First Target

by Robin Mahle

  “Yeah, okay.”

  “Hunter, it’ll be okay. We’ll find a solution.”

  Aaron ended the call and raised his head to gaze at the stars for an answer, only there were no stars. The sky was tainted with a milky haze that made him feel all the more isolated. He started in search of a place to take cover in hopes Axell and Caison would arrive soon.

  FBI Director Mobley pulled on his coat and grabbed his car keys. “I’m heading out. I’ll see you tonight, hon.” He kissed his wife on the cheek and stepped outside to the clear morning skies.

  His late model BMW started easily in the cold weather and he backed out of the driveway, the wiper blades whisking away the thin blanket of ice on his windshield. He reached for his coffee when his cell phone rang through the Bluetooth in his car. “Mobley here.”

  “Are you in the office yet?”

  “I’m on my way. Why?”

  “We need to meet. Now.”

  “Okay. What’s the problem?”

  “Our entire task force is out of the country and I just received a call from the vice-consul at the Beijing embassy. They have Lacy Merrick along with who I can only assume is one of my operatives.”

  Mobley turned deadpan. “Why is she there? Where are Agents Axell and Caison? What the hell is going on, Handley?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine. That’s why we need to meet and straighten this out before we find ourselves in the middle of some damn international incident. How soon can you be at Langley?”

  “Sooner than my office. I’m on my way.” He ended the call and turned the wheel, heading north to Langley. “Son of a bitch.”

  Heat climbed from beneath the collar of his button-down shirt. Why were his people there, more importantly, why hadn’t they kept him apprised? They still didn’t trust him. Perhaps it was deserved, but now he was going in blind, a disadvantage that could put them in greater jeopardy. “Damn it!” He slammed his palm against the steering wheel.

  CIA Headquarters was in his sights now and he approached the guarded entrance. Presenting his credentials, the guard raised the gate and Mobley drove onto the grounds. As he made his way inside the building, the director waited for him.

  “Thank you for coming down so quickly.” Handley tendered a greeting.

  “Sounds like we have a problem brewing. And I’d like to know exactly what that is.”

  Aaron hadn’t taken his eyes off the street ahead as he waited in the coffee shop for help to arrive. Time was almost up and still no sign of Axell or Caison. He’d given Axell his location more than twenty minutes ago and expected them to have arrived by now, keeping in mind that the city was busy and it wasn’t easy to move around undetected, out of sight of the cameras. In fact, it was virtually impossible, which made him more anxious.

  He pushed up from his chair, nearly knocking it over. “Oh my God! Finally.” He spotted their arrival.

  Axell raised his hands and motioned for Aaron to take it down a notch, to not draw attention. “We’re okay. We got delayed, that’s all. Just tell us what happened.”

  Aaron walked back to the table where Caison and Maddox joined them. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you guys.” He exposed a smile infused with relief. “I didn’t know what to do.”

  “They’re at the embassy? Is that right?” Caison began.

  “Yeah. Yeah, like I said, I called Shaw. Some guy answered his phone. Said Lacy was there with a friend and wanted me to come in. But he didn’t give Shaw’s name.”

  “He didn’t want to blow his cover in the event the Chinese were listening. And you mentioned it was because Lacy was travelling under false documents?” Axell continued.

  “Yeah and me too.” He shook his head. “We aren’t getting out of here, are we?”

  “We are,” Axell said. “I just need you to take a breath and tell me. Did you do what I asked when you arrived?”

  “You mean about mailing the…”

  “Yes.”

  “I did. I went to a DHL.”

  “Good. That’s very good. We might need to use that as leverage when the time comes.”

  “How are we going to get home? I mean, it sounded like they wanted to turn us over to the Chinese police or something.”

  “They want us to be scared of exactly that. But there’s no chance, not with what we know, that we’ll be turned over to anyone except our own government,” Axell said.

  “Right now, I don’t know which is worse.”

  “Neither do I, Hunter.”

  “What are we going to do about Lacy and Shaw?” Caison asked.

  Maddox rubbed his rounded chin and smacked his lips a few times. “My suggestion is we do what they want. Go down there. It’s the only way we’ll get her and Shaw out of this mess. What you have to remember is Shaw and I are valuable.” He held up preemptive hands. “Not saying you guys aren’t. What I mean to say is that we’re still rebuilding here and can’t risk being exposed to the MSS again. I know damn well Handley won’t have that. He may be a lot of things, but going turncoat on his case officers isn’t one of them.”

  “That’s what I thought until Janz was shot right in front of me,” Axell said. “I would’ve been too if I hadn’t gotten out of there as quickly as I did. So I’m not sure where you’re getting your information, but my level of trust for Handley is about at zero.”

  Maddox nodded. “Point being, we get inside the embassy, talk to whoever’s got our people, and figure this shit out. Axell and I agree on one thing, our government’s risking a lot as it is simply by us being here. It won’t be long before they discover Yang’s fate. And they know what’ll happen if MSS gets hold of us. At least, they think they know, but I suspect none of us would give them a goddam thing.” He pushed up from the chair. “So let’s get the show on the road. See what we can work out to get you and your people back home.”

  It was hard to overlook the four men who emerged from the coffee shop, with the exception of Maddox. The rest were easy targets to spot if the right people knew what to look for.

  “It’s best we split up and each head in our own direction,” Axell said. “No offense, but you people scream CIA.”

  “You people?” Maddox unleashed a boisterous laugh. “I thought you were one of us, Axell?”

  Caison noted the exchange. “I’m not finding a lot of humor in this situation, so you’ll forgive me for not joining in on the banter.”

  Axell turned serious. “If you don’t think I understand the severity of the situation, Caison, then you don’t know me as well as you thought you did. Look, I want her on a plane home to see her family just as much as you. But these are the cards we were dealt. Now we have to play them.” He surveyed the streets. “Go over there. I’ll stay on this path. Hunter, you head in the same direction, but hang back a good hundred feet from Caison.”

  “I know where I’m going.” Maddox made a sharp turn and disappeared.

  “If the cops are still there, just make contact with the guard out front. There’ll be plenty of them at this point, I’m sure. But do not go in until we are all together. Understand?” He looked at Caison and Hunter, who nodded simultaneously. “Good. Now go.”

  Axell waited in place until they were well enough ahead before taking his own path. He knew they were afraid for Lacy. So was he. He was afraid for all of them. How long would it be before the authorities realized Yang was dead and got word back to Beijing? A few hours? A day? With the heavy presence the Party had in that village, it would likely be the former.

  He thought about the woman, Fatima, and how they must’ve known she was wearing a wire. Maddox had been running her for some time and he must’ve felt responsible too, no doubt. And if he was being honest, they didn’t need her to record anything. Not really. They already had evidence Yang received money from the US and his ties to the Separatist Movement were easily established. Her information was more like the icing on the cake. Concrete proof Yang was planning an attack. It would have been useful, but not worth her life.


  Axell checked the time. It would be about 9am in D.C. Would they already know about Lacy and Shaw too? That would present additional problems. And the hits just kept coming. Stories needed to be consolidated, firmed up. “Damn.” As he made his way along the streets in the bitter night air, he cursed himself for not being the one to bring her back. Shaw was a good man and a good agent, but she was one of his, and Axell should’ve been there.

  The embassy was in sight. It didn’t appear the local police were out front. Finally, something that was in their favor. Because so long as any of them were on this side of the fence, they could be snatched.

  He spotted the others near the guard gate and continued his approach, more hurried than before. Perhaps he was more concerned about being captured than he thought. Still, breaking into a sprint toward the guard gate wasn’t advisable either. Not unless he wanted to get shot.

  “I see you’ve met my friends,” Axell said to the guard.

  “You must be Trevor Axell?” The guard turned to walk back into the booth. “Good. These guys said they wouldn’t go in until you arrived. I’ll make the call and have them open the gate. Been pretty interesting around here for the past few hours. Don’t suppose you know anything about that?”

  “Nope. Afraid not. We just heard a couple friends of ours were inside. And we’d like to see what we can do help them out.”

  “Sure.” He made the call.

  Axell nodded to the others in recognition and relief of their safe arrival.

  “Okay. Let’s open her up.” The guard walked out of his booth again and approached the iron gates. “You all have a good evening and I hope everything turns out all right for your friends.”

  The gates opened and the officers on the other side allowed them through. Caison was the first to notice their fixed gaze. “Is it me, or does it look to you guys like they were expecting us?”

  “Oh, I imagine word spread pretty quickly about who’s inside. Yeah, I doubt these guys see that sort of excitement much around here,” Maddox replied.

  “How are you so calm?” Aaron asked.

  Maddox stopped short. “Cause I’ve seen a whole hell of a lot worse things than this, my friend. This?” He shook his head. “Water off a duck’s back.”

  Axell was curious if Maddox knew the whole story, and if he did, then God bless him because in all his years in the CIA, nothing had prepared him for this kind of deception by his own director. Oh, he wasn’t naïve and knew that over the course of the past fifty-odd years, the CIA had done its share of funding coups and arming rebels and even covering up its own involvement in the drug wars. But something of this magnitude that could bring about a large-scale war, possibly nuclear, was nothing to sneeze at. And the weight of stopping this political machine had just about ground him down to nothing.

  The doors of the building parted and inside awaited several men in suits. One stepped forward. “I’d say introductions were in order, but I feel as though I already know you all.” He moved toward them. “Come in. I’ll take you to your friends.”

  “And you are?” Axell asked.

  “I work for the vice-consul. He’s been working with your people for the past few hours.” The man continued to lead the way through the corridor. His shoes struck the marble floor with a decisive echo. “In here, please.” He opened the door, and inside, Lacy stood near a window. Shaw was in a chair at a conference table.

  “You’re here.” Her face masked in relief.

  “Are you okay?” Caison asked.

  “I am.”

  Axell turned to the man who let them in. “Where’s the vice-consul?”

  “He’ll be here in a moment. Have a seat. I’ll have beverages and snacks brought in.”

  When he closed the door and they were alone, Lacy remained still, appearing on the verge of tears. “I’m glad you’re all okay. We’ve just been sitting here—waiting.”

  Agent Shaw stood. “The director and the president know we’re here. Don’t suppose you have a plan?”

  Chapter 27

  Director Mobley had only been in the Oval Office a handful of times. The last was on the unfortunate occasion when he had attempted to circumvent then Deputy Secretary Turner on the discovery of the arrangement his undersecretary had with Lei Jian. In the end, he agreed to the secretary’s terms, something he’d begun to regret even more so now than he did then. Perhaps this could all have been avoided. Now he sat here with the CIA director, waiting for the president to arrive so that they could discuss how to get their people back home. The same people who had put their trust in Mobley the first time and he’d let them down. That wouldn’t happen again.

  They both stood on the president’s arrival.

  “Have a seat, gentlemen.” The president joined them and sat on the opposite sofa. “I’d hoped to put the events of the past behind me, behind the administration, yet here we all are, once again, as I enter into my second term. How the hell did this happen?”

  “If I may, sir,” Handley began, “we believe Trevor Axell travelled first to Beijing to arrange a plan with other CIA operatives in the area, then travelled to Xinjiang on this occasion to find Shen Yang. To kill him.”

  “And the rest of his team thought they’d join him? And we let it happen? Why weren’t their passports flagged?”

  “The members of our task force joined Axell and all arranged travel under false passports. Which, given the level of knowledge and access certain members of the team employ, would’ve been all too easy to obtain. From what the director here has told me, Axell seems to have gone off the rails.”

  “Excuse me?” Mobley appeared stunned.

  “I, too, find it hard to believe, but shortly before we arrived here this morning, I confirmed with the ASAC at the WFO. The gun used to kill Deputy Secretary Turner was a match to a gun found in Axell’s home.”

  “Our own CIA officer who was instrumental in helping Lacy Merrick killed Wendell Turner?” the president asked.

  “It appears so, sir.”

  “I believe he was avenging the death of another agent who was lost at what Axell believed to be at the hands of Shen Yang. Or at least his people,” Director Handley continued. “And not only that, sir, but our current predicament suggests his revenge didn’t stop at Turner. And the reason he went to Xinjiang, along with his team, was to take out the man who he believed was ultimately responsible.”

  “Yang,” the president replied.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Mobley had to pick up his jaw off the floor. Was he hearing this right?

  “So we have a team of highly trained CIA and FBI agents along with an expert data analyst and cyber-hacker sitting at the US embassy in Beijing?”

  “That’s right, Mr. President.”

  “I’m dumbfounded by this news, Mr. President,” Mobley added. “I can’t believe these people would be capable of such an act. And frankly, I think the only thing we can do is bring them home. We need to hear their side of the story.”

  “Don’t you think the Chinese will object to that?”

  “We returned Lei Jian to allow them to take care of him themselves. I would suggest we remind them of that and ensure they extend the courtesy to us. After all, what they’re doing doesn’t come close to comparing with what Lei Jian arranged with members of our own government. Regardless of how ill-advised this mission was, we can’t leave our people there. And especially not these particular people. You must understand what they would do to Merrick. The government blames her for the sanctions. She wouldn’t survive a week there. And I don’t know what they’d do to the others, but I imagine they would eventually end up with the same fate.”

  The president stood. “Director Mobley, I understand your position. However, I think this is a problem the CIA must handle. After what happened to his operatives over there, Handley is best equipped to ensure the team’s safety. For the sake of plausible deniability on your behalf, as Merrick is one of yours, I think it best if you excuse yourself from the remainder of this
meeting.”

  “Sorry?” Mobley was taken aback by the request. These were his people—his task force. And the idea of leaving it up to the CIA to handle was outrageous.

  “I’m sure you understand. The director will keep you informed as best he can. However, we need someone in the intelligence community to be divorced from this mission. For all our sakes. I think it’ll be up to his team to take care of this in an effort to avoid starting a war.”

  Mobley eyed the two men and neither appeared to waver on the decision. “This is bullshit and you know it.”

  “Remember who you’re addressing, director,” the president said.

  Mobley finally stood and was escorted out of the room.

  After he took his leave, the president turned his attention to Handley. “He doesn’t know?”

  “No, sir. I kept him out of the loop. I thought it best for everyone.”

  “It is. Do we know if Yang is still alive?”

  “I’m working on getting that information as we speak.”

  “Get back with me when you know for certain. That’ll determine our next course of action.” The president returned to his desk.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  The ambassador pushed through the door where the team waited. “What the hell is going on? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? I’ve got the US and Chinese presidents demanding answers. Both are eager to know why it is that a handful of US citizens, members of the intelligence community, have travelled here on false passports and come to find out, an incident in the Xinjiang region was reported by the police there. Five dead. One of whom was a prominent Chinese businessman in the US. So, who wants to start first?”

  Axell stood ready to shoulder the blame. “We have reason to believe this businessman was planning an attack in Beijing over the Chinese New Year celebrations. My team and I came here to stop it.”

  The ambassador pulled out a chair at the table and dropped into it. Shoulders slumped and head down, he continued. “Christ. How do you know this?”