Two Steps Forward

by Luana Ehrlich

  Whatever the reason, I’d be surprised if it had anything to do with me actually becoming the chief of station in Iraq.

  That job clearly belonged to Henry Garrison, who appeared to be extremely competent and on top of his game.

  * * * *

  Carlton continued giving us background information on Operation Invisible Target by explaining what Mitchell had learned when he’d met with Abbas Alviri.

  “After Ben’s meeting with Alviri, I felt certain Alviri had only made contact with the American Embassy because he was interested in providing us with intel on the Arab Summit. Naturally, Alviri wanted to charge us a high price for that intel.”

  “Pardon me,” Sasha Gail said, “but I need some clarification here. Are you saying there was no connection between this Iranian guy Alviri, who wanted to sell us information, and Henry’s asset who worked in the same office at the Iranian Embassy and was trying to get us intel on the assassination plot?”

  “That’s right. There was no connection,” Carlton said.

  Veronica added, “You see, in the end, it was a coincidence.”

  Carlton dismissed her comment with a shrug. “Yes, it was a coincidence. However, when Ben met with Alviri the second time, I told him to see if Alviri knew anything about the Quds Force member who’d recently joined Prime Minister Madi’s security detail.”

  Carlton gestured at Ben. “Why don’t you tell us what happened at that second meeting?”

  At this point, it occurred to me I’d never questioned Ben about the meetings he’d had in Baghdad with Alviri, and when I saw him glance over at me before he started speaking, I wondered if I might have missed something there. If so, I had a feeling I was about to hear it.

  Ben said, “At our first meeting, Alviri asked me a lot of questions about America, so when I scheduled a second meeting with him, I decided to bring him a present, something distinctly American, and I decided I wouldn’t mention anything about the Quds Force guy until I’d shown him the present.”

  “Oh, do tell,” Sasha Gail said, “what did you bring him? I don’t suppose it was an American flag, was it?”

  Mitchell smiled. “No, that wasn’t it. During our first visit, he said his hobby was collecting coins, so I brought him a commemorative set of uncirculated quarters from each of our fifty states. They were all arranged in a decorative wooden box, so it looked pretty impressive.”

  Sasha Gail nodded. “Oh, I’m sure it did. That was very clever of you.”

  “Well, I couldn’t have done it without Henry’s help.”

  “It was your idea,” Henry said. “I just facilitated the delivery.”

  Carlton said, “The important thing is that we got some answers from Alviri about the Iranian.”

  Mitchell nodded. “After I showed him the commemorative collection, I asked him if he knew anything about the Iranian who had recently joined Prime Minister Madi’s security detail.”

  “Naturally,” Carlton interjected, “Ben didn’t mention where he’d gotten this intel.”

  “Alviri was too interested in the coins to ask me where I’d gotten the intel. When I told him the coins were his if he’d answer my question, he said the man’s name was Baran Asan, and he was a modir in the Quds Force. As to why he was posing as one of Prime Minister Madi’s bodyguards, he wasn’t sure, but he thought it had something to do with the Arab Summit in Marrakesh.”

  While Carlton was giving Sasha Gail an explanation of what a modir was, I leaned over and whispered to Mitchell, “Well done, but you could have mentioned this to me in Marrakesh when I told you Douglas had asked me to photograph Madi’s security detail.”

  He whispered back. “You were on your honeymoon. You weren’t on active status.”

  I couldn’t argue with that, but I was fairly certain if I’d taken the time to press him on the details of his encounter with Alviri instead of giving him unnecessary instructions, he would have told me.

  Lesson learned.

  * * * *

  Carlton didn’t bring up anything about asking me to take photographs of Baran Asan at the Arab Summit in Marrakesh.

  Instead, he camouflaged the role I’d played in getting him intel on Asan by attributing it to the Israelis.

  “Frankly,” Carlton said, “until I heard from the Israelis, I suspected the reason Asan was acting as Madi’s bodyguard was to assassinate him. However, shortly after I put him under surveillance at the Summit, Mossad informed me he’d evaded my watchers, left Marrakesh, flown to Lisbon, and boarded a plane for Tel Aviv.”

  Carlton’s statement caused a stir in the room, and he paused for a second until the buzz died down.

  “What happened when he got to Tel Aviv?” Mitchell asked.

  Carlton explained the decision Shin Bet had made to let Baran Asan enter the country. Then, he told about the meeting between Asan and Yousef Bakir and described the video Geller had sent him, the same one I’d watched in Geller’s office a few days ago.

  “Yousef Bakir is a member of the Jamaat terrorist group. His role in that organization is to carry out assassinations, so naturally, when the Israelis saw him meeting with a modir from the Quds Force, they concluded Bakir was being hired to take out their Prime Minister.”

  Carlton took a sip of water, and once he’d carefully screwed the cap back on the bottle, he said, “However, twenty-four hours ago, the Israelis received new intel that caused them to revise that conclusion and send a Red Alert out to their allies in the intelligence community. When you hear it, you’ll understand why the timetable for Operation Invisible Target had to be moved forward.”

  Carlton nodded at Veronica. “Go ahead and put it up on the screen.”

  Veronica tapped her keyboard and the memo from Mossad appeared on the screen. The memo was addressed to Douglas Carlton, Middle East Division, Central Intelligence Agency. Printed in all caps in the center of the page were the words RED ALERT.

  Carlton read it out loud. “Be advised. The information you received two days ago on the location of Yousef Bakir is no longer valid. After evading our surveillance teams, we learned Yousef Bakir was smuggled out of Gaza on a fishing boat and taken to Cyprus, where he used a French passport to board a plane for Paris. French authorities have informed us he flew from Paris to Baghdad, Iraq. At this time, his location in Iraq is unknown.

  “After further analysis of the video taken at the restaurant in Ashkelon where Yousef Bakir was meeting with Baran Asan, our intelligence officials have concluded Bakir was hired by Asan to assassinate someone in Baghdad, Iraq. Evidence suggests this could happen within the next ten days. No further information is known at this time.”

  Carlton said, “And that, ladies and gentlemen, leads us to the objective of this operation, an operation Deputy Ira has named Invisible Target. The mission’s objective is to ascertain the identity of the person targeted for assassination by the Iranian Quds Force and prevent such an assassination from happening.”

  “An aptly named operation,” Sasha Gail said, “and an objective with no ambiguity in it. I like that.”

  The DDO said, “Yes, I believe in keeping things simple.”

  Before Carlton laid out the mission protocols to locate Bakir and prevent the assassination, he went off on a tangent for a moment and talked about the actions he’d taken after receiving the Red Alert from Mossad.

  “As soon as I received this new intel from Mossad, I had the Ops Center reposition a surveillance drone over Baghdad, and I had our analysts do a complete biographical workup on Yousef Bakir. I’ll have Ms. Broward report on those findings in just a moment, but now—”

  “When I give you my report, I’ll be telling you about Bakir growing up in Iraq,” Katherine said, as if she couldn’t wait to tell us what she’d found out about Bakir. “In fact, Bakir still has family in Karbala.”

  Carlton said, “Yes, but before we hear that report, Henry will update you on what he’s been doing to locate Bakir in Baghdad. His efforts have yielded some excellent results.”

&n
bsp; “I can’t take all the credit for what I’m about to tell you,” Garrison said. “My surveillance team has been doing all the legwork. All I’ve done is contact a couple of assets in the Palestinian community in Baghdad and alert them to be on the lookout for someone new in the neighborhood, someone who might need a place to stay.”

  For the first time since the briefing began, Teddy Davenport spoke up. “What made you think Yousef Bakir would ask the Palestinians to help him instead of contacting his family in Karbala?”

  Garrison seemed a little surprised by the question. “He’s been living with a Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip. I just figured they would have given him the names of some Palestinians who’d be willing to help him once he arrived in Baghdad.”

  “Were your instincts right?” Davenport asked.

  “Pretty much. I have an asset who runs a newspaper kiosk in one of the Palestinian neighborhoods, and when I showed him a photograph of Bakir, he seemed certain he’d seen him buying a cell phone at a pharmacy across the street. I followed up on that intel by setting up surveillance in that neighborhood yesterday morning.”

  Carlton smiled. “Henry’s surveillance team spotted Bakir at a restaurant in that area around noon.”

  “So you’ve already located where Bakir is staying?” I asked.

  “Well, not exactly,” Garrison said. “I’ve identified the building where he’s staying, but my surveillance team hasn’t been able to pinpoint the specific apartment yet. It’s a three-story apartment building, and there are four apartments on each floor. It’s located in the al-Dura neighborhood of the city, if you’re familiar with Baghdad.”

  “I’ve been to Baghdad before,” I said.

  “If Bakir is planning an assassination of a high-profile person in Baghdad, he won’t find them living in that neighborhood,” Mitchell said. “Government officials live in gated communities on the other side of the city.”

  “Ben’s right,” I said, “which means Bakir will need transportation to get around Baghdad. Have you seen any evidence he has a vehicle?”

  Garrison shook his head. “No, every time he’s been spotted, he’s been on foot. Maybe that’s why he’s hanging around the al-Dura neighborhood. He could be waiting for someone to show up with a vehicle.”

  Carlton said, “Our analysts are still filling in the details of Yousef Bakir’s past history, but Ms. Broward has uncovered a few facts, which I believe could be relevant to this operation.” He gestured at Katherine. “Would you mind giving us those details now?”

  As usual, Katherine seemed to enjoy having the spotlight, and after making sure Teddy Davenport was the recipient of one of her smiles, she proceeded to give us the background information on Yousef Bakir.

  She began by displaying various documents which proved Bakir was born in Karbala, Iraq, and attended school there until he was eighteen. After that, she moved on to his more recent history.

  “A few months before the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, Bakir left Iraq for Egypt where he enrolled in Cairo University. Sometime during that period, he joined the Muslim Brotherhood, eventually becoming a member of a more radical arm of the Brotherhood known as Jamaat al-Islamiyya. Mossad has provided us evidence implicating Bakir in several assassinations. Part of that evidence includes this photograph showing him at the scene seconds after the Lebanese Defense Minister was killed.”

  In the photograph, Bakir was standing behind a group of young people, most of whom were staring down in horror at the body of a man splattered across a bloody sidewalk. Bakir was the only one whose face wasn’t showing any emotion.

  Although Bakir looked much the same as he had in the video I’d seen of him a few days ago—thick-bodied, coal-black hair, dark moustache—for some reason, I thought he looked a little shorter.

  Katherine continued. “We don’t know whether Yousef has remained in contact with his family in Iraq, but since he has an older brother who was recently elected to the Iraqi Parliament, it’s possible he may be in communication with him, especially if getting access to the Iraqi Parliament Building will help him carry out his mission.”

  Katherine displayed a photograph of three Iraqi men standing on the steps of the Iraqi Parliament Building. “His brother’s name is Ammar. He’s the one in the middle wearing a suit.”

  Although Ammar appeared to be much older than Yousef, there was definitely a family resemblance.

  Henry said, “I have a surveillance team keeping an eye on Ammar, but so far, they haven’t reported anything unusual about his behavior.”

  As Katherine closed the lid on her computer, she said, “That’s all I have for now, but I assure you my office will continue to keep you updated with any information we dig up on either Yousef or Ammar.”

  “Any questions for Ms. Broward before I outline the protocols for the mission?” Carlton asked.

  I said, “I have a few.”

  Katherine looked in my direction. “Sure, Titus, go ahead.”

  “Do you know if Yousef ordinarily operates alone or does he rely on a network?”

  “He’s strictly a solo guy. There’s no indication he operates within a network or has a cell.”

  “What about money issues? Is he a saver or a spender?”

  “That’s hard to say. We haven’t been able to dig up any banking information on him. He was monitored pretty closely during his university days in Cairo, and those records indicate he had a modest lifestyle, but once he left Cairo, he dropped off our radar.”

  “How were his previous assassinations carried out?”

  “It varied depending on the situation.”

  “You mean your analysts haven’t detected a particular method he uses to carry out an assassination?”

  “No. Yousef Bakir is a killer who looks for an opportunity. When he finds it, he exploits it.”

  “Okay. Thanks Katherine. You’ve answered all my questions.”

  She nodded. “Let me know if you think of something else.”

  “Now that we’ve covered all the background material,” Carlton said, “we’ll discuss the protocols to prevent Yousef Bakir from carrying out the assassination.”

  Was there a protocol to prevent an assassination if the killer was an opportunistic assassin and took advantage of any situation in order to carry out his contract?

  Statistics said no.

  But statistics, like spies, didn’t always tell the full story.

  Chapter 26

  Before he got to the protocols, Carlton delivered a short lecture on how each operation necessitated its own unique set of protocols. After that, he pointed out the Plan of Action (POA) for Invisible Target required even more fluidity due to the nature of its objective.

  “Here’s the bottom line,” he said. “The protocols, as well as the POA, will be somewhat light on details, but as the operation progresses, additional information will be added.”

  That made sense.

  Since the target was unidentified, then the POA for carrying out the protocols would obviously have to have some flexibility in it. More than likely, the POA would only be finalized once the operational team was in country and in possession of more intel.

  Carlton said, “The objective of this mission is to prevent the assassination of an unknown person. However, Deputy Ira and I believe the identity of the target can be ascertained by examining why the hit was ordered in the first place. Consequently, we’ve come up with a possible target, and the deputy would like to speak to that before I outline the protocols.”

  The DDO put on a pair of half-glasses and consulted what appeared to be a set of typed documents in front of him.

  I wondered if they were the same briefing documents Mitchell and I had just finished reading on Novus, and when I glanced over at Carlton and saw him staring back at me, I figured the answer was yes, especially after he gave me a slight head nod.

  The DDO, who wasn’t averse to doing a little lecturing of his own, said, “The Iranian regime is completely obsessed with keeping Iraq under its
thumb. They remember when Iraq posed a threat to them under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, and they want to make sure that doesn’t happen again. But now, with a new Iraqi Prime Minister in power who’s determined to maintain a centrist policy toward Iran, and who appears to be leaning more toward the U.S. than Iran, we believe the Quds Force has decided to take the Iraqi Prime Minister out of the picture. Thus, Douglas and I believe they’ve hired Yousef Bakir to assassinate Prime Minister Abdul Madi.”

  I didn’t necessarily disagree with the DDO, but when he looked up from his notes, as if he wanted to gauge how his statement had been received, I decided to ask him a question.

  I didn’t think Carlton would mind if I asked it. In fact, I was pretty sure he wanted me to ask it.

  “That seems like a logical conclusion, Deputy Ira,” I said, “but what if the generals and the politicians in Baghdad determine Tehran is behind Madi’s assassination? What effect would that have on relations between Tehran and Baghdad? Wouldn’t Baghdad resent Tehran’s interference in their country and align themselves with Washington even more closely after that?”

  “Well, yes, that might happen, but since Yousef Bakir is an Iraqi, it’s my opinion the Iranians will push the idea he was a disgruntled countryman who was frustrated with the Prime Minister’s policies.”

  “If Bakir is any good at his craft—and I suspect he is—no one will know he was the assassin. That means when the Iraqi politicians and generals start looking at who’ll benefit the most from Madi’s death, they’ll point the finger at Tehran.”

  The DDO removed his glasses and used them to gesture at me. “Okay then, Titus. Who do you think is in Bakir’s crosshairs?”

  Mitchell spoke up. “I believe Yousef Bakir will take out the Saudi Crown Prince when he comes to Baghdad to reopen the Saudi Embassy next week.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” the DDO said, “Why would the Quds Force hire Yousef Bakir to assassinate the Crown Prince? How does that even make sense?”