The Aegis Conspiracy

by Galen Winter

  Teddy proposed a man be sent to Guatemala to study the illicit drug organization and prepare a plan to do substantial damage to it. He pointed to Den Clark’s investigations in Bolivia. Teddy admitted his suggestion could result in keeping the Junta in power, but he recalled the Eisenhower administration’s comment concerning a friendly Latin dictator. “Yes. He’s a son-of-a-bitch, but he’s our son-of-a-bitch.”

  Both Departments of State and Defense thought the scheme had merit and the proposal was adopted. Clandestine Services directed the Projects Branch to create the plan of operation. As they had done in the Bolivian matter, Teddy Smith and Jake Jacobson created the plan that would send Den Clark to Guatemala to undertake an assessment of the country’s drug trade.

  The review of the Guatemalan project ordered by the Directorate of Operations was perfunctory. Jake did his usual creditable job and it received the approval of the Directorate.

  At the same time, Jake developed related plans. The Directorate of Operations would never have the opportunity to see, review or give their stamp of approval for this concealed mission. The hidden mission quietly attached to the authorized Guatemalan Drug Control Project was designed to carry out the proposal of Colonel Máximo Rodriguez. It was the same proposal the State Department and the CIA had flatly denied.

  In addition, the Aegis plan was intended to carry out Jake’s own personal agenda. It provided for the death of Den Clark.

  Chapter 9

  Jake sat in the chair facing Teddy’s desk. He had never been invited to sit on the office sofa. Privately, he and Teddy were discussing the unauthorized actions hidden within the Directorate’s officially approved Guatemalan project. Teddy was satisfied with every element of Jake’s plan - with one exception. He wanted to know why it had to include the killing of Den Clark.

  Jake was prepared for Teddy’s objection. There was a good reason to require the death of Clark and Jake was ready to explain it. Perhaps the word “eager” would be more descriptive. He began his argument by recalling the Aegis assignments Den had successfully carried out.

  Den went to Chile for mundane first posting jobs and del Valle was killed. He went to Bolivia to carry out the Directorates plan for an independent investigation of the drug trade and Montoya was killed. Den performed well in Chile and in Bolivia. That performance, Jake insisted, now marked him as a danger to Aegis.

  Teddy showed polite interest, but hoped Jake would get on with it. He was sure it was Den who gave Jake the beating at The Bellavista. Jake’s story about surprising a burglar and being attacked in his apartment didn’t hold water. The Bellavista building was secure. No one could just walk in, get to the third floor and then enter Jake’s apartment.

  Besides, nothing was stolen. What kind of a burglar would attack a man, pound the hell out of him, leave him unconscious and then neglect to take his wallet? Teddy knew Jake hated Den. He expected Jake to come up with some imaginative reason to justify killing him. Teddy had no intention of accepting it.

  Jake continued to argue his case. Sooner or later, he said, someone in the Directorate of Operations would make a discovery. Every time Den Clark was sent on an offshore assignment, somebody living in the country he visited was killed. The discovery of those “coincidences” was sure to be noticed by someone. Teddy began to pay closer attention to Jake’s argument.

  Jake asked if it would be logical for someone to wonder if these coincidences might be more than simply a case of a Clandestine Service agent taking it upon himself to violate Executive Order 12333. Would it not be logical, he asked, for that someone to wonder if there might be a group of men, hidden within the CIA, who were planning and carrying out the assassinations?

  Would it not be logical, he asked, for that someone to initiate an investigation of Den Clark’s associates including his boss in the Projects Branch? Now he had Teddy’s full attention. That potential chain of events had not occurred to him.

  Jake didn’t have to point out Teddy’s personal danger of exposure. They both knew it wouldn’t be difficult for an investigator to find it was Smith and Jacobson who planned the CIA’s Bolivian drug cartel project. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to find it was Smith and Jacobson who planned the CIA’s Guatemalan drug cartel project.

  Nor would it be difficult to find Smith and Jacobson’s hand in the planning of any future assassination assignments involving Den Clark. Would it be difficult, Jake asked, to discover the two people who had the best opportunity to meld unauthorized assassinations into Directorate approved missions?

  As Jake was counting down the threats of the exposure of Aegis, Teddy realized he could not dismiss the danger Jake had identified. The need to keep the existence of Aegis hidden from view could not be compromised. If a Guatemalan killing took place while Den was there, and if the Chilean and Bolivian operations were carefully scrutinized, it would be hard to claim “coincidence”.

  Jake watched Teddy Smith’s reactions. At first he listened politely, but his face and body language reflected disinterest. As Jake’s argument unfolded, Teddy’s expressions changed. First, Teddy showed interest, then he showed serious consideration and, finally, he began to nod acceptance.

  Jake leaned back in his chair, satisfied that he had shown the danger of exposure faced by Teddy and by Aegis. He had led Teddy directly to the conclusion he so desperately wanted. From the way Teddy listened to him and voiced no objections to his arguments, Jake was sure Teddy would agree to the elimination of Clark. “At last,” he thought, “At last. I get my revenge. That son of a bitch will die.”

  Three assassinations occurring during Den’s first three off-shore assignments, Teddy agreed, were almost guaranteed to attract the kind of attention that could be ruinous. Aegis could not run the risk of exposure, but Teddy saw no need to eliminate Den. He was one of Aegis’ most valuable assets. Teddy didn’t want to lose him.

  “I think you’re right in your assessment of the threat,” he told Jake. “If we can’t use Den, I suppose there’s only one thing to do. We’ll have to scrap our part of the Guatemalan venture. We’ll have to lie low for a time and give Den regular assignments that don’t include any hidden agendas. That will break the pattern.”

  This was not the result Jake wanted. “Damnit,” he thought. “Why can’t this idiot think straight?” Jake wasn’t willing to give up. He’d try again.

  Jake said it didn’t make any difference if the Aegis portion of the Guatemalan Project was scrapped or carried out. It didn’t matter if Den were ever used in another operation or removed from all future Aegis projects. Sooner or later, the existing pattern of his assignments and local assassinations would emerge. The death of Den Clark, before that pattern came to light, was the only way to remove the danger.

  The situation in Guatemala was not the problem, Jake contended. Den Clark was the problem. The questionable connection between Den Clark and the Latin American murders, Jake insisted, would be broken only if Clark died. The Guatemala project gave them an opportunity to resolve the problem once and for all.

  Clark’s death would give Rodriguez additional cover and, at the same time, protect Aegis. As far as the Directorate of Operations and the rest of the world would know, Den was killed while in Guatemala on a mission to uncover and identify illegal drug activity. Latin American drug lords have killed more than one CIA agent. Den wouldn’t be the first one and he wouldn’t be the last one.

  If, at some later date, a hint of that pattern was suggested by anyone, Den Clark wouldn’t be around to confirm or deny or, more importantly, to be questioned. Any suggestion of the existence of a conspiracy to assassinate could be passed off as some insane, anti-CIA conspiracy foolishness. There was nothing more for Jake to say. He did not like the look of Teddy’s furrowed brow. He did not like Teddy’s hesitation.

  Jake didn’t know it, but he had succeeded. The need to protect Aegis from exposure was absolute. Teddy’s furrowed brow and the hesitation weren’t caused by any reluctance to agree to the death of Den Clark. It w
as quite something else. Den had proven his ability to handle Aegis assignments. Teddy trusted him.

  “If Den is killed in Guatemala,” Teddy asked, “who will take his place? Where will we find another man capable of replacing Den Clark?”

  Now Jake’s need to avenge the beating Den Clark had administered depended upon finding another man who could carry out the special assignments Aegis might order. If he could produce that man, Den Clark would soon be dead. Come hell or high water, Jake told himself, he would convince Teddy he could find another man to replace Den Clark.

  Jake developed a convincing answer to Teddy’s question. He made it up as he went along, passing off guess and hope and wish as fact. Using another CIA agent to carry out Aegis assassinations after Den was gone, Jake told Teddy, was subject to the same objections making Den’s removal necessary. The more projects the man successfully completed, the more likely the emergence of a pattern. An outside man was needed.

  Any direct connection between that man and the Agency, Jake claimed, had to be avoided. In fact, the potential for trouble would be reduced if the man had no connection to the United States. Teddy began to slowly nod his head. If any accusation of the existence of assassination programs were ever made, Jake continued, charges would be more difficult to prove and official denials would be more credible if the alleged assassin were a foreign national living outside the country.

  “Think of the possible defenses, if such a man turned us in,” Jake said and he counted them on his fingers. “The man’s a foreigner. He’s a killer who would say anything to save his neck. He hates the United States and the CIA. This is nothing more than speculation by people who want to destroy the Agency. It’s a foreign plot to weaken this country’s eyes and ears in the dangerous world of international politics.”

  Jake stopped when he saw Teddy slowly nodding in agreement, supported by just a hint of a smile. When Jake suggested Den could be replaced by an experienced terrorist, a Jordanian, Teddy’s cautious smile disappeared. His eyes widened and showed his surprise. Before he could voice his objection, Jake hurriedly listed the advantages of using a Near East killer.

  With such an outside man, Jake argued, Aegis would not have to disguise their projects within other CIA missions. Aegis could operate independent of legitimate Agency projects. There would be no coincidences hidden within Directorate projects to draw attention and cause an internal Agency investigation.

  Teddy heard enough. “Get real, Jake,” he said, interrupting him. “The theory is great, but don’t you see just a few problems in translating it into reality?

  “An Israeli might be a possibility, but how do you convince an Arab to work for the United States. Jordanian terrorists are not too enthusiastic about our policy of supporting the people they’ve sworn to exterminate. They don’t trust us and I could never trust one of them. And just how would you suggest we look for such a man? Put an ad on Al Jezeera television or in some Gaza strip newspaper?”

  Jake ignored the sarcasm. “I have someone in mind,” he answered. “He is a very experienced and a very capable assassin. He’s the man who killed Mick McCarthy.”

  Teddy couldn’t believe his ears. Had Jacobson forgotten the results of his first attempt to bribe him? The man had double-crossed him and tried to kill him. Teddy didn’t doubt the Jordanian was probably an effective assassin, but how could Jacobson suggest he work with a terrorist who had already killed one of the CIA’s own Agents?

  It wasn’t hard for Jake to guess the thoughts that crowded into Teddy’s mind. He answered Teddy’s questions before they had been asked. His arguments echoed Teddy’s own innate, cynical sentiments. Jake began to speak Teddy’s own language.

  Both men believed everyone looked out for Number One, first, last and always. Neither of them believed there was any such thing as unconditional reliability. Anyone could be bought if the subject matter of the offer or the amount of the offer was right.

  “Everyone has a For Sale sign on his forehead,” Jake said. “The only thing that differs among men is the price tag. I made a mistake in Damascus. I didn’t offer enough money.”

  Teddy remembered the Damascus investigation report Henry Putnam had given him. When he first looked at it, he told himself Jake’s bribery offer was too small. Now, despite his initial reaction to Jake’s proposal, Teddy began to think Jake’s scheme might deserve some consideration. “I’m listening,” he said.

  Jake pressed his argument. Things weren’t going too well for the terrorist profession in the Near East. The haven and support from Libya and Iraq were things of the past. The leaders in various support groups had been targeted and killed in Afghanistan, in Pakistan and Yemen.

  If an American Afghan surge or a Pakistani anti-Taliban campaign was successful, the terrorist havens would be further diminished. If Iran was surrounded by pro-Western governments, support from the mullahs could diminish. Jake admitted Palestinian hatred of the Israelis and the West was a potent factor, but he emphasized his belief that the man he tried to bribe in Damascus was ready to work for the CIA.

  “I’ve met with him many times,” Jake lied. “In spite of my history with him, I know him to be a realist. I think he’ll abandon any cause if the price is right. I believe I can convince him.”

  Teddy reviewed Jake’s track record. The plans he created in the Projects Branch were somewhat ornate, but well designed to conceal sources and mislead the enemy. The man had natural abilities for the espionage business. His proposals deserved a hearing. Teddy was well aware of the fact of double agents. They were nothing new in the world of international espionage. Nevertheless, he harbored serious reservations about Jake’s proposition.

  Teddy didn’t trust Jake. Jacobson, quite possibly, was dissembling. He doubted Jake knew enough about the Jordanian to be able to forecast his reaction to an offer to change sides. On the other hand, it was possible that Jake was telling the truth.

  Teddy thought the possibility was substantially less than fifty percent, but if Jake could pull it off, the rewards would be great. If Jake couldn’t convince the Jordanian, the down-side loss would be minimal. Teddy decided he was willing to take the gamble. There was a way to find out if Jake’s assessment of the terrorist was right.

  Den was hunting in Maine when Jake flew to Damascus to meet with the man who tried to kill him.

  The man Jake Jacobson knew in Damascus as “Abdul” was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan. He grew up in poverty and on a steady diet of hatred for the Israelis. He despised them and anyone who helped them. Hezbollah recruited him when he was a young man. They took him to Lebanon where he proved his loyalty to the Palestinian cause by killing Israeli soldiers. He organized attacks on outposts and set up urban ambushes.

  Later, various national and international political initiatives to end the violence began to develop support among those Palestinians and other Arabs who were tired of the chaos and bloodshed. To discourage any negotiated settlement, Abdul progressed from the killing of enemy soldiers to the murder of fellow Moslems who were willing to make peace with the Israelis. He kidnapped them. He planned bombings to kill them and their families. He shot officials who would compromise with the Israelis.

  After the Osama bin Laden inspired attack on the United States and the start of the Second Gulf War, the links between national and international terrorism were under attack. Terrorist bombings of Arab civilians in Jordan and Iraq made some of the more enlightened Moslems begin to substitute a hatred of the various terrorist organizations for part of their hatred of Israel and the United States.

  Support of those the West called “terrorists” softened. Saudi funding began to dry up. Philippine, Algerian and Indonesian cells came under attack from their own governments.

  The man Jake knew as “Abdul” would never lose his fanatic hatred of the Israelis and anyone who offered them aid or comfort, but in recent years self-interest began to intrude in his thoughts. He had killed Israelis, sympathizing Arabs and Americans without any significa
nt material advantage for himself.

  Once before, the CIA had offered to pay him for information. Abdul wondered if the man he killed in Damascus might have been carrying the money he had been promised. Perhaps, Abdul thought, he should have met with that man, given a false list of names and taken the money before killing him.

  These thoughts had more than once run through Abdul’s mind before he learned Jake Jacobson was in Damascus and was again trying to contact him.

  Chapter 10

  Jake Jacobson did not like the idea of returning to Syria. He did not want to be seen by anyone in the Damascus Station. Undoubtedly, some of them knew what had been written in Gigi Grant’s original report of the investigation into the death of Mick McCarthy. Some of them knew Jake had sent a new man into the tavern in the souks - the old part of Damascus - where Abdul and his friends waited. Some of the people in the Damascus Station knew he had quickly driven away at the beginning of the firefight that killed Agent McCarthy. Jake didn’t want to refresh their memories and set their tongues wagging.

  Jake was even more afraid of a meeting with Abdul. Jake had two face-to-face talks with him when the bribery scheme was originally proposed. He remembered Abdul as sullen and suspicious. The man’s expressions never gave an indication of what he might have been thinking. Jake remembered his eyes. They were dark eyes set further back in a swarthy face. They were intense eyes that seemed to look inside him and divine his thoughts.

  Jake’s flight from Rome was not one of his happier experiences. The closer the plane got to Damascus International Airport, the more Jake reflected on the alarming fact that Abdul had once set a trap, intending to murder him. Jake was sure the trap would have caused his death if he hadn’t smelled a rat and sent McCarthy in his stead. If he managed to contact Abdul, he wondered where he could find a place to meet with him - a place where he ran no risk of being killed. Was there any such a place in Damascus?