“Shouldn’t be a problem. The safest way is to set up some blind accounts and purchase cell phones,” said Al. “Voice, data and text work over there with the right provider and coverage. I can arrange for untraceable phones. We can arrange contact times to turn on the phones for a few minutes. Between uses we need to take the batteries out as well as turn them off. If no messages have been left or no voice comes through, we turn them off. Once we complete the operation we will need to destroy the phones, get rid of them permanently.”
“What about manpower?” asked Zeb.
“I have locals that I work with that are trustworthy up to a point. I can arrange transport and manpower enough to take out our targets. I won’t have a problem getting the transport and funds to hire personnel. It will just be one more covert mission. I am the only one who needs to know the actual target,” said Al.
“Can you get the cash out of the country?” Ivan wanted to know.
“If they make packages as small as Zeb says, it shouldn’t be a problem. I have to make trips to Ramstein Airbase frequently. As a contractor I ship things back and forth all the time. 30 to 60 pounds or even more will just be one more shipment. I can disguise it in one of my loads easily. Once I have it in Germany there are six different ways for me to get it back here. One segment of my business over there is in the construction of new facilities. We receive and send cargo containers to the US all the time. They would be slower to get back here but I can put that small of a package in a load coming back.
“Even if it is searched at a port it would be hidden really well, and if they use bomb or drug dogs we are good. There isn’t much chance of having a container searched anyway. Thousands and thousands of containers leave and enter ports like NY and Houston every day. They may x-ray a lot of containers but that won’t affect us. A hundred pounds of paper bundled correctly looks like a bunch of paperback books or just office supplies to an x-ray machine. Nothing threatening about that. They only actually check one in thousands physically.
“The more I think on it, the more doable it seems. The mechanics of it are actually very similar to dozens of missions I have done in the past,” said Al.
“Sounds good Al, but let’s all remember that we need to be very careful. If this goes south you won’t have the protection of your agency. I don’t want to overstate the obvious, but if they catch you you’re looking at years and years in prison at the least. Maybe a round to the back of the head and an unmarked grave. The bad guys aren’t going to give up the money easily. I don’t like you doing this, especially alone, without backup. It goes against the grain to hang you out there alone, no matter how much we could use the cash!” Madd told him.
“True Madd, and I appreciate how you feel about it. As far as the actual grab goes, I can cover my ass on that. Half the time the agency doesn’t know where I am or what leads I’m following. My being off the grid for days or being involved in a gun battle with insurgents isn’t new. It won’t raise even an eyebrow. After all, that’s what I do for a living. I’ll just say I got a tip they were smuggling something important. There’s no way for them to prove I knew it would be cash. Since this type of operation is what I do, I should be covered. The only real exposure is between getting the loot and hiding it in a container. That’s a very small window, probably a couple of hours of exposure at most, for anything to go wrong.
“The more I think about it the more I like it. I can think of at least three missions that were almost exactly like this one. The only difference was I was after a couple suitcases of files. Change that to a couple of suitcases of money and they are virtually interchangeable. Who’s to say that I won’t get valuable intelligence along with the money?
“I’ve been taking the chance of being killed for a bankrupt political system. This time I will be taking it for personal reasons. For something I believe in. For once I won’t have to have any reservations about why I am on the mission. Don’t worry about me. Actually, I should be thanking you guys for putting this much trust in me. I know it can’t be easy for you. I won’t let you down, you have my word!”
“Thanks Al, we all really appreciate your help and support and the risks you are taking. I just wanted to make things clear for everyone.”
“As I said Madd I have a stake in all this now.”
“We about done here, Zeb?”
“I think so, Madd.”
“Ok guys, I guess I will take off then,” Al told them.
“Why don’t you and Rose come over for dinner?” said Madd. “That will give all of us time to think of any issues we might need to hammer out.”
“Sounds good Madd, I will see you guys then.”
After Al left the family moved on to other business. It took several hours to hammer out some ideas and strategies and by that time it was close to dinner.
“You look tired Zeb. We about finished here?” asked Madd.
“Yep, and that smell from the kitchen is making me really hungry.”
Madd could hear his stomach growling.
“It sure smells good. I hear Itsy and the girls moving around in the kitchen. It must be close to dinner time. Al and Rose will be getting here soon. Let’s adjourn this sucker.”
Dinner was a great success with Zeb complimenting the food over and over. It was good to have your own family and close friends around you sharing a good meal. It reminded Madd of all the reasons he was determined to save as much of the bigger family as he could. It made all the work and dealing with the problems worth it.
“Zeb, Al, Rose, thank you for coming. Having you here makes this evening all the more special.”
Al and Rose returned Madd’s thanks with some of their own.
Madd pulled Al aside and told him, “Thanks for all the help and for what you are going to do for the family, it is very generous of you.”
“Thanks Madd, but it isn’t generous, it is selfish. I plan to make a life with Rose and the girls in her family. So I have a vested interest in doing everything in my power to make that possible.”
“Fine, but thanks just the same. Much as I hate to say it I am going to have to go. I have a meeting with the Riders in a few minutes. I will see you in the morning.”
Al and Rose said their goodbyes and left.
“Zeb, you want to catch a nap or would you like to come to the meeting with the Riders?”
“I’ll come and meet all the guys, shake a few hands and pass a couple words with them. After that I’ll head back over here and hit the sack, and you can have your meeting, if that works for you.”
“Sounds good.”
“I won’t be late, Itsy.”
On the way out Madd gave each girl a hug and a kiss then headed for his meeting.
Meeting room, community center
The room was full of Riders and they all greeted Zeb with warmth and respect. After speaking to each one he excused himself and left. The meeting went well and fairly quickly. Madd gave instructions for the work he wanted done while he was gone. The cousins spoke with those who would hold their proxies at council meetings, letting them know how to vote and what projects had priority.
“Dek, Zeb is going to be contacting you to work on some projects for the family. They will have a certain amount of danger attached to them. Get them done, and be careful. I mean that. No matter how much you think you are being careful, check twice and make sure. I think that covers everything, guys. I am heading home to spend time with my new girls and relax. Just a reminder, tomorrow is our last day; we will have to leave by 5pm for the airport. If you think of any issues or things that need to be addressed catch me early tomorrow,” said Madd.
After a long day and longer meetings Madd finally made it home to his family for the night.
Last day, meeting room in the family community center.
The last day was turning out to be just as hectic as the last ten days had been. None of the cousins had been able to get in any R&R since Uncle Roy sponsored Madd for a spot on the council. They weren’t getting mu
ch time with their new girls and that really sucked. The older men who had viewed the video of Jack showing his ass and keeling over wanted a meeting with the council. Any more meetings and Madd felt he might lose his mind.
The meeting went well, with the family members assuring Madd and the cousins that they would work hard and support whatever new programs they decided to institute. Madd and the cousins were forced to do some politicking and handshaking, but it was all for the best. It cemented their position on the council and firmly placed them in control while concentrating their power base. After that they had to meet with individual Riders to OK plans of action and more about the projects they wanted worked on while they were gone. By the time they got to everything it was almost 2pm.
Madd and each of the cousins had a late lunch with their girls and talked to them about the future. A lot of kissing, hugging and petting, then it was time to go. Tears flowed freely as the guys loaded up and headed to the airport to head back to their units.
Chapter 11
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Al put the word out with his usual contacts. He gave them the name of the money man and a picture of the guy that helped smuggle money into the country. He also offered a reward for information and equipped them with very small digital cameras easily hidden in their clothes. Maybe his guys would get lucky and snap a picture of something useful. They were working the towns and villages close to the Tajikistan border in hopes they might find something useful. After almost four weeks it wasn’t looking good.
If Zeb’s estimates were correct he had about a week to find his target. So far he had zip, and it was frustrating as hell. Looking into the smuggling of drugs for weapons proved Zeb was right. It was an open secret, and practically everyone knew about. So far he was getting his own business taken care of, while trying to get a lead on the money man. Not much he could do about the family’s needs until he could get a lead.
The town of Kunduz in Kunduz Province was the only town relatively close to where the exchanges would happen. It seemed like the best candidate for a staging area. The money man might not be staying there but there was an excellent chance he would at least pass through Kunduz. It seemed like the most logical place to start looking, but his operatives were coming up dry.
There was a military presence right outside of Kunduz, Germans and US Soldiers predominately. They were the only units in or around Kunduz close to the old Afghan-Soviet-Tajikistan border. Might be time to head there and try to gather intelligence himself.
There was time to check his phone for a contact from Zeb before he left. He found a private place to talk, replaced the battery and activated the phone. He had been checking it six times a day without any contact. Today, less than a minute before he was going to turn it off, the phone rang. He answered with the code words he and Zeb had worked out.
“Dad, is that you?”
“Hi son, how are things in the armpit of the world?”
Now that the both knew for sure who they were speaking to it was time to get down to business.
“Hi guy, so what have you got for me?”
Zeb’s voice sounded strange because he was using a modulator to scramble his voice. The signal was encrypted and would be almost impossible to break, but no point in taking chances. At the farm Zeb had shown the modulator to him and spoken into it so that Al would recognize Zeb’s voice.
“We got a break. The spy guys have been using drones for surveillance in Kunduz Province and some of the video they sent back got a quick glimpse of that fancy AK. Unfortunately the man carrying it had his head covered with a keffiyeh and his face obscured with the tail of it. I am forwarding the picture now.”
“OK, got it. Damn, if it wasn’t for that AK we would never find him, he looks just like any other man you might see around here. Where was this taken, exactly?”
“Outside the town of Kunduz,” Zeb told him.
“I was about to head down there and check that place out.”
“I am going to send you a short video. The drone made a couple of passes over time. It caught a view of people in the street. On one of the later passes you can see what appears to be the same man disappear into a building in town. Unfortunately he is no longer carrying the AK but, the clothes seem to be the same. That’s all we have to go on right now.”
“I might be able to pick out the building when I get down there,” Al assured him. “Depends on the architectural features in the video and what I can see to narrow it down.”
“Be careful my friend, and if it comes down to it, save yourself. You are no good to a certain girl dead. You are more important to us than the mission,” Zeb told him.
“I appreciate the sentiment but we both know that isn’t true.”
“Take care.” With that the line went dead and Al turned off the phone and removed the battery. He needed to gather up his hired guns and get on the road. It was a ways to Kunduz; he was going to have to get a ride on a chopper to get there any time soon. It would take time to get to Kunduz, time he didn’t have. Transport by chopper was the only fast way.
Al started laughing out loud. Get there fast? Hurry to steal money from drug smugglers so tough they were feared by the locals even more than the Taliban? If he got out of this one with his head on his shoulders maybe he should get that head examined!
The End
The story of Madd the cousins and Al continues in book two of the “So, you want to live past next Tuesday?” saga. Book two “ What do you mean it’s still Tuesday?” will be published in the very near future.
The German base Kunduz, Kunduz Province.
Al and his crew were able to grab a chopper out to the German base. The Germans had always been pretty helpful and today wasn’t any different. They let him change into Afghani clothes in the officers shower area. His guys waited outside mingling with other Afghanis that had service jobs on the base. Hopefully the change into dirty, worn Afghani clothes would help him blend in better. His group left as any Afghans who worked on the base would.
He spoke the language well but he let his men do the talking around town. He didn’t want any suspicion to fall on them because his accent was quite right.
After a day and a half they had finally found the right building. Surveillance was difficult. Everyone was suspicious of anyone new to the neighborhood. There had been some problems with the US backed militias here so the Germans made frequent patrols through town. Between the militias and the Germans it did give him a chance to get eyes on the building. He kept rotating his three men in and out and they were finally rewarded with six dangerous looking men leaving the building and heading off.
So, You Want to Live Past Next Tuesday Page 21