“Yes, sir.” Shunang looked Ma in the eyes. “You realize, of course, that it would be better if for now the assassin or assassins believed they had succeeded.”
“Of course. That goes without saying.” Ma smiled. “It’s all just part of the larger plan I have to track the ferret straight into its lair. And when we have found them out, I will make them pay.”
Istanbul, Turkey
“I THOUGHT MY orders were clear!” Colonel Alan Bindler snapped as he dropped his fist on his desk.
Major Nestor Maxwell jumped in spite of himself. He stood at attention in front of Bindler, eyes focused straight ahead. “They were clear, sir.”
Bindler shook his head and came around the desk. He stood about three inches shorter than Maxwell, but he had a commanding air and intensity about him that could intimidate most others regardless of size or even rank. Bindler had seen action on five separate continents and spent more time in a hot LZ than the average combat Marine. It was this experience that had seen him promoted through the ranks so quickly, and his unswerving abilities to command in even the most inhospitable regions with great promise that landed him a premium position of the Marine guard detail at a major consulate.
“So then maybe you’d care to explain why our people were involved in a high-speed pursuit of some unidentified party in Kirklareli instead of being here in Istanbul looking for Ms. Serif!”
“You asked us to investigate and that’s where the trail led, sir.”
“I ordered you to operate under the radar!” Bindler said. He began to pace around the room. “You assured me that you’d select guys who could be subtle. Chasing assassins through crowded Turkish streets is not subtle, Major Maxwell!”
“Sir, our latching on to this guy came quite accidentally. We were pursuing the one lead we had, and it just turned out that somebody got to that lead first.”
“And what lead is that?”
“It was one that Serif had noted in her reports. Just a notation, really, but we thought it had enough merit it might give us some answers as to her whereabouts.”
Bindler stopped pacing and stared at his adjutant. It wasn’t really Maxwell’s fault, but the shit rolled downhill. He’d promised Brognola that he’d let Stone handle any such operations, and the men under his command had unwittingly caused him to break that promise, not to mention their efforts could have caused an international incident if they’d been caught and detained by local authorities in Kirklareli.
“At ease, Max.” Bindler gestured toward a chair. “Take a seat.”
Maxwell did as ordered and then Bindler dropped into the other chair directly across from him. “Okay, so relax and speak freely. Tell me what you found out.”
“Well, Serif had mentioned the possibility that the Council of Luminárii could be composed of representatives from multiple intelligence agencies.”
“So why Kirklareli? What lead were you pursuing?”
Maxwell reached down to the attaché case he’d brought with him and withdrew a candy-stripe-edged file folder. Bindler took the classified file, opened it and saw a large black-and-white photograph of a lean Asian man in his early forties.
“That picture was taken a few months ago when Ms. Serif was on an excursion in Kirklareli.”
Bindler shook his head. “I never authorized any trip to that city. How did she manage it?”
“Vacation time, apparently.”
Bindler thought on that for a moment and nodded. Of course, Serif had dual citizenship, so she could move easily around the country without any problems. She spoke the language, knew all of the customs, and was the daughter of a Turkish citizen in good standing. In fact, it was Serif’s ties with her father—a former government employee within one of the ruling political parties—that many had viewed could be a potential liability to consulate operations. Bindler hadn’t seen it that way. He’d considered it to their advantage and had even recommended extending Serif’s duty assignment because of that fact. Her intelligence and connections in the country had more than once proved invaluable to maintaining diplomatic security.
“Okay, so I admit to remembering she took vacation at that time,” Bindler said. He shook his head with regret. “She told me she was going to tour some of the country with her father.”
“Which she did,” Maxwell said.
“But she was always the rebel and a consummate analyst.”
“I wouldn’t get down on yourself, Al,” Maxwell said, feeling a bit more comfortable now and more casual. With a horrific afterthought he said, “I mean ‘sir.’”
Bindler smiled. “Forget about it, Max. And forget about what I said before. Just consider that you stepped on your dick and you took your ass-chewing for it. Far as I’m concerned, it’s now forgotten and we should concentrate on damage control.”
“Thanks, sir.” Maxwell shook his head and shrugged. “But there really wasn’t any damage done. The team is safely back in Istanbul now and nobody’s the wiser. And we have a lot more information than we did before, something that might actually put us closer to blowing this thing wide open.”
“So tell me about this character.”
“We’ve identified him as Quon Ma, a high-ranker inside the Chinese Ministry of State Security. Serif’s notes, which I’ve provided along with that picture, indicate that Ma could be a member on the Council.”
“Analysis?”
“Well, Sargent believes that if Serif was right about Amocacci and Ma being a part of this group, and they both have professional experience with intelligence groups, the Council could well be composed of members in other international intelligence agencies. Specifically, she included China, Italy and the Russian GRU.”
Bindler swore under his breath. “That’s bad.”
“It’s real bad if true.”
“But even if Serif’s right and there is something to all of this, it still doesn’t explain to what end. If the entire purpose of this group is to disrupt U.S. intelligence efforts, as we’ve been led to understand, in what way does it benefit them?”
“Well, it does strengthen the intelligence assets of anyone who’s involved with the Council. It would also give them a better tactical advantage. Nearly every one of these intelligence agencies employs less than legit means to create hostilities in foreign countries. That sort of instability can make a country a hotbed for intelligence-gathering efforts.”
“Assuming something about the country poses some credible threat to the parties in question,” Bindler replied. “And now we have an intelligence group involved in this that I’m guessing doesn’t even exist.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s nothing,” Bindler said. “At least nothing I can talk about, which brings me to let you know about something else. We’re going to have help from Washington arriving shortly to take charge of the operation to find Serif. And when we’ve located her, if we’ve located her, they’ll be the ones to actually do the extraction.”
Maxwell didn’t look happy at that announcement. “Okay. So I take it someone in DC passed this down. I don’t suppose you can tell me who?”
“You’re correct. Suffice it to say that the orders were...not open to interpretation. They were very clear, very direct, and I was led to understand in no uncertain terms the consequences of being creative about them.”
“No wiggle room?”
“Not one inch.”
Maxwell clenched his teeth and sucked air through them. “Okay, I get the picture. We’ll cooperate fully with them when they arrive.”
“Not them—him.”
“One man?”
“That’s right, and he’s a full bird with the DIA, so you’re to give him the same courtesy you would show me. He has full authority in this matter.”
“But...this is your command, sir!”
Bindler
waved it off although it made him swell with pride to know that Maxwell had his back. “This consulate is actually a delegation of the State Department. At the end of the day, they run the diplomatic show. And to tell you the truth, I’m actually a bit relieved by it. This is really is the kind of job that’s better handled by someone with the expertise in special operations. I’m just in charge of Marine security.”
“Yeah, a job that’s vitally important to continued smooth operations at this consulate. We’re on United States’ soil. We’ve all seen what can happen when security breaks down at a U.S. Consulate. Has everyone forgotten Benghazi?”
“That’s entirely different and you know it,” Bindler replied. “Now I’m telling you, Max, my ass is riding on the line with this one. You will extend full courtesy to Colonel Stone and you will follow his orders to the letter just as if they were my own. Are we clear?”
“Clear, sir.”
The intercom buzzed on Bindler’s desk.
“Yes?”
“Sir,” the secretary announced, “Colonel Stone has arrived.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Colonel Stone? Alan Bindler.” Bindler extended his hand and Bolan shook it. Bindler then pointed to Maxwell and introduced him. “My adjutant.”
Maxwell saluted smartly, which Bolan returned with equal deference, and then the pair shook hands. “It’s a pleasure, sir. Welcome to Turkey.”
Bolan nodded. After all three had taken a seat, the Executioner began, “I want it clear up front I have no desire to interfere with whatever you’ve got going here as it concerns security, Colonel Bindler. This is your show and it remains your show. My only concern is the safe return of Alara Serif. I feel she’s the key to cracking this recent breach in our intelligence network and the upper echelon in Wonderland agrees.”
“As do we,” the colonel replied. “In fact, Max here was just telling me about something we stumbled upon recently. Max?”
The major handed Bolan a classified folder and as Bolan opened it to leaf through the contents, he said, “Ms. Serif may have been on to something. The man in that photograph is—”
“General Quon Ma,” Bolan said mechanically. “Former Chinese military and now a top foreign intelligence agent with the MSS.”
Maxwell made a show of trying to keep his jaw from dropping.
“I see you’re informed,” Bindler said, seeing Maxwell’s reaction.
“Yeah,” Bolan said. He looked at Maxwell. “And I apologize for cutting you off, Major, but I didn’t want to waste your time by having you tell me something I already knew.”
“No problem, sir,” Maxwell said.
Bolan saw the brief silent exchange of knowing looks that passed between Maxwell and Bindler. He said, “Colonel, I assume by the fact you’re in possession of this photograph that your people may have inadvertently overstepped the parameters of your orders from Washington not to pursue this matter above a cursory investigation.”
“It’s possible we might have tripped a trigger or two, yes.”
“Then let me be the first to assure you that I don’t care about that,” Bolan said. “The way I see it, you’re more familiar with this territory than I am, not to mention with whatever else Serif might have uncovered.”
“What are you trying to get at, sir?” Maxwell asked.
“I’m telling you that I’d prefer to use your extensive resources to help me with this case rather than risk us working at cross purposes. I just came from a very bad situation in Central America... I can see from the surprise on your faces you didn’t realize it went that deep.”
“How the hell could anything that far away tie back to what’s going on here?” Bindler asked.
“Because this Council of Luminárii would appear to have that kind of reach,” Bolan replied. “I was told you read the after-action reports of all three of the missions in question. Those ops occurred all over the globe. That’s a pretty significant reach. They even used a faction of the Islamic Brotherhood to sucker a U.S. military unit into a trap. Every man in that unit was killed. I saw the bodies with my own eyes. These people are responsible for the murder of a lot of U.S. service personnel. These were good people. I plan to make sure someone answers for that.”
“Well, it would seem somebody is one step ahead of you on that count, sir,” Maxwell said.
Bolan frowned. “Meaning?”
“While we were following up on Serif’s lead to this Quon Ma, somebody tried to assassinate him.”
“In fact, they didn’t try—they succeeded,” Bindler added. “And now we’re trying to figure out who and why.”
“I may have the answer,” Bolan said. “Or at least why it came about. I ran into somebody that seemed to know everything about the Council. They even managed to capture me while I was trying to sidestep the trap their connection inside the U.S. military arranged. It didn’t pan out well for him, either. As soon as they captured me, they killed their military insider. Tying up loose ends. I knew by virtue of the fact they didn’t kill me outright that they had to be informed I wasn’t really part of the DIA.”
“So you got them to play along,” Bindler said. “Nice work, Colonel.”
Bolan nodded in way of thanks before continuing. “Once I got inside and allowed them to interrogate me, I put my alternate cover in place. That cover was verified. It was a cover as a spy with the NSA and, near as I can tell, it remains solid.”
“But you managed to escape,” Maxwell said. “How does that help us now?”
“Since the cover remains intact and since they know I know about their operation, it only makes sense I’d try to approach them. I figure the information is going to get back to the Council. Now that I’ve escaped, I become a liability to their operations.”
Clarity seemed to fall upon Bindler as his face lit up. “Unless you can convince them you’re actually worth more to their efforts alive than dead.”
Bolan grinned. “Right.”
“So...you’re saying that you planted that whole story from the beginning,” Maxwell said. “But how did you know it would pay off?”
“I didn’t,” Bolan said. “I was only playing a hunch. The way I saw it, if they were setting a trap for me with the intent of killing me, they had plenty of opportunities to do it. Instead, they went out of their way to capture me at some significant cost. And they even threatened to terminate me once I revealed my knowledge about the Council. But whoever was running the show in Central America didn’t have the authority to just kill me outright. That bought my people enough time to get inside and extract me.”
“But if they were planning to kill you,” Bindler said, “wouldn’t contacting them now just give them an opportunity to try again?”
“Under other circumstances, yeah,” Bolan replied. “But in this case I’m guessing this is the break they’ve been hoping for. You see, up until now, it’s obvious they haven’t been able to turn a U.S. intelligence asset. Their group is incomplete. I think they’re trying to destabilize U.S. military intelligence operations. So far, they’ve managed to pull off a few small-time jobs. But imagine how much more impact they could have if they actually knew someone high up with inside secrets.”
“We’d considered that,” Bindler said. “But what we haven’t been able to figure out is why they want to do it at all. What does it buy them?”
“That’s simple. Power. Consider the purpose of U.S. military intelligence. It’s to provide our armed forces with a tactical advantage over its enemies. Any way they can find to weaken that network would give their own countries more power and a greater footprint in the military community. They could predict our moves and countermoves, and adjust their own military strategy accordingly.”
“But why would countries like Italy or China want to risk all-out conflict with the United States?” Maxwell said. “That’s suici
de!”
“It’s not about making open war with the United States. It’s about making U.S. military might less effective. Imagine the advantage it would give other countries if they were able to predict with some certainty our most secret military operational capacity. Military intelligence is more than just the keeping of military secrets. It’s about signals intelligence, new technology and capabilities within the defense industrial complex, and increasing our protective force capabilities against terrorists. Compromising military intelligence weakens the effectiveness of our nation as a whole on a grand scale. It reduces our political influence, as well, leaving gaps these other countries can step into.”
“But why would the particular countries choose to work together? For example, there’s no benefit in an alliance between Italy and China.”
“Maybe not one we can see or understand,” Bolan said. “But that doesn’t mean just because we’re blind to them they don’t exist.”
“Let’s suppose there are other intelligence agents from a variety of countries involved. Each would have something significant to gain by just such an alliance. And it would give them a way to weaken the U.S.”
“So this could be about retribution of some kind,” Bindler remarked.
Bolan splayed his hands. “Possibly. Why not? It’s no secret the general opinion about the U.S. these days isn’t terribly favorable. They view us little more than thugs for the United Nations, as the world police that go unchallenged because of our significant fiscal and international resources. To destabilize our military might is to destabilize our country, and gives others the chance to slide into the number-one slot.”
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