The Istanbul Conspiracy

by Lynda Filler

  28

  Taksim

  Zach and Rachel found an outdoor fish restaurant and strolled the Taksim neighborhood until midnight.

  “Zach, we have a tail.”

  “Rachel, what are you talking about?” The ex-SEAL went on full alert but kept his body and his actions casual.

  “We’ve had it since the fish restaurant.” She leaned in and whispered in his ear.

  For a couple of hours, at least, Zach thought they could be an average couple and block out the challenges the world face. Now he studied their images in the windows of the retail stores searching for trouble.

  “Rachel, I don’t see anything.” His body was tense, and he cursed the fact he wasn’t armed.

  “Honey, you’re looking in all the wrong places.”

  Suddenly she stopped, leaned down and opened the package she’d been carrying for the past couple of hours. Then spread the left-over fish on the pavement. Rachel was immediately over-run by three Istanbul kittens all tumbling over each other to eat the delicacies.

  “Ah, you have such a good heart. But don’t scare me like that again!”

  “Hah, sometimes our work makes us too serious about life. We need to enjoy more. Live a little.” She leaned into Zach and took his hand.

  “Let’s go back to our room. We can worry about the world tomorrow

  Zach and Rachel were the first at the hospital the following morning.

  “Luke’s here. His helicopter just landed. Security says the Turk is onsite but not available at the moment.”

  Luke came through the door. Samaar followed.

  “This place is wild. It’s like Times Square on steroids. The musicians, the food, the crowds, insane.”

  “We could see from above when we left last night. So many people.” Samaar had her laptop open and was busy checking her mail.

  “We picked up fresh baklava warm from the oven and Turkish coffee.” Rachel opened her bags and began distribution.

  They opened a connection to RB in Seattle. While they slept, RB was correlating and calculating.

  “I hope you all had a good night while I was grinding it out here in Seattle. Is that baklava you’re eating?”

  “Yes. We will bring you some, but hopefully you will have to come to Paris to eat it! What have you found?”

  “I don’t see the kid. What’s up with him this morning? How’s Sude?”

  The door opened, and Yunus rushed through. Before Rachel could offer, he had baklava in his mouth and spoke while he ate.

  “She’s doing so much better. Sude’s actually sitting. The doctors have removed most of the protective cover. It’s remarkable how quickly she’s regaining her strength. I left her with her cell and her laptop and my mother. I had to escape my mom; she was scolding me for sleeping in Sude’s room last night!”

  “Why?”

  “My mother is very traditional. The terrorists attacked before we were officially married. I know, Sude’s not in any condition to participate, but my mother feels it’s not correct behavior. She’s very religious.” Samaar smiled.

  “I thought you two were living together.”

  “Yes, my mother ignored that. She pretended not to know. And this is in a hospital. So, well, you’d have to be a Muslim to understand.” If it was possible, this young successful international DJ blushed.

  RB spoke up, “I was brought up Catholic, but at least we got to go to confession and beg forgiveness.” The team laughed. “One day, when all this is over, I want you to explain Jihad to me. I’ve read about it, but we only hear the biased side of things in the West. And these guys won’t let me out of the war room, so I rarely get the opportunity to have this conversation with a man who follows the Islam faith.”

  “Yeah, we should do that. Maybe when all this is over, you’ll come and visit Istanbul, RB. Hey, Luke, give the guy a break! I’m sure he can use a vacation.”

  The severity of the mission at hand was forgotten in the camaraderie shared by men and women of various faiths, all working towards a common goal: to keep the world a safe place for humanity to live, love, and bring up their families.

  “Where’s Firestorm?”

  “Who knows. Himanish disappeared last night. For all we know, he could be back in Kuala Lumpur. But one thing is sure, he’s working on this along with RB, and we will find the answers. Right, RB?”

  “Yes.”

  Samaar pulled out a small device from her pocket and began a casual scan of the room. It wasn’t apparent that she was doing anything, but Luke became aware of a slight change in her demeanor. This room was theirs to keep as long as they needed it, but even though they had the key, security would have copies. And this was something far too important to forget to do. She nodded to Luke to come outside.

  “Sorry, I need the ladies’ room before we begin. Don’t start without me.”

  “Okay. I’m going to grab another coffee and be right back.” RB recognized the pre-determined code. He closed down communications immediately and began a threat assessment.

  The Turk looked at Zach and Rachel. The three of them kept their faces impassive.

  “I’ll take this opportunity to check in with the administration.” Turk motioned slightly to Zach, and he and Rachel left with him.

  29

  Sultanahmet Square

  “I’m not a child, David. I don’t understand why I can’t hang out here by myself.” Alice was bored staying inside the luxurious villa, but she did enjoy David’s company. He and Maggs were tasked with monitoring the social media activities of Alice. And Alice was sly and smart. He wondered if RB monitored her Facebook page and her Messenger account. Alice would make a great spy one day.

  “Alice. Are you almost the same height as your mother?”

  “Almost. I will pass Mom this year.”

  “Where did you get that Rolling Stones t-shirt?”

  “RB sent it to me for my birthday. Isn’t it amazing!”

  “Yes, I’d say that’s a classic. I wonder where RB got it.”

  “In a boutique in Seattle. I asked. I’m into the ’60’s music scene.” She played with her long straight hair. David looked closely. Damn, she’s wearing makeup.

  “What’s your favorite Stone’s song?”

  “Gimme Shelter. Do you want to hear it? I have it on my cell phone.” Alice opened her phone and pulled up her playlist. With a few taps on her phone, the music exploded from the remote speakers in the games’ room.

  “Did you know that’s also Zach’s favorite song? He played it when we went into battle in Afghanistan…” David immediately regretted letting down his guard.

  Alice looked up in surprise.

  “You were in the SEAL’s too?”

  “Who told you Zach was a SEAL?”

  “Oh. No one. I heard Zach talking with Luke one day.” Alice smiled. David kept his expression neutral. This young lady was too smart for her age and growing up way too fast. He’d learned the hard way, never underestimate young people. He’d met many child warriors in Africa— some much younger than Alice.

  “I’m going to check on Maggs.” Alice was lost in her music, dancing around the room like a whirling dervish.

  He enabled the remote viewing option Luke had added to his phone. He could make sure that dervish wasn’t using facetime with Amir while he talked to Maggs. He found her in the kitchen.

  “This place is even more state of the art than Luke’s compound in Seattle. I think I’ll move in!”

  “Right. You’re a Raven Group lifer, Maggs.” Maggs was close to six-foot-tall, attractive, and very secretive. Her body was toned and firm. Must be from those workouts she did daily with Samaar. Sometimes David wondered about her past. Everyone has one. Not the things in her resume or the search he’d done when he'd joined the team, or the Russian incident. He was more curious about her friends, lovers, and family. And why she remained single and reclusive. Sure, she was gay, but that shouldn’t stop romantic relationships. But he found that in his line of business,
most have a reason for keeping the private lives private.

  Maggs looked away and returned to something that smelled like a combo of cumin and hot chilis. When she opened an overhead oven, the most delicious smells of honey and pistachio filled the air.

  “Yum.”

  “Well, I thought since I’m in Turkey, why not learn to make baklava. Want a taste? The staff bought creamy vanilla ice-cream to go with it.”

  Suddenly David’s phone vibrated.

  He looked down and read the message from Luke.

  “Looks like there’s a challenge in the office.” The office at this moment was anywhere that Samaar and Luke were operating from. Maggs continued what she was doing, waiting for any change or instruction from Luke via David. He read the encrypted note and shook his head. “I think I’ll wait and have dessert later.”

  He found Alice sprawled on a couch reading an email. The smile on her face revealed the name of the sender. She immediately closed her phone when David re-appeared. He raised an eyebrow.

  “Luke said email is okay! Just no Facetime.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  He went to one of the guest bathrooms and scanned the room for listening devices. It was clean. He called Luke.

  “What’s up?”

  “We’re outside the hospital.”

  “I can hear the background music. It sounds like an accordion. Nice camouflage.”

  “Yes. Look, Samaar found a very well-hidden listening device. She picked up the signal but didn’t bother locating the unit.”

  “Hmm. What’s the plan?”

  “Well, we can’t stay here. So as much as I like the compound, I’m not sure it’s completely safe either. The Israelis have some very hi-tech devices. They do business with Turkey. I’ll send one of our guys out to the estate to do another check. In the meantime, we will pick a random hotel and get a room.”

  “Sometimes, simplicity is the answer. Whoever is monitoring you won’t have time to set up surveillance. You do that, and I’ll make sure we’re good here. Let me know when you’re settled.”

  “How’s Alice?”

  “She’s good, but she needs a diversion. I’ll take her shopping. All women love to shop, right?”

  “True. Just keep Alice safe.”

  “No worries.”

  Luke was about to say, keep her locked up. But he and Samaar had made the decision that they wouldn’t keep Alice in a cage. It wasn’t fair.

  “Let me know where you are. Actually, turn on the locator. I’ll do the same for you and Alice.”

  “Sure. Perfect. We’ll see you later.”

  David made a few quick checks around the house. Then he advised Maggs that someone from the office would be in later to check for security. Then David returned to the game room.

  “Alice. Let’s get out of here. Let’s check out Istanbul!”

  “Yes! Can we go to the Blue Mosque and maybe do the Bosphorus Cruise?”

  “Let’s start with the Blue Mosque and take it from there.”

  “Great. I can take photos, right?”

  “Yes. As long as you don’t post your shots to Instagram. You can share them with your friends when you get home.”

  “Okay, David. But David?”

  “Yes?”

  “Should I change my clothes for the Mosque?”

  David stared at Alice. Wise beyond her years.

  “Your jeans are okay, and we will buy a large scarf to cover your hair and shoulders.”

  “Oh, this is so exciting. Thanks, David! I want to buy gifts for everyone.” She stopped suddenly.

  “I feel so bad about Mom’s wedding. I want to find something special for her. Maybe we will see something in the shops.”

  “Ready for an adventure?

  “Sure.”

  “Okay. Let’s have fun. Let the others work.”

  The security surrounding the compound logged in the departure of the ex-military guy and the young girl. A Security team was chosen to follow at a very discreet distance. If anything happened to anyone in this house, they’d lose their jobs, or worse.

  30

  “I made a reservation at one hotel and checked into another.”

  Firestorm and the Turk sipped their Starbuck’s coffee at the busy Karaköy store. Tourists and locals overflowed to the outside in the near-perfect weather.

  “A good move when we don’t know what we’re dealing with. Why are we here?” The Turk indulged in his sweet tooth.

  “Samaar texted me on the way to the hospital and told me our security was compromised. I wanted to reassure you that Sude is being watched by Tabak’s people. I thought you and I could meet here for a coffee and compare notes.”

  The Turk relaxed slightly.

  “What’s going on?” Firestorm was on his second piece of baklava.

  “We don’t know, but obviously, whatever is going on, no one is taking any chances.” The Turk assumed Firestorm had information he hadn’t yet shared with the team. He continued.

  “I spoke directly with RB. Samaar called him. The room had a new listening device. Or possibly several. But before they began to work, she discovered the breach and made an excuse to leave the room. RB shut down communications and checked his computer. It was clean. The team left at separate times and have picked a random hotel in the area to meet. No one will know exactly where they are because each one chose a room in three different properties and only checked into one. A lot of tradecraft, but necessary. Look, it only makes sense that MIT Turkish National Intelligence is keeping an eye on us.”

  Firestorm nodded, now onto his third sweet.

  “Something intriguing came up last night. My team leader, Fatimah, has seven Saudi crypto players under surveillance. One, in particular, had an interesting meeting yesterday in Riyadh. He immediately returned home, packed a suitcase, and took the next flight to Istanbul. He arrived last night. Here’s why we’re watching him.”

  Firestorm pulled up a spreadsheet on his phone.

  “This is the history of his transactions over the last twenty-three months. Notice the graph.”

  “Major escalation, right?”

  “Yes. But here’s where it gets interesting. The subject lives in Saudi Arabia, but he’s Iranian and travels to Iran for business, often. His family is connected way back to the power players. His father, in particular, is a hardliner and only lives in Saudi Arabia for access to superior health treatments.”

  “Okay.”

  “This graph doesn’t mention specific amounts of money. But we’re talking several billion USD in cryptocurrency traded in my company alone.”

  “Who is this guy?”

  “We can’t find a military record, nor any affiliation with the far right. He’s well educated, around your age, and has an MBA from Stanford. He’s not knowledgeable in tradecraft, or if he is, he doesn’t use it.”

  “So, what’s important about his trip to Istanbul?”

  “We don’t know everything yet. But something is interesting about this guy. He went to University in Istanbul. Political Science major. We’re accessing his records this morning. But the meeting last night was with representatives of a think-tank out of Washington.”

  “And?”

  “My UN international security has recently flagged this American group on an internal memo for my eyes only. We think they’re working for the Iranians.”

  “I don’t like the sound of any of this.”

  “Neither do I.”

  They both sat in silence.

  “Did you track him to a hotel?”

  “Yes. He’s at the Four Seasons in Sultanahmet. He seems to be settling in for a while. There’s no departure date listed on his reservation. We’re monitoring his visitors and his phone, and we have photos. We’re putting him through our facial software and also sites like Instagram and Facebook, to see who his friends are in Istanbul. We will place a bug when he goes out this morning.”

  “I hope it’s better than the one used at the hospital.”r />
  “Don’t worry. My toys are the best in the world. I developed them myself.”

  Himanish stopped to check a message on his phone.

  “That’s Samaar. This is the name and passport she used.” He showed the message to the Turk rather than use Airdrop in a public place. “We meet in 30 minutes. That should give us enough time to take different routes and meet up later at the new location.”

  “I called Sude. She’s doing much better. She can eat and talk. I will visit her around noon.”

  “Please, don’t worry about Sude. Luke added one of his men to Tabak’s people outside her door. No one’s getting through without credentials, a weapons check, and her approval.”

  31

  Abdul woke with the morning sun rising over Sultanahmet Square. He ordered room service and took a quick shower while he waited for his breakfast. The Iranian studied his reflection in the mirror. Was he getting fat?

  “The good life is catching up with you.”

  He would need to find a gym and start working out. If he knew anything about the culture here, there would be lots of fancy dinners and copious amounts of discreet glasses of alcohol to win favor with this crowd.

  This hotel was elegant and understated, not at all like the opulence of Saudi Arabia. Instead, it reflected the traditions of the Ottomans who once ruled this country and large parts of the Middle East and Europe. Abdul was a simple man, really. In spite of the wealth he’d accumulated in the Crypto business, it was the game of business he loved, not the rewards. Still, if someone else was paying, the Four Seasons was the place to stay. It would deliver the right message with the people he was here to impress.

  The room-service waiter set up his Turkish coffee, his kahvalti brunch, and handed him the Sabah newspaper as well as the Wall Street Journal. He tipped the server, then sat down to nibble on olives. He smeared an assortment of cheeses on his Simit and nibbled on sucuk, the dry, spicy sausage he recalled from his University days. He passed on the eggs but couldn’t resist adding apricot marmalade to the top of his cheese.