Systematic Attrition

by Waggoner, Robert C.

  The next trail leads to back to Washington DC and a plan to have more gold shipped by the secretary with, the owners finger prints on the gold, he wished.

  European Connection

  Chapter 12

  Mike Henshaw landed in Paris about the time Brad left for the West Coast of North America. Mike had called a friend of his to meet him at the airport. Like Mike he was a retired Seal and married to a French lady. They lived in Paris and Pete Hess was happy to have him for a guest for a couple days. Pete did some free lance security work and his wife was an accountant. When Pete picked him up he was so excited that maybe he could liven up life a little as he told Mike it was so boring lately while they drove to his small bungalow not far from the famous Louvre Museum. On the way, driving like a bat out of hell weaving through the traffic, like Michael Schumacher in his race car, Pete asked, “Hey what’s up buddy and how can I help you?”

  “First thing you can do is slow down. You’re scaring the hell out of me,” He laughed so Pete took it as a friendly joke and slowed down a little. “Well I need your help in finding a contract killer who is a female and word has it she gets her mail here in Paris. We have the cooperation of the French government and they will help anyway they can. First we need to make some contact with someone who can put us in touch with the person who takes contracts out on high level officials. I was thinking maybe you had some contacts you could scrape up that might have some rumors how to contact this person.” Pete, Mike could tell was thinking hard and slowed down accordingly. Mike looked at his friend and thought he’d aged well. They were the same age of forty four and married about the same time as he met Julie. Pete, unlike him didn’t’ have any children. He’d told Mike they couldn’t have kids as his sperm count was too low, but his wife was happy just the same. Now Pete was scanning the area for a parking place as it was mid morning and most were gone to work leaving a few places available to park. He deftly jockeyed his little French Citroen next to the curb. Mike grabbed his bag and they walked up two flights of stairs to his small bungalow overlooking the street. The apartment was neat as a pin and decorated with taste. It was nothing really special just a nice homey place to live.

  Pete told him to take a load off and asked what he would like to drink or eat. Mike told him some French blend would be to his liking. Mike looked out the window and saw the usual sights of people walking dogs and cars zipping by on a cloudy but cold day on the first of February. He turned around as Pete handed him a mug of coffee and they sat down opposite each other with Mike on a small sofa and Pete in an old wooden rocker with an antique looking side table for his mug to rest on. Both were taking stock of each other and Mike wondered what Pete saw, but didn’t ask. Pete said, “What you ask is a tall order my friend. However, we will see what we can do. I’m not without connections here and by nightfall we should have some news one way or another. First I will use the phone and then I might have to go out for awhile.”

  “That’s fine Pete, I need to check in at the embassy and contact the locals about what they know of our elusive lady.”

  Pete picked up the phone and with whomever he talked to it was in French and Mike didn’t have a clue what he said. Five calls later and two cups of coffee had Mike wired for sound with caffeine flowing through his veins Pete said, “Some nibbles on our fishing line ole buddy. Let me drop you off at the embassy and here is my cell number. Call me when you want picked up,” he said while both put on coats as Mike noticed a light snow falling outside the window.

  A half hour later Mike was sitting in an office with a CIA man by the name of Zeke with a last name he couldn’t pronounce or remember. Zeke said, “My orders are to help you in any way we can. The equivalent of the CIA here is very good and has given us some names to look at of potential hit men or women. Only one woman is on the list and she has used so many aliases gods know what her real name is. Our best description is she is around forty, dark hair, slight of build, but strong arms and shoulders. I’m afraid that is all we have on her,” he said with somewhat of an embarrassed look on his face for lack of any real information.

  Mike said, “Zeke I need a Glock with some extra clips. Make it untraceable while you’re at it.” A funny look came across his face and when he saw the look in Mike’s eyes he told him to wait a minute and left the office. Mike sat and thought about a meeting with the contract hit woman and what he would say. He decided he would play it by ear and ad lib on the spot.

  Zeke came back with a box in his hand and gave it to Mike saying, “This is supposed to be untraceable as the numbers have been filed off. I suggest you go down to the basement and check it out first before you rely on it.”

  Mike thanked him and followed him out the door to the shooting range in the basement. Thirty minutes later, after calling Pete, he was outside the compound waiting for Pete to pick him up. While waiting Mike felt hungry and hoped he could get Pete to stop and have a sandwich at a good French deli.

  Flying home Brad thought it might be best to go to Palm Springs and meet his father. He called Steve and told him his plan and said he would meet him in Palm Springs with some vital information. Steve told him he was on his way and hung up.

  Next he called home and talked to his wife. He told her his plan to see his father and would call her from Palm Springs about when he would be home or he would fly to Washington and wait for Mike’s report from Europe. After that he talked to Billy and told him to concentrate on any relationship between the Joint Chiefs and any political Democrats going back twenty years or more. He added, “Billy I know this is pie in the sky, but one of those guys wears two hats and see if you can find a link with someone on the list of PAE members. Also, Check their travel schedules in the last two years to see where they have been and why. Check the family and see if anywhere there might be financial trouble and so on with bank accounts etc.”

  “I’m on it boss and Nancy has been a big help by the way. Nancy seems to have her pulse on the tails with the list of names and you can talk to her later.” Brad hung up and relaxed while flying at forty thousand feet with a strong tail wind from the jet stream. Flying over to Hong Kong it was a fourteen hour run maxing out the jet’s fuel, but going with the jet stream ten hours and the West Coast would appear out the side window. Rocky was curled up in a ball on the sofa sleeping after a hard day's work. The last call he made was to his father’s house announcing his arrival in a few hours time. Pass the date line two times would confuse anyone of what day it was and the local time. However a quick check on the laptop gave him his arrival time in Palm Springs just after lunch the same day he left Hong Kong.

  Brad was sitting pool side with his mother and father watching Rocky and his daughter Greta play. Rocky didn’t want to play so much, but Greta was biting his tail and in general making a nuisance bothering her father. Brad’s mother Gwen was pleased her son was there, but unhappy her grandson didn’t come along. She never got involved with their business and could care less. Her life with Philip was based on his Naval Intelligence job and secrecy and now her son followed suit. Whenever they started talking business she left to find something else to do, but now as they sat around the table having lunch under a warm, not hot winter day in Palm Springs Brad enjoyed the reunion. His mother respected his vegetarian diet, but always managed to slip some protein in his meals like today’s salad with chicken. Brad wasn’t a total vegetarian, but mostly he stayed away from red meat.

  They were waiting for Steve Lewis to show up before they talked business and no sooner had they just started eating lunch he showed up wearing his usual Burberry on a warm California day. Also as usual he looked tired and Brad knew under the long lines and tight lips on his face, his mind was always working overtime. It was best of all never to underestimate him. Philip shook his hand and told him to sit down and have some lunch. Steve looked at the dogs and then into Brad’s eyes to see how good or bad the information forthcoming was. He took a long drink of fresh squeezed local lemonade and sat down. Brad and Philip continue
d eating as Steve adjusted to the new time zone and into what he realized was an important turning point in this very complicated case.

  Lunch over and the atmosphere was charged like an afternoon thunderstorm as they men made their way into the study through sliding doors from the back yard. Brad never tired of looking at all the pictures of family and friends of his fathers. From past presidents to European leaders adorned his walls. A special place on one side wall was reserved for his son and new grandson. Brad was his only son and it weren’t anyone’s fault there wasn’t a brother or sister, his mother just couldn’t have any more babies. All Brad remembered was moving every year all the way until he went away to college. He followed his family history going to West Point and after he was commissioned the Army sent him to Oxford for his graduate degrees if he signed on for a minimum of six years.

  After he returned to the States, his father pulled some strings and he went through Navy Seal training. The rest is history as he led operation after operation from South America to Asia successfully doing outstanding work. Steve was his commanding officer for many years and that was when more than four years ago, an agency was formed around Brad with special people protect America for domestic crimes to terrorists.

  Now as he sat down and both his father and Steve waited for him to speak, he looked at both of them and handed Steve, his boss the piece of paper he was given in Hong Kong. Steve after looking at it handed it over to Philip who sat behind his giant desk looking like the retired general he was. Steve hung his head and Brad’s father gave off a snort of detest and looked at his friend Steve. A twenty second silence was only broken by the wall clock keeping time to the rotation of the earth.

  Philip was the first to break the silence by asking his son about their phone call concerning the Joint Chiefs. Brad said, “I have reason to suspect at least one of them fits into the plans of PAE revolt. As you all know, a coup can’t be successful without military support.”

  His father answered saying, “Of course you are right about the needs of a coup taking over a government, but do you really think it is possible for this small group of dissidents to usurp the government in Washington and across the nation? That is very ambitious and how can one military man hope to convince our entire military to support a revolution? I just don’t think it is possible. Not only impossible, but foolish because while the infighting was going on other major powers such as Russia or China could step in and swallow us up. My God what a thought this is. I’ve looked at the list of names of the members of PAE and see we are talking about some major players in making policy,” as he turned the conversation over to someone else.

  Brad replied to his father’s questions, “Yes, I think it is possible for a small group to hold sway over the people. Americans are not happy with fighting a war in the volatile Middle East. American boys are dying and what for? Is oil that important? Apparently the PAE group thinks not, or is it just a smoke screen to take power? The war on terror is working well at home and across the Atlantic. But all of our agencies excluding us are busy sniffing airlines and tracking elusive terrorists. The timing is right I think if someone wants to seek some power of his own. Our citizens are mostly gullible and can be led by the nose if someone promises them a better future. As to whether or not one man in the military can wield that much power, maybe it is more than just one of them,” as he let the two men digested what he just said.

  Steve entered the conversation and said, “I just don’t know what to believe, but this name tells me something very serious is happening. Brad, can we trust this as the name of the courier?”

  “What I haven’t told you is at the meeting with the banker I met the Chinese Foreign Minister. We drank tea and discussed the world and in particular Sino-American relations. He flat out said they don’t want to see what seems to be happening in American. I think we can trust the name is the gold courier.”

  “All right, let’s run with what we got and see where it leads us. Two men are dead and a young lady. Another murder is scheduled for the 17th to assassinate the secretary of defense. If there are more hits on the agenda, where does it stop, at the top?”

  “I know,” Brad said, “this is not much of a consolation, but we have Mike in Europe tracking down the intended contract person as we sit here. I had ten hours on a plane to think of a plan and let me bounce it off you. First we have our friend in Hong Kong contact the secretary for payment. We intercept for prints. Our guy who controls the money is at the top of the ladder. We nail him it should be like a house of cards falling. Second if we nail the new contract killer nobody in the world is going to accept a contract if we take out the Asian and the person across the ocean. Next we scare the shit out of the secretary to give up the boss. What I mean is the president sends her off to some foreign country, or our country where we kidnap her and put her out of commission for a while to extract the military intelligence we need.”

  Brad’s father looked at Steve and then Steve looked back at him and shrugged. Father said, “I need some time to think about what you suggest and I think Steve does too. I did put out some feelers, but my contacts have nothing to report. If in fact some of the joints are traitors, it is being kept close to the chest,” as he stood up and stretched his legs.

  Steve turned and looked at Brad saying, “What a risk kidnapping the secretary of state. Of course I would have to inform Mr. X and he would in turn tell the president. Or the down side is if the president knows he is an accessory to kidnapping. It would have to be something on our own. If, and I say if we do this, we would be on our own and what the fallout might be is unknown. Let’s never forget Oliver North taking the rap for the arms deal in the Middle East. By the way where in the world would you attempt this operation?”

  “Well first of all we wouldn’t want to embarrass any of our allies, so the logical place is right here in the States. The problem would be the fall out with the secret service and some heads would probably roll. However, after the smoke clears those agents could be rehired and compensated. I feel this is the key to putting the insurrection down.”

  Brad’s father spoke up and said, “Son what you are doing is signing your own death sentence. If it back fired some way, you could kiss your life goodbye and your family. I suggest you think about what you are planning and maybe there is another way.”

  “Father,” he said, “I’ve racked my brain for another way to prevent these far leftist bastards from taking down a country that sets the bar for other countries to follow. Maybe it isn’t perfect and could be improved upon, but this is not the way to go about it. Americans have the power of the vote to make changes and when less than thirty percent vote; politicians should look in the mirror and see why more don’t vote. I will do as you suggest and let’s talk about this in the morning. I want to talk to Mike and the other team members now and then I need to take a run to charge my batteries.” At that he got up and left the two old mentors to discuss his plan. Twenty minutes later he and Rocky were pounding down the streets of Palm Springs marveling at the opulence of the houses he passed by. The streets and such were so clean he laughed when he thought about his salty sweat hitting the pavement. Then his thought went inward and his face would have showed it if anyone bothered to look at maybe the only guy in the world who could prevent a revolt in American’s government.

  Paris in Winter

  Chapter 13

  Mike and Pete, much to Mikes liking sat in a French bakery having lunch. The place smelled wonderful of baked bread and pastry. Both had hot soup and a fresh cream cheese bagel. Lunch cleared away, sipping coffee Pete told him about his search for the contract assassin. “Mike this is not easy as when I inquire people clam up and make excuses about something to do that they forgot important. However, the last place I dropped into I may have struck gold. Strangely enough it was a woman who piped up and took my number for a call later. All she said was there something in it for the information and I said if it proved accurate she could take a trip to wherever she wanted to go.
After I said that she left her brew on the table and left; we wait now and catch up on old times.”

  Pete’s wife came home around six and found the two of them drinking wine and having a good time. Mike liked her from the moment he met her. She excused herself and went to change clothes and she told them she would be back in a minute to join them in a wine. Pete took out a wine glass and waited for her to come back down from a loft that held the only bedroom in the small apartment.

  For the next two hours they talked about old times and what Mike and the team had done on past operations. Pete was dripping with envy and his wife said, “I’m glad Pete is not involved as I would worry too much about him.”

  Pete responded, “This is kids stuff honey, when Mike and I were on an operation it was kill or be killed. Now it is not so dangerous is it Mike?”

  Mike felt he was in a cross fire and said, “Mostly we do research and some stuff is a little dangerous, but our past Seal training takes the danger out of most of it. Both of them didn’t want to scare her in thinking Mike was here to put her significant one in danger. He told her that Pete was only for a contact number and would not risk any danger as that was his job. Apparently she felt comfortable and just as she breathed a sigh of relief, Pete’s cell went off. Pete mostly listened and in French he heard the words Louvre and museum. After Pete closed his phone he took a sip of wine and looked at Mike.

  “Well we did strike gold and you have a meeting tomorrow at one pm on the top of the museum next to the pyramid where a shallow rectangle pool with sitting around it is public enough to thwart any danger as I know it.”