Assassin 2 - Sleeping Dogs (Assassin Series)

by Bryan Murray

  Bob nodded, listening intently. “Right.”

  Jake continued. “Okay, check if the furniture looked to be in its normal place, or had it been moved or the angle changed? Did it look like that would have been exactly where Janis would have landed if she had tripped over the edge of the carpet? Look very closely.”

  Bob thought for a moment. “It looked logical to me, I guess.”

  Jake continued. “In that case, maybe it was just an accident.”

  Bob looked at him closely. “But you don’t sound convinced, Jake?”

  Jake shrugged, thinking fast. “Hey, maybe it’s just me, Bob, but the CIA and even Midecon, have some very sophisticated monitoring equipment. I must admit I was taken by surprise when Janis stopped by last night and we talked about a lot of things, maybe some that we shouldn’t have. Heck, she even offered to testify at the senate inquiry if they needed her!”

  Bob’s expression was slowly changing as Jake’s comments were gradually sinking in. “Sweet Jesus! You mean they could have been listening to your conversation?”

  Jake nodded. “Anything’s possible, Bob and I’m probably being paranoid but let me tell you this, if they were listening, they would have been wetting themselves when Janis mentioned testifying!”

  Bob looked really worried. “So, how would we know if they were?”

  Jake thought for a moment. “Look, Bob, I’m not trying to alarm you and I don’t want you thinking like a vigilante, but there’s been some really serious shit goin’ on with the agency and Midecon that could shake the current Presidency to its core!”

  Bob nodded that he understood. “So, what you’re sayin’ is that the stakes are very high?”

  Jake agreed, this guy was no fool. “Exactly, if they were monitoring either me or you and Janis, they could have used a wide variety of techniques. They could have placed a GPS and even an audio transmitter in your car and tracked you here last night, or planted an audio transmitter in Nancy’s clothes, or in her purse without her even knowing and once she got here they could also have had sophisticated directional microphones monitoring ever single word being said!”

  Bob rubbed his hand up and down his face, totally concerned. “So, what should I do, Jake?”

  Jake thought for a moment. “Well, first of all, the very fact that you came here, may or may not be a problem!”

  Bob shook his head in disbelief. “Holy shit!”

  Jake continued. “Exactly. So, don’t mention these possible scenarios to a living soul, but check carefully all the clothes that Janis was wearing last night, check her purse and also behind closed doors, go over the car you came in last night with a fine tooth comb. Also try and get hold of a copy of the coroner’s report and check for any strange anomalies, like drugs in her system that you know she wasn’t taking!”

  Bob was visibly nervous. “And if I find anything?”

  Jake heaved a huge sigh. “Let’s pray that you don’t, but if you do, drop me a note to this P.O. Box number,” he scribbled it down on a piece of paper and gave it to Bob. “And whatever you do, don’t call me, because the NSA can monitor over seven billion calls a day, and tracking what you and I were saying would be a piece of cake. Indicate a secure P.O Box address in your letter and if I hear from you, I’ll let you know what I think.”

  Bob finished his drink and got up to leave.” Well, I’d better go and thanks for everything, Jake.”

  He shook Jake’s hand as Jake added. “And remember, Bob, don’t discuss this with a living soul, especially your colleagues at the precinct. Police chiefs are the most corruptible puppets on the planet and the tentacles of the government are far reaching!”

  Bob shook his head in dismay. “Man, it looks like the bad guys aren’t just on the streets!”

  Jake gave a wry smile. “You’d better believe it. I’m so sorry for your loss, Bob. Get your grieving over first before you start looking into this. I’m off to Israel on business soon, so I’ll be in touch when I get back.”

  Bob understood. “I will and thanks, Jake.” he left closing the door behind him.

  Jake shook his head sadly. “I don’t believe this!” in his mind, he was totally convinced that Janis’s death was not an accident. His heart went out to Bob Mercer, a man who knew enough about the significance of what was going on, but like himself, he was powerless to stop the machinations of large government agencies.

  Jake wondered if he would actually hear from Bob after the funeral of his wife, when he and Sarah got back from Israel. He finished his drink and crawled into bed for a welcome sleep and as he closed his eyes, he couldn’t help wondering if the promises of Senator Johnson of immunity from retaliation by the government, for himself and Sarah, would indeed hold true. Fortunately, he had also set his own secret protection plan in motion, so that if anything ever happened to himself or Sarah that wasn’t perfectly normal, the newspapers would automatically be sent full details of all the illegal operations of the Government. He had also made sure that the CIA and FBI were fully aware of the consequences of any type of retaliatory action against either himself or Sarah.

  CHAPTER 2

  The following morning after a restless night, Jake drove to the office and explained to Sarah the events of the previous day and the unexpected visit of Bob the night before. Sarah, like Jake, was equally concerned regarding the likelihood of actually getting any kind of conviction against Jennings and Sharon, alias Lorinda, particularly when Jake explained the way his testimony had gone.

  Sarah turned to him after he finished explaining. “So, are they both still in custody?”

  Jake looked concerned. “I think they may already be on the loose, which is not a good sign!”

  She thought for a moment. “And if the senators reach a conclusion that the CIA have no case to answer, what would happen to them then?”

  Jake thought a moment. “Well, I guess Jennings has definitely blown any future with the agency, let’s face it who would want to work with him, but I’m not sure what he would do. I know if I were him, I’d be looking for a new client, out of the country. With Sharon, it’s anybody’s guess!” Jake didn’t realize that he had read the situation exactly correctly as Sarah changed the subject.

  “I’m in complete shock concerning Janis’s death,” she added. “She was a sweet person, even if she did report that Nancy possibly overheard something she shouldn’t have!”

  Jake looked concerned. “You’re right. She said she only mentioned it to her boss, assuming that he would be a little more careful in future. She hadn’t a clue that Nancy would die. Her husband’s a nice guy too. He’s a beat cop, but he’s also smart enough to understand what may have happened. I told him to stay in touch, after he checks a few things out.”

  “Such as?” she inquired.

  “You know,” Jake replied. “Were there any monitoring devices on her car, on her clothes, or in her purse, that kind of thing?”

  Sarah looked at him, a sudden worried look on her face. “My God, Jake. You think they could still be monitoring us as well?”

  He gave a wry smile. “Maybe we’ve been promised some kind of immunity from retaliation, if we can believe the senator, but it sure as hell won’t stop those bastards from checking on us!”

  She sighed. “Just great!”

  * * *

  Over the next few days, Jake and Sarah started winding down their existing contracts with US customers, prior to starting their major new assignment in Israel for Ari Golchen, the Defense Minister and Sarah’s uncle. In this instance, the contract for two weeks, involved both Sarah and Jake, working with The Mossad, Israel’s Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, helping to train their new recruits.

  The classes would consist of a mix of 10 men and women and Sarah would be training them in behavioural studies, in other words helping the agents to predict the possible future actions of potential enemies of state. In Jake’s case, he would be training those same agents in the search and destroy techniques he would use when typica
l enemies of state, like those mentioned above, were identified. Israel prided itself on having one of the most efficient counter-terrorism systems on the planet and fine tuning any aspect of the training of their dedicated agents, was a constant, primary concern of Defense Minister Golchen.

  * * *

  In the immigration area of Los Angeles International Airport, the passengers on the Air France flight from Paris were standing in line to clear immigration. Akeem Haddam, from Lebanon, a handsome, muscular-looking Arab, on his way into the US from Beirut, was quietly excited as he stood in line. The job he was coming to do in LA, would pay him more money than he had ever dreamed of. He cleared immigration without problems and merged into the baggage claim area, grabbed his wheel-along bag and walked into the main terminal.

  He was being watched by two men. One of the men, a man with a hard face and dark hair, nodded to his acquaintance across the terminal, indicating that Akeem was the man they were waiting for, as both men followed Akeem towards the exit to ground transportation. The man with the dark hair was already on his cell phone, speaking out of earshot.

  When Akeem walked out onto the sidewalk to the passenger pick up area, a car pulled up alongside him. The window wound down and he looked inside briefly and smiled before tossing his bag into the automatically opening trunk of the car and climbing into the front seat. As he did so, the man with the dark hair and his accomplice, quickly slid into the back seat and the car sped away from the terminal.

  * * *

  Up in Washington, DC, the past ten days since Jake had given testimony at the senate inquiry, had not gone well as far as Jake and Sarah were concerned. It had become very quickly apparent that the six senators had already concluded that the CIA did not have a case to answer.

  Jennings and Sharon/Lorinda had been cleared of all charges, with their actions, as expected, having been blamed on orders given by the deceased Senior Agent Davidson, invoking the doctrine that government employees diligently obeying the directives of their senior officers, were in turn not responsible for the outcome of implementing those directives.

  As a result, Jennings had left the agency and was apparently already out of the country. Sarah had also heard that Sharon/Lorinda had permanently retired from the government. No doubt, in both instances, some settlement and secrecy agreement had been signed by both of them in order to keep the whole unfortunate sequence of events under wraps.

  Unfortunately, this had not gone well for the civil liberties people, who were apparently still trying to push for a settlement for the families of Nancy and Nicole.

  Jake personally, was totally incensed that Jennings had got away scot free and he had already told Sarah that when they got back from Israel, he would be concentrating on his own ‘search and destroy’ mission with only one target in mind - his former boss!

  * * *

  The first day of their trip to Israel had arrived and as the plane approached the gate in Tel Aviv, both Jake and Sarah were a little apprehensive about even trying to teach the highly professional Mossad agents a single thing. However, due to Sarah’s close ties to her uncle, coupled with Jake’s previous professional involvement with Ari, when he had been assigned as the Minister’s bodyguard on one of his previous visits to the US, this had helped to convince the Minister that his staff could still benefit from some good, solid, US-sourced training.

  After deplaning, they were whisked through diplomatic channels at the airport and were soon on their way to their hotel in an escorted Hummer, where the reservations were smoothly handled before they settled into adjoining rooms.

  Later that evening, they met the Defense Minister for cocktails and over dinner they discussed the assignment briefly. Apparently, their students, a mix of men and women, were all hand-picked for training by the Mossad senior staff and the training schedule that Jake and Sarah had submitted, had been totally acceptable to the client.

  Training itself had originally been planned for the next day, but the kindly Ari had insisted that Sarah first spent some time with her family. He smiled as he explained to her. “Your Aunt Miriam is very anxious to see you, Sarah and so is your grandfather. He’s a little hard to communicate with these days, but in his lucid moments, he always asks where you are.”

  She smiled. “Don’t worry, Uncle Ari, I’ll stop by as soon as I can. And if Aunt Miriam is still playing matchmaker, we will have words!”

  Ari smiled. “I’m sure you can count on it, my dear.” he looked at Jake and gave a knowing wink.

  CHAPTER 3

  On a dark, deserted street in Baghdad, a light could be seen flickering behind the small, curtained window of a corner building. Someone was moving around inside, out of sight.

  Inside the room, reflected in the light from the flashlight in his hand, the ruggedly handsome Arab, Akeem, seen previously at the airport in Los Angeles, picked up an automatic rifle, took out the ammo clip and inserted a new clip in its place. He placed the weapon, with a red mark on the handle, back on the table before he left discreetly and disappeared into the night.

  The following morning, the quiet of the street, was suddenly disrupted by automatic weapons fire as a US Army Lieutenant and a female Corporal tried to move down the street to safety. They were dodging heavy gunfire from a group of angry Arab rebels chasing them and as the Americans dived for cover behind a wall, the gunfire spattered the surface of the wall above their heads.

  The Lieutenant checked the road ahead and signalled to the Corporal to move on again as they broke from cover, heading down the street, gunfire still following them, As they passed the building on the corner, another rebel emerged, an automatic weapon in his hand. He took careful aim and fired at the retreating Americans. His aim was good as the two Americans fell face down in the dust.

  Suddenly, a voice in the background screamed. “Cut!” indicating that the street in Baghdad was only a movie set in Hollywood and it was the director Abe Goldzung, short, overweight with glasses, who had yelled ‘Cut’.

  He looked at the two actors, still lying on the ground. “Okay, you guys, stop screwing around!” he yelled as he looked at the two American actors, still face down on the ground and neither of them were moving. Abe looked at them, a grin on his face.

  “C’mon, guys I’m losing light here!” he added. The two bodies on the ground still didn’t move. Abe walked over to them and his face suddenly changed. “Oh, my goodness!” he gasped. Blood was oozing from the wounds on the backs of the two bodies on the ground.

  Abe bent down and nervously touched the neck of first the man and then the woman. His face was ashen as he looked up at the crew gathered round him. “My goodness! They’re both dead!” he looked around in shock, trying to understand what had happened. “Where’s Johnny, the guy who fired the shots?”

  Across the lot, the young actor Johnny who fired the shots, dressed as an Arab, was looking in amazement at the weapon in his hand. It was the weapon with the red mark on the handle. “I’m here, Abe,” he replied. “But those were definitely only blanks in the weapon when the armourer checked the weapon out last night!”

  Abe was devastated. “I don’t believe I’m hearing this! You’re tellin’ me we used live ammo?” he rubbed his hand up and down his face. “You’d better dial 911 right away and get me Mr. Jacobs on the phone, this is one call I don’t wanna make!”

  In his mansion in Beverly Hills, Zach Jacobs, the multi-millionaire owner of Star of David Productions, was eating his breakfast on the patio. Abe had just finished giving him the bad news and he was in deep shock. “You’re not serious, Abe?” he was almost choking on his shaksouka.

  “I’m afraid so, Mr. Jacobs.” Abe replied.

  Zach pinched the bridge of his nose in shock. “Lemme get this straight, you’re tellin’ me I’m one twenty mil into a goddamn movie with a third still to shoot and my two stars are dead, murdered on the set? I’m finished, Abe! By the time the press and the law gets hold of this, Star of David Productions is history!” he thought for a moment.
“D’you call the police?”

  Abe answered. “They’re on their way now.”

  Jacobs threw his napkin down on the table. “Oy vey! I’ll be there soon.” he put the phone down and shook his head in disdain.

  Back on the movie set, the local police had already arrived and their forensic people and photographers were already working in the taped off area. The two bodies of the dead movie stars were already covered and being wheeled away.

  To one side, an unmarked police car arrived and Nick Peters, in his 30’s, tall, dark and athletic-looking, of the LAPD Counter Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Unit, got out. Nick looked around as Steve, his sidekick, who was the first of the two of them on the scene, walked over to him. He was fat and older than Nick.

  “So, what have we got here?” Nick asked. “Chief called to say this was a hot one, especially after the trouble these guys had last month. We need to keep a lid on it!”

  Steve shrugged. “We’ll be lucky, Nick. Half of L.A. media is either here or on the way!”

  Nick nodded he understood. “Okay, give it to me fast?”

  Steve explained quickly. “Abe, the director, was filming a scene for the movie, where these two actors were running down the street, being fired on by Arabs. Problem is, one of the guns had the ammo switched to live ammo and that poor son of a bitch over there,” he pointed to the actor Johnny, sitting dejectedly to one side, with his head in his hands. “Ended up icing the two stars of the goddamned movie!”

  Nick was thinking aloud. “Gun been tested for prints?”

  Steve answered. “First job we did. Clean as a whistle.”

  Nick thought for a moment. “And the studio owner?”

  Steve replied. “Zach Jacobs, Star of David Productions. Totally devastated. The two actors were his new mega stars. This was a big budget movie, most of which had been spent, but still a third of the filming to go!”