Sun of the Sleepless

by Patrick Horne

  'Dale, 'hi', this is Jackson Revere, I'm just about to board my plane, the time here is just coming up to midday, it was a bit tight getting here on time and there was a threat of light snow flurries affecting take-off, but anyhow, I should be landing in The Netherlands at around three o'clock Saturday morning your time.

  'I aim to find a room at the airport until a reasonable hour and then take the train down to The Hague where I should have a hotel organised.

  'Now, I'm sure that everything went smoothly in retrieving the book, but if you need to contact me you can get me on my cell number. Unless there has been a problem, I guess that we're in possession and so we can take it easy until Monday morning, I'll see you at the embassy, eight o'clock sharp; have a great weekend, and thanks!'

  The line clicked off.

  'Yeah, thanks!' Dale muttered to himself as he peremptorily replaced the handset.

  Without further delay, he stood up and shrugged his coat closer as he started to head for the exit. At last he could look forward to an indulgent weekend of Dutch hospitality.

  It was gone seven o'clock in the evening as Frans and Akosua wandered into the de facto fall-back position of the Brave Hendrik bar just around the corner from Rey's hotel. An earlier telephone update from Akosua informing them that their target from the US Embassy was on the move again and that she was following him meant that Frans had finally caught up with her at a location outside of an apartment block; they now had Dale's address even if they did not actually know who he was.

  Frans had driven her back to the bar in the VW and when they entered they could see Rey sitting at a rear corner table where it was devoid of any other clientèle.

  Noticing them come in, Rey waved a hand in recognition as they started to walk over, Frans acknowledging the waitress at the bar as she greeted them and indicating that they were joining an existing patron.

  Frans beamed at Rey as he came close, slapping a hand onto his shoulder.

  'Have you ordered any food yet my friend? I think that Akosua needs warming up.'

  'You're not kidding,' Akosua exhaled irritably.

  'I've been walking around all day, I'm cold and I'm starving!'

  'Its all good training for you,' Rey laughed, 'so Frans told me yesterday.'

  He sat back as they removed their winter clothing and settled down at the table, Akosua scanning the walls for a menu board.

  'So, let us order some food and drinks and then we can talk shop and decide how to proceed, eh?' Frans piped up.

  Akosua nodded vigorously as Rey raised an arm up to catch the waitress' eye.

  Rey and Frans supped their dark beers as they wiped away the remnants of spare ribs and a chicken kebab from the corners of their mouths, Frans considering that his chicken had been served with the best peanut satay sauce he had tasted in a long while.

  Akosua was still ploughing through a huge stacked beef burger and a pile of fries and swigged a white wine in contrast to the rather informal meal that she was devouring. She washed down a mouthful, indicated her diminishing plateful with her fork and grinned.

  'I needed this so much!'

  Rey crumpled his soiled napkin onto his empty plate and ran his tongue over his front teeth, clearing his palate a little.

  'So, to business, we've had some ups and downs over the last couple of days. Where do we stand and what do we do next?'

  Gulping a healthy swig from his beer, Frans took a while to swallow it before placing his glass back down on the table.

  'Well, we have the ring, which is one thing, however, the book is now an entirely different matter. We know that somebody, apparently working for the Americans, delivered it to the American Embassy where I guess it is safely locked away. All we can do at the moment is report back and see what our chiefs have to say. I'll make the call in a moment and we go from there. My guess is that our work here is over, we've done all that we can do as far as our initial brief was concerned. Akosua can call the Verker girl on Monday to see what she says.'

  Although nodding in agreement, Rey was still keen to emphasise the issues that were apparent to him.

  'Seems fair, however, this is beyond a simple pick-up now. There are bigger issues at stake, for instance, why are the Americans so interested in the book? What implications does this have for our other operations? We mustn't forget that this was supposed to be a straight-forward outing. I'm worried that the Americans' interest may be indicative of a connection with Merkur!'

  Frans hummed as he mulled over the thought.

  Leaning back in her chair, Akosua wiped her lips with her napkin before scrubbing her hands with it and scrunching it into a ball.

  'Well, I'm booked into my hotel to check-out on Monday the same as my flight to England so if we're staying for longer, it would be useful to know.'

  A rasp was emitted as Frans sucked in air between his beer-wetted lips.

  'I'll call them now and hear what they have to say.'

  He fumbled into his jacket hanging over the back of his chair and retrieved a different handset to the one he had normally been using for the last couple of days; for this call, he was using a secure quad-band GSM cell phone with one of the strongest and most secure voice encryption algorithms available. He switched it on and dialled, holding it to his ear as a muffled ringing tone emanated from the earpiece.

  The line clicked and a crisp and deliberate English voice finally responded.

  'Frans, how are you?'

  Frans recognised the voice immediately and his face betrayed a slight surprise.

  'Senator Dru,' he said after composing himself, quickly raising his eyebrows at Rey and Akosua in acknowledgement, 'I didn't expect to be speaking directly with you.'

  The voice that responded was calm, controlled.

  'I have been apprised of events and, of course, I take a keen interest in all matters of the Order as does the Sigulah and indeed my colleagues here with me right now - Frans, you are currently on speaker-phone and I have Senator Hollis, Senator White, Cardinal Aho and Imperator Bardot in attendance.'

  There was a pause as Senator Dru let the fact sink in that some of the highest ranking members of their Order were listening in to their conversation.

  'What is the current situation?'

  Taking a deep breath, Frans began to detail the events of the last few hours. He could convey his narrative en clair since the secure communications they were using ensured that the call would not be intercepted and understood without considerable decryption facilities available - only the National Security Agency of the United States of America possessed such real-time intercept capabilities but without a specific reason for tracking the handset and the call, it was unlikely in the extreme that they would be listening in.

  From the urgent responses that Frans was making, it was clear that Senator Dru was asking some pointed questions and on a couple of occasions he had placed the call on hold to confer with the other members of the assembled audience, however, in spite of Frans' candid depiction of the outcome of their venture, Senator Dru did not seem too perturbed by the news that Dirigo Lux was now residing within the walls of the US Embassy.

  'Good work Frans, I'm sure that you all would have averted this situation if at all possible. Let Rey and Akosua know that we appreciate their efforts.'

  'Yes Senator, will do.'

  Frans could hear indistinct mumbling between the members of the group on the other end of the phone before Senator Dru spoke again.

  'Frans, please hold a moment.'

  The line was muted once again and Frans covered the mouth piece of his own phone.

  'I think they're deciding what to do next.'

  Senator Dru abruptly returned.

  'Frans, please request Rey and Akosua to stay put for now and to return to England on Monday. We will arrange for a courier to take charge of the acquisition tomorrow and return it for safe-keeping, you should also send in your detailed report of events and persons involved. In the mean time, I suggest that you all take a brea
ther over the weekend; it may be the last chance you get for a while. Thank-you Frans.'

  Frans nodded and replied with a 'Goodbye' as the line was disconnected and the automated encryption key destroyed by the handset. He turned to Rey and Akosua.

  'Well, that's it, we have our new orders!'

  'What about the Verker girl and the book?' asked Akosua narrowing her eyes.

  Frans nodded to acknowledge her point.

  'The eBay account you used is untraceable?'

  'Of course.'

  'Alright, call the girl on Monday as she would expect and see what you can get out of her. She'll have to come up with some excuse so just ask the usual questions and go with it, no harm done.'

  'What about this guy from the embassy?' Rey interrupted.

  Frans pursed his lips and hummed to himself.

  'I'll get counter-intelligence on to him and they can look into it.'

  'Good, but make sure you use our crew, keep Cherubim out of it for now. Something doesn't seem right in all of this.'

  Frans looked pointedly at Rey and Akosua glanced at both of them, not quite following Rey's drift.

  'What's up old friend? Is your paranoia coming back?'

  Rey grinned briefly.

  'That paranoia has kept me alive at the sharp end of a bottle too many times to be ignored, don't knock it.'

  'So what's up?' asked Frans.

  Rey caught Akosua's eye and looked back to Frans, not entirely able to articulate his suspicions.

  'To be honest, I don't know. I just have a feeling. This all seems too scripted; you know, where the ending has already been decided? The book and the ring being stolen, us being called in, then the next thing we know it appears that US Intelligence might be involved.'

  Frans nodded and raised his eyebrows.

  '- but it was me that called you in.'

  'Yeah, you made the call,' Rey agreed, 'under the direction of Imperator Bardot who took the call from Cardinal Aho who took the call from Senator Dru. I don't know what it is; I just know that something isn't right.'

  'Well,' Frans shrugged, 'you can consider that thought over the weekend, they want both of you to fly back to England on Monday, in the mean time we get some rest, write our reports and keep in touch!'

  He reached for his glass and raised it aloft.

  'Proost!'

  Chapter VI

  Your early morning wake-up call -

  Jackson could not get to sleep, in spite of the fact that he had spent the vast majority of his flight from the US reading through the material stored on his secure memory stick on his laptop computer. He had immersed himself in some classical music playing on his MP3 player as he checked the reference material that Casper had supplied, some of which made for fantastical reading.

  After landing, he had managed to get a room at around half-past three in the morning and had finally tried to drift off, hoping to feel at least comfortably rested by nine o'clock in the morning, looking forward to a leisurely stroll around Amsterdam before catching the train down to The Hague to check-in to his hotel proper.

  Jackson rolled his head on his pillow and gazed at the bedside clock; it was already six o'clock in the morning and he knew that he had dozed for only an hour or so, although in theory he should have been fast asleep since it was actually around midnight back home in the US. He looked back up to the ceiling and sighed in exasperation, trying to focus on one single special point in a conscious effort to actually stay awake, knowing that it could have the opposite affect and actually induce some sort of slumber.

  Jackson knew the reason why he was still awake. His mind was preoccupied by the material he had read on the plane, trying to make some sort of sense out of it and reach a conclusion concerning the events of the last twenty-four hours and whether the recent events might in fact mark the real pinnacle of his entire career. Events would soon unfold to clarify his position.

  He suddenly flicked his eyes open and realised that he had been woken; his hotel phone was ringing. Stealing a glance at the digital alarm clock, he saw that he must have drifted off although it was only fifteen minutes later. Pulling back the covers he swivelled around to sit on the edge of the mattress and plant his bare feet onto the rough carpet, reaching for the phone trilling loudly on the bedside table.

  'Jackson?'

  He took a moment to recognise the voice but could not miss the accusatory manner in which his name had been barked.

  'Chuck? What's up? You know its Saturday for both of us?'

  Manson's voice had no trace of humour and there was even a hint of a growl as he responded.

  'Yeah, and this weekend is already over for both of us, you need to get your ass to the embassy in The Hague double time, the shit has hit the fan big-time!'

  It took a moment for Jackson to understand what his boss was saying.

  'Chuck? What's going on?'

  A deep sigh deflated Manson's previous aggression by a few bars.

  'To be honest, I don't know, but when you get a face full of double-D you'd better sit up and take notice!'

  Jackson knew that Manson's turn of phrase did not relate to the seemingly pleasurable experience of being confronted by the out-sized assets of the female anatomy but to an encounter with the Deputy Director of the CIA.

  'Kappel? Well, why would he want me?'

  'I don't know Jackson, but this came from him directly, he called me himself and wanted to know what you were up to.'

  Manson paused for a moment.

  'Tell me you haven't shafted me old buddy. This has the smell of something that sticks and I'm not talking about peanut butter. What have you been up to Jackson?'

  Jackson was shaking his head, thinking hard.

  'Chuck, I have no idea what this is about, I'm just following a lead on an old flag profile, no different to what I told you before. I haven't dropped you in it, I swear it Chuck.'

  Although a further sigh showed that Manson had relaxed a little, he still had an edge.

  'Well, my orders are to get you to the embassy right away and there is a car heading your way as we speak. I had to request a top priority identity trace to find you, your cell phone must have been switched off during the flight and I guess that you're not getting a good signal out there.

  'Buddy, they've pulled out the stops just to get you into a video conference with Kappel as soon as possible so this is a big deal. They're also calling in that Mallory guy I had seconded for you. Take a leak, get washed, get dressed, stay put and wait for the knock on the door and Jackson,' he paused for affect, 'don't mention this to anybody, this comes straight from the top, you're not to talk to anybody about this.'

  Jackson's mind was racing, he could not understand it all, and could not guess what events he had inadvertently triggered that would cause the Deputy Director himself to want to talk with him so urgently, unless his earlier suspicions had been correct.

  'Thanks Chuck, I'll do that, I appreciate the heads-up.'

  'No problem, just don't pull any more surprises on me, I'm too near retirement to screw up my pension now.'

  'You're in the clear old friend,' Jackson nodded, 'I'll catch up with you later.'

  'Good, now, sit tight, they'll be there soon.'

  Jackson still held the receiver to his ear as the line went dead and was broken out of his thoughts by a loud knock on his door. He placed the handset back on the telephone cradle and switched a lamp on, blinking rapidly to adjust to the bright light and hastily looking around for his trousers before quickly slipping them on. Another sequence of knocks pounded against the door.

  'Alright, alright, I'm getting there!'

  Lumbering across the room and still fiddling with his fly zipper in his haste, Jackson took a deep breath to relax slightly before unlocking the door and starting to open it.

  It swung open with slightly more vigour than he had applied as his visitor pressed against it to hurry it along and Jackson took a sharp step back and squinted into the brightly lit corridor where two bur
ly shaven headed men in dark blue suits stood waiting.

  The visitors looked him up and down and the man who had obviously been knocking at the door spoke urgently.

  'Mr. Revere, Staff Sergeant Stanley and PFC Oliver from the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group, I have orders to escort you to the US Embassy in The Hague as quickly as possible.'

  There was no hint of negotiation or discussion and Jackson opened his arms wide to illustrate his state of readiness.

  'Am I allowed to finish dressing first?'

  Sergeant Stanley did not smile and simply nodded curtly.

  'I'll come inside and wait, but please, we must hurry.'

  He turned and nodded to his associate who assumed a somewhat obvious guard position in the corridor. Jackson backed away from the entrance and the Marine walked straight in and closed the door behind him.

  'As quickly as possible sir.'

  Jackson thought that since he was still being called 'Sir', and the Sergeant had used the word 'please', the situation could not be entirely negative.

  'I'll be as quick as I can.'

  He grabbed his clothing from a tub chair where he had discarded it in the early morning hours and hastily started to dress under the watchful gaze of his escort. As he was buttoning his shirt he nodded to a couple of suitcases sitting atop a luggage stand.

  'My bags?'

  'Are they packed up?'

  'If I'm not wearing it then it is still in one of the suitcases or hanging in the closet, although I have a wash bag in the bathroom.'

  Sergeant Stanley's demeanour did not alter and his face appeared to be set in stone, displaying no change of expression, he just walked into the bathroom and came out again carry the wash bag, quickly lifting the lid of one of the suitcases and unceremoniously dumping it inside.