by Cliff Ryder
Kate stepped in to head off a full-scale argument. “Fortunately, no long-term harm seemed to be done. We’ll discuss the appropriate action upon your return. Please continue,” she ordered.
Marcus composed himself before speaking. “Since I lost sight of the subject before contact or tagging could occur, and our available data does not list his whereabouts, I could use a follow-up avenue. Something other than risking my neck here asking questions out in the open.”
Kate brought up the satellite photos of the riot, with the real-time shots of the military convoy leaving the plaza.
“Our people are going over the satellite photos of the speech and the demonstration now, but it’s going to take some time to trace their route, much less track where individuals may have gone once Castro had reached his destination. The important thing is that our contact is still alive. However, why he hasn’t contacted us is what concerns me at the moment.”
“Kate, may I see the data file Alpha recorded? It may hold some clues as to what is going on with the contact,” Jonas said.
Kate and Judy had a quick, silent conference. Both agreed with a slight not that it would be best to bring Jonas in completely. Kate drew a fifth window and brought up a data file, showing the pan across the standing lines of officers. She froze the file and zoomed in on the face of a major in the Cuban army. “Our contact was a man named Damason Valdes.”
Kate took a closer look at the serious officer, with his dark hair and unusual blue eyes, and thought he looked familiar.
Jonas didn’t say anything for a long time, just stared at the photo with his lips compressed in the tight line. Kate gave him a few more seconds, knowing that a first read of a subject was usually best done in silence. However, when she thought he had taken enough time, she cleared her throat. “Beta, your initial thoughts?”
“Sorry, he just reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago. Typically, when a double agent has been compromised, they are removed from their duties for immediate interrogation. However, I don’t see anything here that leads me to believe he has been compromised to his superiors, which means one of two things. Either they’ve made him, and are trying to keep him in place in hopes that he’ll lead them to other members of his resistance cell, or they haven’t, and there’s another reason why he has broken contact with us.”
Judy nodded. “There are several groups working toward an independent Cuba, both in the U.S. and in-country, but for Major Valdes to suddenly stop communication with us, someone else would have to dangle a fairly large carrot to bring him over to their side.”
Kate brought up the latest summary of their last communication. “Major Valdes had previously been a useful source of information on the status of the military and related areas under their control. Lately, however, our analysts found a growing undercurrent of dissatisfaction from him about the regime, that change is too slow in coming, and even the progress the military has made in bringing foreign business and tourists into the country hasn’t benefited the people. So, what if someone made him a better offer?”
Jonas grasped her implication first. “Put him in a position to remove a head of state and accelerate a true revolution.
That would most likely mean civil war, with factions of the government and the military going at it, with the population caught in the middle.”
“That certainly doesn’t fall in line with plans for the region,” Judy said.
Kate motioned for silence. “Let’s get all of the facts before we decide on a course of action. Jonas, we monitored your initial contact at the greyhound club. Please fill us in on the rest of your meeting.”
Kate wasn’t sure, but she thought Jonas seemed relieved to have the topic of conversation move elsewhere.
“Certainly. As we were leaving, subject invited me into his car for further conversation. Once there, his bodyguard produced a weapon, as the record will show. Subject then asked why an arms dealer would contact him directly, indicating that they had researched my background, and asked why I had contacted him. I reiterated my cover story and mentioned I was investigating rumors of an operation occurring in the Caribbean. Subject also accused me of taking advantage of the recent power vacuum left in Florida by the arrest of several prominent men in Mr. Heinemann’s occupation. I alluded to wanting to expand my business and mentioned a current weapons system I had that people he knew might be interested in. I left him with my cell number and an invitation to join me on my yacht. As of yet, I have not heard from subject, and expect that he is doing more research on me right now.”
Kate sent a message to the cyberjocks to see if any other data had been accessed on Heinemann or his company. “Do you think he is involved?”
“In a plot to free Cuba? Very probably. If I get a second meeting, which I expect will happen within the next twelve hours, I will do my best to confirm that.”
“All right, until we know more about Beta’s subject, I want you, Alpha, to see if you can find out anything on your own. We’ll get you whatever data on him that we have as soon as possible. Do not get involved in any other local incidents, do you understand?” Kate said.
“Yes.”
“Beta, is there anything you can do to push the meeting up?”
“Initiating contact again at this time would accomplish nothing. I’m sure our subject will call—we just have to be patient. If he’s as interested in the weapons as I believe he is, he’ll be in touch soon. The potential enemy force has several gunships, and that system would be worth its weight in gold to an incursion force.”
“Very well. Alpha, I expect contact every four hours with progress reports. We’ll crunch that data as soon as possible and upload it to you. Primary out.”
Kate tapped the two windows for Jonas and Marcus, making them vanish as the connection was broken. She kept Judy’s open. “What are your thoughts?”
“I’m thinking that Samantha may have been right. In my professional opinion, Marcus is too hot-headed for an operation like this.” Judy was looking off-screen as she replied, and Kate figured she was reviewing Marcus’s file. “If we weren’t already in the middle of it, I’d suggest pulling him out now, but it’s too late. We cannot have operatives running around like knights attempting to rescue anyone in need.
Damn it, he knows better. The mission is what’s important, not risking getting captured by the police. It’s bad enough that our Hawaii operation is a half step away from being scrubbed because our operative got too close to her targets.
As it is, she’s endangered the mission, and now we have another one on the edge because Marcus can’t control his macho instincts. I think when he gets back, he should go through the entire psych evaluation. We need to see if he really is Room 59.”
“I’ll take that under advisement. However, in the future, leave comments about an operative’s performance for the after-mission review. I don’t want them second-guessing themselves in the middle of duty,” Kate said.
“If it wasn’t addressed immediately, who knows what Marcus might have done under the guise of appropriate actions. I don’t like having to upbraid operatives in the middle of missions, especially since they’re supposed to be above that kind of behavior,” Judy said.
“Regardless of the circumstances, Judy,” Kate said, her tone frosty, “you were out of order, and I don’t want to see that again. Are we clear?”
Judy took in the steel-hard look in her superior’s eyes, and gave the barest nod. “Perfectly, Kate. Hopefully it won’t be an issue in the future.”
“It had better not. I’ll pull an operative from active duty—
any operative—before endangering a mission. What did you think about Jonas’s report?”
“Funny, I was about to ask you the same question. Does he know something he’s not telling us? And if so, will that endanger the operation? It’s bad enough we’ve got one operative on a loose leash. We don’t need another one—especially a department head—running around half-cocked, as well.”
“No
, we don’t. Listen, when I first contacted Jonas about this, he mentioned wanting to be involved in this operation—”
“That was the end run, right? I just want to make sure I follow the chain of events properly,” Judy said.
Kate stifled a sigh. “Yes, before the board meeting yesterday morning. That led to his pushing for running the op himself—”
“So if you had reservations, or were concerned he had a personal or some other interest in this, why didn’t you say so before then?”
“Because all I had then is exactly what we have now—
vague suspicions. I’m not going to bar an operative from a mission because of a look, or a strange pause in the conversation. That isn’t enough. We need proof—like what Marcus provided on himself, unfortunately for him—before we suspend or discipline anyone. The one thing I’m not going to let this agency become is a nest of vipers all striving to take each other down for personal gain or petty rivalries.” And you can take that as a veiled threat if you want, Kate thought.
Judy’s expression didn’t change at all as she replied,
“That’s the last thing I want, as well. However, you and I also have to keep our eyes on the larger picture, which is accomplishing the assigned mission with the most appropriate personnel. Now we suspect that Jonas may have a personal motive in working on this assignment.” She paused for a moment. “I’m sure there’s no hope of just coming out and asking him, is there?”
Kate shook her head. “That would be about as effective as asking you the same question. Jonas is a professional, first and foremost. He’ll bury his feelings so deep neither of us, even with all our experience, would be able to see what’s really going on. More importantly, he’s already made the initial contact, so to pull him out now would cause too much suspicion and likely spook Castilo. Like it or not, we have to continue as planned, at least for the time being. I’m moving both operatives to round-the-clock monitoring, so at least we’ll be informed if anything untoward happens.”
“Not like we’d be able to do anything about it if either of them does take off on their own,” Judy pointed out.
“Then it’s in everyone’s best interests to make sure that doesn’t happen.” A flashing icon caught Kate’s eye. “Gotta run, Judy, the boys are calling—probably got a hit on the Heinemann data. I’ll keep you informed.”
“Thank you, Kate, I’ll do the same.”
Kate closed her link with Judy and opened one with the hackers. “What have you got for me?”
KeyWiz’s avatar—a goateed, twentysomething geek in a wizard hat and long gray trenchcoat—popped up. “We intercepted this call twelve minutes ago. An unnamed caller inquiring about our man Heinemann to a black-market dealer he knows in Belgrade. We hacked the call, matched it to a ninety-eight percent positive voiceprint and gave him the bona fides for ol’ Ferdy. As far as the caller knows, our man is as legit as the day is long. Our operative should probably get a callback within the hour.”
“Excellent work, Key. Notify the others that Alpha is to be moved to twenty-four-hour overwatch status, with immediate notification if you see anything unusual happening.”
“Overtime gig—bonus. We’re on it. If either of these guys even looks at someone else the wrong way, we’ll let you know.”
“Thanks.” Kate cut that connection and let the touch screen go blank. She walked back to her office door and opened it, then sat down in her chair, staring at nothing in particular.
“Busy day, huh?” Mindy poked her head around the corner.
“Yeah, you could say that. This was one of those days when I wish I could open my office windows and let a bit of air in.”
“Everything all right?”
Sure, except I don’t know whether one of my operatives is able to execute this mission without his personal issues getting in the way, she thought. But all she said was, “Besides a couple of minor personnel issues, everything’s fine.”
“Why don’t you take a break and grab a bite? I’ve got some crostini broiling, and was gonna throw together some angel hair, plum tomatoes and a bit of pesto and white wine.”
The mere mention of food made Kate’s stomach growl, reminding her she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. In fact, she hadn’t left the office area in almost eleven hours.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Besides, you can catch me up on the latest episode of Crime Wave. ”
“Ooh, you’ll love this one. Two gangbangers in Phoenix went at it in a drive-by, and—”
Kate kept one ear on Mindy’s play-by-play as she got up, leaving her empty chair spinning in her wake. She followed the younger woman out the door.
Jonas didn’t like waiting. While he recognized it as a necessary part of his job, that never made the time spent anticipat-ing his opponent’s next move any more pleasant. It was all too easy to overanalyze a situation, to spin wilder and wilder hypotheses about what might happen until an operative could think himself into freezing at a critical moment, or miss that crucial piece of data that meant the difference between completing a mission successfully or watching it get blown wide-open.
But for Jonas, waiting for Castilo to call meant that he had nothing to do at the moment but ponder the past, and what might have been.
June 19, 1973
JONAS LAY on the ground, covered by palm fronds, scope to his eye, pistol in his other hand. He was not only watching for Marisa, but any patrolling Cuban soldiers. He didn’t want to risk bringing the entire unit running with a shot. If he had to take one down, he’d figure out a way to do it as silently as possible. The pistol would be a last resort.
Every minute that ticked away made him more nervous.
He kept expecting to hear a shout of alarm from one of the soldiers—or even worse, a scream from Marisa. The jungle’s heat and the horde of insects marching over him didn’t improve the situation any, either.
A minute rustle in the brush to his right made him slowly swivel the long night-vision scope that way. A hunched-over form crept through the foliage toward him. Jonas kept his hand on his weapon and didn’t move from cover, not until he was sure.
“Psst. Karl?” It could have been a man or a woman hissing his name. Jonas trained the scope on the person’s face, revealing Marisa’s attractive features. Jonas didn’t move until she came within three feet, as he was still watching the brush behind her, making sure she wasn’t flushing him right into an ambush. She came closer, two feet, one foot, right in front of him.
Setting the scope down, Jonas rose and wrapped her up in his arms, one hand going over her mouth. She stiffened for a moment, then relaxed, not even making a peep.
“For god’s sake, don’t ever do that again!” he hissed. “If you had been discovered—”
Marisa bit down on his fingers, surprising Jonas so much that he whipped his hand away. “If I had been discovered, I would have been a girl lost in the woods. But if you had been discovered, you would be dead. It was the simplest way to get the information we need,” Marisa said.
“Why didn’t you let me know first, instead of just running off into the forest? I could have shot you when you returned, you know.”
He swore he heard the smile in her voice. “I didn’t discuss it with you because you would have said no, and there wasn’t time to argue. And you wouldn’t have shot me because the noise would bring the soldiers. You had to do exactly what you did—take me by surprise, and, I hope, realize that I am anything but a man when you did.”
She pressed against him to emphasize her point, and for a moment, Jonas was stunned by the thought that she might be flirting with him. Dismissing the ridiculous idea, he grudgingly conceded her point. “Very well, what did you find out?”
“The truck is about forty yards to the east-southeast, concealed at the side of the trail. The two men guarding it are under radio silence and are not even allowed to use any lights. They appear to be the point guards, who are supposed to let the others know your team is approaching, then slam the ba
ck door shut on them.”
“A simple, if effective, trap.” Jonas tried putting weight on his injured foot, wincing at the stab of pain. “We need to eliminate them without allowing either to contact the others.
Take me there.”
He sank to the ground again, packed up his equipment and weapons, took back his machete and crawled after her to the overgrown road. Marisa crouched next to him while he got out the scope and examined the truck. It was tucked into a niche at the side of the trail and masked by cut saplings and brush. It was an early 1960s Russian-built, three-and-a-half ton Zil, with the back converted from a flatbed into a troop carrier by adding rough sidewalls. Although Marisa had said the two men were supposed to be under lights-out, he saw the glow of lit cigarettes from inside the cab. The green-white pinpoints of light were like miniature stars in the scope’s eyepiece. He shook his head in disgust—that security lapse would have gotten any member of his team kicked out of the unit.
They pulled back into the trees again. Jonas put the scope away and closed his eyes, trying to regain his night vision.
He put his lips close to Marisa’s ear. “Have you ever killed a man?”
She tensed for a moment, then shook her head.
“Can you? And be honest, I cannot have you freeze at a critical moment,” Jonas whispered.
Again she paused, then nodded.
“All right, here’s how we’ll do it. You will approach the passenger side. I will take the driver. You will not move until I do. When I’ve eliminated the driver, the other soldier’s natural instinct will be to help his partner, then get on the radio. Either way, he’ll turn away from you and present a clean target. When you hear the commotion, step onto the running board and stab him between his shoulder blades. If he is still sitting upright in the seat, then reach in and stab him in the stomach if possible. Otherwise you’d have to aim for his upper chest, and your blade might deflect off a rib.
Do you understand?”
Marisa nodded.
