Capture Tomorrow

by Ann Heathman

  Arianna shook her head. “Well, here we go again. This also happened last month when I stayed here.”

  Pilar sat back in her chair. “Don’t take it personally. He has his reasons for not saying anything. Tony, too.”

  “What are they?” Lisa asked.

  “I’m only guessing, of course, but I suspect it has to do with trying to avoid a situation which is overly emotional for everyone.”

  Arianna poured some more wine. “I think whatever they’re doing is dangerous, otherwise why the need for so much secrecy?”

  Pilar nodded, concurring with her assessment.

  Arianna tried to collect her thoughts. She wasn’t sure what she felt. Sad? Mad? No, more worried than anything. And though it was selfish, she was also disappointed. Just when exciting things were going to be happening in her life, the one person she desperately wanted to share the excitement with was gone. As she sat mulling this turn of events over, she suddenly remembered the Black Phone Zach had given her. He had said she could reach him wherever he was in the world.

  She raced upstairs to her room and grabbed the phone off the desk. Keying in Zach’s number, she waited, hoping he would answer. The phone rang and rang. No answer and no voicemail picked up. She hung up and tried again. Damn! Where are those three green lights that signal a secure connection? Nothing.

  Her hopes dashed, she slumped down on the bed, trying to come to grips with the fact that Zach was gone, and she likely wouldn’t hear from him until he returned.

  Lisa knocked on the open door. “Can I come in?”

  Arianna waved her in.

  “Any luck?”

  Arianna shook her head. “I don’t know the exact details of the men’s work, but I’ve pretty much figured out, it’s dangerous. I’ll be worried until I see Zach walk back through that door.”

  “Same for Tony,” Lisa mimicked. “In the meantime, I think Pilar had a good idea.”

  “What’s that?” Arianna began gathering her things to go back downstairs.

  “It’s going to be very lonely around here the next few weeks, so I think I will join you in New Jersey if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. The best thing for both of us right now is to stay busy, so yes. Please join me.”

  ZACH’S PHONE buzzed. Looking down, he saw it was Arianna calling. He was sorely tempted to answer but decided to stick to his decision to stay incommunicado until he returned. It was important for the safety of himself and his team not to be distracted by issues back home. He knew it was hard on her, but it was hard on him, too.

  Right now, he had a mission to complete. One that was full of surprises already. This would be the first op he’d been on where a female agent was involved. He hoped she was as competent as Veritas had made her out to be. They were paying his security team handsomely to get Clare and the transmitter into Libya. One panicked move on her part could endanger everyone’s lives.

  They landed at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy and were driven to Motta Sant’Anastasia, a small community near the base, where they would be housed while they practiced some dry runs for the mission. A man welcomed them into what looked like a deserted villa.

  “Greetings. I’m Eric, chief of station, here in Italy, and this is my deputy, Angelina.”

  Everyone acknowledged each other with a nod.

  “Let’s get you all settled in, then I’ll brief you on this op. Angelina will show you to your quarters.”

  She led them up some steps to the second floor and assigned them to different bedrooms. “It’s rather primitive here, but the base has provided us with an excellent cook, so the food’s outstanding. Stow your gear, and then meet the COS, Eric, down in the main hall in fifteen minutes.”

  Zach walked into the sparse bedroom which contained only a dresser and a twin bed. It was all he needed. He didn’t plan on being here any longer than necessary. He wanted to complete this mission and then get back home as soon as he could. Glancing in the mirror, he noticed his beard was coming in nicely. If he were going to hide in plain sight, he’d need a full beard like all the men in the region wore. He unpacked his belongings, then moved into the hallway where he ran into Clare, coming out of her room.

  She smiled. “V told me you and your team are the best at what you do,” she said. “Very comforting to know I’m in such good hands.”

  Zach nodded, not returning her smile. “No room for mistakes in our business. You do your job. We’ll do ours.”

  “Fair enough, Zach,” she said. “I won’t let you down.”

  I hope that’s true. He stepped to the side and motioned for her to go down the stairs first.

  The group assembled in the dining hall where the cook had set out a carafe of wine and plates of cheese and fruit. Everyone sat and helped themselves to some wine and an appetizer as Eric powered up a computer for the briefing.

  “Okay, folks, before we execute this mission, we need to run through a mock-up of the plan for getting the transmitter into Libya by sea and then on to the installation point where it will be housed.

  “This first slide shows the Mediterranean and an area around the Sicilian Channel just outside the territorial waters of Libya. Right here,” he indicated with his laser pointer, “north of Tripoli, you’ll enter a submersible that will carry you undetected to the Libyan coast. Once you hit the coast, you will head inland with the transmitter, which by the way will take two men to carry.”

  He signaled to a couple men in the back who brought a green cylindrical object forward and set it on the table. “This, my friends, is what we affectionately call the red herring because in lay terms, it’s going to be transmitting a lot of BS. The people monitoring it don’t know that however, because we will be feeding a mixture of both valid and false info.”

  He looked at Zach and his team. “Go ahead and lift it so you can see what you’re dealing with.”

  Tony and Juan hoisted it on their shoulders, getting a feel for the weight.

  “Luckily you don’t have to carry it far,” the COS continued. “There will be a white van parked on the side of the road a few hundred yards from the water where you land. A man will appear to be changing a tire. He is one of our agents and will drive you into the city to the apartment where the transmitter is to be installed.”

  “Once the transmitter is delivered and Clare is safely established in the apartment, you will make your way back to the submersible and return to the carrier for transport back to base.”

  “Who we feeding this information to?” Zach asked as he studied the screen.

  “Good question. I can’t answer that exactly. This is a total false flag op designed in such a way that the transmissions we’re going to be sending will appear as though they are being sent by entities other than who are actually transmitting them. I can’t really tell you who is sending what. That’s a State Department decision. Our mission is to get this contraption into the city. Someone higher up will decide what transmissions go out and to whom.”

  “This sucker is heavy,” Juan said, easing it back onto the table. He looked at Zach. “I’m guessing you’re going to let Tony and me do the heavy lifting while you get the girl.”

  Zach laughed. “Someone’s got to lead the way and escort the lady. It’s a tough job, but I think I can handle it.”

  “You just cover your own ass,” Clare said, looking at Zach. “I can handle my own security.”

  “Sure. That’s why they have us escorting you on this mission,” Juan said with a smirk.

  “Okay, everyone. Let’s play nice,” the COS said. “You’ll all be watching each other’s backs. Tomorrow we do a dry run of the operation. In the meantime, stand down and enjoy the evening. Dinner’s at eighteen hundred hours.”

  I have to hand it to you,” Harold said to Arianna, when she arrived in Jersey to help Kevin put the finishing touches on their documentary. “Your instincts were right.”

  After college, Arianna had gone the usual route of a journalist and hired on with traditional
news agencies. She’d dutifully reported on the stories they assigned her but noticed the plum assignments invariably went to the ones most connected either by virtue of who they were related to or perhaps by whom they were sleeping with at the moment.

  But she saw herself as more of a trendsetter and recoiled against being pigeon-holed into covering only certain types of stories. After butting heads several times with her editor, she knew she had to move on to a different job setting or likely get fired if she stayed. Harold Major had taken a chance on her.

  “Awe!” Arianna pinched Harold’s cheek in jest. “Admit it. If it would have been left up to you, this story would have never been told. And now, look what’s happened. It’s going to be featured on a major news network.”

  Harold humbly bowed his head. “Okay. I admit it. You were right. I really worried about sending you into Afghanistan, but you got the story, and it’s an impressive piece of journalism. I don’t think I told you, but National Geographic also approached me about airing this on their network. It kills me to say it, but… well done, kiddo.”

  Arianna beamed from ear to ear. She loved that this tough old bird had to eat humble pie.

  “Hey, don’t praise her too much,” Kevin quipped. “She’ll be impossible to get along with.”

  Arianna gave him a playful shove. “Very funny, but it’s not just about me, you know. This is a win-win for everyone. Your name’s going to be listed right along with mine in the credits, and Starline gets noted for producing it. We’re all winners here.”

  “Absolutely,” Harold said. “And we’re going to have a big celebration as soon as this airs. But, right now, we need to get working on this thing. We have a deadline to meet.”

  KEVIN BEGAN splicing the film together, and Arianna started writing the voice-over script. They had a lot of excellent footage, so deciding what to leave in and what to take out would require days of deliberation. Several long days lay ahead of them before this film would be ready.

  At five o’clock, Arianna called it a day. Her eyes were crossing, and she felt brain-dead. “Time to go home and unwind.” Bidding Kevin a good day, she walked outside to the waiting black SUV.

  “Good evening, Arianna,” Raul said. “Where to?” Raul was doing double duty as both her bodyguard and driver while she was in New Jersey.

  “To the hotel, please.”

  They arrived at the Hyatt Regency, handed the keys to the valet parking attendant, and took the elevator to the three bedroom suite Pilar had arranged for her, Lisa, and the bodyguard.

  “Hey, you’re home.” Lisa put down the magazine she was reading. “Time to unwind and have a drink before dinner.” She proceeded to mix a gin and tonic for Arianna and herself. “Raul? Something for you?”

  “No,” he said, waving off the offer. “Can’t drink while I’m on duty.”

  Arianna looked expectantly at Lisa. “Anything?”

  Lisa shook her head. “And you?”

  Arianna indicated the answer was no as well. Neither one of them had heard anything from Zach or Tony. It had been a week, and there had not been a single bit of news. She sighed and turned back to Raul. “Well, since you’re the only bodyguard, you’re always on duty so forget the rule. I don’t think one beer would hurt.”

  “I appreciate your looking out for me, but I’ll just have a Coke, please.” He took off his sport coat and loosened his tie. “What are the dinner plans for this evening, ladies?”

  “This was a long first day,” Arianna said, topping her drink off with more gin, “so if you don’t mind, I’d just like to order in. I really don’t feel like going anywhere.”

  “Fine with me,” Lisa answered. “I took the ferry into New York City today and did some shopping. I’m happy to spend a nice quiet evening here at the hotel.”

  “It’s settled then. Check the list of restaurants that deliver to the hotel and decide what you want to eat. Anything is fine with me.” She headed toward her bedroom. “I’m going to go get into something more comfortable.”

  Once in the bedroom, she slipped out of her dress clothes and pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt. Looking down, she saw her cell phone lying on the bed. She stared at it, willing it to ring. Today had been a productive day as she and Kevin had methodically begun to create their documentary. She was excited and anxious to complete this project and get it on air. But even the excitement of the project did nothing to abate the melancholy she felt over Zach’s absence and the failure to hear from him. All she could do was to stay busy and hope the time passed quickly until he returned.

  THEY MADE slow and steady progress on the film. A week after arriving in New Jersey, Harold beckoned Arianna into his office when she showed up for work.

  “Okay, let me grab a cup of coffee, and I’ll be right in.” A few minutes later she entered the office where both he and Kevin were waiting. “What’s up?” she asked.

  Harold slid a piece of paper across his desk.

  “What’s this?” She set her coffee down to have a look.

  “I found it on the door this morning when I arrived.”

  Arianna looked at the hand-written message that said:

  Smearing Islam is a death sentence. Stop ur film.

  “Wow! Who sent this?” She turned the paper over looking for a signature or the name of someone or some group who might have taken credit for the threat.

  Harold shrugged. “I have no idea. It was on the office door when I got here. It’s obviously from someone who knows about the film we’re making and doesn’t want it to air.”

  “Tell her about the call you got, too,” Kevin said.

  Arianna looked at Harold. “A call. What call?”

  Harold puffed up in his chair. “Someone called, claiming to be from the office of CAIR, that Council on American-Islamic Relations. They got word of the documentary from a promo Sixty Minutes put out. They don’t like the idea of what we’re doing, but I’ll be damned if I’ll be bullied by them to pull the piece. They can kiss my ass.”

  Arianna looked out and saw Raul, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper in the lobby. She closed the door to Harry’s office. “Until we figure out exactly what’s going on, could we please not share any of this with Raul? I don’t want him to overreact and try to hide me away in a cocoon somewhere.”

  “Uh, I don’t know,” Kevin said. “This is serious. Protecting you, which is what the guy is paid to do, would hardly be an overreaction. That’s his job. You may need his protection depending how credible these threats are.”

  “Yes, I hear you.” She began to pace. “But the thing is, we have no idea how serious the threats are. It could be just some nut job who wants to scare us. No matter who or what, I’m not going to let anyone scare me out of exercising my first amendment right of free speech. We stay the course and get this thing produced. We all agree on that, right?”

  “Damn, skippy,” Harold said, slapping his hand on the desk. “This documentary is going to air come hell or high water.”

  “Kevin?” Arianna asked. “Do you agree?”

  “I’m in. I admit I’m a bit shaken up by this, but yes, I’m in. I worked as hard as you did to get this story, and I’ll be damned if I’ll throw this all away due to an anonymous threat.”

  Arianna nodded. “Good. And we all agree that we won’t say anything to Raul either, right?”

  Kevin frowned. “Ahh, about that. Shit! Arianna, I’m not so sure. I already had a run-in with your boyfriend because I didn’t stop you from going to Afghanistan. If by chance, this threat materializes, and Zach ever found out I went along with your request to not tell Raul, I hate to think what the guy might do. I’ve seen his temper. Scary stuff.”

  She knew Kevin was right. There’d be no holding Zach back the next time. But right now she wasn’t sure what she was more afraid of… these anonymous threats or telling Raul and having him shut this whole operation down trying to protect her. She couldn’t take the chance of that happening. She’d risked her life to get this
story, and she wasn’t going to falter now. She’d do whatever she had to do to get this thing on air.

  “I’ll make a deal with you guys. If there are any more death threats, then I will personally tell him everything that is happening. Deal?”

  “That works for me,” Harold said.

  “Kevin?” Arianna looked in his direction.

  At first he didn’t say a word. Finally, he said, “Oh, how do you do this to me?” He threw his hands in the air in resignation. “Deal. Any more threats and we take all necessary security precautions which includes bringing Raul into the situation. But if this goes south, little sis, you better have my back, or else I’m screwed.”

  “I have your back,” she said with a wink. “Don’t worry. We’ll take every precaution needed. Hopefully this is just some prankster trying to scare us.”

  Harold stood up. “Well, okay then. That settles it. Now, Arianna, the people from Sixty Minutes want to schedule a time to shoot the interview for your part of the film. They suggested tomorrow afternoon at their studios in New York City.”

  “Okay, I can do that. Kind of nervous about what they’re going to ask me, but tomorrow works.”

  “They wanted some addresses. They understood when you were kidnapped, you ended up in a Caribbean resort. They wanted names and addresses of where you stayed and people you met, etc. It sounded like they wanted to send a crew down there to take some footage to run in the background, as kind of a contrast to the Afghanistan setting.”

  A troubled look crossed her face. “Well, how deep are they going to dig into this? I’d kind of like to keep my personal life out of it. I’m hesitant to tell everything that happened once I left Afghanistan.”

  “Oh, no. I doubt they want everything.” Harold wrestled through some papers looking for his notes. “Let’s see… the assistant producer I talked to said, time is short, and they need to get someone down to Costa Luna right away to get that footage, so it’s ready on time. They don’t have an affiliate in the area to get it for them. She thought what you went through to get the story was almost as exciting as the story itself.”