Serve in the Shadows Recruitment, page 9
The north-east corner of the main floor had a ballroom nearly half the size of a football field, with eighteen chandeliers and beautiful mosaics the walls. Off the main ballroom was a smaller room used traditionally for staging and entertainers to assemble and practice.
However, since the Princess of Asturias, heiress to the throne, began an interest in ballet since the age of six, and so it has been converted into a dance studio. Mirrors lined two of the walls, and barres had been installed along the edges of the room for training and warm-up exercises. A small piano sat in the corner, for more traditional accompaniment.
Nathalie Volkoff studied the group of young women practicing, with a keen eye. Nathalie started traditional ballet at the age of four and had toured the world many times over before reaching the age of thirty. Leaving the Ukraine to live in Madrid several years ago, was a decision she never regretted.
Nathalie began teaching at the Ballet Nacional almost immediately, and as her students learned and excelled, she became very proud. With a quick glance at an ornate wall clock, she said, “Class is done for today. This is a great improvement over the last practice session. You will all be great for tomorrow night’s performance!”
As a few of the girls walked by to change Nathalie gestured for one to remain.
“Thank you again, Princess, for the use of your studio. The extra practice clearly shows, that everyone is doing very well!”
“My pleasure, Señorita Volkoff,” the princess said, smiling.
“With the stage almost done, we will be able to practice soon at the Nacional, full costume.”
“I am nervous and looking forward to it very much!”
“You will do fine; your arabesque is very beautiful and has improved greatly. Your parents must be very proud.”
“Sí, they enjoy the recitals.”
“I am sure they will enjoy this one as well. Now run along and get changed. I will see you in a few days.”
“Gracias Señorita.” Smiling, the princess ran off.
I wish I had the energy of a ten-year-old again, Nathalie thought.
Chapter 21
After a few minutes talking to Mustafa, Derek felt like he was operating several levels above his pay grade. Despite being in pain and recovering from an overdose, the young man was still very intelligent and he seemed to remember many details.
The door to the cabin opened and Michael leaned in. “That is enough for now, he needs his rest. There is a call for you. You can take it up in the pilot’s cabin.”
The part I’ve been dreading, Derek thought. “Okay, thanks.”
Derek walked up the stairs to the cabin. Before opening the door, he heard a cell phone ring and walking inside he looked around.
Despite the run-down exterior appearances of the fishing boat, the interior had state of the art equipment, new and up to date. The ringing came from a satellite phone sitting on the pilot’s console.
Flipping up the antenna, Derek took a deep breath.
“It’s okay. We will be fine.”
Startled a little, Derek turned to see Grant behind him.
“Go ahead, let’s get this over with.”
Nodding, Derek answered the call, placing it in speaker mode.
“Hello?”
“I heard Mustafa is going to pull through. Good job, Master Sergeant.” Derek recognized the Assistant Deputy John Hubble.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Okay, first things first. This is a secure line, and it is just myself on the other end. Do you understand?”
“I do.”
“The only way I can figure things out is that your brother faked his death, and he is with you right now. I need explanations, Mr. Lawson.”
“Unfortunately, Grant didn’t fake his death. His cremated remains are with me though.”
“How did you know about Mustafa and where he is located?”
Derek paused and looked at Grant raising his eyebrows. “The night before he died, Grant and I talked on the phone and he mentioned his current assignment.”
“And he mentioned how and where to access a secure resupply room in Germany as well?”
At this Derek paused, and looked at Grant and shrugged his shoulders.
“I believe Grant knew his time was up, sir. He told me many things in case he wouldn’t make it.”
Smiling at these words, Grant gave Derek the thumbs up sign.
Over the phone, Derek could hear just drumming of fingers on a desktop. After a prolonged pause, Hubble asked, “Why would Grant believe his time was almost over, Sergeant?”
“He found out information concerning Mustafa. Who is behind it and those same people were coming after him.”
“Why would Grant not come to me with this information? It cost him his life.” Derek could tell John was not at all happy with the circumstances.
Grant raised his hand for Derek to pause. “Tell him I know for certain that the CIA is working with a terrorist, and one their agents killed me.”
At this point, Derek opened his eyes wide in disbelief and mouthed the words really?
Derek relayed the information to the assistant deputy then. “That is why he came to me. He didn’t know who he could trust.”
“Jesus Christ.” Derek could hear the deputy take some deep breaths.
“Grant believed he could trust you and told me to reach out if in trouble.”
“Who else has knowledge of this?” John asked.
“Right now, just the two of us, sir.”
“Do you know who killed your brother?”
“Don’t tell him yet,” Grant said, “I have my reasons.”
“I do, but I am holding on to that information, sir. Certain channels cannot be trusted yet.”
After a bit of a pause, John said, “I don’t like it, but I understand.”
“What I can tell you, is that Mustafa believes he was forced to work for Abdul-Hamid Al Saud Saraf. The only way they could have found him, is through the ISIS connection through his father-in-law.”
“A Saudi royal?”
“And he is in possession of functioning remote bombs. With enough built-in redundancies, they cannot be deactivated once armed.”
“Did Mustafa know of his target?”
“He only heard a Spanish or Portuguese word or two, so that may be a clue or narrow it down?”
“I have to go immediately and talk to the NSA, but I will call you back as soon as I know anything.”
“I would be discrete if possible. If they had no hesitation in killing Grant to cover things up, you could be a target.”
“I have decades of favors I can call in, so don’t worry about me. I will get back to you shortly.”
“One more thing. Mustafa wants to get home to his family. How can this be arranged?”
The question was followed by silence.
“Sir?”
“I have a report from South Sudan. It seems Mustafa’s family died in a car accident.”
“That sounds too much like a coincidence. Don’t you think?”
“My thoughts exactly. Their car had flipped over while doing excessive speeds in the middle of the night. All three occupants are deceased.”
“Three? Who is still alive?” Grant asked Derek, who relayed the question.
“Not sure I am following you.”
“He has a wife, two boys, and a little girl.”
“I did not know about the girl! The report just shows the wife and two boys.”
“I think we just found out what leverage they were using against Mustafa.”
“The question is, where is she?”
Chapter 22
International Airport
Madrid, Spain
The general stayed on his laptop or cell phone the entire seven-hour flight from Yemen to Madrid. He sipped on his jellab, an iced grape molasses drink with rose water and topped with pine nuts and raisins. He drank several during the long flight. Emmanuel sat near the front of the jet with his head leaned back against the headrest, his eyes barely open.
A young man opened the galley door at the rear and bowed slightly. “We will be landing in five minutes, Your Royal Highness.”
Without acknowledging him, the general stayed on his laptop, then looked up at Emmanuel.
“Inform the guards I will be going to the casino tonight. Bring all the packages to the estate.”
Nodding from his seat, Emmanuel picked up a phone wired into the seat and made some calls.
“Your table will be ready, Your Royal Highness. Would you like some company for this evening?” Emmanuel held the phone ready for a reply.
Looking up and pondering, he said, “Just two. I have a busy day of meetings tomorrow. Have the casino prepare a suite.”
The Saudi royals owned an estate on the outskirts of Madrid, and it was used by many members of the extended family. The mansion had a few sections of guards that lived on site full time, acting as personal security protectors, and drivers who ensured privacy and safety for visiting members of the royal family and guests.
His Royal Highness, Abdul-Hamid Al Saud Saraf, was the second cousin from the throne and was approximately thirteen in the line of succession. With the Saudi royal family’s net worth of over one and a half trillion dollars, even a second cousin had an incredible amount of wealth.
In an effort to assert his own dominance within his family and country, Abdul-Hamid bought his commission within the Saudi Arabian Army entering as a full colonel. As the CO of an armored Regiment, he almost lasted a full year before his arrogance tried to reassert itself and he wished to become promoted to the rank of general, in charge of the whole brigade.
Not wishing politics and the lives of the men to be placed into the hands of an arrogant Prince, the Fariq Awal who is the rank equivalent of Field Marshal, reported this directly to the King.
Within twenty-four hours, Abdul-Hamid Al Saud Saraf, under a threat of being cut off from all royal money, resigned from the army.
Funneling money through ISIS and involving himself in terrorist plots to sew anarchy seemed petty revenge against his family, but Abdul-Hamid has a plan.
“It is all arranged, General.”
“Once the invitations go out, start Phase Two.”
Chapter 23
23:00
Saudi Mansion
Madrid, Spain
Assistant Deputy John Hubble must have had high placed friends within the NSA, for they had current information on Abdul-Hamid Al Saud Saraf, and the flight plan his pilots filed leaving Sana’a to Madrid.
Going through his backpack and leaving the weapons with Michael was tough, but there was no way he could get them through on a commercial flight, even in checked baggage. John Hubble had said he had a plan and he had to extend a little trust in order to work with the assistant deputy. Grant seemed to think very highly of him, and for Derek to accept his help. They did not have many choices at this point.
As soon as they reached the Aden Airport, which was only a ten-minute drive from the marina, Derek parked the stolen car in a long-term lot and left it unlocked with the keys inside. No doubt that piece of evidence will be taken care of by someone soon.
Inside Derek Lawson proceeded to the counter to pay for his one-way ticket, which had been waiting for him. This flight would place him there four hours behind the Saudi prince’s landing. With his pack free of any knives and weapons, he could keep it with him as carry-on luggage. Derek worried over carrying that much cash around and anticipated problems going through security. However, despite his misgivings, he encountered no issues.
Having landed at Madrid’s International Airport, he sailed through customs easily, and after filling out a few forms with a car rental company, Derek drove off in a new Renault Clio to his hotel.
A few hours later, he felt rested and ready for the next part of this mission, Derek parked a few streets over from the Saudi mansion. Dressed in his black cargo pants and a dark hooded jacket with tactical gloves, Derek blended into the shadows so well, that he was nearly invisible.
Holding up the night vision ocular, Derek scanned back and forth across the Saudi Royal mansion from a hundred yards away. A fourteen-foot brick wall, with iron spikes embedded on the top, encircled the estate.
The iron-wrought gate seemed to be controlled by a security panel on the side, with a camera mounted above. The gate entrance was very well illuminated, with no cover for an approach. A series of guards in a Mercedes Benz had left earlier, with the gate rolling off to the side, behind the wall.
Despite not seeing any security devices, Derek knew they had to be there. After quickly glancing at his watch, he pocketed the ocular and began to walk away from the gate entry side of the mansion.
After a few minutes of walking, Derek stopped at the corner of the estate wall. Pulling out his phone and starting up Google Earth, he allowed the GPS to find his current location. The screen showed that the Saudi mansion covered over five acres encircled by a perimeter wall. Using his fingertips to zoom in, Derek could see a few gardens and fountains, with a scattering of trees across the lawn.
Derek was especially intrigued by what appeared to be a gardening shed tucked into the corner of the lawn, directly inside of where he now stands.
“I can’t see anyone around here.” Grant appeared standing suddenly in front of Derek. “Are you sure you want to do this, Derek?”
“I don’t have a problem with this, it needs to be done.”
“Okay, I will be look out on the other side.” And with that, Grant vanished.
Wish it were that easy, Derek thought. Pocketing the phone, he walked across the street toward a few homes. All houses in this area were well maintained, with manicured lawns and flower beds. Derek chose the third house that had no lights on, inside or outside and made his way up the side. The walkway led to a nice ornate wooden gate, and just inside he found exactly what he was looking for.
Back at the corner of the wall, Derek looked around and seeing no one, quietly lowered the garbage can upside down into the shadows. Standing on it, Derek stretched one arm up and jumped. The fingers of his right hand barely made it to the top, but they found a firm base which to pull himself up.
With two hands on the top of the wall, Derek slowly raised his eyes over and peered through the metal spikes. He could still see no sign of any security equipment, but with the money the Saudi royals had, he was sure it existed.
Time to test it.
Pulling himself up, Derek swung one leg on the top of the wall and gently stepped over the metal spikes. They were not razor sharp, but getting a leg caught in one and dangling over the side wasn’t how he hoped this would go.
Hanging on the inside above the garden shed, Derek let go and fell the few feet on to the roof. Moving quickly, he opened the door to the shed and looked around inside. Shovels and rakes with various lawn cutting types of equipment lined the walls of the small eight by ten room. After making some quick rearrangements inside, Derek left the door open by a few inches and crouched down in the darkest corner, waiting.
“Three men, coming in fast, Derek. Be ready!” Grant called out while standing watch.
The three guards spread out with handguns drawn and ran across the lawn staying back ten feet from the shed door. With hand signals, they instructed one man to move in and check it out, while two men remained outside providing cover.
Slowly walking forward, the first guard stepped to the hinge side of the door and used his pistol to open it and look inside. Seeing only equipment and no sign of an intruder, he looked back at his team and shrugged his shoulders. The man on the right gestured with his gun for him to go inside and have a look.
With a nod, he turned and slowly advanced into the shed, looking around.
While crouched down, Derek looked up and saw a Sig Sauer 226 lead the way in doing an initial right to left sweep at chest height of the small room. While intent on looking for an intruder, the guard failed to see the rakes and shovels laid down in front of his path. He tumbled forward in a heap on the floor, with a clatter of noise and curses.
The two remaining guards laughed from outside, as their teammate flailed around on the equipment trying to get up quickly.
Derek reached up and slowly pushed the door closed. Realizing he was not alone, the guard looked up in time to see a size ten boot heel stomp down on the side of his head.
Silence.
The two remaining guards laughed and chuckled a few more times, but soon they both stopped once they realized that they could not hear their partner. With a quick look at each other, they turned and began to advance toward the shed. One guard stood beside the door frame, with his gun at the ready, while his partner prepared to enter.
Kicking the door open, the first guard saw their third man lying motionless on a pile of rakes and shovels. He looked up in time to block the flat of a spade shovel, with his face.
As he fell backward out cold, Derek brought up and fired the Sig Sauer through the side of the shed. The last guard fell forward almost on top of his partner, dead. Derek hoped interior of the shed muffled the noise enough, to not alert the remaining guards.
“We don’t have much time, Derek. They may have heard that shot, so you have to move fast.”
Grant watched as Derek dragged the body and the unconscious guard into the shed. Pulling out some flex ties, Derek bound the two guards up and gagged them with some rags he found in the shed.
Going through their equipment, he took some extra ammunition. He also pulled the radio earpiece off, and fitted it over his own ear, and clipped the receiver unit onto his belt. Moving quickly, Derek kept low and ran across the lawn toward the rear of the mansion while they both kept a lookout.
“Taqrïr,” came a voice through the earpiece, startling Derek.
