by Geoff Wolak
They exchanged looks.
I told them, ‘A ghost will do it, no track back.’
‘And this new campaign?’ she pressed.
‘I’ll recruit Mexican gunmen, via Tomsk and Carlos, and we train them to be good soldiers and snipers, their families safe in Panama, regular wages. I’ll also start a Lone Wolf programme in Panama, and they can then secure their own borders and stop any drug mules.
‘And I’ll help Carlos to expand, to attack what’s left of the Lobos, and to attack west into Mexicali City to hit the Tijuana influence there. And, some day a few years down the road, Tomsk and Carlos control the drugs trade but don’t attack American interests in the region.
‘Final part of the campaign would be to destroy the Medellin Cartel, and then Tomsk buys from the growers direct.’
‘Puts Tomsk in a very strong position,’ David floated.
‘He has a son he loves, he loves me to bits and he cooperates with us, and he’s never going to do something stupid.’ I held my hands wide. ‘The alternative is that we suffer more brazen attacks, as we’ve seen this past year. We know that Deep State variations like to piss about in Central America, and part of this is to stop them, part is to knock back the cartels and take their cash off them.’
They exchanged looks.
She noted, ‘Washington is keen to push this along?’
‘Dead keen for some vengeance, all sides are,’ I told her. ‘And I could help to get British products sold there, and weapons.’
They again exchanged looks.
She began, ‘The commercial aspect is of interest yes, to get our people in there, as they are in Liberia.’
‘Then tell me what you want and I’ll see what I can do. Oh, the head of TLC in the States wants me to sell his arms in Central America and Africa. I said yes.’
‘You said yes?’ David puzzled.
‘He’s linked to FBI Deep State, so I want to find out all I can about them. First Deep State want me to play along.’
‘And there was me thinking you worked for us?’ David teased.
I grinned sadistically. ‘Why don’t you tell me how much you like the respect you get from the States and your European partners.’ I waited. ‘Then tell me that you want to go back five years to how it was, lame old England, a quaint little country on the fringes of Europe.’ Again I waited.
‘You’re correct of course,’ she finally admitted. ‘We are in a different position, a great deal of international respect now that translates into more arms sales.’
I held my hands wide. ‘Tell me what you want doing, what the policy is, and I’ll go along with it.’ I waited.
‘The Americans will pressure us to have you hit the cartels,’ she admitted. ‘But if you expand your influence there - and get our people in, then the PM will welcome the commercial aspect to it. And we enjoy a great many indirect benefits from your fame, the recent episode with this man Rizzo aside.’
My phone trilled. ‘It’s Moran.’
‘Talk of the devil. How’s Rizzo?’ I said as I made eye contact with David.
‘We’re in a small hotel, and he’s sleeping for a bit.’
‘Good drive down?’
‘We got on the last ferry yesterday, and then drove for a few hours, got a hotel south of Paris. Now we’re not so far from the coast.’
‘I’ll pass this number to my people there, they’ll make contact, give you directions. And before it surprises you, Bob Staines is alive and well.’
‘He is? Bloody hell.’
‘He’ll brief you, and sort out Rizzo. Let me know if there are any problems.’ Call ended, I told them, ‘Rizzo and Moran are in the south of France, Rizzo to get a new ID before he flies to Panama.’
‘And he’ll do what, exactly?’ she asked.
‘Train our new team of Hispanic men, do some bodyguard work. He’s an excellent soldier, toilet habits aside, and could sneak up on someone and shoot them. He could lead a team of Mexicans to attack a cartel. He even has the moustache.’
David noted, ‘If the men are Hispanic, with a criminal record presumably and a few colourful tattoos, and they’re funded and controlled by Spectre and Tomsk, then there’s no track back to us, none at all.’
She nodded in agreement. ‘A useful team at our disposal.’
‘Have a think about what you want, and let me know,’ I told them.
‘You’ve already done the thinking,’ she noted. ‘And you understand the politics, and our position as far as the Americans are concerned, so we have little choice. Knocking back the cartels is of no particular benefit to us, but the commercial aspect helps. I’ll chat to the PM anyway.’
‘And Kosovo?’
‘Is being discussed at NATO HQ,’ David told me. ‘We await a call.’
I took a moment, and offered them a cold stare. ‘You guys sometimes question me as if I have some choices here. But you’re both well aware … that the day I stop talking to Deep State, or even the CIA, they will come for me, and they will get me.’
They exchanged looks, saddened looks almost.
I continued, ‘There’s something else, another dark cloud. Senator Delaney has started to ask that Tomsk send some money, and once that process starts we’re into high stakes poker here. They may ask for more and more money, but they’re the ones in trouble for taking the money.’
‘They may wish to silence Tomsk, at some point,’ David noted.
‘Let’s be clear. First … they would silence me,’ I told him. ‘You two moved aside, no loose ends.’
‘And when that day comes?’ David asked.
I stared back. ‘Spectre would let loose its full potential, and Deep State would fall before we did. With that in mind, I’ll plan the next few years carefully, people in place, evidence hidden. If they come for me … then they’ll not live long enough to regret it.’
They again exchanged looks.
David finally noted, ‘We seem to have dug our own graves by dosing what was expected of us.’
I told them, ‘We sleep next to the tiger, hoping it won’t wake up and eat us all.’
‘Tiger?’ David repeated. ‘I’m leaning towards dragon.’
Back at GL4, the new batch of Lone Wolves were arriving in a green RAF bus, but just twenty-four of them. The captain most responsible for the last batch of American Wolves was here, along with his sergeant.
Rocko walked up, and started barking at the new recruits, a few rude words in the mix, the Wolves captain hiding his smirk. When Rocko took out his pistol the officers lined up quickly. I had to wonder if any of these were in league with Deep State, FBI Deep State, or Anon Deep State.
I walked up with Sergeant Crab under a grey sky, night coming on. ‘Welcome, gentlemen, to GL4, I’m Major Wilco. And just by being on this base the chances of you being killed are extremely high, so be careful. Don’t go wandering around at night, always try to be in groups of at least two, and that way the guard towers won’t shoot at you by mistake.
‘This is my Sergeant Major, and you do what he says or he will either kick the shit out of you, or shoot you. This is Sergeant Crab, who has a great many decades of training under his belt, and he did an excellent job with the previous American Wolves.
‘You’ll be in the barracks, and guarded well, but don’t venture up onto the roof - there are snipers up there trying to keep us all safe.’ I took in their faces, and few offered a seasoned face, so I was stood doubting that any of this lot came up through the ranks.
‘Did any of you come up through the ranks?’
Two raised hands.
‘I did as well, so don’t worry about it. And if any of the others are arrogant towards you, break their noses. This is my base, my rules, no American military law here.
‘You lot started out as a large batch, now just twenty-four of you, so I guess that you lot are all shit hot and have the right attitude, and that you want to do this kind of work.
‘Canteen is that building, use it when you’re told to, and th
ese sheds are recreational sheds, they lead through to the bar. Yes, you can socialise and drink, but if you get drunk and start a fight then you get a free boxing lesson from me, free medical care afterwards for the flight home.
‘You can have a beer, but I suggest that you go easy if you know that you have to get up and exert yourself the next day. Don’t go off base without explicit permission, and don’t wander around in areas that you’re not familiar with, we have snipers in the towers and mines in the dirt.’ They blinked. ‘Yes, mines. You step on them and … you regret it.
‘You’ll have lessons here on the weapons we use, on map reading and movement planning, pistol work, then we’ll ship you out to a nasty shit-hole in Africa and drop you in a bad spot. Some of you will be wounded, or killed, as have previous Wolves.
‘Sergeant Major, get them settled. Sergeant Crab, brief them, answer questions.’ Mitch walked up. ‘Mitch, spend some time with this lot, see what they’re made of, answer their questions.’
Salome walked up, as I had requested, just back from London.
I faced her. ‘Major, I want you to try your best to seduce some of these men.’
‘I suck them dry.’
Eyebrows were raised.
‘Gentlemen, you are all hereby ordered to resist, or be dismissed from the Army. You will not be reminded.’
Salome closed in on tall captain. ‘You well hung?’
‘Was castrated in an accident, Ma’am. No good talking to me.’
‘Ha. Pussy.’
As they were led off the Wolves captain was hiding his grin and shaking his head at me.
Mitch paused next to me. ‘If I’m with them, can Salome - you know - seduce me?’
I pointed him after his countrymen. ‘Go do some fucking work, Mister!’
‘Fricking spoilsport,’ he muttered.
At 7pm the officers were sat in a lecture room and planning a route, being shouted at by Major Harris and Billy.
I interrupted them at 8pm. ‘Gentlemen. Just because you have orders does not mean that you follow those orders to the letter, and part of your new unit remit is that you think for yourselves. If your CO tasks you with looking at a place, check the damn map and the terrain and the geo-politics for yourself. Don’t trust the men above you, or the CIA.
‘Someone makes an excellent plan, but fails to note that CNN is listing a storm for your region and that you’ll drown, or CNN is detailing a coup in the country you’re supposed to transit though. Or you have to cross a marsh, and it’s now raining up-country, so your six-inch stream will be twelve feet deep tomorrow.
‘Think for yourselves, it’s your life to lose, and plan your own mission. If the map shows an outpost with armed men, how close could you get in daylight, how close at night? In daylight you want to be two miles away, at night at least 400yards.
‘So, can you move past at night and still keep your planned schedule? Maybe not, so a daylight route is planned with great caution. You see a border and a bridge, armed border guards, a river full of crocs. Do you turn back?
‘When you get there it’s raining and the guards are all asleep in a nice dry hut, and don’t give a fuck about being on guard in the rain. Never assume that the guards are alert, never assume that they’re asleep. Find out. In Africa, they’ll be high on drugs and asleep, trust me.
‘Take a look at scenario number … seventeen.’ I chatted to Harris and Billy as the men studied the scenario. Ten minutes later I pointed to one of the men that had come up through the ranks. ‘What’s your plan?’
‘Shoot my CO, and get a job in MacDonalds. Sir.’
I smiled. ‘Correct. It’s a fuck-up waiting to happen, a certain death. Raise your hand if you would have attempted it.’
A few raised hands.
‘You’re dead now, so give that some thought. Wake up tomorrow realising that you’re still alive, and how to keep waking up alive. Dismissed.’
Just arriving at my house, Maria called. ‘Hey rich woman, what you doing working for a living?’
‘Rich? The money won’t go that far; I can spend like a woman. I’d need more than that to retire for good, but it was a nice gesture.’
‘Well done on the evidence trail and Fisher, it panned out.’
‘Bob did say, yes, so I get a gold star next to my name.’
I laughed. ‘Just like kindergarten.’
‘No, really, Bob has a board and names up.’
‘I don’t fully doubt that. What you after?’
‘More to do, Boss.’
‘More to do, eh. Have Bob arrange safe transport to my base in the UK, call me when you’re outside, don’t try and enter because they’d shoot you.’
‘I’ve heard all about it, yes.’
‘We have mines planted now.’
‘See you in a day or two, treading carefully.’
‘And Maria, Deep State will be investigating, and your link to that contact of yours may be found. They may want to come for you.’
‘I have a perfect fake ID, so they’d have a hard time. Besides, they’re not that good.’
I called Bob Staines straight away, as I stood outside my front door. ‘Maria called, wants more to do.’
‘She has been suggesting that, yes.’
‘Could this be a move, the real move, to get close to me?’
‘We’ve not found any evidence that she’s reporting out, and we’ve bugged her by professionals, tailed her, no dead letter drops, nothing. If she is playing a waiting game then she’s damn good at it, but she was never a top field agent, and admits that most of the time she was seducing men, not infiltrating enemy bases. Her skill set is limited.’
‘Then we’ll improve it some, and test her further,’ I suggested. ‘I’ll have her weapons skills improved, some cat and mouse around London.’
Tinker drove in. I asked him, ‘Don’t you have some time off?’
‘I took two days already, night shift tonight, which is more fun anyhow at the moment.’
‘More fun?’
‘We’re still in contact with men in Tijuana, I get the transcripts, and we’ve even widened it, and our Mexican guy is like a brother to some of them, even got one guy out of Tijuana and gave him some money.’
‘I haven’t formally told you lot, but there’ll be a big push against the cartels, extra budgets, the new CIA narco unit involved. So tell your people and your boss: big push on the cartels, extra money.’
‘We’re well geared up for it,’ he enthused.
‘I want a big team on it. And that guy you got out, I want him in Panama, we’ll pay his living costs. Get more men out, same deal, money in pocket and a Panama passport on offer.’
‘I’ll call them now. After I have a cuppa.’
‘Cuppa comes first, yes.’
I called back Bob Staines as I stood outside the hangar. ‘Tinker got a Tijuana Cartel man out the country, money in his pocket. Talk to Tomsk because we’ll ramp up the asylum in Panama programme, get these men Panama passports and houses – so long as they talk of course.’
‘I’ll send a note to his manager.’
‘My god, an efficient drug cartel.’
‘I get encrypted emails,’ he joked. ‘Oh, we received twenty million dollars from him.’
‘Don’t invest it, it’s to be used to facilitate the Saudi list, starting straight away.’
‘One on the list is in London.’
‘Then I’m thinking he’s found dead, found with a hooker high on drugs, some track marks.’
‘Great minds think alike.’
That evening I took Swifty and his nurse out with Sasha, a discrete escort in civvy clothes in the Indian restaurant, a van outside. Sasha’s lady was now pregnant, he admitted.
I was concerned. ‘You want a less risky occupation, old friend?’
‘I don’t think they let me be painter decorator like Tomo was.’
‘I don’t think they’ll harm you, and they’ll do what I ask.’ I waited.
‘I don’t
think I like to sit in home.’
Sarah scowled at him. ‘You have a role to play as the father.’
Sasha faced her. ‘My father, he damaged leg, could not work, sat in home drinking. Not a good father,’ he told her. ‘A good father gives food and home, and no drinking and problems.’
Sarah looked away, saddened.
I turned to her. ‘You own father?’
She took a moment, a look exchanged with Swifty. ‘A stupid old drunk who hit my mother. Till I was big enough to hit him. I was arrested a few times, beat him with a stick. After nursing college I joined up, and I can tell you - they were glad to see me go.’
I turned my head to Swifty. ‘Don’t go upsetting her.’
‘She’s easy to deal with, she likes a good hug, don’t you?’
Sarah hid her smile.
‘And your small cock?’ Sasha asked, making me smile. ‘I see writing on toilet wall at base.’
‘He’s OK in bed,’ Sarah insisted.
‘Just OK?’ Swifty repeated, feigning hurt.
My phone trilled. ‘Hey soldier, need a back rub?’
‘I do, but you’re a long way off. I’m sat in a curry house with Sasha, Swifty and his new wife.’
‘They still together? Good.’
‘And Maria will join us soon, some training.’
‘You keep your eyes off her big boobs.’
‘She shags enemy agents, so I won’t be going down on her.’
My table guests were frowning my way.
‘Better not, or I’ll beat you senseless. Anyway, I caught a dodgy man, and he was Tijuana Cartel but fled a year back, now making a living through various dodgy deals in Panama.’
‘Does he have a family?’
‘He does, wife and two kids being held.’
‘Make him a deal, I want him on our side, unharmed.’
‘That’s what I figured, so he’s unharmed for now, and he knows a few ex-cartel men.’
‘Offer him a salary, a good one, and I’ll meet him when I visit, soon. Start drawing up a map of cartel activities.’
‘Already on it, because I’m smart, not just pretty. And he knows of a man, which he called The Banker -’
‘The Banker?’
‘A Mexican man, not a Russian. And this banker handles the investments in the States.’