Guardian Angel

by Becky Harmon

  “Maybe they just want to be heard.”

  “I understand an unsuccessful attempt was already made.” Angel’s tone didn’t criticize but merely stated a fact.

  “It was, but unlike you, we’re not trained to negotiate with radicals.”

  Again, she read something in Angel’s face. There was a plan. One that she wasn’t going to be included in.

  So that was the way things were going to be. Crossing her arms over her chest, she hid her disappointment and anger.

  “We’re done here,” she stated with finality, making her dismissal of Angel clear.

  She walked back to her desk and did not turn until Angel was gone. There wasn’t anything she hated more than being kept in the dark. She considered calling Vince, but it felt too much like tattling. Besides, forcing Angel to reveal her plan would surely backfire in the end. She would figure out what to do this afternoon after her meeting with Minister Ganim. If she had to, she would talk with the crowd herself. She wanted all of this to be over so she could get on with her work.

  * * *

  Angel stood near the rear doors of the conference room on the first floor. She watched the ambassador pace as she briefed her staff on the agenda she planned to cover in this morning’s meeting with a representative from the Mauritanian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development.

  Despite her clear disappointment with their morning briefing, the ambassador was focused on the task at hand and her voice was strong and passionate.

  “Mauritania’s coastal waters are among the world’s richest fishing grounds making exporting fish one of their main sources of foreign revenue. However, fishing agreements with the European Union, China, and Spain have brought overexploitation and an increased number of large fishing boats into areas restricted for local fisherman.”

  Angel knew what was coming next. The large boats, referred to as trollers or trawlers, pulled huge nets through the water following the schools of fish, without any concern to their location or surroundings.

  “Even minor collisions destroy local boats and often lead to the loss of life. In addition, a troller can gather more fish in a day than fifty local fishermen can gather in a year. We have to put pressure on the government officials to enforce the restricted zones instead of accepting money from the violators. We cannot leave the local fishermen without food for their families or the means of making an income.”

  A DSS agent appeared in the doorway to signal the arrival of their visitor. Angel had tracked Agent Connor down earlier and advised her on the new developments on the crowd outside the embassy. Connor didn’t want to pull any of her agents from their assigned tasks but was willing to provide an agent for any meeting with the ambassador that brought in someone from the outside.

  Assistant Minister Omar Ganim strolled confidently into the conference room and greeted the ambassador. He made no attempt to acknowledge the others in the room. He was a short man with a long, white beard that disappeared into the layers of white cloth that covered his chest. His robe stretched the length of his body, leaving only his sandaled feet exposed.

  Once everyone was settled in the conference room, Angel moved into the hallway. She had considered staying in the room, but her presence seemed to be a distraction to Ellie. Or maybe she stepped out because there was an unhappy look on Ellie’s face each time their eyes met. Ellie clearly had been dissatisfied with her briefing that morning, so much so that she had briefly considered returning to fill her in on what she and Eric were planning.

  To her surprise it bothered her to keep things from Ellie. That was something she often had to do to prevent the subject being protected from getting too involved with the situation. The truth was that Ellie probably did need to know that the crowd was organized and that there might be a larger threat, but she wasn’t willing to stand in front of her without having all the answers to the questions she would ask.

  With only a small lean to the right, she could see Ellie inside the room without being seen. She probably should be watching the visitor, but she had learned sometimes you learned more by watching the person you knew. Ellie’s reactions to his words and actions would tell her if she felt threatened or in need of assistance.

  Ellie sat on a large maroon floor cushion with her legs crossed in front of her. A small table with teacups and pots of hot water sat between her and her guest. Ellie’s staff was to her left and two additional visitors that had accompanied the advisor sat on her right side.

  Although Ellie was dressed in a tailored suit, she looked comfortable with her jacket unbuttoned. She didn’t seem worried about wrinkling her clothes and her laid-back posture set the tone of the meeting. She watched Ellie’s fingers resting lightly on the ankle buckles of her shoes. They were black with a two-inch heel and Angel would never be caught dead in them.

  After an hour, she was relieved when Ellie made the first signs that the meeting was coming to an end. From her position she hadn’t been able to hear the conversation, but she knew they weren’t speaking English. She could see Ellie pause periodically in her speech to search for the translation of a specific word.

  Her guests seemed interested in the conversation and there were only a few times that the smile left Ellie’s face. She didn’t seem to labor at the negotiations or to be weighed down by the political consequences of her words or actions. It was clear that Ellie believed in what she was saying. She gave and demanded respect from the man sitting across from her, a balance that she seemed to have perfected.

  She grudgingly pulled her eyes from Ellie and glanced at her watch. Eric would be texting her soon and she wanted to be available to back her team up. He was prepping Joseph Toma, a member of the Flagler team, to wander through the crowd. Joe’s Israeli heritage and ability to speak many languages made him the best candidate to infiltrate the crowd. She wished she were the one leaving the gates, not only because of the risk to her team member but also because she liked to be the one doing the talking. This time, though, she recognized that Toma might have more success not only as a man but as an Arabic speaker, and she pushed aside her reservations.

  She watched the visitors exit the secured area and followed Ellie’s entourage into the elevator. As they approached the ambassador’s office she felt her phone vibrate. Discreetly checking the display, she confirmed it was a text from Eric. Disappointed that she wouldn’t get to hear Ellie and her staff critique how the meeting had went, she gave a nod to the DSS agent and left him to escort the ambassador back to her office.

  * * *

  Ellie turned to speak with a staff member and saw Angel pull her phone from her pocket. She was surprised to see her disappear into the stairwell. Something was definitely going on. She quickly scheduled a time later to debrief with her staff and sent them back to their offices.

  At her office door, she realized the DSS agent was still following her. She dismissed him with a nod. After a slight hesitation, he left. Angel must have told him to watch her. In her own office, no less. She pulled off her jacket and tossed it over the back of her chair.

  When she walked to the window, trying to pace away her frustration, she was surprised to see Angel emerging from the building—and to see a pistol strapped to her waist. While all of the marines and the DSS agents always wore their weapons in plain sight, she hadn’t seen Angel with a weapon.

  Anger flared in her. She pulled her jacket back on and buttoned it. She was the ambassador. Everything that happened here was her responsibility. Holding her head high, she left her office and took the elevator to the first floor. She wouldn’t stand for being kept out of the loop. She had expected more from Angel, frankly. She was supposed to be a negotiator, and Ellie had expected her to negotiate. Not threaten the crowd with a show of force. The first thing she would do when she returned to her office was call Vince and ask him to remove Angel and her team.

  She followed the sidewalk across the yard toward the gate, her heels sounding crisp on the concrete. The crowd didn’t seem hostile. The random gunfir
e was only that and it had been several days since she had even heard any. The men weren’t hurting anyone. Maybe she didn’t try hard enough the first time she and Sam had approached them. If she could give their concerns an ear, maybe that would make them happy enough to go away. How stupid would she feel if that was all it took?

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  She heard Angel’s low gravelly voice before she appeared on the path in front of her.

  “If no one else is willing to attempt to defuse this situation, then I will.”

  “You’ll do no such thing. Turn around and go back in the building.”

  “I am the ambassador. You do not tell me what to do.”

  Angel’s eyes narrowed. “Ellie.” She stressed each syllable in her name. “Please go back in the building. I will brief you as soon as we finish here.”

  Ellie looked around. She couldn’t see that Angel was doing anything but making a show of force.

  “You’re armed. It doesn’t look to me like you’re trying to accomplish anything peacefully.”

  “I promise you I’m not trying to stir anything up.” She lowered her voice. “I have an agent in the crowd gathering information. This is only a safety precaution in case something goes wrong.”

  “And I would know this how?”

  “As soon as he’s safe, I’ll come straight to your office.”

  She hated to back down, but if a Flagler agent was outside the gates then the top priority was getting him back in safely. The best way she could help was by removing herself. She took a few steps backward, watching Angel’s dark eyes. They still held many mysteries, but she couldn’t see any deception in them, not at the moment at least. She turned and walked back into the building.

  Still fuming, she watched Angel and her team from her office window. She recognized that it was her fault that Angel didn’t inform her in advance of this. She had been soft with her treatment of the agent. Why? Oh, she knew why. She liked the woman. Now she needed to make it abundantly clear that Agent McTaggart needed to keep her informed going forward. It wasn’t a choice. It was essential if Angel wanted to continue her job.

  * * *

  “Dammit,” Angel said under her breath. She had really screwed up. She had known instinctively that Ellie wouldn’t stand for being left in the dark and still she had baited her by trying to do so. As soon as Toma was safe she needed to do her best to fix things with her.

  She tried to wipe Ellie’s displeasure from her mind and joined Eric inside the gatehouse. Miller and two marines waited beside him.

  “Tag, this is Corporal Shelby. He’ll be our translator.” Miller introduced the taller of the two marines. “Private First Class Baker will operate the recording equipment.”

  Angel shook their hands and glanced at Eric. “Where’s he at?”

  “He should be reaching the crowd anytime now. He went out the rear gate about ten minutes ago. He’ll circle around so that it appears he came from downtown.”

  It made her nervous that she couldn’t identify him in the mass of people in front of her, but she knew Rodriquez would be watching him closely from the roof. Her assistance on the ground would only be critical if things went wrong. Toma’s voice came through the laptop speakers clearly.

  They all turned to Shelby.

  “So, how much are you getting paid?” Shelby translated Toma’s question. “He answered that he’d rather not say,” he relayed the response.

  “At least he got him to admit they’re being paid,” Eric mumbled.

  “Yeah, I understand.” Toma’s words were again translated. “I thought we were all making the same amount, but I just found out I’m making less than that guy over there.”

  “We all are. He’s the supervisor.” Shelby translated a different voice from the crowd. She could hear the disdain in the man’s voice even without the translation. Toma was unknown and the men were hesitant to speak freely with him. A different man spoke and Shelby relayed his words. “Stop complaining or you won’t be making anything at all.”

  She hoped Toma wouldn’t push too hard, but she had to trust his instincts.

  Toma spoke quickly, his tone apologetic. “Right, right. I’m sorry. I really need the money.” He waited a few beats before asking. “How long do you think we’ll be needed here?”

  She held her breath at Shelby’s translation. Learning if there was a time period that the men were hired for would be big information.

  “I was told it would be a month or so,” Shelby translated when a different voice finally answered Toma.

  “Yeah, that’s what I heard too.” Another pause and then Toma’s voice again. “Do you know why we’re here?”

  She strained to hear an answer, but the chanting of the crowd was all that came through the speaker. She glanced at Shelby and he shook his head.

  “Guess I reached my question limit,” Toma said softly. “Working my way toward the greeter.”

  After a few seconds the chanting faded and a deep male voice could be heard.

  Shelby began relaying the words. “Morning greetings. He’s asking how their families are. Oh, wait…” He paused, listening intently. “The men are grumbling and want to return to their jobs so he’s handing out cash. This isn’t their regular paycheck.” He glanced at Angel. “He says it’ll all be over in less than two weeks. They’ve agreed to stay until then.”

  She keyed the microphone attached to Toma’s earpiece. “Come in.”

  The gatehouse was silent while they waited for Toma to advise that he was back inside. Then she turned to Eric. “I’ll meet you guys outside the barracks in thirty minutes.”

  She headed to the second floor to face the ambassador. Climbing the stairs slowly, she thought about what they had heard and what she should disclose. She knew Ellie wanted the truth, but disclosing suspicions without details wasn’t a good idea. Something was going to happen within two weeks and she had no idea what.

  She was usually good at skirting the real issues, but for some reason everything seemed different with Ellie. Ellie’s background made her more knowledgeable than others she had protected, but it was still Angel’s job to keep her safe. Not to run to her for help in analyzing every piece of evidence or telling her she suspected everything was going to get worse before it got better. That wouldn’t ease Ellie’s mind. Admitting she didn’t have all the answers wasn’t an option either.

  Chloe waved her through without any conversation, and she knew there were some serious ruffled feathers. That was reinforced when Ellie removed her black-rimmed glasses and pierced Angel with her green lasers.

  “So, here’s what we’ve learned so far,” she began quickly. “The man supervising the crowd is replaced once a day. They come and go in a black car with another man who moves through the crowd. Agent Toma was able to get close enough for us to hear what he was saying. The men want to return to their jobs at the docks, but he gave out money and persuaded them to stay.”

  “The men in the crowd are from the docks but aren’t upset with us? They’re being paid to stand out there?” Ellie asked.

  “Correct. Do you know about anything happening in the next couple of weeks that they might be trying to influence?”

  It was brief but she noticed Ellie’s hesitation before she answered.

  “No.”

  “Okay. I’ll try to talk with the men tomorrow and see if we can convince them to go back to their regular jobs.”

  Ellie nodded. “Please let me know when you do.”

  “I don’t want you anywhere near the front gate.” Seeing quickly that demanding something from Ellie wouldn’t work, Angel hastily changed her tone. “I’ll do it in the morning and then I’ll come straight here for our morning briefing.”

  “I’ll wait for you here.”

  When Ellie returned her attention to the paperwork in front of her, Angel knew she had been dismissed. She turned and left the office. Unfortunately, it seemed that everything wasn’t being forgiven.

  * * *
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  Ellie rubbed her face as she turned her chair to the window. Knowing that the crowd was hired didn’t really make her feel better. If anything it made her feel worse because now she knew there was something bigger behind all of this. Even if Angel wasn’t saying so. She was disappointed that Angel didn’t confide in her. All her talk in the beginning of briefing twice a day and keeping her informed had been a lie. She was exactly like everyone else.

  “Ellie?”

  “Come in, Sam.”

  He glanced around the room as if he expected to see someone else. “I thought you were being briefed.”

  “No. It appears I’m not,” Ellie said harshly.

  He dropped into the chair in front of her. “What’s going on?”

  “Why do you think something’s going on?”

  He smiled. “McTaggart is wearing a gun.” He shrugged. “Word travels fast.”

  Ellie shook her head. “Everything is fine. She sent a man into the crowd to gather information. She was there for backup.”

  “Did she find out anything worthwhile?”

  “The men in the crowd have been hired to stand out there and chant.”

  He frowned. “So they aren’t just disgruntled citizens. Someone has an agenda.”

  “It seems that way. Was there something you needed?”

  “I wanted to let you know that I’m still getting complaints from the fishermen in the coastal villages. The commercial fishing boats are coming way too close to the shoreline.”

  “I’d almost forgotten that we promised them a visit. I doubt our new protectors will allow that now. See if any of the fishermen are willing to come here. I’m sure money is changing hands at the government level and that’s why the laws are not being enforced. Although I couldn’t get Minister Ganim to admit to anything this morning.”

  “I’m afraid you’re right, and I’m hearing a lot of the same thing from the Mauritanian customs agents at the docks too.”

  Ellie rubbed her face again. “See if you can find us a bargaining chip.”