Operation Gold Eagle

by Jamie Fredric

  "Grant! Good to see you!" Carr said with an outstretched arm.

  Grant took hold of the President's hand, returning the firm grip. "And you, Mr. President."

  "Still thinking about that job I offered you?" Carr asked, smiling. He unbuttoned his dark blue suit jacket, then adjusted his red tie.

  "Uh, well, to tell the truth, sir, it hasn't been a top priority."

  "I'm not surprised, but I'd like you to keep it in mind." He walked to the head of the table, and dropped a folder on it. Centered on the outside of the manila folder, in red letters and all caps, were the words "TOP SECRET." He glanced at his watch. "The other guests should be here any minute. Have you met the Vice President?"

  "Haven't had the pleasure."

  Carr motioned toward the credenza. "Something to drink?"

  "No thanks."

  Just then, Vice President Forbes opened the door, followed by four men. They were all dressed in dark blue suits, except for NSA General Prescott, who wore his green Army uniform.

  "Mr. President," the five said, almost simultaneously.

  Carr made the introductions. "Vice President Forbes, CIA Director Bancroft, NSA General Prescott, and National Security Advisor Stan Hillman, this is Captain Grant Stevens. Grant, I think you know Secretary Daniels (SecDef)."

  "Yes, sir. We've met before," Grant responded, reaching for Daniels' hand.

  "Captain," Daniels said. "How's your buddy, Joe Adler?"

  "He's doing fine, sir. I'll be sure to tell him you asked."

  Carr took a seat, with everyone following his lead. The Vice President and National Security Advisor sat opposite one another, closest to Carr, then Bancroft and Prescott opposite each other, with Grant next to Daniels. They all settled in, placing briefcases near chairs. Bancroft and Prescott each placed folders on the table.

  Rolling his chair closer to the table, Carr opened the manila folder. As he straightened the papers inside, he questioned National SecurityAdvisor Hillman. "Stan, I know you were in the Watch Room earlier. Did any new information come in that we can use now?"

  "No. I've directed them to let us know if anything raises a red flag."

  Carr focused his eyes on Grant, who was watching him. "Feel free to speak up any time, Grant."

  "Is now a good time?"

  "Go for it."

  "I guess my first question has got to be, why has the Team been asked to get involved in a spy exchange?"

  A slight smile appeared on Carr's face. "You'll understand in a moment, Grant."

  "All right, sir."

  Director Bancroft started to pass the folders to Carr when Carr said, "Let Grant take a look at those, Hank."

  As Grant opened the top folder, Bancroft pointed to it. "That top folder is the dossier on Alexei Dotsenko. He was one of our deepest cover operatives for years, feeding us information from inside Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs."

  "Excuse me, sir, but did you say he was one ofour operatives?!"

  "I did. If you'll let me continue, you'll understand." Bancroft glanced at the other men, saying, "It isn't necessary at this moment to go into his background, or how we found him. So, I'll start when he informed us that he was being assigned to D.C., as part of the Russian Embassy staff, a.k.a., the KGB. The Soviets wanted him to head up a spy ring, expecting his operatives to infiltrate the DoD, State, Treasury. Dotsenko would be their handler, with their identities known only to him. He never gave Moscow their names, only code names that could never be traced."

  "Then how . . . ?" Grant started to ask.

  "Our own agents filled in positions at those departments."

  Grant scrunched up his face, trying to understand Bancroft's reply. "Sooo, he was feeding the Soviets disinformation, provided by our own agents?!"

  "That's right. Plus, while he was here, we were able to either meet with him secretly, or use 'dead drops,' constantly getting more intel from him," Bancroft answered.

  "I have a feeling, Mr. Director, that sending him back won't be entirely because of Reznikov."

  "It's the opportunity we needed."

  Silence in the room. Grant was trying to process the last response by CIA Bancroft, wondering if he should pursue the statement now or wait. He'd wait.

  Bancroft shifted in his seat, always leery about giving up sensitive information. "Another one of our deep cover operatives hasn't been heard from in over a week. She just 'dropped off the radar.'"

  Grant had to ask, "Do you know if she's still alive, or maybe captured? I mean, is it possible her cover was blown? Could her last contact with CIA been intercepted?"

  Bancroft drew in a deep breath. "Any of those reasons are possible, but we haven't picked up any transmissions indicating either way, so we're confident she's still alive.

  "Now," Bancroft continued, "that second folder is her dossier." As Grant opened the folder, Bancroft began: "Sophia Pankova, mistress of Army Major General Dmitri Oleniv. He was assigned to the PVO (Territorial Defense Forces) in Tbilisi, close to the Turkish border. Six months ago he was transferred, and took her with him to a base in Drazowe, Poland."

  "Never heard of it," Grant commented quietly, as he picked up a black and white photo of Sophia Pankova.

  "Neither had we," Bancroft commented. "How the Germans, then the Soviets kept it secret, we still don't know, but they sure as hell did. It was because of Pankova that we found out. She has full details on the base setup, and what or if anything's being disguised or hidden that we should know about."

  Bancroft nodded toward Prescott. "General, could you put up a sat image of the area?"

  Prescott opened a second folder, removed an image, then walked to a table, placing the film-positive on a lighted overhead projector. The black and white image appeared on the screen. A northwest section of Poland had a specific area circled.

  "Tell us about it, Hank," Carr said.

  "We had to 'dig' deep to get this information, but just before WWII, German authorities bought all of the area you see. They started construction of a large military base, a training ground and various testing grounds. Most of the local inhabitants were resettled and their homes razed to the ground. After the war, two German military bases and the town itself were taken over by the Red Army. Then, Soviet military established one of the biggest military camps of the Northern Group of Forces. The town was excluded from Polish jurisdiction and erased from all maps, even though it was officially part of the People's Republic of Poland. Official documents of the surrounding communes, and the surrounding 100 miles were designated forest areas. After World War II it remained in Soviet hands, as a secret military base. We believe there are at least 5,000 Soviet troops stationed there, all of them an elite unit."

  Bancroft nodded toward Prescott. "General, can you point out the other 'items' of interest?"

  Prescott readjusted the image, then went to the screen. With the rubber tip of a wooden pointer, he tapped the screen at different locations. "These 'mounds' that appear to be covered in vegetation, we're positive they're old German bunkers. Whether that's all they are, or whether the Soviets are using them for other purposes, we still don't know."

  "Jesus," Grant exclaimed under his breath, as he rolled his chair closer to the table. "Is it possible those might be entrances to underground facilities?"

  "Anything's possible at this point, Captain," Prescott answered. "We know the Germans built tunnels in other parts of Poland for various reasons. The Russians could be using any of them."

  Grant nodded, then asked, "General, can I assume our satellite was redirected to fly over that site only after receiving contact from the operative?"

  "You assume correctly," Prescott replied.

  Carr rested an elbow on his swivel chair, tapping his fist lightly against his mouth. "Grant, you think she's been captured?"

  "Either it's pure coincidence, sir, or those soldiers have been underground the whole time."

  Prescott changed the image to one taken at night. "As you can see, there aren't any lights, at leas
t not visible from the satellite. Now that might be because of overgrown trees and shrubs, position of windows, etc." Prescott pointed to various places. "And then there's this." He switched to another image. "You can see several military vehicles inside the town. Utility vehicles, armored vehicles, transports. They're not always in the same position, which would indicate they're being driven, or at least moved. As far as personnel, large groups have never been spotted."

  "With those vehicles exposed and moving around, they probably still don't know we've been watching them," Grant quietly stated. "When was the exact date you last heard from her?" Grant asked looking at Bancroft.

  Bancroft readjusted his wire-rimmed glasses, then flipped through pages of a small, spiral-bound notebook. "She managed to call our secure line a week ago, 7 June. The message she left was in code."

  "Is it possible she's no longer at that base?"

  "We're confident she's still there. The situation in Poland, especially in that area, would make it nearly impossible for her to stray.

  "Let's get back to how this exchange came about. This may be hard to believe, but she and Dotsenko were 'involved' before she accepted the Oleniv assignment. I don't think you need further details.

  "Dotsenko was willing to do just about anything to get her out safely. As soon as we intercepted the transmission indicating the Russians located Reznikov, we started planning an exchange. So, we 'arrested' Dotsenko on charges of spying, then put him in a safe house under heavy guard. That's when we contacted Moscow and offered him for Reznikov. They didn't hesitate. They wanted Dotsenko."

  "I'm really trying to understand," Grant said, with his brow furrowing, "why he's willing to risk his life to go back to help her, but more than that, why are you allowing him to go if he's been so valuable here?" Out of the corner of his eye Grant saw Carr keeping an eye on him.

  "At this point he's the only one she trusts," Bancroft finally answered.

  "Sir, can I ask . . ."

  "Just a minute, Grant," Carr said. "Hank, how can you be sure Grant and his men won't run into the 'trust' issue themselves?"

  Bancroft sat up straighter. "Captain Stevens doesn't have to concern himself about that issue, Mr. President. We'll see to it that . . ."

  "With all due respect, sir, I beg to differ," Grant interrupted, keeping his intense brown eyes locked on Bancroft. "A trust issue isalways a concern."

  Silence, until Carr spoke. "Hank, you know I can't send in Alpha Tango until you have some idea where she is on base, and I assume you still don't."

  Bancroft shook his head. "He's refused to tell us, until he's back in East Germany, expecting us to 'rescue' him. Can I continue, Mr. President?" Carr nodded.

  "We've picked up more than usual chatter, and not just from Drazowe. As you know, ever since the early 70s the Polish government's tried to help the economy by a massive increase in basic food prices. There were violent protests. Many people died. Now a new wave of strikes has undermined that government. The country's in serious trouble.

  "Our intercepts revealed the government's planning to establish martial law, and probably within a few months. In the meantime, they've either tightened up or closed all exit points. Transportation services are heavily guarded." Bancroft took a deep breath. "We need to get her out before it gets worse."

  Grant rolled his chair forward, propping his elbows on the table, squeezing one fist then the other. None of this was making any sense. Why trade a valuable asset, then hope you can get him out of East Germany, or maybe even Russia? Because he's the only one his "girlfriend" trusts?! Bullshit! In the world of espionage, a valuable asset like Dotsenko wasn't just given up that easily -- even for a bastard like Reznikov. Let's roll the dice, Stevens.

  "Grant," Carr called.

  "Oh, sorry, sir." He cleared his throat, then locked his eyes on Carr. "Mr. President, you've put your trust in me and my men several times now. I'm hoping you'll at least consider what I'm going to propose."

  Carr raised an eyebrow, hesitating briefly before responding, "It sounds like you're about to deviate from what we were all expecting, Grant."

  "You might say that, sir. But as I said, it's only a proposal."

  Carr glanced at each of the men sitting at the table, each face expressing surprise, and concern. He nodded toward Grant. "Go ahead. We're listening."

  "What if someone could convince Dotsenko to give up his information, to tell us where she is without having to exchange him for Reznikov? Convince him he'd be safer here. Then, my team can go in and make the extraction."

  "Just a minute," Bancroft said, holding up his hand. "If we back out of that exchange, the Russians are going to be mighty pissed!"

  "And your point, sir?"

  "My goddamn point is this isn't a good time to have them pissed, and we want Reznikov, Captain!"

  Grant maintained his calm. "Do you have anyone else that could be exchanged instead?"

  "They wanted Dotsenko, and that's who we're going to give them." Bancroft shifted his eyes to Carr. It was up to the President to give the final say-so.

  But Grant wanted to make his point. He sat up straighter. "Excuse me, Director, but do you understand how much can go wrong with an op like this? And I'm not just talking about possibly losing my men. SpecOps have lost 'assets' in the past. Now you're talking about two 'assets' that'll be in harm's way, in communist territory, with a real possibility of collateral damage if civilians are at that location."

  Bancroft pressed his back against the leather chair. "Don't you have enough confidence in your team, Captain?"

  Grant's jaw tightened. "Sir, I could tell . . ."

  "Hold it, gentlemen!" Carr interrupted. "You both need to cool off." Then he set his eyes on Bancroft. "Hank, you know what Grant and his men have done for us in the past. All he's asking is for us to consider his suggestion."

  After several minutes of discussion, the President announced, "We'll go forward with the exchange as planned. Grant, I assume you and A.T. will take on the mission under those circumstances."

  Grant drew in a deep breath. "Yes, sir. We will." But then, staying focused on Carr, he asked, "Sir, do I have your permission to talk with Grigori about the base? There's a good possibility he has knowledge about it, or at least that area. His input could prove to be invaluable."

  Carr shifted his eyes to Bancroft. "Hank?" Bancroft remained quiet, tapping his index finger on the table, glancing back at Grant. "Hank! You know damn well we've used Colonel Moshenko's expertise in the past, and on top secret ops."

  "Fine," Bancroft finally answered, gathering up his paperwork, and shoving it into the folder.

  Grant rolled his chair away from the table, then walked closer to the screen, studying the sat image. Continuing to look at the image, he asked, "General, do you know the distance from Berlin to this base?"

  "About 160 miles as the 'crow flies,' but no more than two from the Baltic Sea." The Baltic Sea, one of the largest brackish water areas in the world, was designated as international waters.

  Resting his hands on the back of the leather chair, Grant locked eyes with Bancroft. "Where's Reznikov being held?"

  "What does that have to do with the exchange?"

  "More curiosity than anything."

  "At an East German prison near Schonefeld."

  Grant wondered if Reznikov was subjected to the standard G2. "Has it been decided where your men will be taking him after the exchange?"

  "We'll have a military plane waiting at Tempelhof."

  "Not Schonefeld?"

  Bancroft shook his head. "No. We want to fly him out by military, away from as many civilians as possible. We'll have a U.S. passport for him, so the plan is for them to cross at Checkpoint Bravo, near Kleinmachow. It's a straight shot up to Tempelhof from there."

  Grant looked again at the screen, deep in thought. Finally realizing how quiet it had gotten, he turned toward Carr. "Sorry, Mr. President. My mind just fast-forwarded a few days."

  "And you're thinking about, what?" Ca
rr asked, as he poured a glass of water, then dropped in a lemon wedge.

  "Do we know what plans the Russians have for Dotsenko after the exchange, I mean, where are they going to take him?"

  Bancroft shook his head. "They've been damn secretive about those plans. What we do know is Reznikov will be transported directly from prison to Glienicke."

  Grant thought for a moment. "The only two places that make sense would be the Soviet Embassy or Schonefeld. I only see one way to make this happen. We need to snatch him right after the exchange, before they get too far. If we let them leave Germany, or reach the embassy, we'll be up shit creek." Grant cleared his throat, then continued. "We've gotta get him outta harm's way and as quickly as possible. We can take him to our embassy. He'll be safe there while we go to Poland."

  Bancroft exchanged glances with Carr, then breathed deeply, mulling over the idea. "And just how do you plan on finding her without him?"

  "You said he knew where she was, right?" Bancroft gave a slight nod. "I think we'll be able to convince him to tell us." Grant glanced over at Carr, who was looking at him through narrowed eyes. "Mr. President, with the second part of our op taking us to Poland, there's no way in hell it'll be safe taking him along -- for him or us. We've gotta leave him at the embassy."

  Bancroft pointed a finger at Grant. "You know, Captain, there are folks who are willing to give up a helluva lot for something they believe in -- or for someone. What if you can't convince him?"

  "If he feels so deeply for her, he won't want to put her in any additional danger. I'm positive he'll agree." Grant kept his eyes on Bancroft, and thought to himself, It's what you should've done, you ass! Bancroft rocked back and forth, keeping his eyes on Grant.

  "Grant, do you have any questions, or anything further to add?" Carr asked, before taking another drink of water.

  "With Dotsenko at the embassy, am I to assume that's where you want us to take her? And whatever your answer, how and who will be transporting them . . . ?"

  "Once you return with her, you make contact with State, then we'll decide the safest way to get them out," Bancroft answered.