After Carlton recited the tag for the briefing, “Douglas Carlton, RTM Center E, Operation Peaceful Retrieval, Code 00217,” he asked Coach Thompson to update us on the status of the JRB plane.
“Kamal’s plane is headed for Caracas,” he said. “We’ve alerted Sam Wylie, our chief of station in Venezuela, and he’ll be keeping an eye on him once he lands. Hezbollah has a new base of operations in western Venezuela, and Wylie believes Kamal will go to ground there until he sees how Los Zetas reacts to Cabello’s death.”
I asked, “Were you able to get anything from the listening device Seth left in Kamal’s villa? Did you hear what Kamal said to Franco before he shot him?”
Carlton shook his head. “All we heard was the call he made to Franco. When Franco answered, Kamal recited a set of numbers, which turned out to be the serial numbers on one of the gas canisters hidden in Lorenzo’s guesthouse. I think it’s safe to say, Kamal killed Franco because of the stolen canisters. Hezbollah wants those canisters back, and Franco’s murder sends the cartel a message they mean business.”
“Will Hezbollah’s actions change the DDO’s mind about retrieving the canisters?” I asked.
“We haven’t briefed him on these new developments yet,” Carlton said. “He’s dealing with another crisis at the moment and can’t be disturbed.”
From my standpoint, I considered this good news. As long as the cartel thought they could use the canisters as leverage to ask for an exorbitant ransom payment, the more likely they would be to keep Ben alive.
Carlton looked directly at the camera and said, “I know you’re both aware Franco’s murder will have repercussions for your operation. For one thing, his absence will create a ripple effect throughout the hierarchy of the Los Zetas leadership and leave us guessing as to who’s in charge of arranging Ben’s release. This could go on for several weeks.”
Coach Thompson interjected, “We know of at least three cartel bosses who will probably try to move into Franco’s position and take over his responsibilities in the organization.”
Carlton nodded. “I had a brief conversation with C. J. Salazar a few minutes ago, and he said we should expect several months of infighting and a few dead bodies before all this plays itself out.”
“In the meantime, what happens to Ben?” Juliana asked.
“It’s possible one of Los Zetas’ other lieutenants will take over the negotiations and everything will proceed as planned. If that happens, you’ll be contacted in a few days with the final instructions, money will be exchanged, and Ben will be handed over.”
“I believe that’s possible, but not likely,” I said.
Carlton nodded. “The truth is we just don’t know. However, I want to set all this aside for a moment and brief you on a new development. It’s something Frank discovered when he was doing research on Governor Gilberto, and it has a direct bearing on any decision we make about how to proceed with Peaceful Retrieval.”
Carlton gestured over at Frank, who said, “I believe I’ve discovered where the cartel is holding Ben in El Cobre.”
Chapter 40
Benson’s explosive declaration had its desired effect, and Juliana and I both began talking at once. He smiled and pointed up at the video monitor above his head.
“It may be an overused cliché, but follow the money is sometimes very good advice. In the case of Governor Ignacio Gilberto that advice turned out to be a gold mine, as you can see here.”
The overhead screen displayed statements from a bank in the Cayman Islands for the account of Ignacio Roberto Gilberto. Although Frank spent a few minutes pointing out various deposits made to this account, he spared us the minute details and instead summarized his findings.
“With the help of Katherine and her ASA analysts, I was able to locate a private bank account for Governor Gilberto in the Cayman Islands. Once every six months, deposits are made into this account from about two dozen depositors. All the deposits originate from Cuba, most of them from Santiago.”
Benson picked up a remote mouse and aimed it at a different screen. An aerial map of the eastern coast of Cuba appeared and Benson zoomed in on Santiago. Then, he moved his laser pointer to the west a few centimeters and drew an invisible circle around an area just above El Cobre.
“Every single one of the two dozen people who are sending money to Gilberto’s bank account in the Caymans are employed by a government-controlled cooperative in this section of El Cobre. This cooperative is made up of ten coffee plantations. Collectively, they’re known as Alma de Cuba, which also happens to be the name of the coffee they sell.”
Benson glanced down at his tablet. When he slid his finger across the screen, a third image appeared on the monitor next to the map. It showed an organizational chart. Printed across the top was Alma de Cuba.
“Coffee farms in Cuba are state-owned entities. However, the Cuban government has delegated the responsibility of hiring the personnel to run the farms to each of the provincial governors. Thus, as you can see here, Alma de Cuba is headed up by Ignacio Gilberto.”
The organizational chart on the overhead monitor had Gilberto’s name at the top, with lines flowing from his name down to ten rectangles representing the ten coffee plantations in the cooperative. Each of the rectangles was numbered.
“The salaries paid to the manager and assistant manager of these coffee farms are twice as much as what an average shopkeeper might expect to make, so these are highly-prized positions. More than likely, when Governor Gilberto hires someone for one of these jobs, he lets his new employee know he expects a kickback for the privilege of being chosen to fill the position.”
Benson pointed back over to Gilberto’s bank account in the Cayman Islands. “All the deposits made to the governor’s account originate with the personnel he’s hired to run these ten coffee plantations.”
When Benson directed our attention back over to the organizational chart, he clicked his remote mouse and the names of the managers of each of the Alma de Cuba coffee plantations showed up in the ten rectangles.
Rafael Lorenzo’s name was in rectangle number ten.
* * * *
When Benson looked over at me to see my reaction, I gave him a thumbs up. He smiled and continued.
“Of course, we all know there’s no way Lorenzo is managing this coffee farm. It’s all a sham. What we believe is that Governor Gilberto is allowing Lorenzo to use the farm as a safe house for his cartel activities in exchange for his support of Santiago’s tourism industry.”
Benson pointed over to the aerial map and zoomed in on a section of El Cobre. “Here’s the location of farm number ten, which is known as Número Diez in the Alma de Cuba cooperative. A few hours ago, Coach Thompson ordered a reconnaissance satellite repositioned over Número Diez, and he said we could expect to start receiving regular images of the area by tomorrow. In the meantime, a surveillance drone was able to get us these shots.”
There were four photographs in the set of images Benson showed us. The first image displayed the layout of the coffee plantation. Rows of green coffee plants could be seen in the background, along with a couple of sheds. In the foreground were several other buildings, plus a large house. The next photograph was an image of the house by itself.
It was a sprawling one-story residence made of stucco with a red-tiled roof. From what I could tell, it was sitting on the property about two hundred yards away from a two-lane highway.
Behind the house was a barn, and the next slide was a close-up of the wooden barn. It was a weather-beaten structure with a thatched pitched roof. A tractor was parked outside the barn, and I could make out the figures of two men standing next to it.
The last image was a grouping of buildings located behind the barn. They were identical in shape and looked as if they could be housing for the plantation’s workers. Each structure wasn’t much bigger than a garden shed and stood less than twenty feet away from its neighbor.
Once Benson had finished explaining the drone footage, he gest
ured toward the camera and asked, “What do you think, Titus? Is there any doubt in your mind we’ve located the farm in El Cobre where Lorenzo is holding Ben Mitchell?”
“None whatsoever.”
* * * *
Benson was obviously pleased with my comment, and when Juliana chimed in and gave him kudos for his research, he immediately launched into an explanation of the method he’d used to achieve his results.
He didn’t get very far into his lecture before Carlton cut him off. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Frank, but I need to go over these protocols with Titus.”
“Oh, sure,” he said. “Go ahead.”
“What protocols?” I asked.
Carlton said, “Before the DDO decided to send you and Juliana to San Andros, I’d already developed a set of protocols in case we discovered where the cartel was holding Ben. Now that we have a possible location in El Cobre, I believe it’s time to send you back to Santiago and put those protocols into play.”
While I was excited to hear this news, I wondered how his plan was going to fit into the DDO’s Phase II operation. However, before I could ask the question, Juliana asked it for me.
“How will the protocols affect Phase II? I know Franco Cabello’s death will probably change things, but didn’t you say it was possible one of Los Zetas other lieutenants will take over the negotiations and everything will proceed as planned?”
“Yes, that’s what I said, and that’s the reason I’m going to continue with the Phase II operation. Give me a moment, and I’ll show you how that’s going to work.”
I was surprised to hear such a decisive tone in Carlton’s voice. It was something I hadn’t heard since the DDO had insisted on giving final approval to every aspect of Peaceful Retrieval.
As I watched Carlton walk over to a nearby console to consult with one of the support staff, I wondered if there could possibly be a correlation between his take-charge attitude and the DDO’s absence from the briefing.
Since he’d mentioned the DDO was in the midst of handling another crisis and couldn’t be disturbed, I had a feeling that meant Carlton had exercised the Lupanov option.
The Lupanov option was an Agency rule put in place in the 1980’s after the head of the Russian division wasn’t able to reach the DDO when Boris Lupanov, a KGB officer, wanted to defect. When the whole thing fell apart because the DDO was inaccessible, the Agency’s executive board had established a rule that became known as the Lupanov option.
Today, if a division head didn’t have access to the DDO, changes could be made to an operation without seeking the DDO’s approval. This was done by sending a memo to his office indicating the Lupanov option was being used. Of course, once the crisis was over and the DDO saw the memo, there might be consequences to pay.
Carlton walked back over to the center console and sat down.
“Due to Franco Cabello’s murder, I believe we have at least a few days—maybe even a little longer—before anyone in the cartel makes contact with Austin King about the final details for releasing Ben. That’s why I want you, Juliana, to remain on San Andros at the resort while Titus returns to Santiago. I’m sure it won’t seem unusual for two newlyweds to hang around their villa for several days and not be seen by anyone on the island. If you have to go out for some reason, you can always make up a story about your spouse having a stomach bug or something.”
Although Juliana didn’t express any enthusiasm about the plan, she said, “I can do that.”
Coach added, “Seth Harvey and his surveillance teams will keep an eye on your villa, and if someone from the cartel tries to make direct contact with you, he’ll be there to watch your back.”
Juliana nodded. “I have a private beach right outside my door, so, if nothing else, I can always work on my tan and download a good romance novel to read.”
Benson chimed in. “If I were you, Juliana, I’d stick to spy novels. They’re much more realistic.”
* * * *
As Carlton outlined the POA for my return to Santiago, he stressed the primary objective of my mission would be to gather intel on Número Diez.
“Once you’ve determined how we can get an operations team in there and free Ben without causing an international incident, I’ll draw up the protocols for the rescue mission,” he said.
“In that first aerial shot from the surveillance drone, I noticed there was a gas station and some other businesses on the highway before the turnoff for the coffee plantation. I’ll check them out first, maybe set up some surveillance there.”
Carlton said, “I’ve made arrangements for an Aero Caribe plane to pick you up at the San Andros Airport tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. You should be back in Santiago by midmorning.”
“What about my cover? Am I still Nacio Bandera with the Haitian National Museum?”
Carlton motioned for Coach to answer my question. “That’s right, Titus. You’ll find Nacio’s passport and a change of clothes waiting for you on the plane.”
“What about my room at the Meliã?”
“You’re still booked there. I doubt if your five-day absence has drawn much attention, but since Juliana won’t be with you, you can use her sudden case of appendicitis as the reason for your unexpected departure on Saturday.”
“What’s happening with Keith Gabriel? Is he still in Santiago?”
Coach Thompson and Carlton both smiled.
“No,” Coach said. “Keith arrived back at Langley yesterday. Rumor has it he wasn’t eager to leave Santiago, but the DDO pulled him out anyway. I have a feeling he won’t be in the game for a while since the DDO heard he was getting a little too friendly with Reina Lorenzo and—”
Carlton, who seemed to enjoy hearing Agency gossip but who always refused to pass it on himself, said, “That was just a rumor floating around. We don’t know all the facts yet.”
“Right,” Coach said. “That was just a rumor.”
* * * *
Even though Gabriel was no longer in Santiago, Coach Thompson said the surveillance teams were still watching Lorenzo’s compound, and he would alert Mark Stephens to give me any assistance I might need in setting up my own surveillance in El Cobre.
“What about Alex Nelson?” I asked. “Is he back in Havana?”
“He flew back on Tuesday,” Carlton said. “While he was in Santiago, he made arrangements to meet with Reina Lorenzo when she comes to Havana next month for a shopping excursion. That may not happen now that Cabello’s been murdered. Lorenzo may not want her to leave the compound.”
I said, “I guess that depends on whether or not he sees a connection between Cabello’s murder and his own safety. Could that be what Kamal was doing in Santiago before he flew to San Andros? Was he scouting out a hit on Lorenzo?”
“I doubt it,” Coach said. “When we sent Stephens a picture of Kamal, he said his team hadn’t seen him near Lorenzo’s compound. We know Hezbollah has a cell in Santiago, so we believe the hit on Franco was arranged from there, and that’s why Kamal was in Santiago.”
“Let’s hope Lorenzo doesn’t start thinking he’s next on Hezbollah’s hit list,” I said. “Otherwise, he might get rid of Ben and go to ground somewhere.”
Juliana said, “Lorenzo might use the farm in El Cobre as a safe house. Think how hard it was for us to find it.”
“Speaking of Número Diez,” I said, “I believe Ben was trying to tell us about Number Ten in the photographs they took of him. That had to be why he was holding the newspaper in such an odd way.”
Frank said, “Could I just point out a few more facts about Número Diez that might be relevant here?”
When Carlton nodded, he continued. “The other coffee plantations in the Alma de Cuba cooperative are far more productive than Número Diez. In fact, their output is twice as much. What’s interesting is that Número Diez employs twice as many workers.”
I said, “Maybe they’re not all farm workers. If Lorenzo’s farm is anything like his compound, he probably has security guards all ov
er the property.”
Frank shook his head. “I don’t know, Titus. I couldn’t see much security on the drone footage.”
Coach said, “We’ll know more about the farm’s security when we get the reconnaissance photographs back from our satellite surveillance. We should have those images by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.”
“By that time, I’ll be at Número Diez myself,” I said, “and I should be able to give you a firsthand account.”
“I assume you mean you’ll be in the vicinity of Número Diez and not actually at that location,” Carlton said.
“Of course, that’s exactly what I meant.”
* * * *
As soon as we went offline with the Ops Center, Juliana immediately expressed her disappointment she wouldn’t be going back to Santiago with me and would have to remain behind in San Andros.
“I understand why it has to be this way,” she said, “but I don’t have to like it.”
“I get that. I know you wanted to be part of the operation to rescue Ben, but the role you play here will be just as important.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Despite my effort to make her feel better, she didn’t look any happier, and I thought I knew why.
As she began disassembling the devices attached to her laptop, I said, “You know, Juliana, once Ben is free, I’d suggest the two of you sit down and talk about the argument you had the night he left the safe house. I know from personal experience guilt can make your life miserable.”
She stared at me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Her voice sounded tense, and I realized I was skating pretty close to the boundaries of our relationship.
I figured if I wasn’t careful, I’d slip and tumble over the edge.
I skated a little closer.
“It means if you want to stop feeling guilty about Ben’s kidnapping, then the two of you need to discuss whatever it was you were arguing about that night, because that’s the only way you’ll stop blaming yourself for what happened to Ben.”
Four Months in Cuba Page 33