  He said, “Uhh . . . Roger that . . . I didn’t mean anything earlier.”

  I said, “Hey, don’t take it personally. Tell Kurt I’ll call back in twenty.”

  “Will do.”

  I hung up, patting myself on the back about solving the problems of the Taskforce, and then realized I had to talk to Yoda. Colonel Kurt Hale, and he was most definitely not going to let me continue.

  But I was sort of locked in now.

  We’d dragged the Indian contact to our Land Rover and had demanded he take us to the safe house where Aaron had been held. He’d done so, completely compliant, willing to answer any question we threw at him, maybe because we’d saved his damn life, but probably because he was a survivor.

  We’d interrogated him and learned quite a bit, not the least of which was that he’d seen Aaron being hauled into the house, along with a female. That was enough to turn Shoshana insane. She wanted to skin the guy alive, not so much for further information—he was giving us whatever we asked—but because she was still in a bloodlust. She kept repeating that he was holding back, but I doubted it. Especially since she was standing in front of him with her wrists coated in blood and ocular fluid from the man she’d killed.

  We knew that Aaron had been held in this very house. It was the closest we’d come, but he wasn’t here now. The Indian told us that he’d been taken from here, along with the woman. Taken to Lesotho. Apparently, there had been a high-ranking member of the Lesotho military at the house, and he’d demanded to take them with him, to protect what they were doing.

  There had been a fight about it, with some blond-headed South African saying it was a mistake to take him. He’d wanted to hold the man and woman here, then let them go, “after.”

  I knew it was Johan.

  The Indian said that he’d lost the argument because what they were doing was too sensitive, and the man from Lesotho believed the captives were holding out on information. The blond had said he’d told all he would tell. He knew nothing.

  Shoshana had asked, “How did he know that? Who did the questioning?”

  The Indian had looked at her and said, “The blond man did. It wasn’t pleasant.”

  And I knew that was Johan too.

  Shoshana heard the words and snarled, spitting nonsense, not even able to get out a sentence. She wanted to eviscerate the Indian with her bare claws. Which she could do, as I’d just seen. I stepped in at that point, pulling Shoshana into a hallway, out of view of our target, saying, “Killing him won’t do anything for Aaron.”

  She vibrated in front of me like a shaken soda can, waiting on someone to pop the top. I saw the signs, because I’d been there before. I said, “Stop it, right now. Calm down.”

  “He knows where Aaron is. He knows. He’s just not telling us.”

  “He knows what he’s seen. That’s all. He’s not part of the plan.”

  She curled her fingers into fists and snarled, “I’m going to fucking kill him. Right here, right now. If that’s all he has in his head, then it’s time to punish him.”

  She was on fire, like when she ripped Stanko apart. I grabbed her shoulders, and she began to fight back. I slammed her into the wall and said, “You want Aaron back? For real? Or do you just want to kill everyone, because you’re Carrie?”

  She quit fighting, saying, “I’m no longer Carrie. I don’t like that callsign anymore. I’m not the Pumpkin King. I’m married now.”

  The comment made me want to punch the wall in frustration. I couldn’t even keep up with her changes. I spluttered, “You just said you wanted to fucking kill him. Carrie fits perfectly. So does Pumpkin King, for that matter. Or maybe I should just settle for plain ol’ crazy.”

  The Pumpkin King was a reference to what I’d called her in the past, when she’d first started having feelings for Aaron but wasn’t sure how to attack it. She was just like the main character from that ridiculous Tim Burton movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, trying to be something she wasn’t. It fit then, and she’d only gotten worse since. She was still trying to pretend she was something else, because she thought if she faked it hard enough, it would magically come true.

  I said, “You are the Pumpkin King. That’s not going to change, but it doesn’t matter. You’ve succeeded.”

  She said, “What’s that mean? You still think I’m a psycho.” She glanced down at the ground and said, “They all do.”

  I drew back and said, “You never watched the movie, did you?”

  “No. Why would I? You were just making fun of me.”

  I laughed and said, “Jesus Christ, woman, why do I use movie references if you won’t even watch?”

  She started to worm away from me, saying, “I’ve had enough of this.”

  I pushed her back into the corner and said, “Hang on. Stop.”

  She bristled, and I said, “You want to kill hi
m because, when you peel back the layers, it’s all you know. That’s the Pumpkin King. But you don’t need to lash out anymore. You said it yourself. You’re married now.”

  She looked confused at the turn of the conversation, and honestly, I was just winging it. I was in an enemy safe house interrogating a known target and talking to a crazy woman to keep her from killing him. Someone I cared deeply about. This sort of shit wasn’t taught in the Top Secret Leadership Techniques School we had.

  I said, “You wanted to talk to Jennifer, and I know why. You’re afraid that you’re different from her. That you can’t be like her because of what’s in your heart. What you’ve done. You want her approval, as if that will change you, but you don’t need it. She isn’t better than you. Just different. You are what you are, and it’s good. Aaron knows it. And that’s all that matters.”

  She spit out, “Unless he’s dead.”

  I said, “He’s not. He’s just not here.”

  She looked up at me, boring in with her weird glow, and said, “Do you really believe that? Or are you just trying to keep me from killing that man?”

  I said, “I believe it.”

  She seemed surprised and said, “You really do?”

  “I do. He’s alive. He’s Aaron. Honestly, I wasn’t sure before, but when this guy told us he’d been brought here for interrogation, that upped the odds to about ninety percent. If he wasn’t killed outright, then he’s alive.”

  I saw the words give her strength, and she said, “Will you help me? When the Taskforce says to stop?”

  Jennifer entered the hallway, blessedly interrupting. I said, “Who’s on Mowgli?”

  “Brett. He’s fine. What’s going on here?”

  I said, “Nothing. We’re just talking.”

  Jennifer became canny, saying, “About what?”

  I said, “About not killing everyone we meet.”

  Jennifer said, “Unless they need it.”

  Shocked, expecting support, I flicked my head to her with a glare. I said, “Nobody’s killing anyone here.”

  Jennifer said, “That’s not what I meant. Some people need killing. Some people need something else.”

  She moved to Shoshana and said, “That man doesn’t need killing, does he?”

  Shoshana became subdued. She shook her head. Jennifer turned to me and said, “But Shoshana needs something else.”

  I sighed and said, “Okay. Okay. So we go to Lesotho. One more link in the chain.”

  Shoshana glowed at the words, then leaned in and whispered into Jennifer’s ear. Jennifer looked at me and nodded. I said, “What was that all about?”

  “She wants to go back in with Mowgli. To wring him dry. She thinks he’s keeping something secret.”

  I looked at Shoshana, and she gazed right back at me. She said, “No vendetta. I saw something in him. He’s lying about something.”

  “You saw something, huh? As in a Shoshana vision, or the Pumpkin King?”

  “Shoshana. I saw it. Let me go back in.”

  I slowly nodded, saying, “No Pumpkin King unless I ask for it. Understood?”

  She grinned and said, “I’m not the Pumpkin King. I told you that.”

  I’d let her back in to do her magic, and now Kurt was calling before I had any answers to his questions. Except for the one about where I was going next, and I knew he wouldn’t like what I was about to tell him.

  57

  Colonel Kurt Hale entered the communications center, finding the duty officer with a scared look on his face and none of the computers showing an active teleconference. Kurt said, “So, Pike coming up here on VTC or what?”

  “Sir, he didn’t have a computer. He said he’d call back in twenty minutes . . . it’s been about fifteen, so . . .”

  “He doesn’t have a computer? I did a VTC with him yesterday.”

  “Sir, I don’t know what to tell you. He said he’s busy.”

  Kurt nodded at the young communications man, clearly aggravated. The man caught the look and said, “Sir, I gave him your message.”

  Kurt smiled, saying, “I know you did. Not your fault.” What he was thinking was, What the fuck is Pike up to?

  He turned to exit the room and heard, “Call coming in, sir. Call from Pike.”

  He rotated around, letting the man do his work with the call, although he wanted to snatch the phone out of the guy’s hands.

  The man said, “I’m not sure he’s here. He might be at dinner.”

  Kurt smiled, knowing what was about to happen. The man heard the answer over the phone and said, “Okay, okay, no reason to get violent.”

  He turned, his hand covering the mouthpiece, and said, “It’s Pike, and he’s not in a good mood.”

  Kurt took the phone and said, “Probably because you put him through a dick dance after telling him to call.” The duty officer said, “I was just following protocol . . . ,” but Kurt had already turned away, saying, “Pike, I need a VTC. We have authority, and I need to brief you.”

  “Sir, I can’t do that right now. I’m in the middle of something, and my computer’s at the hotel.”

  Kurt heard the words and felt the proverbial hair rise on his neck. He said, “In the middle of what? You were going to Durban for Alpha. Why don’t you have a computer?”

  “Because I’m in the safe house that Aaron was taken to. I have the man who provided it. He’s a subcontractor of Tyler. He knows what’s going on.”

  Kurt felt his head about to explode. He put his hand over the mouthpiece and said, “Get George Wolffe in here right fucking now.”

  The man at the desk said, “Sir?”

  “Get his ass in here. I need some adult opinions before I lose my mind.”

  The man scurried out of the room, and Kurt returned to the phone, saying, “Did I just fucking hear you right? You have the man who owns the safe house in your possession, and you’re interrogating him?”

  “Yes, sir. But it’s not what you think. We were following Stanko, using the intercept you gave us, and Stanko tried to kill him. We interdicted and ended up with the safe house guy. After that, it seemed prudent to question him, since we were already involved.”

  Kurt was apoplectic. “You do not have any Omega authority in Durban. You were supposed to continue Alpha. Alpha, you damn Neanderthal.”

  Pike bit back just as hard. “Sir, did you hear what I just said? What the hell do you guys think we do out here? Let me make it plain: Stanko had a garrote around the guy’s neck. He was about to cut his head off with a piano wire. We fucking stopped it. We have authority to do that. Remember? ‘No Taskforce authority will preclude an Operator from preventing the loss of life or self-defense of the Operator involved.’ All we did was prevent the loss of life.”

  Kurt said, “You may have just screwed our ability to continue.”

  “Well, any operation you want to do is predicated on this guy’s information, so fire me.”

  Kurt took a couple of deep breaths and then said, “We have Omega for Tyler Malloy. The Oversight Council wants you to take him down.”

  Kurt heard nothing for a moment, then: “Okay, but I have to go to Lesotho first.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Sir, the trail leads to Lesotho. That’s what he’s doing. I need to explore that; then I’ll take him down.”

  Even with the encryption making Pike’s voice sound robotic, Kurt heard the conviction.

  Kurt said, “Pike, no Lesotho. I need you to return to Cape Town and conduct an Omega operation immediately.”

  “What’s the rush? Is there an immediate threat?”

  “He’s getting nuclear triggers for the sale to the highest bidder, and that appears to be Hezbollah.”

  He heard a scuffling in the background, then Pike saying, “Stand by.”

  He waited for a
n eternity, and George Wolffe entered the room, saying, “What’s up?”

  Kurt said, “I’m telling Pike about the Omega authority for Tyler, and he’s giving me excuses about Lesotho. I don’t know why.”

  George nodded, then said, “You do know why. It’s about Aaron.”

  Kurt said, “I don’t give a shit about Aaron. I care about Americans.”

  George said, “Maybe Aaron is the key to that.”

  “This isn’t a damn democracy. He’s got a mission now.”

  George smiled and said, “You know what makes us great? At the end of the day? Loyalty. Sometimes the individual takes precedence over the crowd.”

  Kurt looked at him for a moment, then said, “Saving Aaron isn’t going to bring us Tyler Malloy.”

  “Tyler Malloy isn’t the issue. Stopping the triggers from being transferred is. We get Tyler, those triggers are still out there, waiting on someone else. All I’m saying is hear him out.”

  Kurt nodded, and Pike came back on, saying, “Shoshana just learned that the operation in question is a coup in the country of Lesotho. It’s a small country that—”

  Kurt interrupted, saying, “I know where Lesotho is, Pike. I don’t give a shit about it.”

  Pike said, “Well, you should, because these fucks are going to take over the country with the help of someone in the South African military.”

  Kurt said, “And? What’s the ‘and’? Why do I, as the Taskforce commander, care?”

  Pike said, “From what I’ve seen, Tyler Malloy is fronting the logistics for the effort, and his payment is the nuclear triggers.”

  “Okay, you’re agreeing with me. Take him out.”

  “Tyler’s getting paid by the people in the coup. We upset that and he doesn’t get his payday, but those triggers are still out there. Let me interdict the coup, and I’ll get the guy who owns the triggers. I’ll get them off the table.”

  Hearing George’s earlier comments echo, Kurt glanced at his DCO and smiled.