The Iscariot Factor (Half Staff Book 2)

by Rick Mitchell

“It's a hell of a priority, but we are going to need to back this train down a little. If we finish the job, too many people will start wondering why he was a target in the first place. No, you hold tight for a few days. I will get back to you on what to do next. But Gabriel, for God’s sake, don’t try and be too brainy on these missions. Just stick with what you do best, OK?”

  Gabriel replied, “I understand, and I apologize again for putting you in this situation; it will not happen again. Would it be OK if I headed back to Vancouver until you can get this sorted out; I don’t feel safe here in Washington? I can’t explain it, but I feel like my past is going to catch up with me any minute.”

  There was silence on the encrypted line for a moment. “After you complete your mission in Arizona, you are free to head back to your pretty wife.”

  He had almost forgotten about the Arizona job. He told Luke that he would make arraignments to fly to Arizona in the morning.

  Luke continued, “Gabriel when I call on you, I need you to be at one hundred percent; one hundred percent of the time. You’re not paid to tinker around with toy robots; do you understand me?”

  Gabriel answered, “I do. I understand you.” The phone went silent.

  Gabriel walked over to the dresser, and began packing his bags. He called Chloe, and gave her the lucky news; he would be home in a couple of days. Once home he would triple check to make sure that all was still in place if they needed to vanish.

  Normally, he had at least an idea of what Luke was trying to accomplish with these missions, but taking out a Congressman made absolutely no sense to him.

  -----

  When the team arrived at the Groom Lake airstrip, Kenny and Chance were shocked to see the plane sitting on the tarmac. Chance looked over at Kenny and said, “Dang.”

  As Commandos, they already had a love-hate relationship with this ugly looking monstrosity of a plane. Just calling it a plane may have been stretching it. It had a well-earned reputation of falling-out of the sky at the most inopportune moments. And if that weren’t enough; it usually killed everyone on board when it went down.

  Sitting crisscross the runway was the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey; half helicopter, half airplane. This craft was the pride and joy of the United States Marine Corp. A Marine Commander once stated during a training exercise that the thirty plus Marines, who had died in V-22 mishaps since its inception, did not die in vain. They died proving the V-22 Osprey is a viable and vital aircraft; well suited to take the Marine Corps into the next century. Doliver would have liked to have gotten his hands on this idiot.

  He had witnessed the horrible effects of war. What was hard to understand was when friendly fire, and training accidents, took the lives of comrades in arm. He had a deep respect for the Marine Corp, although he often made jokes that he had never meant a Marine who could count to four. A marine once told him the reason they never learned to count to four was because their enemies always died by the count of three.

  The team was silent as they stood in front of the massive fuselage that supported two huge swivel rotors on the wing tips. This was an Air Force bird; the marking showed it was from the 58th Special Operations Wing out of Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.

  Ron Collins looked at his team, pointed his left arm toward the plane, and told them that their chariot waits. Kenny was the last to get on board, as he took the time to say a short prayer before he stepped on. A mix between a helicopter and airplane, it pushed the envelope against the laws of gravity.

  It hadn’t taken the twins long to get a physical location on Jimmy Lang. While he lived off the beaten path outside Sedona, he wasn’t entirely off the grid. They had first gone down the standard trials, looking for telephone, electric, and cable bills, for his address. When these didn’t pan out, they backed up, and took a different rabbit path.

  Mr. Lang was a prolific writer. And from all signs, unlike Mitchell Fields, Jimmy was a huge fan of the Internet. Computers took power, so Brad and Cole began looking into solar sales in the area. It turned out Jimmy was a huge advocate of solar energy.

  The twins worked all morning to get a spy satellite redirected so the team would not go in blind. They were promised full imagery of the suspect’s property within the next forty-nine minutes. It would cut it close; but it would have to do.

  The Osprey cruised at 241 knots, or 277 miles an hour. This Air Force version carried extra wing tanks, carrying the bird a little over 1400 miles. The trip would take them exactly one hour and fourteen minutes.

  Due to the limited cargo room in the V-22 Osprey, they would need a second craft to support their planned assault of the Lang homestead. Unlike Fields, he would have to be taken at his residence. A subject’s home turf presented added safety concerns.

  To catch the suspect unaware, the team would repel from the V-22 a few clicks from the suspect’s home. At the landing zone, a backup UH-60 Blackhawk would drop a (DPV) Desert Patrol Vehicle, for their assault. The vehicle was built using an original Chenoweth Scorpion Fast Attack Vehicle was originally assigned to U.S. Navy Seal Units.

  This highly modified version of the DPV is a Groom Lake prototype. It expanded the seating from three, to four soldiers, and supports advanced weapon, and payload capabilities. At 13.39 feet long, and a height, and width, at just less than 7 feet each, the DPV was too large to fit into the Osprey’s 5x5x17 foot cargo space. Neither the UH-60 Blackhawk, nor the V-22 Osprey, is considered quiet approach aircraft, so the Scorpion was the best possible choice.

  Collins knew that this planned assault on Jimmy Lang’s home was overkill in the wildest definition of the word. As with Fields, the sight of a four-man assault team, with a UH-60 Blackhawk flying close support, would prove a physiological advantage.

  The finale would be the V-22 Osprey landing at the site, and whisking the suspect away. Since this suspect was personally involved with the conspiracy document, Jimmy Lang’s questioning would be more intense than Mitchell’s.

  Thirty minutes from target, Kenny Waits was waiting for confirmation that the satellite feed of the suspect’s house was up and running. Director Lake was in the CommSat room at Langley, also waiting for the satellite feed to appear. In contact with the twins, back at Groom Lake, he would watch the team’s approach.

  They were five minutes from the LZ when the first satellite pictures appeared. The team’s call sign for the planned assault was Echo, while Groom Lake was Salt Pile.

  Kenny Waits speaking over the communication set, “Salt Pile, this is Echo 3, I see the pictures. There must be a problem with the Sat; all I am getting on the cabin is a huge glare; Over.”

  “Echo 3 this is Salt Pile, we are seeing the same anomaly, hold a second. I believe that we will soon have an answer for you; Over.”

  “Holding, Salt Pile” Waits replied.

  “Echo 3, we have an answer, and it is not the Sat. The house is covered with solar panels. We tried filtering them out, but it will take hours to reset the system; Over.” Cole replied.

  “Salt Pile this is Echo 3, copy that. The area around the property looks deserted, can you expand the field of vision and see if we have any movement. Also, do the solar panels keep you from taking heat reading from the house? Do you know if there are suspects in the house; Over?”

  “Echo 3, this is Salt Pile, we have expanded our field 360 degrees all the way to the landing zone, and we see no human activity. Negative, we can’t determine if anyone is in the house; Over.”

  In the Situation Room, Director Lake considered aborting the mission. He decided to allow Agent Collins to make the call in the field. Don Lake picked up a nearby phone, and was connected to the encrypted conversation by a tech.

  “Echo 3, this is Home Base, please connect me to Echo 1; Over” the Director asked. After a few seconds Ron Collins was on the horn.

  “Home Base, this is Echo 1; Over.”

  “Echo 1, are you up-to-date on the Satellite feed issues; Over?”

  “Yes Sir, I know what you are going to ask, and t
he answer is that we are willing to go. We are green, Sir.” Ron answered.

  Director Lake smiled, and responded, “Echo 1, Salt Pile, we are green for go. Be safe guys.”

  “Echo 1, this is Salt Pile, we have a vehicle that just entered our search zone, five miles out; Over” Cole said.

  “Salt Pile, let’s zoom in, and take a closer look.” Ron answered.

  Echo 1, this is Salt Pile, you just flew within a mile of him within the last thirty seconds. The bogey has stopped dead in its tracks so he has definitely spotted you; Over.” The satellite camera zoomed down on the vehicle, revealing a late model jeep. A white male was outside of the jeep, looking in the direction the V-22 had headed.

  “Salt Pile, this is Echo 1. Can you ascertain if the subject outside the vehicle is our suspect; Over?”

  Echo 1, we were just comparing likenesses of the two subjects. Negative the suspect outside the vehicle is not our man; Over.”

  Home Base, this is Echo 1;Over.”

  “Go ahead Echo 1” the CIA Director answered.

  Home Base, it appears the sight of our craft did not panic the subject. There is a high probability it’s a tourist who just stumbled into our action; Over.”

  Echo One, this is Home Base, Again this is your call; Over.”

  Salt Pile, this is Echo 1. Echo 1 and Echo 3 are going to intercept suspect vehicle. Please continue surveillance of primary target and let us know if there is movement, or change. Echo 2, and Echo 4, will approach strike zone in the UH if immediate intercept of suspect is warranted; Over.”

  “Copy Echo 1” we have just entered the coordinates of suspect vehicle into the DPV GPS system; Over.”

  “Copy that Salt Pile. We just landed and will advance toward intercept within 30 seconds. We will contact you again after we make contact; Over.”

  Ron Collins, having driven the Scorpion before during training exercises while in the Air Force Commando’s was surprised at the speed and agility of the adapted Desert Vehicle. Quickly closing the five mile gap with the suspect jeep, they caught first site of a dirt cloud roughly a mile away. The jeep was tracking south, back toward the main highway, leading back toward Sedona.

  Ron was happy to find that the suspect did not seem in a hurry. He appeared to be compensating for the seldom traveled terrain. At a quarter mile out, the driver of the jeep spotted the approaching military style vehicle. The jeep pulled over, and stopped.

  Collins and Waits stopped within thirty feet of the jeep. Kenny remained in the DPV, while Collins exited to speak with the driver.

  “Good Morning” Collins offered.

  Gabriel answered, attempting to look nervous, “Hello.”

  “Sir, I’m with the United States Air Force and you have ventured too close to an active training exercise. Did you not see the signs posted at the head of the dirt road?”

  “I don’t recall seeing any signage. I just saw the trail off the highway and decided to see if this jeep was up to the task. If I took a wrong turn I apologize, I am not from this area.

  …..I must admit a few minutes ago I did see the strangest aircraft I have ever witnessed in my life; the propellers were enormous; was that one of yours?” Gabriel asked.

  “It was. You say that you are not from around here, if you don’t mind me asking, where are you from?”

  “Please excuse my manners, the man reaches into his pocket, and pulls out an ID. “My name is Gab Frazier, I’m from British Columbia; Vancouver.”

  “Sorry to detain you, we are required to investigate anyone who enters the training zone. Are you a tourist, Sir?

  “I’m a software developer; I work with several of the Fortune 500 companies in your states. I’m currently overseeing an upgrade at Adven Technologies in Phoenix. I took the morning off to see some of the sites. I heard the Sedona area is beautiful this time of year.”

  “You heard right, it is. Mr. Frazier, thank you for your time. If you head back to the highway, take a right, you should see the exit to Sedona in another twenty miles. I will send someone down to check on the signs at the road.”

  “One last question, can you tell me what kind of plane that was. I want to go back to my room tonight, and pull it up on the Internet. I wasn’t even aware that your military had a base around here.” Gabriel said.

  “The base is named Davis Monthan; it’s in Tucson. You stumbled upon our long-range training grounds. Another mile in and you would have greeted by an eight-foot electrified fence.

  “Being this far out in the desert keeps the calls about low flying aircraft down to a minimum. The aircraft you saw was the V-22 Osprey. It’s a vertical landing and takeoff craft. That’s why it has the huge blades; it lands like a helicopter.” Ron explained.

  “Like a helicopter, I would love to have seen that! Have a great day gentlemen.” Gabriel said, as he put the jeep into first gear.

  Ron Collins walked back toward Kenny and reached for the radio handset. “Salt Pile, this is Echo 1. Did my body receiver pick up all that?”

  “Echo 1, Roger that, hold one please. Echo 1, his story checks out. Do you want us to go deeper?” Cole asked.

  “Negative Salt Pile, didn’t get a bad vibe from him. Headed back to rally with Echo 2 & 4. Mission is back to green.” Ron said

  Gabriel made it back to the main highway, and pulled the jeep over. His body was almost at euphoric levels, with the extra adrenaline kicking in. If he would have been fifteen minutes earlier, he would have found himself in the middle of a full-on government assault on his target.

  Once away from the area he would call Luke, and share his encounter. He wouldn’t take the chance in phoning now, in case they were monitoring all calls made in the area.

  The Cisco PBX system at Adven had a ghost code embedded, which immediately activated when a call came in mentioning the name Gabriel Frazier. The call from Agent Wilson was automatically routed to a call center; where handled by one of Luke’s call-takers.

  Brad was told that they expected Mr. Frazier back in the offices late that afternoon, or early in the next morning. A variation of this ghost code was embedded in PBX systems in all the Fortune 500 headquarters, and satellite offices, across the globe.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Pat and Emily left Washington at dawn for their early meeting with the CEO of Execo Oil Company, Donald Rayburn. They landed at the North Houston Business Airport and rented a car.

  They were escorted to the 22nd floor of the Execo headquarters by two of the firm’s security officers. They were led into a large office where Mr. Rayburn was waiting with another gentleman.

  “Mr. Rayburn, I’m Pat Drice and this is Agent Emily Watts. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us this morning,” Pat said, shaking his hand.

  “I recognize you from your picture Agent Drice. It is also nice to meet you Agent Watts. This gentleman is Sam Perkins; one of our in-house counsels. I understand you want to speak to me about my relationship with Charles King,” Donald said motioning for them to sit around his conference table.

  “I am more than happy to answer any questions I can for you about Charles. Allow me to begin by saying Charles was one of my closest friends.”

  Agent Watts speaking, “Mr. Rayburn, the circumstances around the loss of Mr. King was unfortunate. Allow me to speak for the U.S. government is stating we wish this tragedy had never occurred.”

  “Thank you Agent Watts. Agent Drice, as I understand it, you were the Agent-In-Charge in the arrest of Charles. I must admit I never fully understood your role in the whole sorted affair. Why exactly was the Agent-In-Charge of the President’s security involved?”

  “Mr. Rayburn, I am sorry but I can’t go into detail about the investigation. I will share with you that I was working with other agencies; those involving threats associated with Hector Fuentes.”

  “And there is the rub. I do not believe the story about Charles being tied to the likes of Hector Fuentes,” Donald said sternly.

  “Again, I can’t discuss the case
with you, but please trust me when I say that Charles King was involved with the attempted murders of the Morgan family. Much of the information he passed along was closely tied to his relationship with Reed Morgan.”

  “I guess Agent Drice we are going to have to agree to disagree on this. I’ve reached out to a few of my acquaintances in Washington and I hope to have a clearer picture of what really happened soon. So Agents, what questions do you have for me?”

  “Sir, our investigation ties Charles King to your company on several levels. We understand that he represented Execo in accident litigations; is this correct?” Emily asked.

  Sam Perkins answered the question, “Yes, we did have Charles King’s firm on retainer and Mr. King did work on some of our litigations. As did other lawyers and partners of the firm. Even Reed Morgan represented us in a few of these cases.”

  Donald added, “I met Reed Morgan a couple of times; I liked the Kid. Charles was crazy about him. I think Reed reminded him of himself in his younger days. Too bad his brother turned out to be a cold-blooded killer.”

  Emily continued, “Sir, during our investigations into Mr. King’s financial records we uncovered numerous payments to Charles King from your office. Investigating, we have not been able to tie these payments back through Mr. King’s firm.”

  Sam Perkins answered, “That would be incorrect. All payments for legal services are handled through an account set aside for these types of services. So your findings would be inaccurate.”

  Donald held up his hand, “Sam, I believe she is saying in a polite way they found instances where I paid Charles off-the-books. Am I correct in that statement, Agent Watts?”

  “That would be a more accurate way to put it Mr. Rayburn. Can you please explain these off-the-book payments?”

  Sam Perkins interrupted, “Donald, I believe this is where we need to end this conversation. We need to discuss this in private so I can gain a better understanding of where they are going with this line of questioning.”

  Donald put his hand on Sam’s knee, “I don’t need protecting Sam. Agent Watts, as I mentioned before, Charles King was a great friend to me. There were times that I would call on him to provide legal insight into personal matters. I also trusted his wise counsel for some of my business decisions.