The Montevideo Game

by J E Higgins

  Chapter 42

  It was sheer luck. That was the thought Dayan had when he heard the recording. He couldn’t believe it. And yet, it was being said with the distinct voice he recognized all too well.

  Figuring it was far too risky to retrieve them, they had kept the receiving devices on Straudner’s yacht. With few intelligence assets left to work with, the decision by Cohen was to keep the operation in place in the hopes something might come of it. Offered a considerable sum, Alyssa Rios had reluctantly kept up surveillance on the politician. Not long after, they caught him on his office phone discussing a time he was going yachting again on the Sunset Glory.

  Oskar Perez was again able to enlist the services of the old fisherman for that day. True to his word, Straudner was on his yacht. This time he was in the dining room which made his conversation clearer. The sound of glasses clinking and liquid being poured came in quite well. He was speaking to someone, who remained nameless, and whose voice was unfamiliar.

  “I realize your concerns,” Straudner snapped indignantly.

  “I’m just saying that we must seize the moment before a revolution breaks out,” replied the mystery man nervously. “The campuses are in mutiny; the poorer districts have been in riots.”

  “Yes, yes, I have read the same reports and watched the same footage on the news. However, my dear sir, we must bide our time. If we do not have the full support of the right backers, then this will all be for nothing. Our move to save the country will fall apart.”

  “Those bastard oligarchs!” The mystery man cried bitterly. “Too busy worrying about their next polo match than the welfare of their nation.”

  “They have their interests, and we must respect that they can’t be expected to just up and move at our demand. As an oligarch myself, I understand their concerns. The military has a bad habit of overreacting when they take control and make rash decisions. They’ll come around soon when they see the same things you and I see. Besides you, yourself, have pointed out we still have some finer points of the plan to work out before we initiate anything.”

  “Just minor points,” the mystery man said; his voice calmer. “Nothing we can’t work out in the field.”

  “Patience,” Straudner commanded in a quiet, dignified tone. “When we move, it will be with a united front.”

  “Just so,” the mystery man said.

  “The meeting to finalize the plan will be at the Saratoga Manor on Saturday, two weeks from now, at 1800hrs,” Straudner said in the calm but stern manner of a man definitely in control.

  “The others will be there. I will see to it.” The mystery man said with a tone of reluctance. “The Saratoga manor though? Such a location is so visible. Won’t it raise suspicion, if the politicians find out?”

  “Not at all. It will be the perfect cover; it will be Colonel Rega’s birthday party. We’ll have it at his estate, and everyone will assume we’re just celebrating,” the politician replied. “I will, in the meantime, work to convince our friends the oligarchs that this needs to happen. I’m sure by the next meeting we will have them aboard with our plan.”

  “And if you don’t?” The mystery man asked. Again, his tone was nervous and unsure.

  “Then Uruguay falls to the anarchy,” Straudner replied.

  The conversation came to an end. Dayan and Perez looked at each other with both excitement and bewilderment ─ unsure what was to be done next. They waited for a time, continuing to listen. The conversation had ended with the mystery man apparently departing leaving the politician alone. Then, they heard him making a call.

  “Romaros,” Straudner said, with a tone of elation. “Everything is on track. We’ll have our little get together. I just finalized the arrangements with our friends in the army. You just be sure to invite your friends in the police department. We are going to ensure everything is set for the celebration.” Again, the politician had taken care to be careful with his words and not use any incriminating statements. However, his message was clear. This meeting was going to be a gathering of all the conspirators in one room. At last, thought Dayan, they had everyone in one place. They had finally achieved their target. The next step was planning the mission.

  The message Dayan received was strange and disconcerting. Someone had sent him an encrypted email from Plūcker’s account. The code words authenticating the message being sent by the Irishman all seemed to be there. It was the way the message read that was different ─ word use, the way things were written, and the unnerving point of the need to meet in an alternate location, all seemed altered from what they normally got from the burly man in Bogota. Regardless, the message alluded to a serious security alert that required the Israeli’s presence immediately.

  It didn’t take Dayan long, after he arrived in the Colombian city, to see the problem. The Ronin Club was nothing but ashes ─ burnt wood and rubble. The account from a local businessman running a nearby delicatessen explained that the club’s proprietor had supposedly been murdered by some unsavory customers. Adding that news to the emergency communique, the Israeli assumed it probably had something to do with the Iranians. If so, that meant the Iranians were quickly figuring out who they were up against.

  The mysterious communique now raised questions. It had been sent after the Irishman’s death, leading Dayan to wonder who had actually contacted him. And, were they to be trusted? The communique had stressed that normal channels had been compromised. That was obvious from the wreckage of the bar. The new meeting place was to be a small hotel on the north side of the city. Plūcker was dead, which meant their logistics man and contact to the black market was gone, at a time when they needed equipment desperately. Otherwise, Dayan’s instincts told him to walk away now and cut all contact.

  Along with Oskar Perez and two of the Colombian mercenaries they had brought along, the Israeli found himself navigating the narrow streets of the city as he headed toward the north side. His instincts told him this was a bad idea. This opinion was also the consensus of everyone else; they all felt the need to verbalize their thoughts. They all knew Plūcker had been their pipeline for equipment. Contacting Cohen and apprising him of the situation only verified the fact that the Irishman was their only contact for acquiring the equipment. After that, the katsa was at a loss to offer any alternative for procuring the needed materials. Their only hope was to meet this mysterious contact and see if they had a remote chance to reestablishing their pipeline.

  The hotel Grenada was hardly a palatial establishment. Nor was it a slum-like hole in the wall. It was a modest four-story structure surrounded by a labyrinth of small shops and eateries lined up along the winding roadways. It was easy for the veteran soldiers to realize that whoever chose this location had done so with a strategic advantage in mind. Numerous roadways and a maze of businesses and backroads made for a complicated situation if someone were trying to follow or abduct anyone. A potential target had multiple ways to and from their residence and numerous places to escape to if they were being chased.

  Pulling the car off to the side of the parking lot, the men exited the vehicle. One of the Colombians was left behind to watch the vehicle and for any suspicious activity. The rest of the group started toward the hotel. The doorman inside was a small, round man in his mid-fifties, sporting a pot belly, balding round head, and a lengthy handle-bar mustache. He looked like something out of a cartoon. His wife, who busied herself in the back room, looked almost identical, minus the baldness and the handlebar mustache.

  “May I help you Sẽnor?” The hotel manager, with a big toothy grin, asked pleasantly. Dayan and Perez stood back as the Colombian mercenary, Gabriel, took the lead and spoke to the man.

  “Yes, can you call up to room 304 please?” The mercenary beamed a charming smile at the little man.

  Obligingly, the manager picked up the phone on the counter and rang someone. Handing the phone to the mercenary, the manager went about his work, oblivious to the world.

  Gabriel handed the phone to Dayan. After a f
ew rings, he heard a woman’s voice on the other end of the phone answer. “Hello?”

  Dayan didn’t recognize her voice, but the twinge of fear he heard in her voice led him to think they were not walking into a trap. “We’re friends of Plūcker’s, his friends from Buenos Aires.”

  That had been the code they had agreed with Plūcker to use early on when he discussed the operation. Figuring any reference to Uruguay might cause exposure, they settled on ‘friends from Buenos Aires’ when identifying the Israelis.

  For what seemed like hours, there was silence. Then the woman spoke. “Meet me in fifteen minutes ─ room 207.”

  Dayan heard the phone click on the other end. Dropping the receiver back into the cradle, he nodded to his compatriots. The three men made for the stairwell. Ascending the gray, tiled steps, one after another, the three men walked up the stairs keeping a few meters apart. If this was a trap, they would be spread out enough not to be taken out in one burst of gunfire or start tripping over each other trying to maneuver.

  The hotel was quiet and built in such a way that one had a good view of the hallways and areas from the vantage point of the stairs. The establishment was not built to accommodate an ambush. Keeping their tactical distance, the three made their way to the second floor and started down the hall. Gabriel stayed at the entryway to provide security as Dayan and Perez proceeded further.

  Reaching room 207, the two men stayed to the side of the doorway aligned with the neighboring room. Carefully extending his arm, Dayan lightly knocked on the door. A woman’s voice answered, spoken from the inside, “Yes?”

  “The friends from Buenos Aires,” the Israeli replied.

  Everything was silent as the woman hesitated. Then, the sound of locks was heard being undone, followed by the slight creak of the door as it slowly opened. Assuming whoever was on the other side was likely armed, both men stayed off to the side. When the door opened about half a foot, the woman became more visible. Dayan recognized the face of the Negress, Plūcker’s barmaid, almost immediately.

  The relaxed look on the woman’s face told him she recognized the Israeli as well. “Come in, please,” she whispered with some urgency. Dayan stepped forward, but not before he gave a nod to Perez directing him to wait outside. Inside, the room was plain ─ a bed with cheap brown covers and a few other pieces of furniture.

  The curtains were drawn tightly. The only light came from a single lamp on a nightstand. Dayan took a position near the door and remained standing. The Negress moved towards a small chair near the bed.

  “My name is Raizza,” the Negress murmured.

  “What happened?” Dayan asked.

  Pursing her lips, Raizza raised her arms to rub her shoulders. “Some men I didn’t know came. A few were Colombian sicarios ─ guns for hire. But the rest looked like you, Middle-Easterner types. They stormed in through the back while Ian, I mean Plūcker, was being distracted out front. They tortured him.”

  “I’m sorry,” Dayan replied sympathetically. “Did he say anything?”

  Raizza shook her head. “I don’t know. I was hiding in the office in the back. I could only hear his shouts and screams, but they killed him. I saw the body; he didn’t die from the torture. So, he must have served his purpose.”

  “But you don’t know that?” Dayan asked, tapping his fingers against the wall.

  She shook her head.

  “Why did you contact me?” The Israeli started to move closer to her. “Why not just disappear when you realized how dangerous this had gotten?”

  Sighing, Raizza sought to find the words. “He, Ian, I mean Plūcker, was like a father to me. He took me in when I was living on the streets as a kid. He looked after me, gave me a job and a safe place to live. He never laid hand on me demanding payment. I know he was in a very dangerous business. But I can’t walk away knowing these people killed him. I have to see this through. You’re fighting the people who killed him. You’re as close as I will ever get to see that he gets some kind of justice. So, for better or worse, you’re all I have.”

  The Israeli shrugged his shoulders. “I’m afraid we won’t be doing much right now. In the current circumstances, your boss’s death has crippled our operation. Plūcker was running our logistics. Without him, we don’t have any other avenue to obtain what we need to finish what we’ve started,”

  Turning away from the Israeli, she reached behind the nightstand. She produced a small knapsack and proceeded to lay it on the bed. Unzipping it, she pulled out a sleek black laptop. Handing it to the Israeli, she exhaled. “I know I am taking a big risk right now. I have no reason at all to trust you. But this laptop contains all of Ian’s documents pertaining to your operation. You’re no good to me if you can’t be effective.”

  Dayan’s eyes lit up. “You mean this laptop contains everything regarding our dealings for this mission!” the Israeli groaned. He thought about how easily the whole operation could have been destroyed.

  “It was well hidden,” Raizza replied. “They searched the building and his offices and found nothing. But before you go making judgments, understand this. He was arranging for you to be in a lot of different places. Often on extremely short notice. You think someone can manage all those black-market deals and arrange such secretive logistics off the top of their head?”

  Dayan didn’t respond. She continued, “Your entire operation is right here.”

  Taking the laptop, the Israeli shook his head. “Even with this information, I don’t have the recognition with suppliers and the other people Plūcker worked with for all this.

  “I do,” Raizza replied stiffly. “I often was with him when he made these deals. I even acted on his behalf, when he was too busy to attend to the matter. I can work with those you still need. I just can’t let this operation die. Otherwise, they win, and Ian died for nothing.”

  Dayan could see the sincere hurt in the woman’s eyes. The only man in her life who had been decent to her was dead, and she was at a loss to do anything about it. More to the point, he didn’t have any other options. He would have to trust Raizza to work with the suppliers doing what Plūcker would have done. “Alright, what you’re telling me is you can still obtain what we require?”

  Raizza looked back at the Israeli. “Right now, I’m all you have. So, what’s next?”

  “Do you have a new base of operation?” Dayan asked.

  “I’m working on it,” she replied, taking back the laptop. “I’ve been more concerned with staying hidden for right now considering recent events.”

  “We need to establish a new base.” Dayan rubbed his chin. “However, I also need to prepare for a major operation, and we need to discuss the details.”

  Chapter 43

  The echoing sound of gunshots erupted. A crashing knock pounded outside the door. “We just made contact!” Shouted the voice of Oskar Perez. “Gabriel’s taking fire right now,” Perez shouted over the thundering sound of what was becoming a hail of gunfire.

  Reaching under his dark sports coat, the Israeli produced a small Bulgarian Makarov pistol. It was from the tiny arsenal Plūcker had helped acquire for Dayan and his team to use while they were operating in Colombia. Opening the door, the Israeli found Perez wedged up against the neighboring doorway kneeling in a defensive position.

  Looking down at the far end of the hall, Dayan saw Gabriel, taking cover against the corner of the hallway. His weapon was out, and he was exchanging shots with someone firing back from the lower stairs. The continuous hail of return fire the Colombian was facing indicated several people were attacking.

  “What do we do?” Perez asked nervously.

  Turning to Raizza, Dayan asked, “Is there a fire escape at the other end?”

  “Yes!” she replied in a near shriek.

  Touching Perez on the shoulder, the Israeli ordered him to take the woman and withdraw to the fire escape. Raizza had barely had finished stuffing the laptop into her knapsack before the mercenary grabbed her and started down the hall.

/>   Shouting at Gabriel to fall back, Dayan crouched in the doorway and raised his weapon preparing to give cover for his compatriot. After firing a few more shots, the Colombian called back, “Moving!!”

  “Move!!” the Israeli replied, his weapon at the ready. Gabriel lowered his weapon, turned and darted down the hallway. He was careful to remain out of Dayan’s line of sight as he raced down the corridor. The Colombian had just moved past Dayan when men came to the top of the stairwell and took positions at the corner of the hallway.

  “How many are there?” Dayan asked keeping his attention focused on the force massing at the end of the hall.

  “I counted maybe six,” replied a winded Gabriel standing right behind him.

  Lining up his sights, the Israeli prepared to fire. “We will leapfrog our way back toward the fire escape. Fire a burst and move. We won’t have much time to change magazines, so maintain fire control. Two rounds preferably, three at the most.”

  “Got it!” the Colombian shouted ─ his adrenaline kicking in. “I have to say these boys didn’t flinch, and they move quickly for cover. They know their business, whoever they are.”

  “I’m not interested in finding out,” Dayan replied. Behind him, he heard the clicking of Gabriel’s weapon, as he changed magazines. The final click followed by the sliding sound of a round being chambered told the Israeli his cohort was ready.

  By now, the unidentified adversaries had tactically assembled along the corner of the hall next to the stairs. They had moved slowly into position, assuming correctly that their enemies awaited them down the hall. Gabriel had been accurate in his assessment. These men they were facing weren’t amateurs. Their moves were tactically sound and demonstrated instincts that only came with years of hardened experience.

  Firing off his initial two rounds in the direction of the assailants, Dayan could hear Gabriel dart off, taking cover in a doorway at the other end of the hall.