“The actions they’ve taken in response have been uncharacteristically swift.”
“I thought they were a patient people, one-hundred-year strategies and all of that.”
“That’s what we’ve been taught, but in the last week, they’ve greenlighted some long-standing attack plans against the USA.”
“Like what? I haven’t seen anything in the papers.”
“You saw the article about the Commander of the 5th Fleet in Bahrain dying?”
“I did. They said it was a heart attack.”
“Chemically induced heart attack. Another flag officer, the Deputy Commander of PACOM, an Army Lieutenant General, was in Tripler Hospital getting routine knee surgery and he died from the same thing.”
“What happened?”
“An IV he was given during surgery contained a drug cocktail that sent him into a lethal cardiac arrest.”
“Did you trace it back to the Chinese?”
“We lost five senior military officers in a single week. Car accidents, heart attacks and one provable murder at PACOM. At the same time, we have a huge cyber hack of DoD, coming at us from North Korea, but we know it’s China that really controls that facility.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all we know about at this point. By all appearances, it seems the Chinese are executing some of the covert plans they have on the shelf against us.”
“It’s only natural they would retaliate. We hurt them pretty bad and the military option wouldn’t end well for them if they decided to attack us overtly.”
“Exactly, so it’s economic warfare and black ops.”
“So, what brings you to beautiful Eleuthera?”
“We’re pretty certain they know it was you who attacked them. So far, they’ve targeted
DoD and rolled up some agency assets they must’ve had under suspicion as working for us. You’re a very likely target. We think if we throw some sunshine on this covert war the Chinese are waging, we can get them to pull back and allow things to simmer down.”
“You want to use Trident as bait to catch them in the act?”
“Exactly. We’re going to put all of the members of your team under observation and capture the Chinese when they show.”
“I was planning on doing that myself. We have Dave Forrest and Cheryl hard at work and if a Chi-Com sapper makes a run at us, we’re armed and ready.”
“I had something less kinetic in mind. We want to capture the Chinese agents. We’ll use your team as the bait and the team I just landed with will watch and wait. Once the Chinese make their move, we’ll capture them.”
“Who thinks capturing some Chinese doing a hit on Americans will be enough to cause the Chinese to stop the covert war?”
“I do. Like you said, the Chinese are patient. They’re very aggressive when the lights are out, especially when it comes to industrial espionage, but if they earn a reputation for conducting overt attacks in foreign nations, they’re going to find fewer countries who will invite them in as trade partners. The long game for them is to achieve hegemony first by starting with trade and finishing with force. Heavy-handed thuggery early on doesn’t play to their plan.”
“You have confidence in the analysts who come up with this stuff?”
“Yeah, it’s what we do. They’re not always right but we have to play the odds.”
“Your team better be good at staying undetected. Because if one of my guys spots a tail, they’re liable to become violent.”
“Give your guys a heads-up that another blue team is in the sandbox.”
“Ok, but don’t you think it would be a good idea to introduce them and maybe share and liaise a bit?”
“Communication with the CIA protection team isn’t possible; they’re under deep cover.”
“Since when is that a problem?”
“Since we’re dealing with assets that belong to someone other than me. Not my territory, not my rules.”
Chapter 12
Eleuthera, Bahamas
Huang stepped off the charter boat and onto the dock in Cotton Bay. The trip from Nassau to the southern tip of Eleuthera Island took five hours. He was still feeling a little bit queasy when he noticed an elderly local man in a straw-hat waving at him. He went to the man and quickly completed a set of rental car paperwork and headed north to Governors Harbour in an old Jeep Cherokee.
The drive to Governors Harbour took over two hours. His motion sickness received little reprieve due to the rough roads which were made even worse by the worn-out shocks in the old Jeep. Huang collapsed onto his bed the moment he reached his room at the French Leave Resort. After a rest, he walked to dinner at the hotel restaurant. The 1648 restaurant was located across Queens Highway, which is a two-lane hardball road bisecting the hotel grounds. Following a light dinner, he set off on foot to find Trident Headquarters. The short walk along Queens Highway into the small downtown area of Governors Harbour was almost all downhill. He stopped at a picturesque vantage overlooking the town center and spotted the converted mansion Trident used for its headquarters. It was right where he was told it would be, the nearest building to the sea wall on Queens Highway and less than one hundred yards from the small intersection that represented the core of the downtown. The buildings close to the Trident Headquarters included a bank, the police station, two small grocery stores, a liquor store, gas station, bakery, and a real estate office.
Huang continued his walk down the hill to the downtown and sat on a park bench next to the sea wall. He watched as the sun set over the Caribbean in a beautiful spectrum of yellows and blues. At the same time, he kept an eye on the stately two-story stucco mansion across the road. At a little past six, he watched two women exit the building. Both were black Bahamian women who got into separate cars and left. Minutes later, an Asian woman exited the front door and got into a late model Q36 Infinity and drove off.
Late the next morning, Huang drove to a grocery store in downtown Governors Harbour and bought a fishing rod with spinning reel and some bait and tackle. He also picked up a small cooler he filled with bottled water and snacks. He returned to the same bench on the sea wall, slathered himself with sunblock, put a straw hat on his head and began a day of fishing. A few hours later, he watched a late-model blue Chevy Tahoe pull up to the Trident office. Two big men got out of the SUV and entered the house. The man on the driver’s side matched the description of his target, at least his height and build did. Huang was more than one hundred yards away and couldn’t make out any facial features. With nothing else to go on, he reeled in his line and left his equipment by the bench as if he were going on a quick bathroom break. Huang pulled a small black device the size of a lighter from his pocket and switched it on. The GSM transmitter locator would send a signal every fifteen seconds to the receiving unit in his Jeep. Huang walked across the street and headed directly to the blue Tahoe. When he reached the back of the vehicle, he knelt down to tie his shoe and, using the magnet on the device, he attached it to the rear undercarriage of the Tahoe. He was up in just a few seconds and continued on to the bakery next to the house.
After sitting down and eating a sandwich lunch at Peggy’s Bakery, Huang returned back to his park bench and continued to fish. At half-past three, almost four hours after the men arrived, the sweat-soaked Huang saw the two men leave the house, get in their truck and drive up the hill toward the Atlantic side of the island. Huang went to his Jeep and powered up the receiver. He blasted the air conditioning while the system booted up. After a few minutes, his tablet receiver displayed a map with a circular blue icon showing the Tahoe moving south on Banks Road. After a few miles, the vehicle turned into a driveway and stopped. He marked the position on the map and pulled up a Google satellite image of the location. The image showed a main house, two smaller guest houses, and a swimming pool. It was a luxury oceanfront estate on the Atlantic side of the island. On the opposite side of Banks Road was the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve. The estate had a fence along the rectangular property barrie
r, except on the side with the beach. On the north side of the property was Tippy’s restaurant and on the south side was another deluxe estate.
After studying the map for several minutes, Huang decided to drive by and have a look at the property and the security setup. He didn’t slow when he passed the home. It was a three-story stucco structure. The surrounding fence was wrought iron with brick pillars. The gate looked solid, but there was no security personnel.
Huang maintained surveillance of the Trident Headquarters for three days. When he was done fishing each day, he used some of the remaining daylight to scout the beach house. He was pleased about his fishing spot becoming less conspicuous when a couple of other anglers noticed he was having good luck fishing from the park bench and decided to join him. He surreptitiously captured a picture of the men in the Tahoe and from the digital image was able to confirm the presence of his target Pat Walsh. After the third day, he had what he needed and decided it was time to move from surveillance mode to action. That evening, the rest of his team arrived on the ferry from Nassau to Governors Harbour and checked into his hotel.
Chapter 13
Eleuthera, Bahamas
I sat at the head of the dining room table and waited for my lobster bisque to cool. Cheryl had been doing most of the cooking since Maria and her husband had left for vacation. It took a lot of prompting from me to get my loyal housekeeping staff out of harm’s way. Father Tellez, my other permanent tenant, couldn’t be persuaded to travel. Despite my warnings of the risks, he remained a fixture around the house. All of the other members of the team were assembled around the table.
“After lunch, Savage and I will drive to the Trident office. The rest of you stay inside the house and be ready in case I call for help,” I said.
“Stay inside the house. Where have I heard that before?” Cheryl muttered, obviously testy about having been confined inside the house for the better part of a week.
“The Agency has eyes on our fisherman and on the hit team that’s staying at the French Leave Resort,” I said.
“Is today the day?” Savage asked.
“They think so. I don’t think the Chinese would want them hanging around any longer than they have to.”
“What’s their extraction plan?” McDonald asked.
“I don’t know; the agency’s keeping me in the dark on a lot of things. I’m getting everything through Mike. It has to be either boat or plane. If it were me, I’d extract out of Governors Harbour Airport in a private jet. Getting out by boat is too slow. Nassau’s a fifty-mile boat ride, which is a lot of exposure on the getaway,” I said.
“Does the Agency have the airport covered?” Migos asked.
“I don’t know. They refuse to communicate or cooperate. Mike doesn’t have control in the Caribbean and his counterpart at Langley doesn’t want to blow the cover of his agents to civilians.”
“We’re civilians?” asked Migos.
“All I know is that the Agency picked up the fisherman when he arrived by private boat charter earlier this week and they’ve been surveilling the hit team since it arrived two nights ago on the ferry.”
“And the plan is for you and Savage to just sashay up to the office as bait?” Cheryl asked.
“That’s the plan. It’s simple enough; they’ll take down the Chinese when they make their move. The Agency is calling the shots. We just need to follow the plan, and nothing will go wrong,” I said.
“And yet, it so often does,” Migos said.
“No, it usually doesn’t go wrong. This island is the worst place for a group of Chinese agents to operate. They’ll stick out badly. They’re either going to plan to kill us as we go in or as we come out. The options are pretty limited,” I said.
“They may try a snatch and grab,” Cheryl said.
“You used to work with them. Do you think they want a prisoner?” I asked.
“They wouldn’t try to take you both. To take one, they would have a team of at least four operators in close, plus a sniper overlooking the target area for observation and security. They’ll also have a driver nearby.” Cheryl paused, putting her right index finger to her cheek in thought.
“It will be easier to take you going in. If it were me, when you park at the office, you’d be approached simultaneously from both sides. One team would take out Savage with a silenced kill shot. The other would subdue you and then all four would bundle you up and toss you into a vehicle.”
“Are you just going to trust the Agency is watching over you?” Migos said between spoonfuls of soup.
“All I know is the Chinese are under Agency surveillance. I expect the Agency to make its move at the same time or just before the Chinese operators. If I pull into that parking space and I see a Chinese person approaching, or better yet two, I’m going to start shooting regardless of what the CIA plan is,” I said.
“Me too,” said Savage
“And what are we going to be doing again?” Asked Migos.
“Staying inside the house. You’re the quick reaction force, except Cheryl. She stays put no matter what,” I said.
“I could wear a disguise,” said Cheryl.
“Not worth the risk. If they find out you didn’t die in Oman, but instead skipped out on them and are working with a CIA-linked company, you’re dead. They’ll come after you with everything they have.”
We finished lunch and Savage and I walked out to the driveway. It was a warm afternoon and the Miguel Caballero level II soft armor undershirt I was wearing under my Tommy Bahama shirt was making me sweat. On my hip, I was sporting an H&K USP 9mm in a rotating hip holster that allowed me to draw quickly even while seated in the truck. Savage and I were both wearing blue-tooth earpieces and throat mics that let us communicate with the rest of the team.
It was almost one in the afternoon when I pulled onto Queens Highway and approached the Trident office. To the right of my usual parking spot was Jessica’s car. I didn’t recognize the Ford Taurus with heavily tinted windows on the left side of my empty spot.
I pulled forward into the parking space. I unholstered my pistol as I opened the driver’s seat door. A man was getting out of the driver’s side door on the opposite side of the Taurus as I opened my door. In an instant, the driver’s head turned into a red mist. A second later, I heard the report from the sniper shot and then behind me, three rapid weapon discharges. My eyes spent too much time loitering on the head shot victim, and I noticed the open window on the Taurus passenger side too late. I felt the shock of the Taser as I was stepping around my car door. A surge of electricity pouring through my body, dropping me to the ground. My falling down must have cleared the field of fire for a CIA shooter behind me because the Taser gunner was shot through the forehead while he was only a couple seconds into tasering me.
Savage pulled me up by the arm.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Was that it?”
“I think so,” he said while looking around. We still hadn’t seen any Agency personnel.
“Let’s go check on Jessica and the staff,” I said while walking a bit unsteadily toward the front door.
“Base, this is Savage,” I heard through my earpiece on my way up the stairs.
“Base, this is Savage,” he repeated.
Once inside, I ran up to the second floor and found Jessica sitting behind her desk undisturbed.
“Didn’t you hear those shots outside?” I asked incredulously.
“What shots?”
“Look out the front window; the police should arrive at any second.”
“Base, this is Savage,” I heard again through my headpiece.
I closed the tactical app on my phone and called Cheryl on the cell. The call went right to voicemail.
“Let’s get back to the house,” I said to Savage. Jessica walked by me on her way to the front window of the building to see what I was talking about. The sight of the four dead bodies caused her to gasp.
“What should I tell the police
?” she asked.
“Tell them what you saw.”
“Should I mention you and Savage?”
“Definitely,” I said.
On the way back to the beach house, I drove while Savage tried unsuccessfully to reach Cheryl, Migos, McDonald, and Sorenson on any of the communications. I called Mike on my cell.
“Something’s wrong. I can’t reach Cheryl or anyone at the house. Do you have eyes on them?”
“Negative.”
“There must be a second team,” I said.
“Where are you?” Mike asked.
“I just arrived at the house. I’m wheeling through the gate now.”
“We captured two Chinese agents and five more were killed in the attempt to get you. That was all of the Chinese agents we were tracking on the island.”
“Watch the exits off the island; I’ll let you know what I find.”
Everything looked normal until I opened the front door of the house. The first thing that greeted us was a dead Chinese agent lying face down on the hardwood floor of the foyer. Savage and I both approached with pistols drawn.
“Migos!” I yelled.
“Up here!” I heard from the second floor.
“Is it clear?”
“Yes.”
Savage and I ran up the stairs. We found Migos in the hallway with a trauma pack next to him working on a badly wounded McDonald who was unconscious and bleeding from a chest wound. Savage joined Migos in the effort and started an IV while Migos worked to seal the sucking chest wound.
“Where’s Cheryl and Sorenson?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Migos said. He was wearing a blood-stained blue t-shirt that was soaked with sweat.
“Take the Tahoe and get him to the clinic,” I said.
I raced through the house and the only thing I found were three dead Chinese agents and enough brass and bullet damage to indicate a fierce firefight. I went out the back door toward the beach and found a backpack with an antenna sticking out the top flap. Inside was a GSM jammer that must have been used to kill the cell phones inside the house. I shut the system off.
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