by Mark Graham
“What about the job Joyce and I are supposed to accomplish?” Ice asked.
“Well, I can’t have you doing that kind of job and sneak around to find a possible rat. The whole thing on the list was for your benefit and I’m sure Joyce will be glad she doesn’t as of yet have to go through another one.”
“So my four peers will each get an e-mail, naming the city, or what?” Ice asked.
“Each person’s email will be delivered places and times. Each will be told that the information is private and shouldn’t be shared for security reasons. Basically the message, and a very short part of the message which will be meant as more as an after thought will give the city and where the mission might go down and your general location, and the hotel or motel where you will be said to be
“If you, or any of the other agents actually see one of the four snooping around, then you will reverse roles and spy on them. If that happens then they will call me. And if it does happen I am going to call you and tell you to head out. Go somewhere else, until you hear from me at that point. I cannot afford to tell you who, if we find out, before we take care of the situation. So no, I will not let you personally take care of the problem. It’s just the way it goes,” the Director said seriously with kind of a leer, that Ice knew was his way of trying to look mean, or something. Ice always got a kick out of it when he saw the Director try to pull it off.
Ice found Joyce sitting off to the side in the lobby and went and sat next to her. “Okay Joyce, this is what we have,” he said calmly. “You need to get out of your car enough clothes to wear a week. If you don’t, at least get enough underwear if you have it. If you don’t have it there is always stores. All you need will be your Glock, a knife, and a back up weapon if you have it.”
“No saws, or curling irons?” she said kind of seriously.
“No, I will supply any tools we’ll need.,” he answered
He asked Joyce where she was parked and told her he’d pick her up in his car. They would be going to the airport and getting a flight to Colorado Springs, Colorado. Ice loved it there and Joyce knew it. She kind of looked at him questionably then headed off to where her car was parked in the underground parking garage in a section reserved for the agents.
When Ice pulled out of the garage he was going in the opposite direction than he usually did.
“What’s the deal?” Joyce asked.
“Everything is changed,” Ice said, “I’ll fill you in on it once we are in the air, or until I can tell you with no ears hearing.”
“Why not here?” she asked.
“Joyce,” Ice said, “if I wanted to tell you here I would.”
“Shit,” what side of the bed did you get off of this morning?” she stated looking quite surprised at his answer.
He turned with a big grin on his face, and back handed Joyce lightly on the shoulder.
“Just seeing how you would react, after all I am your mentor and senior field agent who demands respect!” he said.
She looked at him and saw the big grin and immediately relaxed. “Okay,” she said with a smile, “what’s going on?”
“This is so confidential that if you even think about it you may wind up as fish food,” he said still smiling.
“Come on Ice!” she said, “We’ve had a good week off; or at least I did. Let me in on what you’re teasing me about.”
“Well, first,” Ice said, “we won’t be doing any wet work this week. What we have is that one of our senior agents is a traitor. The Director has narrowed it down to only the five or six of them who even knew about the stuff getting out. One of the things the guy who is after me, only knows I would be where we would be. We’re leaving from a different airport, flying to New Orleans, and getting the final flight from there to Colorado Springs. In fact we will have a stop over in Denver before going down to Colorado Springs.”
“So, what will be we be doing Ice?” Joyce asked, relieved there wouldn’t be wet work so close to the end of her week off.
“The word will go out to the other four agents in question where they will learn we really went. It’s easy because each one of them will be given the same location. The Director himself is going to set up in a different city and do the same with us. He has some other trusted people who will be set up and the cities that will be considered. Each of them will believe we are at a different place. Basically, if we see one of our fellow senior agents we will pull a reverse and spy on them.”
“Cool,” she said smiling. “What happens if it’s the guy who will be going to Colorado to get you?”
“I don’t know,” he said, “all I do know, if it’s one of the other people doing the setting up, the Director will not tell me until the situation has been taken care of. Realize though that if we are met with a gun fight, we will overcome with no hesitancy.”
The two of them took a couple hours to get to the airport and caught a chartered flight to New Orleans. Both were glad for that because they wouldn’t be bothered with crying babies and all the crap one had to go through to fly.
When they got to Colorado they looked up what Holiday Inns were in town. They found two that if they were on the job they would choose, as would any other agent. They always preferred going to a large hotel or motel because there were more options, and they could hide in a large busier place. On a mission about a year before, Ice had a funny feeling so registered at three different times with three different desk people. The three rooms were a couple doors down from each other. After doing the preparatory work for three days one of the culprits broke into the first name he had registered under a particular name he was using for the mission.
They went to all three and checked the entry points and lobbies. They decided to go with the second one because with the two of them they could see down the three main hallways, and the front door and lobby. Ice liked it because there was a coffee pot in a location where he could go and not miss anything. Ice thought Joyce might be glad from actually doing one of the difficult jobs, but he knew she would learn all about surveillance.
Ice checked in and registered two rooms that had two rooms between them. Later, when a new clerk came to the counter, Joyce rented the two in between the two rooms. As far as the check in log was there were four different couples, each having a room. They decided they would start by using the two rooms together.
Ice figured if they were going to check out stuff that they needed to do it the first day. He figured if someone came to where they were that they wouldn’t come until the second or third day, when an agent is usually putting the plan together causing a weakness of paying not enough attention.
Since they would probably end up eating motel food for the next three or four days they decided to go out to another restaurant they saw advertised in the front of their motel. It was a great meal they both really liked. It was a little costly, but as usual, Ice didn’t blink an eye and left his usual twenty per cent tip.
While out they got Joyce a blond wig and a real sexy looking blouse. After getting the blouse she of course had to go buy a bra that pushed her boobs up and together. He got a kind of a salt-and-pepper mens wig that actually looked good on him. He also got a mustache that matched with what the clerk said was the best glue. He guaranteed that Ice could sleep in it and it would be there, as like it was before he went to bed. They each got a hat of some kind too. Since Colorado was a western state Ice bought himself a white western straw hat. It looked like everybody was wearing them, and then went and bought a University of Michigan baseball hat. Joyce just bought one hat that was kind of flippy and floppy, just to change her appearance, whatever hair was showing.
When getting back to the motel and after putting their purchases away they returned to the lobby. They found out that one of them could sit in a chair that was located in the lobby, with a hallway that went back from that chair from the right. The other could sit on the corner diagonal from the other one. When looking in each others direction the could have all four directions covered. Ice had go
tten two small transmitters and receivers that looked like the kind of some people used for their ear piece. A larger piece went over the ear with a mic extending a little toward their mouth. They worked out how it would go and found that they would just keep it on all the time, and charge them up over night.
The next morning they did what they usually did. They had coffee and a little buffet type of breakfast, but paying more attention then usual. Ice didn’t think the guy that was after him would be here, but he needed to be more careful of his own agents.
Both went to one of the locations. Joyce read her book. After watching her for an hour he saw that she didn’t miss anything. Although she read, she put most of her attention on whatever was in her line of sight.
They continued for four boring days with nothing out of what most people saw in the lobby of a motel. They did see some weird people, and one of them Ice thought he needed to check out because he looked similar to one of his cohorts. He followed the man to the counter, and as soon as he looked right at the guy he knew it wasn’t who he thought it might be. For a few minutes Joyce was at her peak of attention until Ice turned around and gave her a thumbs down.
The next day at eleven in the morning Ice got a call.
“Ice,” he heard the Director say, “the culprit came to my location for pete’s sake.”
“Who is it,” Ice asked.
“You know I will not tell you that at this point in the game,” he said matter of factly. “The agent involved will be taken to the interrogators who are the best we have. Other than you of course. We will find out all we can and take care of the problem, and let you know.”
“Meanwhile,” the Director continued, “You and Joyce check out and go some place else. Go to Montana, or South Dakota, or New Mexico or any where else you want to go, within the continental United Stated!” he said and Ice could hear the chuckle. Ice knew that the Director had to ad the last or he would probably end up in Germany, Switzerland, or Sout Korea.
Ice and Joyce thought it over and decided to go to Nashville and check the sites out. They figured it was closer to where they would end up going back to, and have a faster flight.
~~~~~
The Director was sitting in a chair where he could see everybody who came in. He thought he was quite lucky to have such a set up. He happened to realize early on that there were actually three different locations to sit. He wore what looked like used overalls, with the typical red hankerchief in his back pocket. He had a short sleeve shirt on, and at times wore a hat quite similar to the hat Ice had purchased. He too had a wig he wore from time to time and that really made him look different. It’s wasn’t his first rodeo so he also had a kit that contained three kinds of mustaches, and two goatees. He had learned early on how to make himself look entirely different. He knew too from experience that when he put his mind to it the most senior of the department wouldn’t recognize him. He tested his theory several times.
He recognized her the moment she walked by. He felt kind of sad because who she was, but had to recognize that she too was good at the changing of appearance thing. The person who walked in front of him looked like a young man with a small goatee and mustache. Her hair was short anyway but she was able, using a bunch of gel, to comb her hair in a man’s fashion. Her shoulders were broad and she/he had a little gut. For a woman that was a good Idea because it would take anyone’s attention away from seeing boobs, because the belly was large enough to make up for it.
The woman walked to the registration desk, and checked in. The Director had already placed a bug under the counter and he could hear everything that was said. He got quite upset with himself, about what was happening. He hated to see this. He had heard of some other federal departments who had a rat and knew how in affected whoever the person’s supervisor was.
Under his breath, if anybody could have heard him, he said, “That fuck’n bitch. She was like a daughter or niece to me. We gave her special training and she turned out to be one of our best agents.” He shook his head and stood up after Pamela got on the elevator. He knew which room she would be in, so he called who he needed to call and ordered that some bugs be installed in her room along with some cameras, while she went for lunch or looking for her target. He then called Ice and told him. He decided to wait on the others for a day. He knew he could let Stu off the hook because he was the agent who would have responded to Ice and Joyce’s location. Through electronics he knew Stu was in Florida where he was supposed to be.
Pamela went into her room, a little nervous and seriously felt she had to be on her best to get over on Ice and Joyce. Inside she feared Ice, but hated him enough that she could kill him in a minute. She planned on a gun shot from a distance, or maybe an explosive device that would take both out. Pamela didn’t care one way or another about Joyce, but if she could she would take out just Ice, if she could figure out a way to get him and not be seen by Joyce. She knew Joyce was a rookie but could tell that Ice was training her well because the new woman seemed to be so much more attentive.
Pamela called her contact, the man who had been threatening Ice and actually shot at him. She told him what was going on and that if she couldn’t finish the business at the motel she expected him to kill at least Ice, when he returned to his home, or in New York. She offered him an additional fifty-thousand dollars. During the time with the department she was able to double charge some stuff and got cash back. She had stashed a very good sum. The amount would be satisfactory for an executive who retired. Although she seemed to be kind and helpful, she was one who thought of herself first, and all else could go to hell.
The next time the Director saw Pamela she was dressed as a good looking woman. He watched as she went to the hotel restaurant and arranged herself so she would have a clear view if Ice or Joyce might show up.
While the Director watched her, as she watched for the two agents, a couple walked through the front door. He saw that it got her attention, but after one look she knew they weren’t the two agents she wanted to find. Both of them were shorter than Ice and Joyce and she clearly saw the man was quite a bit older.
The pair who came in were CIA agents during their professional life. They’d retired a couple years earlier. They weren’t married but one of their covers was that they were. Actually, the guy retired to Arizona, and the woman to the mountains in Colorado. The Director tried to recruit them but was turned down. They did tell him that if he needed them they would both jump back in, but only for a short time. They also charged the Director a lot of money to fill in on such cases. The Director felt they were well worth it.
The two checked in, then went to their room. The last time the Director had talked to them only a couple days before he told them what frequency his little transmitter and receiver were on. Once they got to their rooms they talked with the Director.
“Did you see her?” the Director asked.
“I thought you trained your agents better,” the man said laughing.
“Well, guess she’s more attentive for the agents she’s looking for.”
“We spotted her the minute we walked in the door. You know the game. Find out who is looking at you and determine if they are looking, or just glancing.” The man went on, “She is pretty good, and only had us in her sights for a few seconds but my partner saw her almost immediately, and from her tap to my hand I knew right where she was looking.”
“Okay,” the Director said, “her room is being bugged right now. We’ll keep an eye out for her for the rest of the evening. I believe she will be in this area for the rest of the evening doing her own surveillance. My thought is that you get into her room about 3 in the morning, drug her and take her to a room I have reserved for you. You should find everything you need there”
“We have that covered too my friend,” he said.
“We will call you after she confesses. The Director clicked off and waited. The couple he had brought in didn’t do wet work but they were experts in the use of electricity and electronic devices.
They knew the woman was a rat in the Director’s department and that was all they needed to know. They knew her name as Pamela, but really didn’t want to know anything else about her. If they found they did need more information that they could easily find out from her what they needed to do.
The two visiting agents, who went by the name of Dick and Jane stood outside the door where they were hoping Pamela was sleeping. They didn’t take any chances because they knew that most agents in their business would set up booby traps, some which could lead to death. On this job they needed medium sized aerosol can. Dick took it, bending down while he attached a long thin nozzle to it. The can was custom made so any sound would be muffled. He pushed a plunger on the top of the thing which put all the gases it contained into the room. Knowing the size of the room they had dispersed twice as much as needed in that size of room.
Dick and Jane waited for five minutes to insure the gas had reached whoever and whatever was alive in the room. Before doing anything else they put a small mask over their nose and mouth. Dick took his pass key card, slipped into the door where it went and heard the click and pushed the door open a couple of inches. They heard nothing.
However, when he carefully pushed the door opened they heard the television go on, turned very loud.
Jane went in with her gun drawn and found Pamela lying on her bed. She turned around and turned the TV off.
Both of them grabbed Pamela and got her stood up and put an arm over both their shoulders. What they liked with the chemical was that it hit hard for a few minutes then left the victim in kind of a stupor. They could take Pamela anywhere and people would think she was some drunk lady being brought back to her room
They got onto the elevator and went to the top floor. Because of the hour they weren’t seen by anybody coming or going. On the top floor were two executive suites and a good sized conference room. The two of them knew that the other suite wasn’t being used, and the three or four rooms directly beneath them had bee paid for in advance and would not have anybody there either.