Three Weeks in Washington, page 8
part #3 of Titus Ray Series
“The drugs were a smoke screen then?”
I nodded. “We know the drug cartels and Hezbollah are cooperating with each other, so acquiring the heroin certainly wouldn’t have been a problem for them. Making the incident this morning appear as if it were a drug deal gone bad was an easy way to cover up what they were really doing, which I believe was observing the city’s response to an emergency.”
Carlton said, “If Reyes really killed those people in the name of Allah, as Felipe claimed, then I agree Hezbollah was just testing the waters before initiating a much bigger terrorist event.”
“We’re on the same page then.”
Carlton shook his head. “You and I may be on the same page, but I’m not so sure the feds will see it that way. They’ll take one look at the heroin in Felipe’s backpack and dismiss the killings as some sort of drug war. Those conclusions will only be reinforced when they question Felipe and discover he’s been dealing drugs on campus.”
“I believe that’s why Reyes brought Felipe along with him to Washington in the first place. When he found out Alejandro wasn’t able to make the trip, he thought Felipe would make a great stand-in. He was already acquainted with Felipe as a small-time drug dealer, so he probably figured the guy would jump at the chance to be involved in some of the big-league stuff.”
Carlton picked up the bag of potato chips again. “How could Felipe resist the prospect of making a million dollars?”
I said, “Of course, that wasn’t ever going to happen. I’m certain Reyes planned to kill him just like he killed those hostages.”
Carlton placed the bag in the center of his desk and carefully straightened out the corners. Once that was done, he looked up at me and asked, “I know you probably just wanted to jerk the FBI’s chain by withholding this phone number, but was there some other reason you didn’t turn this evidence over to them?”
I shook my head. “Nothing more than just information hoarding, a concept I believe you’re familiar with.”
I waited a second to see if Carlton might want to acknowledge he’d done the same thing by failing to let me know he was aware of my relationship with Nikki.
He just stared at me.
I continued, “It’s knowing certain facts, but keeping those facts a secret until it proves beneficial to use that knowledge to further one’s goals.”
The semblance of a smile played across Carlton’s face. “I’m familiar with that practice, Titus. I learned it from you.”
Chapter 11
Carlton sent Katherine’s office the phone number from Felipe’s bag of chips, along with the photos he’d taken. Since she already had the initial information at her fingertips, I knew she’d be getting back to him in record time.
Seconds later, a high-pitched beep-beep from Carlton’s computer alerted him to an incoming top-priority message from the Ops Center.
He scowled as he read the flash traffic. “They’ve located Alejandro.”
“Is he still in the hospital?”
“No, he’s dead.”
“From an appendectomy?”
Carlton kept reading. “His death is under investigation. Apparently, he was about to be discharged from the hospital when a nurse found him unresponsive.”
“Hezbollah must have killed him. They were afraid he’d talk when the feds started investigating Reyes.”
Carlton nodded. “Arnie said the Bureau is already in Fayetteville looking into his background.”
Suddenly, he leaned across the desk and pointed down at the floor, close to the chair where Felipe had been restrained.
“You need to pick those up,” he said, indicating the zip ties I’d removed from Felipe’s wrists.
I walked over and picked up the zip ties, depositing them on Carlton’s desk. “Make sure the feds thoroughly question Felipe. I’m convinced he knows more about Reyes and Alejandro than he told me. If I’d had a little more time with him, I could have—”
“Forget about Felipe. You’re finished here.”
“What? Why?”
“Sit down, and I’ll tell you why.”
I took a seat in front of his desk.
“Tomorrow morning, you and Ben will be briefed into a new operation. The DDO has labeled it Operation Citadel Protection, and, as the name suggests, its aim is to protect our nation’s capital from a chemical weapons’ attack. The first phase of the operation will be initiated in a couple of days when you and Ben board a plane for Buenos Aires.”
Although I was relieved to hear I’d been tasked with a new operation, I wasn’t happy about being sent to Argentina. “Does this trip have anything to do with Roberto Montilla?”
“Yes, but what I’m about to tell you is strictly off the record. When you receive the official briefing in the morning, your reaction should be that of an operative hearing this information for the very first time.”
I wasn’t surprised Carlton was about to give me an unofficial briefing before I sat down for the official one.
Whenever Carlton was forced to share leadership with another division head—such as what had occurred with C.J. Salazar during the Clear Signal operation—he seemed to enjoy knowing his operative was already aware of the facts before the DDO’s briefer presented them.
I wasn’t certain why this pleased him so much, but I suspected it was the sense of control it afforded him, control he was forced to give up whenever he had to share the reins of power with someone else.
In my mind, Carlton and control were synonymous terms.
* * * *
For the next twenty minutes, Carlton outlined the logistics of our mission into Buenos Aires.
Although he left out the cover identities Mitchell and I would be using in country, that didn’t bother me. I knew Support Services would send someone from their Legends division to give us those important details during the official briefing.
At the moment, all I cared about were the mission’s objectives and protocols.
After Carlton spent what seemed like an inordinate amount of time on the logistics, he finally explained why the DDO had called me back to Langley and why Mitchell and I were being sent to Buenos Aires.
“After the voice techs examined the audio tapes of your interrogation of Roberto, they concluded he’d been lying to you about certain aspects of his conversations with Rehman Zaidi.”
I nodded. “The details he gave us were pretty sketchy. That’s one of the reasons I asked him to give us his written account. I thought he might trip himself up, perhaps not remember what he’d said the first time.”
“That appears to be exactly what happened. Once the analysts compared Roberto’s written account with the stress points observed in his voice analysis, they came to the conclusion he didn’t tell you everything about Hezbollah’s plans for initiating terrorists’ attacks in the U.S.”
“Does this mean Ben and I are flying down to Buenos Aires to find out what Roberto wasn’t willing to tell us before? Is that our objective?”
Carlton rubbed his right temple. “Yes and no. If a simple interrogation of Roberto yields some verifiable information, then, yes, you will have achieved your objective. But, if Roberto isn’t forthcoming, then your objective will be to extract him from Buenos Aires and transfer him to a location where he’ll receive some extra incentives to start talking.”
I was disappointed to learn my assignment was only an interrogation—possibly an extraction—and had nothing whatsoever to do with locating chemical weapons or penetrating Hezbollah’s network in Syria.
I tried to change Carlton’s mind about that. “What about the ships carrying the chemical weapons from Syria? Have they been located yet?”
“Yes, we’ve tagged three cargo ships, and it appears all three of them are headed for Cuba and not Venezuela as we’d originally thought.”
“Roberto mentioned Cuba was their backup plan, so that’s not too surprising. Is there any indication Hezbollah rerouted the ships because of Ahmed’s death?”
“That’s a big possibility. Once Rehman Zaidi heard about Ahmed’s death and discovered Roberto had disappeared with his family, he left Caracas and returned to Syria. We have an ongoing operation tracking his movements in Damascus now, and we already know he’s been in contact with the head of Hezbollah’s leadership council since arriving back in the city.”
“Who’s heading up the operation in Damascus?”
“That’s none of your concern.” Carlton picked up a nearby trash can and swept the zip ties into it. “And don’t think I’m unaware of why you’re asking me that question. I know you’d rather be running assets in Syria instead of heading down to Argentina to interrogate Roberto. But that’s why the DDO brought you back to active status, so don’t try changing my mind about your assignment.”
“I wouldn’t think of it.”
Moments later, Carlton received a phone call. It sounded like Katherine had called him back about the phone number.
“By all means,” he said, “do a full data probe on him. We need to know everything about this man and his business.”
After he hung up, he said, “That was Katherine.”
“Already?”
He smiled. “She always expedites my requests.”
He picked up Felipe’s bag of chips. “This number belongs to WK Photography. The WK stands for Walid Khouri, a Jordanian who appears to be a legitimate businessman.”
“But you’re having her run a full analysis on him anyway?”
He nodded. “She noticed some red flags on the initial data dig. I told her to find out everything she could about the man.”
“Of course.”
Carlton stared at me for a moment, and, for a split second, I thought he might ask me if I’d already contacted Katherine about the number. Instead, he said, “It might be appropriate for me to take some pre-emptive action now.”
Before I had a chance to ask him what he meant, he keyed in some numbers on his cell phone.
“Hi, Arnie,” he said. “Yes, I understand, but I’m not calling you for another favor. In fact, I’m about to do you a favor. When I was straightening up around here, I discovered an item had been left out of the backpack Felipe was carrying. I’ll have someone drop it by your office later today.”
After he hung up, he said, “That may keep us out of hot water with the feds, and by the time Felipe tells them about the phone number, we’ll know everything there is to know about Walid Khouri.”
Carlton turned out to be wrong on both counts.
* * * *
I asked Carlton to clarify who was going to be running Mitchell and me on the ground in Buenos Aires, and his answer surprised me.
“Since this is a straightforward interrogation and doesn’t involve hostiles, no one will be in country with you. If Roberto should prove difficult, then the DDO will provide you with a field officer. He might even send Olivia McConnell down there to serve as the FO again. In that case, she’ll work with you on the ground to facilitate Roberto’s extraction.”
“I don’t believe there’ll be a need for an FO. Most likely, Roberto will cooperate with us.”
“That wasn’t what happened when you spent two days in Caracas with Roberto.”
“The circumstances are much different now.”
When Carlton glanced away for a second, I thought he was about to bring up Ahmed’s murder, but when he turned and faced me again, he said, “I assure you, Titus, I’ll be in the driver’s seat at the Ops Center when you’re on the ground in Buenos Aires. If you should hear any differently at the briefing tomorrow, don’t be alarmed.”
“Thanks for letting me know.”
Carlton picked up his briefcase and placed the bag of potato chips inside. After adding the notes he’d jotted down on his yellow legal pad, he snapped the briefcase shut and said, “When Arkady drives me back to Langley tonight, I’ll have him deliver Felipe’s bag of potato chips to Arnie.”
“I’d be happy to drive you back to Langley.”
“No, I have a better idea. Why don’t you stay out here tonight? In fact, just leave your things out here until you get back from Buenos Aires. That way, when Detective Saxon arrives in the area, you’ll have a place to entertain her.”
His suggestion left me speechless, but before I could find my voice, he had already walked over to the door.
I called out after him. “While I appreciate your invitation, Douglas, I could never impose on you like that.”
“It’s not an imposition. Consider it done.”
As he opened the door, he pointed over to the game table. “Before you leave the room, put those chess pieces back the way I had them. I was in the middle of a chess tournament with a world-class player from my CCLA group, and he was about to lose the game.”
He didn’t wait for me to respond before leaving the room.
I walked over to the game table and stared down at the empty board. A few seconds later, I jerked open the drawers and removed the chess pieces.
After recalling the last mental snapshot I’d made of the game before tossing Felipe’s backpack on the table, I carefully repositioned the pieces on the board.
The moment I did, I realized Carlton was an excellent chess player.
I wasn’t surprised.
He’d always been able to outmaneuver me.
Chapter 12
Tuesday, June 23
I woke up the next morning in one of the guest rooms at The Meadows, and it took me a few seconds to decide whether the dog I heard barking outside my window was real or whether it was a leftover figment of the dream I’d been having.
Once I was fully awake, I recognized it was no dream.
I rolled out of bed and walked over to my second-floor window and took a look outside.
The window overlooked the backyard. The moment I arrived, the sun was just beginning to make its appearance across the horizon.
The sight was spectacular.
Shafts of golden sunshine pierced through the forest of trees and displayed themselves across Gladys’ flower garden. The iridescent beams made the water on the surface of the swimming pool shimmer in the early morning haze, and the gentle breeze moved the leaves back and forth in a kind of slow dance.
I stood there completely mesmerized for several seconds.
Suddenly, the dog barked again, and I spotted him down by the swimming pool, next to the diving board. Like the water on the surface of the swimming pool, the golden retriever’s fur coat shimmered in the bright morning sun.
Arkady was cleaning the pool, and he appeared to be having a serious conversation with the dog. The animal kept trying to hold up his side of the conversation by barking occasionally—or maybe the dog was a her; it was hard to tell from this distance.
I slipped on a jogging suit and went downstairs in search of some coffee.
Although there was no sign of Millie in the spotless kitchen, there was a coffeemaker with a carafe full of hot coffee and a note that said, “You’re on your own for breakfast. If you decide to cook, be sure and clean up after yourself.”
I rummaged around in the kitchen cabinets until I found a mug, and once I filled it to the brim, I walked out on the patio.
Arkady waved at me. “Good morning. I hope Frisco didn’t wake you up.”
Frisco trotted over to greet me.
“Not a chance,” I said, reaching over and scratching the dog’s ears.
Frisco appeared to be enjoying the attention, even smiling if that were possible, and I knew I’d made a friend for life.
After taking a seat in one of the cushioned lounge chairs, I said, “I know Frisco doesn’t belong to Douglas. He hates animals.”
Arkady laughed. “You’re right about that. Frisco belongs to me. When Millie and I moved out here, I brought him with me.”
“Douglas didn’t object?”
“No. I usually keep him in the dog run on the other side of the house, so he never sees him when he’s out here. You like dogs?”
I hesitated. “I haven’t been around dogs very much, but I recently adopted a stray, and he’s beginning to grow on me.”
“Frisco loves other dogs. You should bring him out to The Meadows for a visit sometime.”
I said, “I’d love to do that, but Stormy lives in Oklahoma.”
While I drank my coffee, Arkady and I engaged in a few minutes of conversation about Russia, and I asked him what he thought of Vladimir Putin. He reverted to his native tongue to describe the Russian president, and, although I wasn’t fluent in Russian, I was able to pick up enough to know he wasn’t impressed by the man.
Once I’d finished my coffee, I excused myself and went back upstairs. Before getting dressed, I read some chapters from the Bible, a habit I’d adopted shortly after arriving back in the States from Iran.
I had just closed my Bible when Carlton called me.
“How soon can you get here? There’s been some developments overnight, and we should talk about them before the briefing.”
“I’m on my way.”
* * * *
For breakfast, I went through the drive-thru at McDonalds in Fairfax. As soon as I got on the freeway again, I got another call.
“Where are you?” Mitchell asked.
“On my way to Langley.”
“Our briefing doesn’t start ‘til ten.”
“Douglas wanted to see me before the briefing. He mentioned something about overnight developments.”
“He was probably talking about Olivia.”
“What about Olivia?”
“She’s in the hospital. The Senator got the call this morning. She tried to commit suicide last night.”
For a moment I was stunned and couldn’t think of anything to say.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised; this wasn’t the first time Olivia had tried to take her life.
Her first attempt had taken place not long after we’d met at Camp Peary. Then, I’d found her asleep in her car with an empty bottle of sleeping pills beside her. I’d immediately rushed her over to a nearby hospital and stayed with her until the doctors had notified me she was out of the woods.
