Shadow zero, p.10
SHADOW ZERO, page 10
He was weak, sore, and dehydrated. But he was alive, and he was coming for his daughter.
Hold on, Maya. Just a little longer.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Todd Strickland knew that the meeting with CIA Director Yolanda Harris was going to suck. He thought that would prepare him for what was to come, but he was wrong.
“How in the name of Jesus Henrietta Christ could your agents have screwed up so badly?”
At five-foot-two, one hundred pounds in a winter coat, and with a voice the same size as her body, Yolanda Harris’s words didn’t exactly thunder across the desk to Todd’s ears, but the fury in her eyes and the authority of her stance made up for her soft, nasal whine.
That and the fact that she could end his career with a snap of her fingers. She wasn’t corrupt either. He had checked. Thoroughly. So he couldn’t use that as an excuse to have her arrested and thrown into the next open cell at Hell Six.
He cleared his throat and tried for professionalism. “We don’t have details yet, ma’am. We believe that our agents were ambushed by a superior enemy force. We further believe that same force absconded with the data core from the DEDALUS satellite and—”
“Gee, really? You think bad guys stole the satellite and kidnapped or killed your agents? Wow. A-plus work, Strickland. Real fucking brilliant.”
So much for that. “Ma’am, this sort of work entails a certain amount of risk. The fact that the risks turned out to be too great is a sign that we need to respond with more resources.”
“I’ll pretend you didn’t just talk to me like I didn’t spend twelve fucking years in the field,” Yolanda said, “and I’ll also remind you that the whole point of sending two of your supposedly elite agents was to avoid making noise. If we send a SOG team after the data core, people are going to find out about it. This is the twenty-first century. Every time a Navy SEAL farts, it’s front-page news.”
Todd didn’t quite follow that analogy, but he decided it was better not to ask. “I understand that, ma’am, but considering the alternative, I don’t think we have a choice.”
"Yeah, no shit, we don't have a choice," Yolanda said.
She started to pace back and forth. heels clicked distractingly on the floor. Todd found the noise off-putting. Or maybe he was just so thrown by everything right now that he was easily put off.
How the hell had Maya and Trent flubbed this so badly? They were still green, but he didn’t think they were this green. Hell, they had held their own alongside him, Alan, and Zero. He had no idea they were going to screw up so badly so quickly.
Granted, he hadn’t sent them on anything besides milk runs so far, but that was only because they hadn’t had anything but milk runs to do for the past two years. And before those past two years, the two of them had evaded the most elite agents of the CIA, including himself for God’s sake. He didn’t expect this to be a walk in the park, but he didn’t expect for his two best prospects to be captured within minutes of landing in Africa.
Yolanda stopped in front of him. She took a deep breath and clasped her hands in front of her face. Todd hated when people did that. That whole exaggerated, This is frustrating, but I’m going to try to control myself to be polite thing, which was really just their way of making it clear how angry they were with you.
He hated her next words even more.
“Burn them.”
He expected her to say that, but it was still a jolt to his system. “What?”
“You heard me. Burn them. Both of them. Specter and Talon.”
And now anger was overriding his professionalism. This had to be the worst rule the CIA had ever created. It was just ridiculous. “Ma’am, you can’t seriously be telling me to disavow my two best agents because of a temporary hiccup in an operation that is far from unsalvageable.”
“I just did.”
The last of his professionalism vanished. “Well, with all due respect, that’s bullshit. They’re worth far too much for me to wash my hands of them just because they couldn’t fix the DoD’s fuckup in time for breakfast. Not to mention the fact that we do have to retrieve that data core, and we do need to bring it back pretty fucking A-S-A-P. So I hear what you’re saying, ma’am, and I am sorry to have to be a pain in your ass so soon into your tenure, but no, I will not burn Specter and Talon.”
Yolanda took another deep breath, then stalked behind her desk. Considering the tone of the conversation so far, Todd wouldn’t have been surprised if she pulled a gun from one of the drawers and put two in his chest.
Instead, she pulled a single page from the top drawer. She walked over to Todd and handed him the paper.
It was an NSA report on a communication intercepted between an unidentified number stateside and an also-unidentified recipient in Tanzania. Todd’s jaw went slack as he read the report.
When she spoke again, she was much calmer. She even seemed to feel bad. “I apologize for not telling you that the NSA was still monitoring all communications from CIA agents, but I think you’ll agree that it’s necessary after reading that report.”
Todd swallowed. His tongue felt thick and furry, and his throat clicked. He loathed the words that left his mouth, but he had no choice but to utter them. “Yes, ma’am.”
"I'm also sorry for what happened to your agents and for what's about to happen to them. It wasn't their fault."
A tongue of anger flamed in Todd’s chest. “Whose fault was it, ma’am?”
Yolanda sighed. “We don’t know that yet. Obviously, you’ll be the first person I talk to when I find out, but in the meantime, the damage is done. Agent Specter’s identity has been given to the Waswahili Liberation Front. While Agent Talon wasn’t mentioned in this communication, we have to assume his identity is compromised as well.”
Todd frowned. “The Waswahili Liberation Front? Why does that sound familiar?”
“They’re ostensibly a nationalistic freedom fighter group, but in practice, most of their business has involved running drugs for the Triads. Before you ask, no, we don’t know why they want the satellite data. We assume they want to sell the information, but we don’t know if they’re working for themselves or on behalf of someone else. We do know that they know who Agent Specter is.”
“But they don’t know who she is,” Todd realized. Hope flooded him. “They only know her call sign. They don’t know her real name.”
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“Oh, come on,” Todd said. “Look at this. Read it. It mentions Agent Specter. It doesn’t say anything about…” He stopped himself. He didn’t know how the mole got Maya’s call sign, but he probably shouldn’t say her name out loud. He doubted like hell Yolanda Harris was the mole, but the mole could have a listening device somewhere in the office that a standard CIA sweep didn’t pick up. He made a mental note to have Penny assign members of her team to sweep the entire headquarters campus.
Yolanda sighed. “Deputy Director Strickland, I order you to immediately and permanently disavow Agents Talon and Specter.”
“What about the data core?” he challenged. “Are we giving up on that?”
“We will handle that. Your team’s involvement in this operation is ceased. Disavow the compromised agents and await further instructions. Am I clear?”
As polar ice and just as cold. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.”
She stalked back to her desk and began shuffling papers. Todd decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that she actually needed to look at those papers and didn’t just need him to see her shuffling them around so he could see how unimportant he was compared to her. After all, she did show some remorse, even if it was only briefly.
He got to his feet and left the office without another word. As he walked through the Valley of the Shadow of Death (his name for the executive leadership wing of the Administration building) he noticed surreptitious glances from other bigwigs.
Yeah, yeah, go ahead and look. If I get canned, this won’t be the first time.
His bravado felt a little thin to his own ears, considering his earlier fears for his career.
Penny waited for him in his office. He didn’t bother checking for listening devices. Penny would have done so the moment she entered, and she was far more tech savvy than he.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
He pointed at his face.
“That bad, huh?”
“Worse. They want me to disavow Maya and Trent.”
Penny’s eyes popped open. “What? She can’t do that! That’s horseshit!”
Her English accent grew stronger when she was angry, so shit came out as shite. That somehow made the curse seem stronger to Todd, which made it seem more appropriate.
“Yes,” he agreed. “It is horse shite.”
“You’re not going to do it, are you?”
His shoulders sagged. “I don’t have a choice. If I don’t do it, Yolanda will find out, and then she’ll do it herself and can me.”
Penny’s eyes flashed. “Are we seriously going to have this conversation again? Doing the right thing is more important than following the rules, Todd.”
That hurt worse than anything Yolanda had said, mostly because of the memories Penny brought up. Their relationship had once ended because of Todd’s choice to support the CIA’s campaign against Zero. He believed at the time that it was better to follow the rules. The CIA made mistakes, but going rogue made things worse. He thought he was doing the right thing by following the rules. Penny felt differently. They had fought over it, and Penny had elected to help Zero. Doing so had nearly gotten her killed and had ended—he thought for good—their future. They had reconciled at the end, as had Todd and Zero, when Todd decided to help Zero defeat Mr. Bright and bring the corrupt leaders of the Intelligence Community to justice, but Penny had made it clear that she wasn’t interested in Todd’s explanations for his actions.
“I know,” he told her. “But I have resources now that I won’t have if I’m not in the CIA anymore. Maya and Trent have friends outside of the Agency. I need to be their friend inside. So do you, so please refrain from storming into Yolanda’s office and telling her what a bitch she is.”
He picked up his phone. Penny crossed her arms and cast a venomous look through the door, presumably at Director Harris. “Who are you calling?”
“One of her friends outside the Agency,” Todd replied.
A moment later, a familiar voice answered. “This is Mitch.”
“Not right now. I need this to be Alan.”
“Yeah, no shit it’s Alan,” Alan Reidigger replied. “What the hell’s going on, Todd? Are you really going to burn—”
“We have friends listening,” Trent interrupted, “and I’m no longer confident they can’t hear this line.”
After a brief pause, Alan offered the sage opinion of, “Shit.”
“I very much agree, but listen up. I need your help. Yolanda wants me to disavow Specter and Talon.”
“Yeah, I figured. Let me guess. You’re going to do it because you have no choice, and you can’t treat them any differently because they’re your friends, and yadda yadda—”
“Alan, shut up and listen! I’m going to delay this disavowal as long as I possibly can. In the meantime, I’m going to get them home, and you’re going to help me.”
Alan blinked. “Well... Okay. I didn’t expect that.”
Todd frowned. Something about the way Alan said that sounded odd. “What do you mean you didn’t expect it?”
“I just mean… You’re so by the book…”
Todd’s eyes narrowed. “What’s going on, Alan? What did you do?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Alan said. “Tell me what you need from me.”
Todd shared a look with Penny. She lifted her hands, and he sighed. Something was going on, and Todd really hated to be left out of the loop, but he’d have to deal with that later. His agents’ window of opportunity was closing fast, and certain things needed to happen quickly or that window would shut and never open again.
“Okay, Alan. Here’s what I need.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Maya grunted as Bakari’s fist slammed into her midsection. She gritted her teeth, struggling to keep from revealing how much the blow hurt, but she couldn’t help herself. She released a soft, keening cry and her legs collapsed.
The two guards holding her—Azaan and Jabiri—laughed wickedly and held her upright. Bakari lifted her face, studied the defiance there, then drew his hand back and backhanded her hard. She grunted again, then moaned. Her head spun, and her ears rang. She felt the thud as her body hit the ground, but she was too close to unconsciousness to feel pain.
A hand tangled in her hair, almost gently. There was nothing gentle about the way it lifted her off the ground. She hissed, and though she came back to alertness, it was only to feel every nerve ending in her body scream in agony.
“Is this worth it?” Bakari said. “I assure you, I haven’t hurt you nearly as much as I can. You remember my earlier warning, yes?”
Maya’s first instinct was to tell him to do his worst, but she had a feeling he would do exactly that if pushed, so she stayed silent. Bakari sighed. Then he drove another fist into her midsection.
She threw up. She couldn’t stop herself. Her body had lost control of itself. Bakari dropped her in the filth. “I’ll allow you another chance, agent, but my patience is running thin. I’m beginning to think we should cut parts of you off until you start talking.”
He waited for Maya to say something. She didn’t, but the soft moan that escaped her lips seemed to satisfy him. He turned to leave. Jabiri stepped on the back of her head as he followed, grinding his face into the concrete with his weight. She hissed again and coughed, then breathed heavily as her body tried to recover from the damage it had taken.
Azaan shackled her back to the wall. He lifted Maya’s face to his and grinned. “Good. Still pretty.”
He caressed her cheek, and she flinched away. He laughed and followed his fellows.
As beatings went, this wasn’t the most debilitating one in the long term. She didn’t feel like she was bleeding internally, and nothing was broken.
But God, it hurt. And if she didn’t give them answers soon, things would start breaking. She needed to think of a solution before then.
If only Trent would show up. She smiled slightly, thinking of him bursting into the compound and rescuing her like a knight in shining armor. It wasn’t so much for her sake that she imagined this. She just wanted to see him to know that he was alive, to know that he had survived and the two of them still had a chance to get out of here alive.
But she couldn’t wait for him. She needed to break out of this prison and find the data core before it was too late. Once she had that, she could look for Trent. She could be his knight in shining armor.
She laughed at that, but it ended in a sob. Sure you still want to be a secret agent, Maya?
The answer to that was easy enough. She did. She absolutely did. It gave her a chance to stop people like Bakari.
And she would stop them. They thought they had beaten Agent Specter. They would learn soon enough that they were wrong.
***
Alan got off of the phone with Todd and rubbed his eyes. "Christ on a pogo stick. Of course, Todd would pick now to start being something other than a smarmy prick."
He knew that wasn’t fair. Todd was in a tough spot. And Alan had to admit—grudgingly—that sometimes sticking a middle finger into the face of CIA leadership did more harm than good.
Alan sighed and reached for his phone to make some phone calls. His contacts in South Africa were giving him some flak about helping him in Tanzania. Apparently, regional tensions were rising to the point that South Africa was restricting movement between the two nations. It didn't help that Alan couldn't be honest about who they were helping and why.
He made a mental note to find better friends in that region. What use were resources when they couldn’t be called upon when they were needed?
He dialed the number of his last contact in the region, but just before he pressed the call button, his radio buzzed.
“Alan?”
"Oh, thank God," Alan said. "Zero, where are you?"
“I’m in Madagascar.”
“Madagascar? I thought you were going to Tanzania.”
“No,” Zero replied. “I’ll tell you the full story later. Right now, I need you to get me supplies and transportation. Do you know exactly where Maya is?”
Alan slipped to the forefront. The former EOT agent sat back in his chair and said, “No. I know she was taken in the vicinity of Mount Kilimanjaro, but where she went after that, I can only speculate.”
“Do you know who took her?”
“Yes. I just talked to Todd. Director Harris just told him that a mole in the CIA sold her call sign, role, and mission to the Waswahili Liberation Front.”
“A mole?”
“Looks that way.”
Zero was quiet for a long moment. “That explains a lot.”
“Todd’s going to work on the mole,” Alan said. “And it’s actually good that you’re in Madagascar, because getting supplies to Tanzania is turning out to be problematic. I’ll have an easier time sending help to Madagascar.”
“All right. What can you tell me about the Waswahili Liberation Front?”
Alan tapped a few keys and brought up the rap sheet Baraf had given him. Vicente Baraf was a Director at Interpol and a good friend of Alan’s and Zero’s from back in the day. God, are we that old?
The Mitch side of his personality immediately replied, I hope not. Two good kids are relying on you.
“Yeah, I know.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” Alan glanced at the sheet and said, “The Waswahili Liberation Front is supposedly a freedom fighter group in the Swahili diaspora. They’re primarily active in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, but I use the term active loosely, at least in the freedom fighter sense. Most of their operations seem to revolve around running drugs for the Triads.”
