Lethal Authority (Wade Hanna Series Book 2)

by Joseph D'Antoni

  Wade concluded that there had to be a better way to spend his time. It hadn’t been a complete loss, however, because he now had a sense of the neighborhood and how the cross streets intersected Adam Roy. Someone was laying out serious cash for a safe house in this neighborhood – if in fact he was in the right neighborhood.

  After driving the area, Wade refocused his attention on finding a hotel. Two hotels recommended by the copilot made sense to Wade. They were in the right area, but he wanted something he could get in and out of quickly. He came across a small motel a few streets off one of the main streets in the area. It was a little run down, but he liked that it was single story and had two street entrances off quiet side streets.

  He parked and approached the receptionist for a room and took the weekly reduced-rate special. After checking in, he hauled his backpack and sea bag to his room. His luggage contained his disassembled SIG Sauer P-220 with an extended threaded barrel for the silencer. He assembled his gun and checked to see if the first round had ejected into the chamber.

  After laying out his clothes, weapons, and disguises, he left the motel grounds for a brisk walk to stretch his legs and get a bite to eat. He walked toward the water and passed a newspaper stand on the way. He strode the three remaining blocks to the beach and stopped to cross a busy street, savoring the beautiful white sand, colorful umbrellas, and bronze bodies dotting the landscape. With no dining recommendations, Wade followed his nose for a few blocks to a restaurant with a delectable fragrance of cooking food that he just couldn’t pass up. It was now approaching 4:00 pm, and he hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

  He randomly chose dishes with unfamiliar local names. The delicious meal of conch ceviche, local broiled lobster tails, black beans, rice, and plantains was fit for a tropical king. Once he’d finished his meal he sat back and turned his attention to the newspaper.

  Two articles on the front page described the upcoming war games. Details regarding the upcoming ceremonies to be held in the new capital of Belmopan and on Ambergris Caye were listed along with the names of dignitaries speaking at those venues. One of the scheduled speakers was the Prime Minister of Belize. Other senior diplomats from the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia were also mentioned along with admirals, vice-admirals, and embassy officials from participating countries.

  Wade turned to the classified section and drew the paper closer to read the fine print. Two of the house rental listings indicated they were in the Belama area. The same real estate company and agent kept appearing among the rental listings for the area.

  Two of the rental listings indicated an address with the warning “Do Not Disturb Occupants - Drive by Only.” He tore out that section of the paper, folded it, and tucked it in his pocket. Despite the waitress’s wonderful description of dessert, Wade couldn’t bear the thought of more food.

  Once he left the restaurant Wade turned away from the beautiful ocean view and took up a brisk pace back to the motel. He was anxious to check out the two rental listings he found. The drive to the first house was short. It had open, airy windows that went right up to the sidewalk facing the street. Wade quickly eliminated that house as a prospect because of the exposure to the street.

  He drove to the second house and liked what he saw. This house had all the right features that the first house lacked. Momentarily he saw an open parking spot, where he watched the house for an hour, making notes on its potential use as a safe house. The rental sign was still out front, but there were no signs of people or activities. He considered breaking in for a closer look but decided against it. Instead, he returned to his motel and called the listing agent, who happened to be the same person mentioned in other listings. Her name was Elizabeth Barr, and he hoped she might provide some useful information.

  “This is Elizabeth.”

  “Ms. Barr, this is Marvin Baylif. I was down here a month ago with my wife, and we looked at a house for rent in the Belama area that we really liked, and hoped to rent again. but I seem to have lost my notes and can’t find the address. I need to know if it’s still available for rent.”

  There was silence on the phone while Ms. Barr racked her brain, trying to remember the listings she had a month ago.

  “I had a four-bedroom house available around that time, but that one has already been rented.”

  “Do you recall the address of that house, just so I don’t keep chasing my notes?”

  “Yes, the address was 501 Adam Roy Avenue.”

  “I think that might be the one my wife liked. Do you know how long it will be, before it becomes available?”

  “It’s rented for three months, but the gentleman who rented it is from Panama, and hasn’t been by to pick up the keys yet.”

  “Ms. Barr, I’m just down here for a few days before I have to return to the States. If the house is still vacant, would you be willing to give me a quick tour of that house? That way I’ll be able to tell my wife I found the house she likes. If that’s the one, perhaps you could jot down my name and give me a call when it’s available. I promise I won’t take up much of your time. I just need a quick look inside to refresh my memory.”

  “I can set it up right now. How about three o’clock tomorrow afternoon?”

  “That would be perfect.”

  The agent was standing in the doorway when Wade arrived. He approached looking like an ugly American tourist with money. His disguise included a wig, dark sunglasses, straw hat, bright patterned Hawaiian shirt, and Bermuda shorts. He enhanced his disguise with a distinct Texas accent—sounding much like a used-car salesman.

  Wade walked under the walled arch past the heavily-timbered yard gate to greet Ms. Barr with a smile. He was keenly aware of every detail of his surroundings, reinforcing his belief this would make an ideal safe house for covert operations. The seven-foot-high stucco wall protected a thirty-foot perimeter of interior courtyard before reaching the house itself, offering an excellent kill zone.

  The entrance gave Wade the feeling of walking through the walls of an old Spanish fort. The house itself was modern--a combination of contemporary Spanish and mid-century design. Narrow vertical glass windows that opened at the top would allow air to circulate without inviting outside interest. In Wade’s mind, the place was a virtual fortress, and would’ve been his first choice for a safe house. In fact, by then he was convinced that it was exactly where Mashburn would’ve set up housekeeping.

  Ms. Barr waited at the front door and greeted Wade like they were old friends. He returned her smile then followed her into the well-appointed kitchen. As she passed the center island, she set her red purse on the counter. A ring of four sets of keys fell with a metallic clank, to the side of her purse, catching Wade’s attention. Small tags confirmed his suspicion that every key fit the lock of this house, and the number of keys probably indicated the number of people who would be staying there.

  Wade moved slowly around the kitchen, checking in drawers and turning knobs on appliances. He took out a few utensils like a seasoned cook might inspect in a kitchen. His comments showed interest and attention to detail. “The kitchen seems well equipped.”

  Ms. Barr quickly responded. “It comes fully furnished by the landlord who had a professional chef furnish it.”

  “Does the place come with bed linens, bath towels, and tableware?”

  “Yes, it comes fully furnished. It also includes maid and garden service. It also has central air conditioning, which you’ll come to appreciate. It can get pretty hot down here during the day. In the evening we get the cooler ocean breezes that bring the temperatures down.”

  Wade wanted the agent to be relaxed with his questions, hoping to get more information about his true objective.

  “I’ve noticed the nice evening breezes here. They’re very pleasant. How often does the maid come?”

  “She’s scheduled to come twice a week. There’s an extra charge if she comes more often than that.”

  Wade hoped to find out more about the occupants as he finished his tour
of the kitchen.

  “I think twice a week would be fine for just my wife and me. We may have a relative come down while we’re here, though. Is the twice-a-week service the norm?”

  “Yes, but I think the gentleman from Panama wanted three days a week because he’s hosting three other guests while he’s here.”

  Wade was thinking about Yari’s phone tap when he asked the next question. “What about telephone service? Does the house have its own phone number?”

  “Yes, it’s less expensive for the owners to keep the same number. The phone company bills us separately for phone usage during the rental period. We take that expense out of the renter’s deposit.”

  “That would be fine with us.”

  Wade left the kitchen area and turned down a hallway to the bedrooms. He passed a table with a telephone on it and glanced down, memorizing the number printed on the phone. Ms. Barr left the kitchen and headed for the living in the opposite direction from Wade.

  As he continued his investigation, Wade kept asking questions in a louder tone so Barr could hear him. “Has the current renter told you when he’s coming down?”

  “He said at the end of last week, but he hasn’t shown up yet. I’ve tried calling him, but his phone just keeps ringing. I assume he’s traveling. He’s already wired us the entire rent and deposits for the full three months, so they can arrive anytime they’d like.”

  “That seems strange. I hope nothing’s happened to him.”

  “I don’t think so. It happens with renters down here more often than you’d think. I’ve had situations where they pay us and never show up.”

  “How often does the gardener come?”

  “Once a week, usually on Saturdays. He handles several of our properties in this area.”

  Wade moved down the hall, checking each room and recording a mental layout of the house including distances between rooms. Three bathrooms were shared by four bedrooms. He checked the locking mechanism on the door at the end of the hallway and confirmed that it opened to the driveway and covered carport.

  Another side door off one of the bedrooms opened to a lush tropical interior courtyard. Like quickly putting together a jigsaw puzzle, Wade saw ingress and egress scenarios. He noted the locking mechanisms on each bedroom door and the exterior doors.

  In one of the bedrooms, Wade noticed a light that didn’t work. He walked over to the jalousie glass windows in the same bedroom and noticed the glass slat was not properly aligned. A turn of the knob told him the lower louver was loose. A light push of that louver sent it to the ground outside the window a foot below the sill. It landed softly without breaking.

  Ms. Barr was keeping busy in the living room checking the wall thermostat when she heard Wade call out.

  “Ms. Barr, are you aware that one of the lights in this bedroom is out, and the window seems to be broken?”

  That was all she needed to hear before she responded, “Where are you?”

  They crossed paths just outside the living room. Wade explained, “There’s a louver missing in the back bedroom window, and the light doesn’t work. The light probably just needs a new bulb. It doesn’t look like the missing window pane is broken, just missing, but you might want to check the bedrooms, so you don’t get any nasty surprises later.”

  As Ms. Barr headed down the hall toward the first bedroom, Wade strode toward the kitchen.

  “Which bedroom did you say it was?”

  “The last one on the right. Listen, I’m going to check out the living room while you do that.”

  Wade wasn’t interested in the living room. He wanted to get at the key rings hanging on Ms. Barr’s purse. He slipped one of the sets in his pocket and replaced the others and quickly moved to the living room. Having done her research, she soon reappeared in the hallway near where Wade was standing.

  “Thank you for pointing out those issues. Those louvers are always coming loose. I’ll have my repair guy come by and fix it in the morning.”

  “This is a very nice property, and I’m sure it’s the one we saw when my wife was down here. It was on a caravan tour, and we saw so many houses that we couldn’t keep them straight.”

  Wade was satisfied that he’d seen everything and was ready to leave. They met again in the kitchen. More questions from Wade kept Ms. Barr distracted as she picked up her purse. When the agent looked up, Wade had already prepared a piece a paper and handed it to the agent.

  “Here’s my contact information. I really thank you for the quick tour. I hope it wasn’t an inconvenience.”

  “I’ll mark my calendar to contact you when this property is available again.”

  She smiled and handed him a business card.

  He nodded. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Barr. I can’t wait to tell my wife about the property. Good luck with your rentals. I’ll be in touch.”

  Chapter 17

  After asking around, Wade found a nice quiet payphone in the lobby of the local library. It had a comfortable seat facing out into the large lobby area away from passing ears going in and out of the main library room. He took a seat and dropped a coin into the slot, hoping to reach Yari without a sea of static. But Yari had little to report. Wade proceeded to fill him in on the rental.

  “I may have found the house Mashburn rented. After a check of rental ads I contacted the listing agent and arranged to tour the place. Here’s the name and number of the real estate agent and the number and address of the house. I’d like you to monitor phones for both the house and the agent, if you would.”

  “Consider it done. I did pick up a call from Panama yesterday between Mashburn and Condor.”

  “So what did they say?”

  “Mashburn is on his way to Belize. I listened to the call several times and think it’s odd that they don’t once refer to the other operatives by name. It sounds like Mashburn has no idea what’s going on.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “Mashburn keeps reminding Condor he doesn’t know anything about the assignment or have a description of the people he’s supposed to pick up at the airport.”

  “Did you get anything more on timing?”

  “Mashburn is supposed to get flight information on the arrival of other members from Condor tomorrow or the next day.”

  “That makes my window of opportunity even tighter.”

  “It appears they don’t want the other guys around until the war game exercises have already started. That’s still another ten days away.”

  Wade paused, before he responded. “I know. We have to check on the schedule of those onshore ceremonies. That is, unless they’re planning some kind of attack at sea.”

  Yari shared his concern about their missing information. “They must have this all planned. But I still don’t have a tap on that other line Condor is using.”

  “Keep trying. I’m going to check the local newspapers and make a list of times and dates of all the ceremonies. Once these operatives get down here, we’ll have a whole different level of threat. I’m just here to get at Mashburn and get out. ”

  “That’s a good idea. I’ll continue to look at government transmissions.”

  “If you monitor both the numbers I just gave you, we might get lucky. Otherwise, you’re telling me you won’t know Mashburn’s whereabouts until he makes a call from the new location.”

  “That’s the way it looks right now.”

  “I don’t believe in coincidence. The house I looked at was rented for three months in advance by a guy from Panama.”

  “Why do they need it for three months? That’s expensive.”

  “Not if it’s government money. We’re still just guessing.” Wade didn’t want Yari straying from the task at hand. “Look, just keep monitoring both the numbers I gave you. My guess is this crew isn’t staying around for any three months.”

  “I’m on it. Give me a call tomorrow afternoon. I may have something by then.”

  “I’m at the library. I’ll do some research on the
upcoming war game festivities while I’m here.”

  “Later, big guy.”

  Wade felt his stomach clench as often happened when he sensed that something would happen soon. He spent time doing research in the library, then took the rest of the afternoon off to exercise and burn off nervous energy. A three-mile run along the beautiful waterfront gave him the relief he needed. During the run, he spotted several new restaurants he wanted to try.

  He couldn’t help wondering whether he guessed right about the safe house rental. Instincts told him he was right, but there was no way to confirm those feelings. If it wasn’t the right house, he was back to square one, and with the other operatives arriving soon the pressure was building. Mashburn was due in tomorrow. Wade’s only hope was that Mashburn would make a call to Condor for instructions as soon as he arrived in Belize.

  After an early dinner of local fish stew, Wade searched the streets around the Adam Roy house looking for observation points. He parked at one he liked and noticed a few cars were different from the ones he’d observed early in the day and yesterday. His stakeout of the Adam Roy house that evening told him who all the neighboring property owners were. Everything seemed normal.

  Library research yielded press articles about the war game ceremonies in the capital city of Belmopan, just over an hour’s drive from Belize City. The Belmopan capital had recently been constructed out of the dense jungle near the remains of Aztec and Mayan ruins. Both ancient and current cultures were built to avoid the devastation of hurricanes that came in from the coast.

  The next day, Wade drove the eighty kilometers to Belmopan. Local maps identified the key buildings and streets surrounding the capital. The capital was well laid-out and easy to navigate. Belmopan was a shining new city that peacefully emerged from dense jungle. It was not well guarded, however, suggesting easy targets for terrorists.