Five Years in Yemen

by Luana Ehrlich

  When the elevator doors opened in the lobby a few minutes before three o’clock, I saw Taylor standing across the room from me looking out on the parking lot. When he heard the elevator ding, he glanced over, and I motioned for him to join me in the elevator.

  Neither one of us said anything until I’d pushed the third-floor button and the doors had closed.

  I’d already decided to go with a friendly approach, so I stuck out my hand and said, “I’m Titus Ray.”

  I also gave him a big smile.

  He returned my smile—although it wasn’t a very big smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Jeremy Taylor.”

  Taylor was a little taller than me—probably a couple of inches over six foot—with short black hair, a narrow face, and light brown eyes. He had a military bearing about him, and I was guessing he’d either been an Army Ranger or a Navy SEAL before he’d gone to work for the DIA.

  “Just out of curiosity, were you a Ranger or a SEAL?”

  “Ranger.” He paused for a second. “The DIA only takes the best.”

  “I get that. The CIA only takes the smartest.”

  This time, his smile was a little bigger.

  * * * *

  When the doors opened on the third floor and we saw two hotel guests coming down the hall toward the elevator, we both stopped talking.

  Neither of us said a word until we entered my room, and I pointed to the recliner and said, “Have a seat.”

  Although I assumed the recording device on my Agency phone had started recording when I’d told him to have a seat, I said, “I’m sorry, Jeremy, except for some bottled water, I don’t have anything to offer you to drink.”

  “I’m good. I just had lunch at the Denny’s down the street.”

  “I’m surprised they were open on Thanksgiving Day.”

  “Denny’s is always open.”

  “Were they serving turkey and dressing?”

  “I believe that’s what they called it. I’m guessing you had a big Thanksgiving dinner at your sister’s house.”

  “You’re guessing? You mean you didn’t have your partner follow me over there?”

  He bristled at my question and said, “I called off the surveillance as soon as I talked to you yesterday. I thought you knew that.”

  Taylor seemed like a very serious, no-nonsense kind of guy, someone who might have difficulty communicating with non-military personnel.

  “Actually, I was joking. I knew I wasn’t being shadowed today.”

  He nodded. “Okay. Let’s get right to it then. You wanted to ask me some questions about Stephen Gault?”

  “No, first, I wanted to ask you why your guy was following me, and how he knew I worked for the Agency.”

  “I can answer that. Day before yesterday, when you showed up at Gault’s building and were talking to that cable utility crew, we aimed a mike in your direction. It was mainly out of curiosity, but, as soon as you mentioned Stephen Gault, we snapped some photographs of you, and . . . ah . . . you can probably guess the rest.”

  “Yeah. You found me in a DIA database and saw my connection to the Agency. That doesn’t answer my second question. Why did you follow me to Flint?”

  “From what we picked up, it was obvious you were looking for information on Gault, so I had Sandusky follow you so we could identify the people you were meeting, and the places you were going.”

  “I’m here in Flint to see my sister. She doesn’t have anything to do with Stephen Gault.”

  “No, I don’t imagine she does.”

  “Can I assume the DIA is looking for information on Gault?”

  He nodded. “That’s our assignment.”

  “What specifically are you looking for?”

  “I’m not authorized to tell you that, until you tell me why the Agency has Gault under surveillance.”

  “I don’t believe I can—”

  “I’d also like to know why the Agency would send a covert operative to dig up intel on him.”

  I tried answering his question by not answering his question. “I imagine we have him under surveillance for the same reason you do. Stephen Gault previously worked as a CIA contractor, and we’ve recently learned he’s making plans to leave the country. Like the DIA, the Agency does regular surveillance on our contractors, especially someone who holds a high security clearance.”

  Taylor stood to his feet and said, “I thought we might be able to help each other out, but I can see I’m just wasting my time here.”

  Perhaps Taylor couldn’t be so easily scammed.

  I decided to play it straight.

  “Wait a second, Jeremy. You must have misunderstood my answer. I was just getting started.”

  He sat back down again.

  “I’ll be truthful with you,” I said. “I’m not involved in any covert operation that concerns Gault. Yes, we have a team doing surveillance on him, but there’s nothing officially on the books yet. I asked my boss if I could pay him a visit—which I plan to do tomorrow—because there’s a big possibility I’ll be assigned to an operation in January that’s connected to someone Gault used to work with five years ago.”

  Although Taylor’s face remained impassive, I saw him tense up and tighten his grip on the arms of the recliner.

  “Who would that be?” he asked.

  “I might be willing to tell you that after you tell me why the DIA is running surveillance on him.”

  Taylor stared at me for a moment, and then he said, “We’ve got him under surveillance because about a month ago the National Security Agency notified the DIA that Gault had received a phone call from a cell phone previously used by a terrorist.”

  That was news to me. Did Carlton know about the phone call?

  He’d never mentioned it, but since I hadn’t been read into the operation yet, that wasn’t unusual.

  “Were they able to pinpoint the location of the cell phone?” I asked.

  “Yeah, the call originated from Yemen.”

  * * * *

  If Taylor was observing my body language the way I was observing his, he couldn’t have missed how I suddenly shifted my weight on the bed the moment he mentioned Yemen.

  I couldn’t help it.

  The fact that Gault might be working with terrorists in Yemen was a game-changer.

  Before I could ask Taylor another question, he went on and explained why his director had made the decision to put Gault under surveillance.

  “Gault worked as a contractor with the Southridge Security Group on three different military projects in the Middle East over a period of ten years. If he’s communicating with terrorists, the Defense Department needs to know why.”

  “How long have you had him under surveillance?”

  “A little over three weeks now. Two weeks ago, Gault received a second phone call. This time, we had our equipment in place and were able to hear the conversation. The speaker was obviously an American male, but he didn’t identify himself. He asked Gault if he’d made a decision about his proposal, and when he answered in the affirmative, he told Gault to use the email account they’d discussed before. He told him he would be sending him all his travel arrangements through that account. That was the extent of the conversation. The American spoke to Gault for less than three minutes, and we didn’t get an exact location.”

  “It sounds like the guy who called him may know how the NSA conducts surveillance on an overseas phone call.”

  Taylor ignored my observation.

  “Okay,” he said, “I’ve told you why the DIA is running surveillance on Stephen Gault. Now, it’s your turn. Tell me why you looked surprised when I mentioned Yemen. Do you know who could be calling Gault from Yemen?”

  “The answer to your question is maybe. I haven’t been fully briefed into my upcoming operation yet, so I can’t be more definitive.”

  “That’s not exactly a—”

  “What I can tell you is that the operation has something to do with Jacob Levin, the SSG contractor who went missing in
Iraq five years ago.”

  Taylor looked surprised. “Are you saying Jacob Levin is alive?”

  “All I was told was that he was recently seen in Yemen.”

  “Yemen,” Taylor repeated. “What’s he doing in Yemen?”

  “I have no idea, but I believe that’s why the DDO is sending me over there. I’m supposed to find Levin in Yemen and convince him it’s time to come home.”

  Taylor looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds and nodded.

  “Yes,” he said, as if he were talking to himself. “Jacob Levin could be the American who phoned Gault. He and Gault worked together on the MODD system, so that would make sense.”

  Taylor looked over at me and asked, “Do you know about the MODD system project?”

  “The Mobile Onsite Drone Detection system. My boss told me Levin was field testing it in Iraq when he disappeared, but that’s pretty much the extent of what I know about it.”

  “Why was the CIA involved in the field tests?”

  “To my knowledge, we weren’t involved in the tests. Jacob Levin speaks fluent Arabic, so when he wasn’t testing the system, the Agency had him translating some documents our Special Ops guys found when they raided Abdel Fattah’s hideout in Karbala. From what I understand, it was the Defense Department that approached the Agency about doing a joint hire in order to get the MODD system project funded.”

  “What do you know about—”

  Before Taylor could finish his question, his cell phone dinged, and when he glanced down at it, he looked embarrassed.

  “I’m sorry. My daughter just texted me, and I really need to call her back.”

  “I’ll give you some privacy,” I said, pointing toward the bathroom. “I need to use the facilities, anyway.”

  As soon as I entered the bathroom and closed the door, I suddenly realized whatever Taylor said to his daughter would be recorded in the Ops Center at Langley through my Agency phone.

  I couldn’t figure out how to tell Taylor his call had been recorded without revealing the Agency had been recording our conversation, so, when I came out of the bathroom, I didn’t say anything.

  “I’m sorry for the interruption,” he said. “Eleanor just turned eight, and I got her a cell phone for her birthday. I’m afraid she’ll need some additional lessons in what constitutes an emergency.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Oh, sure, everything’s fine.”

  Just before I sat down, he said, “If you don’t mind, I’ll take you up on that offer for some water.”

  I opened the room’s mini-refrigerator and pulled out a couple of bottles. After I tossed one over to him, I resumed my seat on the bed.

  “You were about to ask me a question,” I said.

  He nodded. “What do you know about the email account the American mentioned to Gault?”

  “I don’t know anything about it. Again, I’m not in the loop at the Agency right now. In fact, I’m supposed to be on a three-month vacation until January.”

  “I thought you said you planned to visit Gault tomorrow.”

  “That’s right, but it’s nothing official. When I called and made the appointment, I told Gault I was setting up a private military contracting service, and I was exploring the possibility of hiring ACS to design our company’s software. I’m supposed to have a one-on-one meeting with him to determine if his company is a good fit for ours.”

  “With that cover story, I can see how you’d be able to ask him some questions about his experience with military contractors, but I can’t imagine he’d tell you anything about an overseas phone call, much less mention Jacob Levin.”

  “Well, that’s my script going in, but, depending on his answers, I have a feeling I’ll be doing some editing and a few rewrites. The main objective is to catch him off-guard and go from there.”

  Taylor placed both hands on his knees and leaned forward, “Just to be clear, I’ll be sharing what you’ve told me about Jacob Levin with my operations officer.”

  I nodded. “And I’ll let my operations officer know about the phone calls Gault received from Yemen.”

  As Taylor got to his feet, he said, “It would make a lot more sense if our agencies would just talk to each other so everyone would know what’s going on.”

  “Are you kidding? That would make it way too easy for us.”

  * * * *

  After Taylor and I had exchanged phone numbers, I told him I was headed back over to my sister’s house, and I’d walk with him out to my car. As we started to leave the room, I suddenly remembered the bride’s magazine and grabbed it off the bed.

  When he grinned at me, I said, “Don’t even ask.”

  While we were waiting for the elevator, he said, “I’m surprised your boss gave you permission to speak to Stephen Gault before you were assigned to an operation.”

  I laughed. “He occasionally asks his operatives to do favors for him in preparation for an upcoming operation. It’s strictly a matter of semantics with him because he seems to think as long as he calls them favors, he’s justified in keeping them off the books. Like I said, I won’t be talking to Gault in any official capacity.”

  Once we got on the elevator, he said, “Your boss is Douglas Carlton, right?”

  “That’s right. Do you know Douglas?”

  “No, but I’ve heard of him. He has a reputation over at DIA.”

  I waited a beat, thinking he might elaborate on his statement, but when he didn’t, I asked, “What sort of reputation?”

  “Oh, it’s all good. People say he’s an excellent decision-maker, doesn’t get easily flustered, and listens to all the arguments.”

  “That sums him up pretty well.”

  “I’ve also heard he follows the rules,” he looked over at me and smiled, “except when he doesn’t.”

  Chapter 14

  Friday, November 27

  I didn’t get a chance to listen to the recording of my conversation with Jeremy Taylor until Friday morning when I was driving to Detroit for my appointment with Stephen Gault.

  My intention had been to listen to it Thursday night. However, following the football game—which the Cowboys lost in the closing seconds—Nikki and I had stayed at Carla’s house and played board games with everyone until after midnight.

  Although I’d wanted to leave after the football game, Eddie and the rest of the guys had given me so much ribbing for missing the first half of the game, I felt obligated to stay and act like a normal person—not someone who’d just learned a former CIA contractor might be working with a terrorist.

  I wanted to listen to the recording of my conversation with Taylor to make sure I was correct about when Stephen Gault had received the phone calls from the American in Yemen.

  If I was right about the timing, Gault had gotten in touch with Travis Zachary immediately after hearing from the American.

  According to Zachary, Gault had called him to find out if he’d heard any news about the missing Jacob Levin, but he’d gotten nervous and disconnected the call when Zachary had told him he’d been contacted by a recruiter from SSG.

  In my mind, the timing of that phone call to Zachary indicated the American who had called Gault had probably been Jacob Levin.

  The timing issue wasn’t the only reason I wanted to listen to the recording. I was also curious about the phone call Taylor had made to his daughter. While I had a good feeling about Taylor and thought we’d made a connection—especially about the complicated nature of our jobs—I’d learned not to pass up an opportunity to doublecheck my instincts.

  Of course, if Taylor had lied to me about needing to contact his daughter, then I wanted to know the identity of the person he’d called. I also wanted to know if he or she should concern me.

  I’d been driving for about twenty minutes when the recording reached the section where Taylor said he’d received a text from his daughter, and he needed to call her back. At that point, I’d gone into the bathroom to give him some privacy.

&
nbsp; * * * *

  I heard the bathroom door shut, and then I heard Taylor clear his throat. When he began talking, I noticed his military speech pattern had disappeared, and there was a much softer tone in his voice.

  “Hi, sweetie. What’s your emergency?”

  Silence.

  “No, honey, I can’t come to Pepaw’s for Thanksgiving.”

  Silence.

  “I know, and I’m so sorry, but you and Pepaw will have to go look for a Christmas tree without me this year.”

  Silence.

  “I don’t like it either, Eleanor, but that’s the way it has to be for now.”

  Silence.

  “No. No, don’t cry. Tell me about your Thanksgiving dinner. Did Pepaw make you a pumpkin pie?”

  Silence.

  “Two pieces? I can believe he let you eat two pieces.”

  Silence.

  “Of course, I had a big Thanksgiving dinner. It was just my buddies and me, but we still had turkey and dressing. When I was eating my pumpkin pie, I was thinking about you the whole time.”

  Silence.

  “I love you too, sweetie. Now listen to Daddy. Remember what I told you about using your cell phone to call me?”

  Silence.

  “That’s right. I’ll call you later and tell you good night. That’s a kid promise. Okay?”

  I stopped the recording a few minutes later.

  It didn’t sound like I should be concerned about Ms. Eleanor.

  * * * *

  As I drove into the parking lot of Advanced Computer Solutions, I glanced over at the Rouge Park Medical Facilities. There was no sign of either a dark blue van or a gray van, but that didn’t surprise me. The cable company vehicle had also disappeared.

  Even though I couldn’t spot either the DIA or the CIA surveillance crews, I had to assume they had simply switched locations—and probably vehicles—and were still watching Gault’s movements.

  When I entered the ACS building, I was carrying an expensive-looking leather briefcase containing the encrypted laptop Carlton had given me, plus several business cards from Jared Russell, the SSG recruiter.