“Okay listen, I’ll need a secure encrypted line to make an agency call.”
“You got it. Give me five minutes to set it up.”
“We might be out of communication for a while, in case you don’t hear back from us, but we’ll be okay.”
“You two are one hell of a team.”
Chapter 26
Belize City, Belize
Wade didn’t want to forget anything on his next call. Using a pad, he scribbled some notes before calling Megan.
“Megan Winslow.”
“It’s me.”
“Let me get to a secure line.”
Momentarily she picked up the other line.
He dispensed with preliminaries. “Just calling in to see what you’ve come up with.”
“I have several things that look interesting. Senator Charles Lanier, who’s pushing the Inter-Americas Defense Bill, has decided to make a speech at the ceremonies in Belize. His press secretary just made that announcement today.”
The conversation went into pause while Wade considered, Could Lanier be the target? How could that be, though, if he just decided to come down here today? Would he put himself in that kind of danger just to make a point? Could he benefit somehow from the attack? Maybe he gets his bill passed or maybe he gets himself killed?
He finally filled the awkward silence. “Anything else?”
“Lots. You were right about Spencer’s hit-and-run accident. I spoke with the detective on the case in North Carolina. He felt it could have been a set up. Probably a professional hit. It had all the trappings.”
“Be careful who you talk to about that accident.”
“I am, but I think this detective in North Carolina is straight. It’s somebody you might want to talk to when you get back.”
“Were you able to do more research into whom I should notify about this incident?”
“I got three names. After checking with my contact on their backgrounds, the one I like best is a woman by the name of Zara Wicks. She’s attached to the British Embassy in an administrative capacity, but she’s really MI-6.”
“Why do you like her?”
“She goes by her maiden name, but is actually married to a physician in Belize. This is more than a job for her. They seem stable and very much committed to Belize. One of our agents in the U.K. knew her before she transferred to Belize. He said she was very good and could be trusted. She handled a foreign bombing investigation a couple of years ago in the U.K. and nailed the suspects with top-notch investigative work.”
“Who’s the other person?”
“James Collingsworth is also an MI-6 who works for Wicks. He’s young, with not much field experience, but good with administration. It’s really up to you.”
“Let me think about it. Are they both in the country so they can be reached through the Embassy?”
“Yes. They both have offices in Belmopan.”
Wade paused while he made notes.
Megan broke the silence. “I need to ask you a personal question.”
“Sure.”
“Why are you doing all this? I mean, why are you once again in the middle of something that sounds dangerous? I don’t even know what it is, but I know you. Why don’t you just turn it over to the authorities and come home?”
“I thought you understood this when we talked before. I didn’t come down looking for this problem. The whole thing came to light while I was here on the Lockhart investigation. I’ll turn it over to the proper authorities when I feel it’s safe to do so. Why do you think I’m asking you for the names of contacts down here? And by the way, I can’t wait to come home.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. I know you’re trying to do the right thing. It’s just that unsanctioned activities are not very healthy for you or your career. You should let the proper foreign authorities handle it. It’s not your battle.”
“That would be great - if I knew who to trust.”
“Just be careful.”
“Thanks for your help. I miss you.”
“Miss you.”
After his call, he went into the library to check the most recent newspaper articles. Local news was full of stories on the peace ceremonies and lists of arriving dignitaries. Max soon joined Wade, and they spent the evening digging through the articles trying to find some link that might pinpoint a ceremony for the target event.
Nothing in the news jumped out at them. No single event seemed more important than any other. It didn’t make their job any easier that the target could be any one of five separate ceremonies over the next four days. The two men devised a chart listing the times, ceremony, locations, and expected attendees. It seemed Stephan had his choice and was probably weighing the alternatives.
In Belmopan, international media personnel were already arriving from different parts of the globe. Each broadcasting company was setting up equipment and pulling communications cables under and around the raised stage and podium area.
After dinner, the men made another run to check the cemetery. The cases were still in place exactly where they’d left them.
Today was the expected arrival date of the second operative. Max wanted to do more research on shooting angles and extraction points on-site, while Wade followed Stephan to the airport.
Already in disguise, he positioned himself where he could observe the gate for arriving passengers. Two structural posts supported one side of the baggage claim area, so Wade put one of them to good use as a hide. He waited for the loudspeaker to announce the flight number of arriving planes.
Stephan had already driven past the baggage claim pick-up area twice and was circling again. Wade wasn’t sure whether Stephan would park and come in, or wait at the curb. After passing the no-parking baggage zone for a fourth time, Stephan’s car disappeared, presumably to park.
A few moments later, Wade spotted Stephan coming toward him. He stopped and turned only six feet away. Looking through the line of arriving passengers, Stephan’s cold steely eyes dissected each one as if undressing them. He acted like the passengers were his subjects, each with their lives hanging on his approval.
A new thought crossed Wade’s mind. One hand remained on the trigger of his 9 mm silenced weapon, under his tan trench coat, ready to take the man out now and escape before a crowd could gather. For the first time, Wade sensed a power over Stephan that he hadn’t felt before. His feeling of control made his opponent seem a little less mysterious.
Restraining himself, Wade knew that if Stephan was removed now they would only send someone else. Then Wade caught himself as Stephan nodded to someone he recognized and started moving toward him. Remaining in the shadows, Wade repositioned himself to get a good look at the new arrival. Stephan and the newcomer exchanged formal, businesslike greetings. Unlike Stephan, the new operative was a barrel-chested, stocky man with curly hair.
It was easy to see the two had previously worked together, but were definitely not close friends. For no particular reason, the name “Boris” popped into Wade’s mind, and at that moment became the code name for the new operative.
Boris clearly acknowledged Stephan’s superior position with his subservient body language. Walking behind and to the right of Stephan, Boris carried his own luggage and waited for directions from Stephan before crossing the street. Wade headed for the same parking lot and followed their car back to the safe house in Belmopan.
Wade and Max spent most of the remaining day identifying possible sniper positions and extraction points. The most obvious shooting positions were discussed and replayed many times. The rooftops of the administrative buildings in Belmopan were no longer unfamiliar to Max; each had been assigned a number and recorded on the map.
Side doors led to stairwells and stairways to roof doors for access at different times during the day and night. Positions were sighted through their scopes from the rooftops to the ground to understand what effect light and angle would play on targets at different times during the day and evening.
D
istances were checked and recorded and evacuation routes confirmed. Several hides, some which worked better than others, depending on the time of day, were recorded along with wind direction and speed to account for the afternoon trade winds.
They performed the same calculations from different buildings in order to accommodate longer shots and different angles of drop. Wade assumed Stephan had already done the same target analysis or was still involved in site assessment. In fact, Max and Wade wondered if they might run into each other during the location search, but that didn’t happen.
Back in Belize City, Wade and Max had a working dinner over sea bass. After the meal, Wade turned to Max.
“What did you come up with today?”
Max paused before he responded. “I’ve narrowed my sites down to the three most likely shooting locations.”
Wade was quick to interject, “Before you tell me, let me try to guess. I assume you took into account that the three shooters are paid assassins and not on a suicide mission.”
“That’s correct.”
Wade continued, “I’ve assumed the same thing, which means extraction points and cover for egress are paramount to their site selection.”
Max agreed. “You bet.”
Wade continued. “I further assume there will be military presence and police surrounding the ceremony area to block off exits after the incident.”
“Right again.”
Wade took out his map out and with a pencil marked the streets police would likely barricade. Max was intently watching how closely Wade had come to his own conclusions. When Wade finished his mapping, he looked up at Max and asked, “Did I miss anything?”
“No. I think you’ve covered it all. So what sites did you pick?”
Wade looked back at the map, paused, and then numbered his target sites from most likely to least likely. Neither was surprised that they both picked all but one of the same sites, and all in the same order. Max smiled as he went over the selections. Wade wasn’t quite as happy.
He shook his head. “I have an uneasy feeling that we’ve been too predictable. I think Stephan is just too good for that. We’re missing something.”
Max responded like his reputation was on the line. “All you can do is try to get into the mind of the shooter. You know that as well as I do.”
“Don’t take my comment the wrong way. You’ve done exactly what I think we should be doing, and you did it very well. What I’m talking about now I can’t put into words. It’s just a feeling that something isn’t quite right.”
Max heard the uncertainty in Wade’s voice. He wasn’t sure what else they could do, though, except give Wade more time to think.
Max shrugged. “Why don’t I follow Stephan tomorrow to the airport and you take your intuition out to the sites and see if you come up with anything we’ve missed?”
“That’s fine. What I like about the positions we chose for our hideout is that all of Stephan’s sites will be visible to us. If we don’t split up, I don’t see how we’ll be able to cover all of their firing positions.”
“I agree. Our angle is toward the shooters, not the stage.”
“Don’t forget, partner. We have to extract as well, and we might have some of the same challenges they do if they’re able to get off just one round.”
“I’m already giving that some thought. I have some ideas and want to go back there tonight to check on a few details.”
The next day Max again followed Stephan to the airport to pick up the third operative. Wade continued watching the safe house and checking the cemetery to see if the cases had been removed. They agreed to meet at 1:00 p.m.
The second airport pick-up went smoothly, much as it had the day before, with a few minor exceptions. After the two operatives greeted one another, Stephan seemed agitated with the new arrival, whom Max nicknamed Jackson.
As was the case with Boris, Stephan seemed to know Jackson, but they were definitely not on good terms. Stephan began lecturing Jackson from the minute he arrived. His agitated demeanor was apparent in the car and continued all the way back to the safe house.
Something must have happened to cause Stephan’s annoyance. He wasn’t hostile, but close to it. Jackson meekly took Stephan’s verbal lashing in stride seemingly, with apologetic acknowledgement and little reply.
Wade and Max met over lunch to compare notes. Max described Stephan’s hostility toward Jackson. Wade thought it was an unusual way to start a mission with a fellow operative.
Wade asked Max, “What do you think Stephan could be annoyed about?”
“I’m not sure, but I think it was enough to cause him to have to change some plans. I have to wonder if Jackson screwed something up.”
“Perhaps it was his arrival time?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it was, Jackson is not getting any favors from Stephan on this assignment.”
Max asked, “What happened at the safe house?”
“Boris and Stephan were extremely busy before Stephan left for the airport. I couldn’t see through the frosted glass windows, but both men were going from room to room doing something. At one point Stephan backed the car up to the back door, and he and Boris unloaded something. I couldn’t see what it was because I was facing them.”
Max frowned. “Do you think we should be in position for this afternoon’s ceremony?”
“Yes, I think we should be there and ready to act if we need to, but stay out of sight. I don’t think it will happen this afternoon because of who’s addressing the audience. But they may show up for a dry run.”
“We need to check the cases again to see if they’re still in place. So far it seems like they’re keeping those cases in place at the cemetery until the very last moment.”
Wade replied, “I think that’s smart on their part. Let’s get over to the library and call Yari.”
The normally quiet city hummed with more street and foot traffic as tourists and dignitaries poured into Belize City. Even the library hosted more visitors. Wade quickly dialed the number.
“It’s Wade. Just called for an update. We saw a little dissension among our new guys today, so I’m just wondering if they made any calls.”
“No calls to the outside. Silent as lambs.”
“If they’re getting ready to take action, they may be under radio and telephone silence. Did you get the private telephone number for Zara Wicks?”
“I sure did. We have an understanding about private numbers with U.K. friendlies, and she’s on that list. But I could get my ass handed to me for having her secured private line.”
“Don’t worry. If I make the call, it will be anonymously. Who knows where anonymous people get phone numbers? I’ll be calling you for the encryption patch.”
“Great.”
Wade joined Max in the library’s reading room. There was one article indicating a change in one of the scheduled ceremonies, detailing the new times of the speeches and a different order for the people presenting. They made a copy of the new schedule.
The two men met over an early breakfast the next day to finalize plans. The day would be spent on surveillance, checking equipment, and verifying schedules for the best extraction plans. That afternoon was the first of three days they thought were the most likely to be targeted for the attack.
“I need to check in with Yari to see if there have been any last-minute calls made from the safe house.”
“Good. I’ll cover the news stories while you’re on your call.”
The men returned to the motel where they checked and cleaned their sidearms and two sniper rifles before going to the library to contact Yari. Nothing had changed since their last call. They took two cars to Belmopan and parked one at a predetermined space just outside the city for easy extraction. Then Wade took up his position at the safe house after dropping Max off at the city center.
The minute the administrative building opened for business, Max approached the reception counter in a coat and tie, asking for directions to the plan
ning department.
Signage everywhere said the building would be closing at noon for the International Peace Ceremonies. The attractive counter hostess smiled and directed Max to the fifth floor.
With briefcase in one hand and several sets of rolled building plans under his other arm, Max approached the elevator like a seasoned architect. No one got in the elevator with him, so he pressed the button for the fifth floor and exited. But he made a right turn instead of a left as he had been directed.
The plain reddish-brown door opened to a set of stairs, followed by another door which opened onto the rooftop. In the stairwell Max changed into blue coveralls before he stepped out on the roof. With a radio transmitter and binoculars strapped to a waist belt, he moved behind the large gray commercial HVAC unit.
He quickly removed one of the outer doors on the unit, exposing the control panel, and set down his tool kit. If anyone discovered his presence, he was simply a heating and air conditioner serviceman performing regular maintenance.
Max went to the far side of the roof where he was able to see the rooftops of all the numbered buildings on the map. He crouched under the parapet and peered out through a small space between two red roofing tiles. A small reflection caught his attention. He saw additional movement on the top of Building 3.
“Sky to Base, over.”
“Base here.”
“I have movement on Building 3 east of my position. Over.”
“Can you make out the parties?”
There was a brief pause while Max rolled to his right, landing at a better angle of sight. “Boris and Jackson with binocs. No weapons in sight.”
“Any sign of the Stephan?”
“Negative.”
“Continue observing and keep me posted. I’m moving into position on Building 5.”
“Copy.”
Max watched as the two men disappeared from that rooftop only to be seen again three rooftops over. It only took them a few minutes to reappear.
Lethal Authority (Wade Hanna Series Book 2) Page 24