Did she say this guy was the ambassador?
The man was a couple inches shorter than Mac, and several pounds lighter. His grip was firm though, and his eyes indicated someone who knew risk and challenge, and to this point, had come out ahead more often than not.
“Nice to meet you Mr. Walker. Ella had already mentioned your earlier visit here to me. I am glad to see you are still alive and well. Libya, as you know, is a very dangerous place, and not so forgiving of Americans.”
“Or Jews.”
Ella made her remark as Mac sat slowly down in his seat, his mind still trying to grasp the presence of the ambassador sitting across the table from him.
“I can see you are trying to figure out what the hell I’m doing here this early in the morning having a meeting with Ms. Lerner. She’s been one of my most trusted, off the record contacts here in Benghazi. The Israeli’s have an understandable interest in events in this area, and I have been doing my best to keep them updated through, shall we say… unofficial channels.”
Mac looked over at Ella, who he caught staring back at him.
“And you would be one of those unofficial channels?”
Ella raised her eyebrows slightly and nodded.
“Well, I have some questions. We were sent here to do surveillance on a house that has trucks pulling in and out of there at all hours of the day and night, and more than a few State Department vehicles too. You know anything about that Mr. Ambassador?”
The ambassador smiled as he folded his hands in front of him.
“Yes, I most certainly do Mr. Walker. That is why I am here, and that in turn is why you’re here.”
Mac sensed he was about to be told something dramatic. The air felt heavier, and he could see Ella’s eyes focus on him with even more intensity than before.
“I’m here because of those trucks? That house? They’re running weapons, right?”
The ambassador’s friendly demeanor continued, though like Ella, his eyes were now sharper, more focused back at Mac.
“Weapons? Yes – they’re running weapons. A lot of weapons Mr. Walker, but that’s not why you were sent here. Not really.”
Mac found himself leaning toward the ambassador without thinking to do so.
“If it’s not because of the weapons, why am I really here Mr. Ambassador?”
The ambassador’s eyes were unblinking as he responded.
“You were sent here to kill me, Mr. Walker.”
XXII.
Mac felt his phone buzzing from inside one of his jacket pockets. He held up his hand to both Ella and the ambassador as he looked down to see the call was coming from Tilley.
“I need to take this – it’s Tilley.”
Mac noted the ambassador’s eyes didn’t change when he heard mention of Ray Tilley, telling Mac the ambassador likely already knew who Tilley was.
“This is Mac – go ahead.”
The tone of Tilley’s voice told Mac the man was stressed. Big time.
“Mac! I’m drowning in shit on my end. I’ll handle me, but…but I don’t know how we’re going to get you out of there. It’s all gone to hell, the whole fucking assignment. It isn’t what they said Mac. They want you to kill Americans, and I don’t think they ever intended to have you or your men make it back. This thing involves, shit Mac, it involves some very big players. We can’t trust anyone on this. Don’t know if Mardian was involved or not…I’m on my way to see him now. You have to get out of there Mac…do you understand? Abort the whole fucking assignment and find a way to get the hell out of there.”
Mac glanced up to see Ella and the ambassador watching him closely, possibly trying to catch some of Tilley’s words.
“Ray, we’re ok here for now. No immediate danger. Understand? I’ll get us home safely. You need to calm down. Hold your shit together.”
Tilley took a deep breath. Mac could tell he was driving as he spoke with him.
“How are you getting out of there Mac? I wouldn’t trust the airport. And it’s a hell of a long drive from Benghazi to somewhere else.”
“Don’t have those answers yet Tilley, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be telling them to you.”
Tilley paused on the other end, likely realizing Mac’s continued uncertainty over whether or not he could truly be trusted.
“Understood Mac. Let me know if I can be of help though. Perhaps you can try Ella. She might be able to get you passage out of there.”
Mac caught Ella’s faint smile. She had heard her name being mentioned by Tilley.
“Don’t worry about me right now Tilley. Sounds like you have your hands full. Like I said, hold your shit together.”
Tilley hung up as Mac returned his phone to his pocket and looked back at the ambassador and Ella. The ambassador was the first to respond.
“Your Mr. Tilley – he’s the one who coordinates the assignments for you, correct?”
Mac sensed the ambassador was letting him know he knew at least some of what Mac and his team did for a living.
“Did Ella fill you in on that? What I do?”
The ambassador’s smile returned as his eyes continued to stare into Mac.
“No Mr. Walker, I knew of your assignment here several days ago. You see, I, like so many others now here in Libya, am more than the title would suggest.”
“You’re CIA.”
The ambassador’s eyes betrayed no surprise at Mac’s statement.
“Yes, I am. The CIA currently has a very significant presence in Libya, and Benghazi is the focal point for that presence.”
Mac glanced at Ella, who sat motionless at the head of the table. Her face remained unreadable.
“I have questions Mr. Ambassador. Do you have the answers?”
“I will do my best Mr. Walker, though I don’t have much time left to do so here. I must travel back to Tripoli soon.”
Mac Walker wasn’t yet certain if the ambassador would tell him the truth, but he also knew he and his men had little choice at this point. They needed answers if they were going to have a chance of returning home alive.
“Why am I supposed to kill you?”
The ambassador chuckled.
“Right to the point – I like that Mr. Walker. You were sent here to kill me because I’ve become something of a liability to certain groups who intend to use the recent and quite dangerous chaos of the Middle East and North Africa and shall we say, extend its boundaries elsewhere. I take issue with that plan, and intend to intervene. That intervention is now the motivation for some to see me dead. And I assure you Mr. Walker, you are likely but one of several options to see that task done.”
Mac decided to push ahead with as many questions as he could ask within whatever time the ambassador was to remain at Ella’s office. He would have to decide later if how much, if any, of the answers were truthful.
“Do you know who Mark Densmore is?”
The ambassador nodded back.
“Yes. He is among those who want me dead Mr. Walker. He is the direct contact for the Attorney General. Mr. Densmore answers to him. He is responsible for making certain I don’t interfere with the arms deals.”
“So why doesn’t Densmore just kill you himself?”
The ambassador nodded slightly, seeming to approve of the manner in which Mac was asking his questions.
“Too much risk to him, and to the administration itself. I’m certain he would, and will try, if it comes to that. Right now though, you and your men are to take care of it. Very soon Mr. Walker, you will receive that message. I am certain of it. They will paint me as a criminal, a radicalized rogue working to arm the insurgents of Libya. As is so often the case with these kinds of people, you simply find the truth among the accusations they make against those they deem their enemies.”
Mac crossed his arms across his chest, his instincts telling him the ambassador truly believed what he was telling him.
“Are you arming the insurgents?”
The ambassador shook his head.
“No…not me. I knew of it of course, but for the most part, was keeping myself out of the way. Gunrunning is nothing new for the U.S. government, or any government for that matter. What caused my intervention was the discovery of a very particular kind of weapon they intend to distribute. There is a line I will not cross Mr. Walker, and Benghazi, for me, is now that line.”
“And just what is that line Mr. Ambassador? Is it a weapon?”
Ella held up her hand, indicating she wanted to speak. The ambassador nodded his head, deferring to her.
“I assume you’re familiar with the term “RDD” Mr. Walker?”
Mac knew the acronym well – radioactive dispersal device. A dirty bomb, something terrorist groups had been working for years to obtain and use.
“Yeah, it’s a dirty bomb. Are you saying that’s what is going on here in Benghazi? Someone is trying to get their hands on one of those?”
Ella, her face still unreadable, continued.
“Yes, there is at least one we know of. It’s presence in Benghazi has been confirmed. It is being held at a CIA facility no more than two miles from your own safe house Mr. Walker. More concerning than that is information indicating at least a dozen more are now on their way to that same facility – they may in fact have already been delivered. They are being kept in containers made to look like simple coffee canisters, using a material known as Strontium-90, a low grade radioactive byproduct.”
For the first time since he sat down with the ambassador and Ella, Mac felt a twinge of creeping panic. Guns, even surface to air missiles were one thing, but a radioactive explosive device was something even Mac Walker considered an entirely new level of serious. In the wrong hands, such devices could create the kind of panic and fear in people that outright chaos and destructive mayhem would inevitably follow - the kind of chaos that gave justification for a governmental police state.
“Are you telling me that the United States government is personally involved in disseminating over a dozen or more RDDs to terrorist groups?”
Both Ella and the ambassador remained momentarily silent before the ambassador shifted forward in his seat and again nodded his head.
“In essence – yes Mr. Walker. The gunrunning that you were told to monitor upon your arrival here in Benghazi, is a ruse. That is a cover, a distraction if you will. The real purpose of what is being attempted here in Libya, is, just as you said, the distribution of radioactive weaponry to groups more than willing to use them throughout the world. I’m not saying the entire American government is involved, not by a long shot. But enough of the government, and at positions of great authority, are indeed attempting to do this. Ella’s own work here in Benghazi has confirmed for me what I suspected. It is now my duty to try and stop them from succeeding. I intend to shut the operation down very soon. In fact, I have already informed a high ranking official within the Turkish government, who is deeply involved in the operation, of my intentions. And some CIA operatives already here, who I trust, have been informed as well. Others among the CIA, are themselves involved directly. They are likely at present, our greatest threat, both to me, and to you Mr. Walker, and certainly to Ella here as well.”
Mac looked at Ella, his eyes seeking some measure of emotion from her. He still found none.
“And what’s your stake in this Ella? Why put yourself into this kind of risk?”
Ella Lerner’s face finally revealed emotion, a mixture of determination and dangerous intent.
“Survival Mr. Walker – the survival of my country, my people, my family. Who do you think is the primary target of these terrorist groups? It is Israel – it is always Israel. And after Israel, it will be your country next. America is certain to be dealt the catastrophe these Islamists have dreamed for so long to deliver. They intend it to be a death blow Mr. Walker, the end of the United States as you have known it. The time of the Islamic radicals and their cousins the United Nations globalists, has arrived. The two have become one, and freedom and liberty will not be allowed to survive their union.”
Mac couldn’t hide his shock at the vastness of the plot Ella and the ambassador were laying out before him.
“So what about Louis Danton? I was given that name by Angelo Moretti, the guy who organized our flight into Benghazi. He tried to have me and my team killed the night we arrived. Moretti told me before he died to contact Danton if anything went wrong with the assignment. Danton’s United Nations, so I assumed he couldn’t be trusted. Is he the one facilitating the movement of these dirty bombs? And if he is, why don’t I just go kill him?”
For the first time since sitting down, the ambassador’s eyes betrayed, however briefly, a moment of alarm.
“No Mr. Walker, Louis Danton is one of ours. Not directly, but certainly one of us.”
Mac’s brow furrowed. The ambassador’s words made no sense.
“How can Danton be, as you put it, one of ours? His man Moretti tried to have me and my team killed.”
The ambassador had already regained his composure, his eyes once again appearing calm, almost amused.
“Mr. Danton has been at this for some time now Mr. Walker. I assure you, if he wanted you or I dead, it would have happened already. Moretti was acting on his own. He has been working with the local militants for some time, and being paid well for it. His turn on you cost him his life of course, so thank you for eliminating what was becoming a problem for all those of us here not on the payroll of the Saudis, or the globalist United Nations operatives. Louis Danton had nothing to do with the attempt on your life. As I said, if he wanted you dead, you most likely would be already.”
Mac glanced over at Ella for confirmation of what the ambassador was saying. She simply nodded her head once, but said nothing.
“What about Dasha Al Marri? She was the one calling the shots when I met with her and Tilley and Mardian before coming to Benghazi. What do you know about her Mr. Ambassador?”
The ambassador closed his eyes momentarily before opening them again to look back at Mac.
“She is a very dangerous woman Mr. Walker. As anti-American as you will ever find, extremely well funded, and has an open door to the current administration. She was the one who had you sent here to kill me. She’s a globalist, an extremist, and more than willing to kill whoever gets in her way. I happen to be one of those people.”
Mac realized then, he had been forced into a corner as soon as he accepted the assignment.
“And me and my team will be one of those people too if we don’t kill you, isn’t that right?”
The ambassador’s smile and sadness over Mac’s realization of the position he had been placed in, appeared genuine.
“Yes Mr. Walker, unfortunately, you either kill me, or join me on the hit list. I’m afraid that is your dilemma.”
Ella waived a dismissive hand in response to the ambassador’s words.
“They will try to kill him either way. Mac, you kill the ambassador and they kill you and your team to make certain none of you can communicate the details of the assignment. You refuse to kill the ambassador, and they still have you all killed for the very same reason.”
Mac thought Ella’s words over briefly and then nodded. He also noted Ella had, for the first time, addressed him by his first name.
“Ok then, that makes things much simpler. I kill all of them before they kill any of us.”
The ambassador laughed as he shook his head.
“If only it were that simple Mr. Walker.”
Mac stared back into the ambassador’s eyes and smiled, his voice a low growl.
“For me, it really is that simple.”
XXIII.
Tilley attempted to reach Mardian for the third time in ten minutes. Finally Mardian picked up, though he remained silent on the other end.
“Mardian? You there?”
The call had gone through, someone had picked up, but whoever it was refused to answer. Tilley ended the call and slowed his car down, not wanting to get too close to Mardian’s bui
lding at 19th and G. If someone had gotten to Mardian, they were likely waiting for Tilley to make his way back there.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!”
Tilley hoped yelling out his frustration from inside his car would make him feel better.
It didn’t.
He couldn’t go home. He couldn’t go to Mardian’s. The general was dead. Tilley’s world was closing in on him fast, and if he didn’t come up with a plan soon, there’d be no escape from whoever wanted him dead.
The car moved quickly back onto the street as Tilley repeatedly glanced into his rear view mirror.
Need to find a place with lots of people, lots of security.
Tilley moved the big BMW down G Street, past the massive IMF and World Bank buildings toward 17th, which ran parallel to the White House grounds. 17th was busy as always, slowing Tilley’s progress. Again he looked behind him, but found no indication he was being followed.
Finally 17th met up with H Street. Tilley moved the car into the far right lane and slammed down on the accelerator for several hundred yards before again turning sharply to the right, bringing him to the entrance of the very popular and much visited, Lafayette Square. Tilley could see several people moving within the meticulously manicured park that faced the front of the White House, the two areas separated by Pennsylvania Avenue.
Tilley opened the glove box and removed the small handgun he kept there. The carrying of handguns in Washington D.C. was forbidden. Even obtaining a license to own a handgun to keep at home, had become increasingly prohibitive in recent years. Taking one into a public park so close to the White House was probably breaking a myriad of local and federal laws Tilley wasn’t even aware of.
Not even bothering to see if he was leaving his BMW in an approved parking space, Tilley moved swiftly into Lafayette Square, the bottoms of his heeled shoes echoing off of the red bricked walkway that led to the center of the seven acre park. The leaves of some of the trees were already turning various shades of fall colors, and the air, though still somewhat warm, whispered of the cooler temperatures soon to come as September worked its way inevitably toward October.
MAC WALKER'S BENGHAZI: The Complete Collection Page 13
