Choke Points

by Trevor Scott

  Sirena helped the woman to her feet. “Did they hurt you?”

  Gabriela shook her head. “They punched me a couple of times. But I heard a number of shots. What happened?”

  Jake said, “It’s better that you don’t know anything. You broke free of your restraints and ran to the main road. We were not here. Do you understand?”

  “Of course. But you can’t leave me here.”

  “We’ll bring you down the road and make sure you’re safe before leaving,” Sirena said. “We’ll call in the local police. You tell them what happened to you. Leave us out of it, though.”

  “But.”

  Jake broke in. “But nothing. You knew Jimmy Leary, right?”

  “Yes. He was a very nice man.”

  “Well, those men who took you are the men who killed Jimmy.”

  “They are Asian,” Gabriela said.

  “They were Chinese intelligence officers,” Jake explained. Then he thought about something that didn’t make much sense. “Why were you in Dublin?”

  Gabriela shrugged. “To tour our factory. We are getting ready to start producing a new product.”

  The three of them walked back out to the front of the house where the Audi sat.

  “I’ll get her stuff from the house,” Sirena said.

  Once Sirena was gone, Gabriela gave Jake a hug and said, “I remember you. You spoke to the principal officers of the company last year.”

  He thought she looked familiar. “Right. I told you not to pattern your behavior. Don’t take the same route to work each day. Do you remember that?”

  “Yes. And I have been doing that in Barcelona. But I made a mistake here. My hotel was just down the street from the office on the docks. There was only one street to travel on.”

  Jake didn’t want to chastise the woman for this slight error of judgement. “Next time have someone pick you up at your hotel.”

  “I will.”

  Sirena came out of the house carrying a satchel. She stopped and opened it for Gabriela to inspect. “Is everything there?”

  The CTO pulled out her phone and put that in her back pocket. “Yes, everything is there.”

  “Crap,” Jake said. “Change of plans. If you have all of your stuff, then how could you have escaped the Chinese men? You’ll have to come with us back to Dublin. You were never here either. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, of course. Besides, I don’t know where here is.”

  “Prints,” Sirena said. “Were you ever in the house?”

  Gabriela shook her head. “Once I got in the car, they covered my head and my hands.”

  “And they took you straight to the barn?” Jake asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Still better wipe down the car,” Sirena surmised. She found a small kerchief in her purse and went to the car, wiping down anywhere Gabriela might have touched before the Chinese men put something on her hands.

  Once Sirena was done, the three of them walked down the road toward the car. The fog had started to lift somewhat, but the mist continued to chill their bodies.

  “What about the Chinese men?” Gabriela asked.

  Sirena took this. “We’ve never seen any Chinese men. We were never here. You were never here. You simply overslept and then tried to catch up on some work from your hotel.”

  “I understand. But are they?”

  “No longer a threat to you?” Sirena asked. “Yes.”

  Jake let the two women make it to the car on their own while he pulled out his phone and called Sancho Eneko.

  “Did you get her?” Sancho asked.

  “She’s safe,” Jake said. “So is the technology. But I need you to make a call for us.”

  “Sure. What kind?”

  “Anonymous. Routed through a pub perhaps. The closest to our position. Can you do that?”

  “With my eyes closed,” Sancho said. “What did I hear or see?”

  “A suspicious dark Audi and then multiple gunshots. Then give them the farmhouse address.”

  “Roger that.”

  “We’ll also need the jet as soon as possible.”

  “I’ll redirect it from Berlin.”

  “One more thing. Is anybody else from the Gomez organization in trouble?”

  “Not really. The plant manager in Lisbon thought someone was following him, so I put him and his wife on a commercial jet to Barcelona.”

  “Good job.”

  “Should I ask about the status of the Chinese officers who took Gabriela?” Sancho asked.

  “Not a good idea. Give us ten minutes to get out of here before calling in the shooting.”

  “Will do.”

  Jake hurried to the car and got behind the wheel.

  Sirena turned from the front passenger seat to study Gabriela, and then settled back on Jake. “Everything all right?”

  “Perfect,” Jake said, cranking over the engine. “Back to Dublin.” He pulled out onto the narrow road and ran through the gears. Part of Jake expected to see the police heading toward the farmhouse, but that never happened. They had gotten to the freeway heading north before the police could respond.

  28

  Jake and Sirena were forced to stay in Dublin one more night, which was just fine with Jake, since they had not really spent much time drinking stout and listening to some good Irish music since landing in Ireland. Their jet, stuck in Berlin, was undergoing routine maintenance. To Jake that meant the flight crew had probably been partying too much and needed a good rest.

  Sirena sat across from Jake in a booth in the Irish pub in the Temple Bar district near Trinity College. For a Monday night, the place was a bit more raucous than Jake would have guessed. But he figured that was the nature of the beast for this area of Dublin.

  “Is it smart agreeing to a meeting with these guys?” Sirena asked, and then took a sip of her Murphy’s stout.

  “I’m not concerned,” Jake said. Not when he had the ear of CIA Director John Bradford.

  “Still, it might have been smart staying in our hotel tonight.”

  “We need to have good relations in Ireland,” Jake said. “What if we decide to make this place our home for a while?”

  “County Wicklow looked pretty cool,” she said. “Until the shooting.”

  “Here he comes,” Jake said. He rose to meet the CIA station chief. But Bill Henderson wasn’t alone. He had the major from J2, the Irish Directorate of Military Intelligence, trailing behind him. And Liam Ryan didn’t look to be in a good mood. Both men already had full stouts, barely sipped.

  Jake shook both of their hands, while Sirena simply slid across the seat toward the outer wall. Jake switched seats, moving in next to Sirena. Liam Ryan slipped in across from Sirena and Bill Henderson sat opposite of Jake.

  The four of them listened to the song played by the good Irish band, none of them trying to speak above the music. After that song, the band took a break, and a quieter version of music came through the speakers.

  “Good band,” Jake said.

  “Not bad if you like to hang with tourists,” Liam said, his Irish accent almost intentionally stronger than the last time they had met.

  “I’m just looking for a good beer and music,” Jake said. “I don’t worry about others doing the same thing.”

  Bill Henderson leaned across the table to get closer to Jake. In a subdued tone, he said, “We got word that two men were found dead in a farmhouse down in County Wicklow.”

  Jake didn’t flinch. “It’s a dangerous world we live in.”

  Liam grit his teeth and said, “They were Chinese and appeared to be executed.”

  Shrugging, Jake said, “I thought Ireland was a safe place. Since gun laws are so strict, I assume someone must have used a cricket bat to bludgeon the two men.”

  Liam made a fist with his right hand and said, “You know that’s bullshit. You killed these men.”

  Jake said nothing.

  The J2 major continued, “I know you have a handgun on you right now. I could
bring you in.”

  Without great concern, Jake sipped his beer and then leaned closer to the Irishman and said, “Now, I’m not saying I have a gun. But, if I did, Ireland is part of the EU. And I have a special permit through the Austrian government to carry a handgun concealed anywhere within EU countries.”

  Liam glanced at Bill Henderson for help.

  Bill said, “I’m afraid he’s right, Liam.”

  “How is that possible?” Liam asked. “I’m not even allowed to carry my weapon off-duty.”

  “Well that’s just fucking stupid,” Jake said. “I believe in my God-given right to self-protection.”

  “So, you did kill the Chinese men,” Liam surmised.

  “What kind of moron are you?” Jake asked. “You think a former U.S. military officer and former CIA officer would execute someone?”

  “You seem like an American cowboy,” Liam said.

  “If I were an old-time cowboy,” Jake said, “I would have put a bullet in your head for disrespecting me.”

  Bill Henderson said, “Settle down boys.”

  Liam took a breath and sucked down a third of his beer, wiping his upper lip after the effort.

  “It was you who put us on the Chinese intel officers,” Jake reminded Liam.

  “I didn’t expect you to kill them,” Liam said with a strong whisper.

  Finally, Sirena said, “Did you expect a stern warning for killing our security officer? Maybe a sharply-worded letter?”

  Liam said, “He was my friend and mentor.”

  Jake figured it out now. “You’re pissed because you didn’t get to deal with the men.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Come on. You really wanted to take a whack at them.”

  “You’re damn right I did,” Liam said. “They killed a great man.”

  “Rest assured,” Sirena said, “that self defense was the only thing in play here in Ireland.”

  Neither Jake nor Sirena had actually confessed to killing anyone, yet Liam had hopefully been placated.

  “Can we just have a nice evening of good beer and good music?” Bill said. “We all know that actions have consequences. Our Agency has found video of the two Chinese officers kidnapping a Spanish woman from the Silicon Docks area this morning.”

  Liam looked at his colleague with sudden interest. “Why am I just hearing about his now?”

  Jake considered answering, but he let the CIA station chief take the question.

  Bill said, “We put it on ice.”

  “We should have a copy of it,” Liam said.

  “That’s not going to happen,” Bill said. “It’s better for all parties involved to think that the death of those men was the result of criminals. If we had brought the men in for any reason, including murder, they would have been on a plane back to China by now. Instead, the family of your former officer has some closure. It would be best if you go to them privately and let them know his killers have been dealt with.”

  “They might think I had something to do with it,” Liam said.

  “We all played our part,” Bill said.

  The Irishman considered his options and finally shook his head before taking a long drink of beer. Then he said, “Alright. The next beer is on me.”

  Jake reached his hand across the table toward Liam. The Irish Army major reluctantly shook Jake’s hand at first. Then his reticence turned into a strong shake.

  The four of them drank a couple more beers and listened to the music until midnight. Then they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

  Jake and Sirena walked the couple of blocks to their hotel. They were both dead on their feet by now.

  Locked securely in their room, Jake took Sirena in his arms and kissed her gently on the lips.

  She pulled back a bit and said, “I thought you were going to snap that Irishman’s neck tonight.”

  Jake let out a heavy sigh. “He was frustrated. And not so much at me, but at his own government and the situation in general.”

  “It’s not just their government,” she reminded him.

  “I know. What kind of world do we live in where diplomatic immunity is even a thing?”

  “Justice eventually comes to everyone.”

  He took her into his arms and whispered. “So true. But sometimes justice needs a little nudge.”

  A couple of hours after going to bed, Jake’s phone buzzed. He got up and brought his phone into the bathroom before answering.

  “This better be good,” he said.

  “I wouldn’t be calling this late if it wasn’t,” CIA Director John Bradford said.

  “I figured not. What can I do for you?”

  “I got a report from Bill Henderson in Dublin. I’m glad we could help.”

  He didn’t want to remind the Director how many times in the past Jake had gone above and beyond for him. Instead, he simply said, “Not a problem.”

  Then Bradford said, “Portugal.”

  “What about it?”

  “I’ve been thinking about our last discussion. We’ve never been happy with what’s going on in the Azores. We’re considering a NATO complaint.”

  Jake shook his head, hoping the Director could see it through his SAT phone. “That won’t do shit. The Chinese take complaints like an elementary school bully does from a hall monitor. A slap on the wrist means nothing to them.”

  “How do you know for sure?”

  He considered an apt comparison and finally said, “What have the Chinese done after the bombing of their facility by the Suez?”

  Silence.

  After a moment, Bradford said, “I get your point. The Chinese have not even registered a complaint in the UN.”

  “Think of an ant hill,” Jake said. “You kick the hill and what do the ants do? They scatter and then rally to fix it. We need to start kicking some ant hills.”

  “I don’t have the power to do that,” Bradford complained.

  “The old CIA used to use proxies to accomplish their goals. That’s how we finally broke down the Soviet Union.”

  “You are my proxy,” Bradford reminded Jake.

  “I can handle ones and twos,” Jake said. “But I sure as shit can’t bomb military bases into the stone age. That’s beyond my control.”

  “I understand. But Portugal.”

  “I’m heading to Portugal from here,” Jake said.

  “That’s what I thought. I want to help you there.”

  “The Chinese have more assets in place in Lisbon,” Jake said. “It’s not just a couple of yahoos in a safe house.”

  “I know. My people have been tracking them for days.”

  Jake stood a little taller with this revelation. “You have? Tell me you have something more than a few Ivy League intellectuals running a sightseeing operation.”

  “That’s right. You’ve already met. The men who extracted you from that condo complex in Panama. I directed them to Lisbon after that op.”

  The Director gave Jake contact information, along with what he expected from them.

  “And they’re mine to run?” Jake asked.

  “That’s correct. There will be no contact with our Agency folks in Portugal. You’ll be on your own, but with some significant help.”

  “Thanks, John. I assume this conversation never happened.”

  “That’s right. It was all a dream.”

  Jake heard a slight laugh as he hung up with the CIA director. He knew that he and Sirena could have made it work in Lisbon on their own, but now they had some friends to play the game. That was always a good thing.

  29

  Lisbon, Portugal

  Jake and Sirena got into the Portuguese capital around mid-day. The Gomez organization had set up a vehicle to pick them up at the airport and bring them to a rental house in the Belem area west of the city center. The house was a two-story stone structure in a quiet neighborhood a few blocks from the sea. Instead of leaving their gear bags on the jet, this time they brought their weapons and tact
ical gear with them, carrying them in large Go Bags.

  When they got to the house, Jake met the leader of the four-man assault team that had helped them out of the condo complex in Panama. Jake had never learned his name, and he looked somewhat different now. He had shaved off his thick beard and was wearing normal street clothes to blend in to Europe. In every assault team there were call signs and numbers to indicate their pecking order. The leader was Fox One. Jake guessed that might have been due to his thick red hair and his former red beard.

  After formal introductions and handshakes, Jake asked, “How was Colombia?”

  Fox One shrugged and said, “Sedate. We were there picking up a dirtbag and transporting him to justice.”

  Jake didn’t want to know if the man meant jail or death. “Where are the other three?”

  “Fox Two and Three are on surveillance duty and Four is catching some sleep. You might want to do the same.”

  Jake shook his head. “Show us what you have so far.”

  The leader brought them into a large dining room, where maps were spread out over a long wooden table. Next to the maps was a laptop computer open and showing real-time video.

  Pointing to the map, Fox One said, “This is us and this is the Chinese house. It’s about two clicks from here. We’ve been dealing with a guy named Sancho. Sounds like a smart cookie.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Jake said. “What are we seeing on the screen?”

  “Head cam from Two through tinted windows showing the Chinese house. We’ve been logging their activities.”

  Sirena said, “How many are there?”

  Fox One clicked out of the current video and pulled up three photos. “These three we’ve confirmed with our Agency contact. The top guy is Wu Li Jin. He’s in charge of a Chinese communications company. But he’s also a former general. More importantly, he’s a cousin of the current Chinese leader.”

  “And the other two?” Jake asked.

  “We think the woman is second in command,” Fox One said. “Her name is Chen Fang. She’s a player in MSS. A rising star. We believe she’s Bureau Two.”

  “International Intelligence Division,” Sirena said.

  “That’s right.”

  “And the other guy?” Jake asked.