Five Years in Yemen

by Luana Ehrlich

  However, the business card I handed the receptionist identified me as Rodney Warren of Warren Enterprises.

  “Mr. Warren,” the receptionist said, getting up from her desk, “Mr. Gault’s been expecting you. I’ll show you to his office.”

  I followed her down a short hallway to Stephen Gault’s office.

  When she ushered me inside, Gault stood to his feet and came out from behind his desk to greet me. “Welcome to Advanced Computer Solutions, Mr. Warren. I’m Stephen Gault.”

  After we shook hands, he pointed over to a conference table on the opposite side of the room. “Let’s have a seat over here.”

  Gault was an athletic-looking guy, a little shorter than me, solidly-built, with thick neck muscles and bulging biceps. His wavy reddish hair was parted on the right side, giving his square-shaped face a slightly lopsided appearance.

  He was wearing a pair of tan slacks and a red pullover knit shirt. His casual dress contrasted sharply with my dark blue suit, white shirt, and multi-colored striped tie, and I had the feeling he was intimidated by my more formal attire.

  If so, I’d achieved my objective.

  Several brochures, along with some printed documents, were already laid out on one side of the conference table. When Gault moved to that side of the table, I moved to the opposite side and placed my briefcase on the table in front of me.

  “Before we get started,” Gault said, “could I offer you something to drink? We try to keep things simple around here, so I’m afraid your choices are limited to coffee or bottled water.”

  “Thank you for the offer, but I believe I’ll pass.”

  He gestured at the stack of papers in front of him. “After you called the other day, I went ahead and prepared some examples of the kind of software you’ll need in order to be in compliance with government regulations regarding military contractors. I’m confident our software engineers here at ACS will be able to design you a system to streamline this process and let you focus in on your clients.”

  “It sounds like you know something about being a military contractor.”

  Gault smiled and nodded. “I worked as a military contractor for over a decade, so I’m very familiar with the business.”

  As I unsnapped my briefcase and began removing my laptop, I said, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you used to work for the Southridge Services Group.”

  After he nodded, I looked directly at him and said, “Of course, all of us who are employed at Southridge call it SSG.”

  Gault stared at me for several seconds without saying a word.

  As I stared back at him, I had to believe his brain was trying to analyze the words I’d just spoken and fit them into the context of the presentation he was about to make to Rodney Warren of Warren Enterprises.

  To help him make that contextual leap, I took out Jared Russell’s business card and slid it across the table to him.

  He looked down at it and said, “You’re with SSG?”

  “I’m sorry for the deception. To be truthful, I didn’t think you’d be willing to talk to me if I called you for an appointment, but I felt sure you’d be willing to see someone who might be a potential client.”

  To his credit, Gault didn’t explode with anger, nor did he take the documents he’d prepared for Rodney Warren and hurl them across the room.

  On the other hand, he did sweep the papers aside with such force a few of them fell off the end of the table.

  After that initial reaction, Gault folded his hands in front of him and calmly asked, “What do you want?”

  I’d planned to give him the same spiel I’d given Travis Zachary and talk about a potential job opening at SSG and then follow that up by asking him about the events surrounding Jacob Levin’s disappearance.

  But, before I could open my mouth, he added, “And don’t tell me you’re here to recruit me. I’m not Travis; I’m not interested in doing contract work again.”

  I looked off in the distance as if I might be thinking about something, and then I looked back at him and said, “Okay, Stephen, I won’t tell you I’m here to recruit you. What I will tell you is that I’m here to ask you why you didn’t tell your supervisor Jacob Levin was acting strangely before he disappeared.”

  Gault sighed and shook his head. “Why are you asking questions about Jacob now? It’s been five years since he went missing.”

  “Jacob Levin disappeared into thin air. His body has never been found, so he can’t be declared legally dead. That means SSG is still paying his salary every month. Right now, we’re trying to find out what happened to him so we can file the paperwork to end those payments.”

  Gault shook his head. “I know that’s not true. The DIA funded the MODD project with the help of the CIA, so if Southridge is still depositing Jacob’s salary into his bank account every month, that money is coming directly from the government. SSG isn’t losing money. In fact, SSG is benefitting from Jacob’s missing status, and as long as he’s missing, they’re still getting paid. Having a government contract is a very lucrative enterprise.”

  I was surprised to hear the hostile tone in Gault’s voice, and it made me wonder if he had tried—and subsequently failed—to get his own government contract for ACS.

  If that were true, then I could understand his resentment. A government contract would improve his bottom line considerably, and, according to our Agency analysts, the financials for Advanced Computer Solutions weren’t that great.

  I said, “You’re right. The government is still funding the MODD project. I’ll be truthful with you, though. We’re getting pressure from the DIA to turn over our paperwork on Jacob. Our lawyers say the feds want to make sure we were in compliance with the contract when he disappeared. If it turns out we weren’t in compliance, then we’ll have to pay the government back a substantial amount of money.”

  Gault nodded. “I’m betting that’s why you’re here. You want to pin the blame on me for Jacob’s disappearance. If you find evidence I broke the terms of the contract by not reporting Jacob’s odd behavior, you’ll sue me for breach of contract, and I’ll have to give you back my salary.”

  “So you admit Jacob was exhibiting unusual behavior before he disappeared?”

  “No, Jacob was just being Jacob. He processes things a little differently than most people. That kind of behavior is normal for him.”

  “I noticed you just spoke of him in the present tense. Do you think Jacob is still alive?”

  “I . . . ah . . .”

  “Because if Jacob is still alive, that changes everything.”

  Gault rubbed his temples as if he might be getting a headache. “I’m sure Jacob Levin is alive.”

  I tried to look surprised. “You sound certain of that.”

  “I am certain of it. Jacob called me a few weeks ago.”

  “Jacob Levin called you?”

  “I understand why that must shock you. It shocked me when I heard his voice. Like everyone else, I figured he was dead by now.”

  “Where was he? What did he say?”

  Gault held up his hands. “Hold on a second. I’ll answer your questions, but only under certain conditions.”

  “What sort of conditions?”

  “I’ll be happy to answer your questions, as long as I can have a guarantee from SSG that I won’t be sued for breaking the terms of my contract for not reporting Jacob’s behavior. I couldn’t afford to defend myself against a lawsuit like that.”

  I hadn’t been expecting Gault to tell me anything about a phone call from Levin—at least not until I’d come up with something I could use as leverage to threaten him into revealing it—so I wasn’t immediately sure how to respond to him.

  I stalled for time. “What kind of guarantee?”

  “Something legal. A document I can take to court if someone at SSG decides to sue me.”

  Getting a document that looked like it was from the Legal Department at SSG wouldn’t be a problem if I could notify the Ops Center to fax me over
some legal mumbo-jumbo to mollify Gault and get him to start talking to me about Levin.

  But, since I wasn’t speaking to Gault in any official capacity, getting the Ops Center to produce a legal document wasn’t possible.

  Of course, Carlton could get it done, and I knew he’d try if I called him, but I still wasn’t sure whether he’d received permission from the DDO for me to visit with Gault, so getting the Ops Center to send me a legal document might get him in hot water.

  The synapses in my brain were firing left and right trying to figure things out when suddenly a few of those neurons connected, and I had a solution.

  “Sure,” I said, “I can get one of our lawyers at SSG to fax you something. I’ll give him a call.”

  I took out my cell phone and called Jeremy Taylor’s number.

  * * * *

  I had no idea if Taylor would be willing to help me deceive Stephen Gault or not, nor did I know if he’d be able to read between the lines and understand what I was asking him to do, but I knew I had to give it a try.

  Taylor’s phone rang a couple of times before he picked up.

  “Taylor here.”

  “Hi, Jeremy. This is Jared Russell, and I’m sitting here in Stephen Gault’s office talking with him about some issues that have come up about the last contract position he held with us. Stephen and I were just discussing a legal matter, and I was hoping you guys in the Legal Department would be able to help us with the problem.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line.

  For a split second, I thought Taylor might hang up on me.

  “Well, Jared, what kind of legal problem is it?” he finally asked, emphasizing my phony name.

  “Thanks, Jeremy. I really appreciate your willingness to help me. I was wondering if it might be possible for you to fax Stephen a form indicating SSG was waiving its right to sue him on matters related to the last contract he had with us.”

  “You want me to fax you a release from SSG’s Legal Department?”

  “That’s right. That’s more or less what the document would need to say; something along the lines of a mutual release agreement between the two parties not to sue for past employment. You’ve got it exactly right.”

  “Okay, I get the picture. What’s his fax number?”

  I looked across the table at Gault. “He wants to know your fax number.”

  Gault smiled and recited the fax number for me. After I’d given it to Taylor, he said, “This may take me a few minutes. Are you under any pressure to get this done right away? Will it be a problem if you have to wait?”

  I heard a note of concern in Taylor’s voice, and I realized he was trying to find out whether Gault was pointing a gun at me or threatening me in some way in order to get the waiver from me.

  I wasn’t sure how long it would take Taylor to come up with the document and fax it over to Gault’s office, so I decided to use his concern—or exploit it might be a better word—and take the charade a little further than I’d originally anticipated.

  “Well, that’s hard to say, Jeremy, but it would make things a little easier if you could assure Mr. Gault sending him the waiver isn’t a problem, and that you’ll fax it to him immediately.”

  “You want me to talk to him?”

  “That’s perfect. I’ll put him on speaker.”

  * * * *

  If the look on Gault’s face was any indication, he had totally bought into the scenario I was in direct contact with someone in SSG’s Legal Department.

  When I put Taylor on speakerphone, I said a prayer Taylor would be able to pull off an award-winning performance for Gault.

  “Stephen,” I said, placing my cell phone down on the table between us, “I’m going to let you talk with Mr. Jeremy Taylor of our Legal Department. He’s assured me he won’t have a problem getting you the release waiver.”

  Gault leaned over as he spoke into the phone, “You’ll get me something that will stand up in court in case I get sued?”

  Taylor said, “The document I’m sending you will protect both parties. We won’t be able to sue you, but neither will you be able to sue SSG.”

  “I have no plans to sue SSG.”

  “You’ll need to give me a few minutes to get the document in order. I trust that won’t cause you any undue anxiety.”

  Gault seemed puzzled at Taylor’s response.

  When he glanced over at me, I shrugged and gave him my best who-knows-how-lawyers-think look.

  He smiled and said, “No, that won’t be a problem.”

  After I disconnected the call, Gault said, “That guy sounds like your typical lawyer. I bet he sits around all day watching everyone else work while he’s making truckloads of money.”

  “You’re right. He does sit around all day watching people work.”

  Chapter 15

  Gault got up from the conference table and walked over to the credenza behind his desk where a fax machine was located. After making sure there was plenty of paper in the tray, he came back over and sat down at the table.

  “Now that I’ve talked to your lawyer,” he said, “I don’t mind telling you about Jacob’s phone call.”

  Even though this was exactly what I was hoping to hear, I didn’t want to appear too eager, so I said, “I completely understand if you’d prefer to wait until the fax arrives.”

  “No, let’s get to it. I haven’t been able to talk about the phone call with anyone, and I have to tell you, hearing from Jacob really freaked me out. I even called Travis Zachary right after I heard from Jacob.”

  “Travis never mentioned it when I saw him in Springfield.”

  “I called him after you were there. When he told me someone from SSG had been to see him, I decided not to say anything.”

  “When Jacob called you, what did you talk about?”

  “First of all, when he identified himself as Jacob Levin, I didn’t believe him. I was about to hang up when he referred to something I’d changed in the MODD system’s software. It was a tweak I’d made that only the two of us knew about. That’s when I realized it really was Jacob.”

  “Did he say where he was?”

  “No, I don’t think he wanted to say anything about it over the phone.”

  “Why not?”

  “He told me he had to keep our conversation short because otherwise the NSA would be able to pinpoint his location.”

  “How did he sound? Was he nervous? Scared? Anxious?”

  “None of the above. He sounded very calm, and, like he always did, he skipped any kind of greeting and got right to the point. He gave me the name of an email account he’d created on an anonymous chat server. It was the same encrypted server we’d used to send emails to each other about the MODD system when we were in Karbala. He told me if I was interested in making a lot of money, I should create a new email account on the server and get in touch with him.”

  “He was calling you about a money-making scheme?”

  “Not exactly, but whenever Jacob engages you in a conversation about a topic—especially something he’s been thinking about for a long time—he has a tendency to start in the middle and work backwards. He said as soon as I emailed him, he’d send me all the details about his proposal, but he wanted me to know it would mean I would need to be out of the country for several months.”

  “I’m sure you were curious about his proposal.”

  “Oh, you bet I was. I got online as soon as he hung up. I took several precautions though. For one thing, I used a protected browser. I’m not sure you’re familiar with the Tor browser, but this browser is ten times better than Tor.”

  Although I was very familiar with Tor—an internet browser that used multiple anonymous servers to protect a user’s identity—I didn’t think my Jared Russell persona would care anything about browsers, so I didn’t acknowledge my expertise in the subject.

  “So what did Jacob send you after you accessed his email?”

  He smiled. “What Jacob was calling his proposal w
as a five-page document organized along the lines of a scientific research proposal. It had four main points: an objective, an explanation, a methodology, and a conclusion. It was quite detailed.”

  “I don’t expect you to remember all the details, but could you summarize the four points for me?”

  He pushed his chair away from the table and walked over to small safe in the corner of the office.

  “I can do better than that. I copied the proposal to a flash drive. I’ll let you take a look at it. It might help you understand Jacob a little better.”

  While Gault was working the combination on the safe, I was powering up my laptop and trying to figure out how I was going to copy Jacob’s proposal to my computer without Gault’s knowledge.

  * * * *

  After I inserted the flash drive into a USB port on my laptop, Gault took a seat beside me and waited while I read through Levin’s document.

  The so-called proposal contained answers to many of the questions I’d been asking about Jacob Levin ever since Carlton had brought up his name several weeks ago.

  In Part One, under Objective, Levin had written: “The objective of this proposal is to convince you to join me in Somahi, Yemen, where I’ve been running field tests on the MODD system.”

  In Part Two, Explanation, Levin had given Gault a detailed explanation of how Samir Al-Saker, the Saudi Arabian engineer, had helped him disappear five years ago when he was supposed to be on his way to the airport in Karbala. Levin told how Samir had convinced him to abandon the work he’d been doing for the U.S. on the drone detection device and come to work for the Saudi government instead.

  Levin had written, “I wanted to provide the Saudis with their own device so they would be able to stop the war in Yemen, where the Houthi rebels are getting stronger every day and will soon be able to take their militant ideology into Iraq.”

  In the paragraphs that followed, he wrote about how much he loved the Iraqi people, how he didn’t want them to be involved in yet another war when their lives were just returning to normal, and how he was committed to making their lives better.