Takedown (An Alexandra Poe Thriller)

by Robert Gregory Browne

  “For someone who works with the woman, you seem to know so very little about her. As I told you before, we’ve been watching her on and off for quite some time, and based on our observations, she may get the occasional hair up her ass, so to speak, but she usually does the right thing in the end. So I’m sure she’ll come to her senses about this little wrinkle before she allows herself to do anything rash.”

  “You knew about her connection to Hopcroft, didn’t you?”

  Gray nodded. “Of course we did.”

  “Is that why you got her involved?”

  “If you’re a student of human nature, you know that when an asset has a personal connection to an operation, they tend to hone their focus and up their game. Like an athlete playing in honor of a recently fallen teammate. It’s true that Ms. Poe happened to be in the right place at the right time, but we knew of her family history, and hoped that Hopcroft’s involvement in the matter would only strengthen her commitment to the task at hand.”

  McElroy leveled his gaze at Gray. “Sounds like more smoke to me.”

  “Take it however you like, Jason. As much as I value our relationship, what you think means little to me in the larger scheme.”

  “Thanks for being honest for once. And while you’re at it, why don’t you tell me the truth about Hopcroft?”

  Gray offered him a benign smile. “I’m afraid that’s classified.”

  “You have clearance,” McElroy said, “and you’ve trusted me before. Have you ever gotten any blowback because of anything you’ve told me?”

  “Next, I suppose you’ll be asking me about the codes.”

  McElroy shook his head. “I don’t give a damn about what those codes are for. You made sure of that by dangling Valac as a reward. But contrary to your speech about human nature, this thing with Hopcroft is threatening the acquisition of a very big prize, and I think I have a right to know what’s going on.”

  “And if I don’t feel like sharing?”

  “I’ll tell my team to withdraw and let you deal with this mess.”

  Gray’s eyes hardened. “That would be a very big mistake.”

  “No, the mistake was you people getting greedy. You could have stopped Favreau even before he went to St. Cajetan, but instead of a safe single, you went for the double. Get the codes back and take down a man who’s been sticking his thumb in your eye for decades.” He smiled. “Don’t think I’m not grateful for the chance to make all that happen and leave you blameless if anything goes wrong. But Stonewell doesn’t live or die on the strength of a single acquisition, or work with a single client, and while walking away may be painful, it won’t be fatal.”

  Gray said nothing for a long moment, no doubt weighing the pros and cons of showing his hand. Then he said, “Hopcroft is deep cover.”

  McElroy’s brows went up. “He’s working for you?”

  “His assassination in Yemen was meant to facilitate his entry into a terrorist network and give him the freedom to move without restriction.”

  McElroy was incredulous. “So he’s been undercover for twelve years?”

  “He’s very committed. He started out as a kind of freelance fixer slash security man, and built up quite a reputation as someone who delivers.” Gray smiled. “With our help, of course.”

  “How long has he been working for Valac?”

  “Four years now. He began as a free agent, but was able to gain Valac’s trust and was brought in full time. And in those four years he’s managed to work his way into a senior position. He’s next in line of succession after Valac.”

  “Line of succession?”

  “Contrary to all reports,” Gray said, “Valac doesn’t run the show. He has people he answers to. A shadow group that we believe has strong ties to Iran and other unfriendlies. It’s all very John le Carré, but Hopcroft is now in the thick of it, and if Valac goes, he’s the one who takes over.”

  “I don’t get it. If he’s that close to Valac, why not have him switch the codes and take Valac out himself?”

  “And risk destroying over a decade’s worth of hard work? I don’t think so. Besides, taking Valac alive has its advantages.”

  “Okay. So is Hopcroft the one who gave you the heads-up on the deal with Favreau?”

  “No,” Gray said. “That happened exactly as I told you. We haven’t heard from Hopcroft for several weeks now, and he’s ignored all the usual methods of communication. We can only assume that his rise in the ranks and Valac’s cautious nature have subjected him to more scrutiny than usual, and he doesn’t want to risk exposure. He knows nothing of this operation or even that we’re aware of the deal.”

  McElroy thought about this and the truth suddenly fell into place. “That’s the real reason you wanted Alex on the team. She’s your message to Hopcroft.”

  “Very good, Jason. There’s hope for you yet.”

  “Which means you aren’t the only ones who’ve been keeping tabs on her. He has, too. He cares about her.”

  “Very much so, as it turns out.”

  “But why?”

  “I’m not sure, but he was around the Poe family quite a bit during her formative years, and I assume he formed an attachment. Our agents aren’t always immune to sentiment, I’m afraid.”

  “But in this case, it works to your advantage,” McElroy said. “He must know that Stonewell recruited Alex, and you’re hoping that the moment he sees her, he’ll realize what the play is.”

  “We’re counting on it.”

  “And with him in position to take over for Valac, this isn’t just a double. It’s a home run.”

  Gray smiled again. “Assuming everything goes as planned. Which, of course, depends on your team. How close are they to finding those codes?”

  “They’re working Favreau the best they can, but they haven’t had any luck yet. And with Alex in the wind—”

  “Trust me, she’ll do the right thing.”

  “You don’t know her as well as you think you do. It’s one thing to observe and another thing altogether to work with her. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t feel entirely safe around her.”

  Gray shrugged. “That’s because she despises you. But that’s another discussion altogether. The clock is ticking. It’s only a matter of time before Valac and Favreau meet, and those codes need to be in our possession before that happens. Even with Hopcroft in place, there’s no telling what Valac will do once he has them, and we’d rather not risk that happening.”

  “Like I said, if the codes are that important to you, don’t be so greedy. You’ve got a man in place. Take Favreau now, wait for Hopcroft to communicate with you, and save Valac for another time.”

  “And deprive you of your payday? We wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “Uh-huh,” McElroy said. “Tell me one more thing.”

  “Which is?”

  “You keep saying ‘we,’ but how many people really know about this? Does it go all the way to the top?”

  Gray laughed. “Come on, Jason. You know better than to ask that.”

  Then he picked up his paper sack and rooted around inside until he found his plastic fork and can of pineapple chunks.

  CHAPTER 24

  St. Cajetan, Bahamas

  IT’S QUITE SIMPLE, Alex. Your father sent me.

  The phrase echoed through her head as they drove, Gérard steadfastly refusing to expand on the comment until they reached their destination.

  It’s quite simple, Alex.

  But there wasn’t anything simple about it at all, was there? The four words that followed had frozen her where she sat and she knew she didn’t dare push him, didn’t dare threaten him, didn’t dare do anything that might make him decide to drop it right there and not explain.

  Your father sent me.

  The last time she had heard from her father had been shortly after the op in Crimea. She had hoped to meet with him at a London pub, but he had left her a note instead, along with a pair of tickets to a Baltimore Orioles game. She and her bro
ther Danny had gone to the stadium, but she’d found it hard to concentrate on the game, her eyes constantly drifting toward the stands, wondering if her father was out there somewhere.

  It didn’t help when Danny suddenly looked up and said, “Dad?”

  “What about him?”

  “Dad here?”

  His gaze was fixed on the stands across the field, but even if their father was out there, there was no way Danny could see him from that distance. Still, her heart began to pound as she raised her binoculars and studied the crowd.

  But she saw nothing. No sign of the colonel. Or Raven. Or whatever you wanted to call him. No sign of the man who had tucked them in bed at night in that long ago fairyland that had once been their lives.

  “Dad like baseball,” Danny said.

  She lowered the binoculars. “Yes, he does. He likes it very much.”

  “Dad not here.”

  “No, but he wants us to be. He wants us to know he still loves us.”

  Danny got quiet after that, withdrawing into himself as he often did. Alex rubbed his back and watched the game and wished, not for the first time in her life, that she could wipe away his pain.

  The note accompanying the baseball tickets had been her father’s last communication.

  One for you, and one for the little lieutenant. Wish I could go with you.

  Enjoy the game.

  But it wasn’t enough. Both she and Danny needed more. Much more.

  And maybe Thomas Gérard was about to fulfill that need.

  It’s quite simple, Alex.

  Your father sent me.

  They rode to the leeward side of the island, far away from the fabricated fantasy of the Hotel St. Cajetan and the city surrounding it, and found a table at an unassuming outdoor cafe with a view of the ocean. Gérard ordered them coffee and when the waiter was gone, he said, “You must have a million different questions for me right now.”

  “I’m trying to be patient.”

  “Then I’ll warn you that I don’t have the answers to them all. Very few, in fact.” He smiled apologetically. “I’m sure you’ve deduced by now that I’m not a real estate broker.”

  “And I’ll bet your name isn’t Thomas Gérard, either.”

  “That isn’t important. All that matters is that I’m a friend of your father and—”

  “He has friends?”

  “More than you might think. Quite a network of them after all these years. People who have never believed a man like him would betray his own government.”

  Alex studied him. “And how do you know him?”

  “I was once VSSE, Belgian State Security. Now I work as a facilitator for ex-patriots who’ve run afoul of their governments. I arrange false identities and secure the proper travel credentials. All off the books, of course.”

  “And you’ve been helping him.”

  “For many years now. He usually contacts me when he needs something done that he can’t do himself. Which is why I’m here.”

  “Why do you get to have all the fun? Why hasn’t he contacted me?”

  “For your own protection. And Danny’s.”

  “You’ll have to explain that.”

  The waiter came with the coffee and set their cups in front of them. When he was gone, Gérard said, “Your father has made a number of enemies as well. People who might decide that you or Danny could provide them with leverage against him. But if those enemies believe you aren’t important to him, they’re likely to leave you alone.”

  “So his answer to the problem is to abandon us?”

  “Not abandon. Distance. He’s always had someone keeping watch over you. And he left you the beach house so you’d be more secure financially.”

  Alex huffed. “Because money’s so important to us. What about how we feel?”

  “The colonel felt your safety was worth the trade-off.”

  “Pardon me if I disagree.”

  “He knows he hurt you, Alex. He isn’t proud of that fact. But he felt he had no choice. The people who set him up are as ruthless as they are thorough. And they wouldn’t just threaten to kill you in exchange for his cooperation. They would happily strap you or your brother to a table and torture you for weeks on end. And Danny’s…innocence would mean nothing to them.”

  “What the hell has he gotten himself into?” she asked.

  “I think you can probably answer that question yourself.”

  She had certainly wondered about it enough times. She remembered the change in him after her mother was killed, but she’d been too busy dealing with her own grief to fully appreciate his. He had seemed so stoic at the time, but she knew now he must have been hurting deeply, and that hurt had been part of why he had withdrawn in those later days. And why he had so suddenly disappeared.

  He was looking for her mother’s killers. What else could it be?

  But what had he done that caused him to be branded a traitor? That was a question she had asked herself at least a thousand times in the last decade. Was it something as simple as stealing and sharing classified intelligence about the incident?

  Or had our own government been involved?

  After the way the op in Istanbul went down, she had to wonder.

  Had the people who set off the bomb in that Lebanon cafe been working for us?

  And, if so, why?

  She looked at Gérard. “How much do you know about my mother’s murder?”

  “Only what your father has told me. Which is very little. He’s very much a lone wolf, and he shares only what he feels he needs to.”

  “Are you the one who planted those photos in my storage shed?”

  Gérard’s eyelids flickered. “Photos? What photos?”

  She was surprised he didn’t know. “I told you, someone broke into the house. I think whoever it was left behind some photos of my mother, hoping I’d find them. That’s why I was so upset when I came to the bar that night. Right before you and your friend played your prank on the beach.”

  Gérard looked embarrassed. “That was foolish of me. A misguided attempt to gain your trust.”

  “It got you a lot more than that, didn’t it?”

  “I’m so sorry, Alex. I didn’t mean for it to go that far. But you must admit there’s a chemistry between us. We both feel it.”

  He reached to take her hand, but she pulled it away. “You think far too much of yourself, Thomas. A moment of lust doesn’t qualify as anything more than that. And I frankly wish it hadn’t happened. Especially now.”

  “I’m sorry to hear you say that.”

  “And I’m sorry you’re disappointed, but what do you expect? You’re a professional liar. You lied to insinuate yourself into my life and you help others lie about who they are. My father may be a good man, but he’s the exception, isn’t he? Most of the people you help deserve to be locked up.”

  He started to say something but she cut him off.

  “Don’t. I don’t want to hear any excuses or rationalizations. You are what you are. But explain to me—why the real estate ruse? Why not come to me directly and tell me my father sent you?”

  “The ruse was his idea,” Gérard said.

  “Why?”

  He hesitated. “Because of your involvement with Stonewell.”

  “What’s that got to do with any of this?”

  “Surely you know that Stonewell has been after the colonel for years. They almost caught him in France shortly before they recruited you. And it’s the recruitment that concerns him.”

  “Why does that matter?”

  “Because Stonewell isn’t to be trusted. While he was buoyed by your contact with El-Hashim and your close encounter in London, he held back when he realized you had been followed. And he can’t be certain of how much animosity you might harbor toward him.”

  Alex was taken aback. “He doesn’t trust me?”

  “The colonel doesn’t trust anyone completely. Not even me.”

  Alex felt as if she’d been stabbed in the heart. She
had risked her life to find her father and he still didn’t trust her? But her rational mind understood his reasoning. She had every right to hate him, and he had no way of knowing her real motive for joining Stonewell. For all he knew, she was plotting to help capture him.

  “He wanted me to approach you carefully,” Gérard said, “and he thought the offer to buy the house would be a way in.”

  “So he’s your mysterious client.”

  Gérard nodded.

  “Do you know where he is now?”

  “No. He’s constantly on the move. We communicate through encrypted text messages only, and I haven’t heard from him in several days.”

  “And you’re sure you didn’t plant those photographs?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “What about my mother’s wedding video? Do you know anything about that?”

  He spread his hands. “I’m afraid I’m at a loss.”

  Strange, she thought. Then who had left them? And why?

  “What does all this have to do with Eric Hopcroft?” she asked. “It can’t be a coincidence you contacted me only a few days before McElroy showed up.”

  “A man once said that chance is the nickname of providence.”

  “Skip the bullshit and just tell me.”

  Gérard smiled. “One of your father’s government contacts alerted him about the call between Favreau and Reinhard Beck. And when Stonewell was mentioned in connection to a possible recovery effort, he correctly deduced that because of your connection to Eric Hopcroft, they would involve you somehow.”

  “How could he know that?”

  “He wasn’t sure, of course, but he once worked with the man who initiated this mission and knows how he operates.”

  “And who is this guy?”

  Gérard shook his head. “I don’t know his real name, but people call him Mr. Gray. But that isn’t important. All that matters is that your father was correct and you’re here at the right place and time.”

  “For what?”

  “To do what he’s been trying to do for the last several years.”

  “And that is?”

  Gérard pinned her with his gaze. “Kill Eric Hopcroft.”