“He has a history lesson for me,” Wakefield said. “Ron, the ride’s at the halfway point. Hurry this along.”
“Fast forward to October. The cease-fire is in place and holding. Everything in the region is quiet. Then the multiagency taskforce, of which the CIA is a member, gets word about an article that’ll be published in USA Today about Putin having an army of computer hackers. What happens next? Even before the article shows up in the paper, reports start coming out of the Ukraine that the Russians are supplying the rebels. Then we hear rumors that Moscow is at the head of the pipeline of arms into Eastern Ukraine. The cease-fire is almost broken. NATO is fielding reports of Russian troops amassing along the Ukrainian border. Russia is denying each report, countering with reports of pro-Nationalist Ukrainian forces active in the Sevastopol area.”
“Yes, yes, enough. We get it. It’s mass confusion,” Wakefield said.
“Exactly,” I said. “It’s mass confusion. And all eyes are focused on the Ukraine.”
“What are you implying?” Wakefield asked. “Everything happening in the Ukraine is one big distraction?”
“Not everything,” Val answered. “Putin got what he wanted when he wrestled control of the Black Sea Fleet away from the new western-leaning Nationalist Ukrainian government. He couldn’t give a damn about anything else. The rest is all smoke and mirrors.”
“Distracting us from what?” Wakefield asked.
“From the army of hackers he has under his control,” Leecy answered.
“You’ve got three minutes. Spit it out.”
“Take everything we’ve discussed as one connected event, not separate events, but all as part of a plan: Tia, the device, the events in the Ukraine, and the article alleging the army of hackers. It starts to come together.”
“I’m not seeing it.”
“The world worries over the Ukraine and all the while, Putin’s making ready his army of hackers. Jenny told me Russians were trying to buy the MI5 components from her before she turned them over to Tia. Maybe when the Russians failed to acquire the computers, they tracked the sale to Tia’s location, planted the device, and learned about Tia and what she does. Now, what I do know is that she’s made a deal, and what if that deal is to be a part of the rumored army of Russian hackers? She said she’d soon have more computing power. It fits.”
“The ride is over. Let’s continue this outside.”
The car stopped, and the attendant pulled the door open. “Thank you,” Val said, and we followed her out of the car.
Wakefield was walking toward the exit in silence, absorbing all the information, then asked, “Is she really that good at what she does?”
“We’ve seen her in action,” Leecy said. “She showed us her work and, like Dad said, even boasted that in less than forty-eight hours, she’d be in a position to do more harm.”
“That’s right,” Val said, agreeing with Leecy. “I almost forgot. She did say that.”
“It all adds up,” I said. “She’s got enough computing power to complete the hack and bring down a big banking firm. All the pieces will be in place in forty-eight hours. And by then, she could be the head of the Russian hacker army. Question is, what do you want to do about it?”
“I’ll have to call this in,” Wakefield said. “Till then, I want you three to be at the meeting at the train station. I’ll post Ryan, Hodges, and Franks nearby, and we’ll take Tia down when she tries to leave. Once she’s in custody, we’ll breech CCP and confiscate her equipment. I’ll inform Langley of our plan, and should have the go ahead well in advance of tonight’s meeting with Tia.”
“You don’t want to know who she’s working with on this thing, or at least, what’s going to change in the next forty-eight hours?” I asked. “I think that’s a pretty big piece of the puzzle, don’t you?”
“All I can do is inform the higher ups and see how they want to proceed, but I can tell you now, I doubt they’ll grant us any more latitude, considering the hypothesis you’ve just shared with me. We were already out on a limb when we left Jenny to pursue this hacking thing in Cologne. They made it clear to me they want this wrapped up nice and neat. What you’re suggesting is anything but that.”
“What happened to finishing things?” I asked.
“Ron, not now, all right? Let me make the call. That’s it, end of discussion. Anything else to add?”
“Nothing important,” Leecy said, “other than Laird and his hired help have an interesting way of getting people to do what they want them to do.”
“Bad experience?” Wakefield asked.
“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Leecy answered.
“What does that mean, Leecy?”
“There was an incident, but nothing to worry about. Laird’s people cleaned it up.”
“What?” Wakefield fumed. “Hold on.” She placed a hand on my chest to stop me from walking past her. “What did you do, Ron?”
“It was him or me,” I said, catching Leecy’s eye and shaking my head slightly, signaling for her to let me take the fall, “I did what I had to do.”
“I warned you, Ron,” she said, walking away a few steps before turning back to face me. “Damn it. I can’t believe this. I’ll be lucky to be manning a desk in Reykjavik, considering Ryan blew up a building on a Russian Naval base and now you’ve gone and killed someone. Don’t you realize the trouble we’re in?”
“Well,” Leecy blurted out, “the next time a two hundred fifty-pound man that looks like the Hulk has his arms wrapped around you and is told he can do with you as he likes before he kills you, you can handle it your way! I handled this one my way.”
“What? What are you saying? You did it? You killed a man? Is that what I’m to understand? Do you think taking the blame for your father is the best career choice you can make right now?”
“He was trying to take the blame for me,” Leecy corrected her boss. “I’m telling you, I did it, not my dad.”
“Listen to me,” Wakefield said, so calmly that it sent chills down my spine, “no more killing. We’re to apprehend the targets and bring them back to the US for questioning and sentencing. Those are my orders, thus they’re your orders, and they come from the top. Leecy, when the mission is over, and quite possibly before it’s over, you’ll be notified of any sanctions against you. Until such time as I receive those sanctions, consider yourself on disciplinary suspension.”
“And tonight?” Leecy asked.
“You’re expected. Can’t have you as a no show; it might make Tia suspicious.”
“Roger that, but…”
Tammy, smiling that smile of hers and crowding Leecy’s personal space, said, “Not another word. I mean it. Don’t utter another syllable. You three report to the hotel ASAP. That’s an order, and I expect you to follow it.”
Looking at my daughter, I couldn’t remember a time I was more proud of her. Then I saw Ryan cresting the hill behind her. He was running toward us holding something.
“Communication down or something?” he asked, stopping next to Tammy. “I thought you guys were coming back online once you left the ride. What gives? We’re not receiving any of your transmissions.” He handed her the SAT phone he was carrying. “Langley’s trying to reach you.”
“Interesting,” Tammy said, turning and taking the phone from Ryan. She grabbed him by the arm as she did so, pulling him alongside as she walked away. “We powered up when we left the cable car. I tell you what, go find Zach and have him run diagnostics on our earpieces,” she ordered. “Then have him, Franks, and Hodges report to my suite. I need to prep all of you for a seven o’clock at the train station.”
“I’m primary, I hope.”
“We’ll cover that in the meeting. For now, round everyone up and let’s get out of here. We don’t have a lot of time.” She looked at her watch. “Just five hours till the meet.” Releasing her grip on his arm, Ryan ran ahead. Tammy stopped walking. Turning around, she looked at the three of us as she began to speak into the SAT phon
e.
“Go for Wakefield.”
*
We were assembled in the hotel room, staring at the TV screen displaying an overhead view of the Cologne train station. Pointing at the satellite view, Tammy began.
“Franks, I want you positioned inside the north entrance, but just inside the entrance with a clear view of the run up to the station. Make certain you can see all the way to the roundabout and Hodges’ position.”
“Roger that, boss,” Franks said.
“Hodges,” Tammy said, pointing at the screen, “I want you here, positioned on the northeast corner of the roundabout looking toward the entrance of the station. From here, you’ll have a clear line of sight along the exterior of the building and of all the approaching vehicles.”
“Will do.”
“Ryan.”
“Yes, boss.”
“Your position is the most critical. I want you here,” she said, indicating the elevated platform inside the train station.
“What? You want me inside the train station? Why so far from the action?”
“Look,” she said, pointing at the screen just left of the northern entrance. “This is the cab and bus designated area. The buses block our line of sight on the ground. That’s why I need you to make your way to the platform overlooking that area. If the Grangers venture toward the bus loading and unloading area, you’ll have a bird’s eye view. Got it?”
“Why not just have me take up position in the bus area, then?”
“Because you won’t be able to see anything. You’ll be trapped inside a maze of buses.”
“Okay, fine, but I want to…”
Wakefield cut him off, saying over the ringing of her SAT phone, “All complaints in writing and in triplicate.”
After a few minutes of listening to Tammy say ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir,’ she ended the call.
“We’ve been ordered to take Tia down tonight. A CIA computer forensics team will be on the ground before midnight with Interpol Station Chief Leeds. Once they’re in place and ready to go, we’ll coordinate with them, making the arrest and helping with removal of any and all hardware in use inside CCP. Got it?”
“And Jenny?” I asked.
“She’s in the clear, but back on the CIA radar. We’ll be keeping tabs on her activities once again. Both agencies are looking for a reason to take her down.”
“And what about whatever it is Tia’s into, and who she’s working with?”
“The consensus coming out of Langley is by bringing down Tia and her operation here in Cologne, we stop whatever else is in the works. Tia’s the lynch pin holding the entire scheme together. We stop her, everything you suggested might happen, Ron, never gets started. It all ends. Game over.”
“That’s a mistake. We should follow this to its source.”
“Not going to happen, so let it go. Now, back to the mission tonight. Ron,” Tammy said, pointing at the screen, “I want you three and Ryan arriving at the location for the meeting from inside the train station. This accomplishes two things. First, if Tia’s watching, she doesn’t see where you three came from, and second, it gets Ryan inside the station and on the platform area with ease.”
“Agreed,” I said.
“I don’t want you three engaging the target any longer than it takes to get the money and walk away. Don’t give her a reason to suspect anything. Understand? While all that’s going on, I’ll be coordinating with the inbound team and formulating a plan of action for the takedown.”
“We understand,” Val said.
“Any questions?” Tammy asked, looking around the room. “None? Good, that’s the way I like it. In addition to monitoring the communications, Zach will be following up on a hunch Granger has. He’ll be looking for Tia at the train station and the airport last night.”
“Why?” Ryan asked.
“Ron,” Zach began, “thinks Tia went somewhere last night, and I’m going to confirm or deny it.”
“Telling us what, exactly?”
“The thought is, if we know where she went, we find out who she met with.”
“Well good luck wasting your time looking for that needle in a hay stack.”
“Be that as it may,” Tammy said, “I’ll be monitoring here with Zach, calling the shots and awaiting your safe return. Franks, you and Hodges drop the Grangers and Ryan at the closest station, then get into position. And as always, remember your mobiles and, if things go sideways, your emergency protocols.”
“Yes, boss,” Franks said.
“Let’s go,” Tammy said over her ringing SAT phone. “You’ve got your assignments.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE TRAIN STATION
THE TRAIN PULLED INTO Cologne’s central station, and I heard, “Franks, here. All clear, and no sign of the target or the Grangers,” in my ear.
“Hodges in position. I have a visual on Franks inside the station. So far, so good.”
“We’re here,” I said, exiting the train, following Leecy and Val down the stairs to the main concourse. “Making our way to the northern entrance.”
Descending the stairs from the arrival platform, I could feel the energy of the crowd as if the station itself was alive. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, we waded into the river of bodies passing in front of us. The surge of people moving south through the station engulfed us, separating and pushing us in the wrong direction, forcing me to fight against the tide of stampeding bodies and the smell of body odor and cigarette smoke. I felt like a lone salmon swimming upstream.
Remaining calm at first, saying “excuse me” and “pardon,” easing my way through the crowd, I realized the energy of the pack fed on politeness, and would soon be feasting on my trampled carcass. I pushed my way past several business travelers unwilling to yield the right of way, and said, “Follow me.” I looked back, expecting to see Leecy, but instead, saw no one I recognized.
I froze in the middle of the tight hall, and the sea of bodies parted and flowed around me undeterred. Searching the crowd, I looked for Leecy and Valerie. Seeing neither of them anywhere, I joined the surge of people moving south, hoping they had just been swept away by the current. Reaching the southern exit of the train station, I walked into the plaza, turning and looking toward the entrance. They were nowhere in sight.
“Leecy, Val, report your location.”
No response.
“Anyone with eyes on Leecy or Val?” I asked.
“No,” echoed in my ear.
“What’s wrong?” Wakefield asked.
“Rush hour crowd separated us. I’ve lost them.”
“No you haven’t,” Leecy said. “We got knocked around a bit, and when no one was responding to our transmissions, realized our earpieces had been inadvertently turned off somehow. Probably from all the jostling we took. But we’re fine. We’re inside the station next to the ticketing kiosk.”
“On my way,” I said.
“Good,” Franks said, “’cause I’ve got eyes on Tia. She’s approaching on foot from the north.”
“Grangers passing your three o’clock now,” Hodges advised.
“I’ve got them, too,” Franks said. “They’re just inside the entrance, moving toward Tia. Should have contact in ten seconds.”
“I can’t see anything,” Ryan added. “I’m moving for better sight lines.”
“All hold,” Wakefield said. “Don’t move.”
“We have contact,” Hodges informed.
“I don’t see any money,” Leecy said by way of greeting. “So, I guess we go to work for your daddy, now.”
Smiling at us, Tia responded. “I can’t carry forty pounds of cash. That’s almost half my body weight.”
“So where’s the money?”
“Easy,” Tia said, smiling. “It’s closer than you think. Follow me.”
“Tia’s walking away to her left,” Hodges said. “Grangers are following her.”
“Looks like she’s headed for the bus parking,” Franks added.
“Roger that,” Hodges said. “That’s exactly where she’s headed, but I’ll lose her in fifteen seconds behind a wall of buses.”
“Ryan,” Wakefield said, “she’s all yours. Call the game.”
“Yeah, I, uh, don’t have them yet.”
“They should be directly under you by now,” Hodges said.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve got them. They’re at the bus park.”
“What else?” Wakefield asked.
“Umm, I, uh, don’t…”
“Damn it, Ryan. You moved, didn’t you?”
“I was trying to get a better sight line, and I…”
Interrupting Ryan, Wakefield said, “Franks, do you have eyes on them?”
“Hold one. Moving for a better view. Yeah, I see them. They’re standing near the buses. It looks like they’re talking, but I’m not picking up anything on my earpiece.”
“Me, either,” Wakefield said. “Zach, what’s happening?”
“I’m picking up the same jamming signal I picked up at CCP. She must be carrying a portable RFI jammer.”
“Damn it. Get moving, Franks. I need eyes on the Grangers.”
“I’m almost in position, boss,” Franks said. “I’m running between the buses where I saw…”
Then silence.
“Ryan, Hodges, get in there. We’ve lost Franks’ transmission,” Wakefield ordered. “Get in there. Franks, do you read me, Franks? Ron? Valerie? Leecy, do you read me?”
Silence.
“Granger,” Wakefield said. “Come in. Report.”
Silence.
“Hodges,” Wakefield said. “Ryan, come in.” Looking at Zach, she asked, “What’s happened to our communications?”
“She’s jammed everything now,” Zach answered.
“But how? Damn it.” Wakefield paced back and forth inside the hotel suite. “Call Hodges on his mobile. Put it on speaker.”
“Hodges here.”
“Franks?” Wakefield asked.
“Dead.”
“Tia? Grangers?”
“Caught sight of a black Mercedes speeding away as I arrived on scene. I think she was inside. She’s gone. A white cargo van was speeding away ahead of the sedan. I think it’s safe to assume the Grangers were inside the van. What do you want me to do about Franks?”
Bloody Truth: A Granger Spy Novel Page 11