“I may have found the house Mashburn rented. After a check of rental ads I contacted the listing agent and arranged to tour the place. Here’s the name and number of the real estate agent and the number and address of the house. I’d like you to monitor phones for both the house and the agent, if you would.”
“Consider it done. I did pick up a call from Panama yesterday between Mashburn and Condor.”
“So what did they say?”
“Mashburn is on his way to Belize. I listened to the call several times and think it’s odd that they don’t once refer to the other operatives by name. It sounds like Mashburn has no idea what’s going on.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Mashburn keeps reminding Condor he doesn’t know anything about the assignment or have a description of the people he’s supposed to pick up at the airport.”
“Did you get anything more on timing?”
“Mashburn is supposed to get flight information on the arrival of other members from Condor tomorrow or the next day.”
“That makes my window of opportunity even tighter.”
“It appears they don’t want the other guys around until the war game exercises have already started. That’s still another ten days away.”
Wade paused, before he responded. “I know. We have to check on the schedule of those onshore ceremonies. That is, unless they’re planning some kind of attack at sea.”
Yari shared his concern about their missing information. “They must have this all planned. But I still don’t have a tap on that other line Condor is using.”
“Keep trying. I’m going to check the local newspapers and make a list of times and dates of all the ceremonies. Once these operatives get down here, we’ll have a whole different level of threat. I’m just here to get at Mashburn and get out. ”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll continue to look at government transmissions.”
“If you monitor both the numbers I just gave you, we might get lucky. Otherwise, you’re telling me you won’t know Mashburn’s whereabouts until he makes a call from the new location.”
“That’s the way it looks right now.”
“I don’t believe in coincidence. The house I looked at was rented for three months in advance by a guy from Panama.”
“Why do they need it for three months? That’s expensive.”
“Not if it’s government money. We’re still just guessing.” Wade didn’t want Yari straying from the task at hand. “Look, just keep monitoring both the numbers I gave you. My guess is this crew isn’t staying around for any three months.”
“I’m on it. Give me a call tomorrow afternoon. I may have something by then.”
“I’m at the library. I’ll do some research on the upcoming war game festivities while I’m here.”
“Later, big guy.”
Wade felt his stomach clench as often happened when he sensed that something would happen soon. He spent time doing research in the library, then took the rest of the afternoon off to exercise and burn off nervous energy. A three-mile run along the beautiful waterfront gave him the relief he needed. During the run, he spotted several new restaurants he wanted to try.
He couldn’t help wondering whether he guessed right about the safe house rental. Instincts told him he was right, but there was no way to confirm those feelings. If it wasn’t the right house, he was back to square one, and with the other operatives arriving soon the pressure was building. Mashburn was due in tomorrow. Wade’s only hope was that Mashburn would make a call to Condor for instructions as soon as he arrived in Belize.
After an early dinner of local fish stew, Wade searched the streets around the Adam Roy house looking for observation points. He parked at one he liked and noticed a few cars were different from the ones he’d observed early in the day and yesterday. His stakeout of the Adam Roy house that evening told him who all the neighboring property owners were. Everything seemed normal.
Library research yielded press articles about the war game ceremonies in the capital city of Belmopan, just over an hour’s drive from Belize City. The Belmopan capital had recently been constructed out of the dense jungle near the remains of Aztec and Mayan ruins. Both ancient and current cultures were built to avoid the devastation of hurricanes that came in from the coast.
The next day, Wade drove the eighty kilometers to Belmopan. Local maps identified the key buildings and streets surrounding the capital. The capital was well laid-out and easy to navigate. Belmopan was a shining new city that peacefully emerged from dense jungle. It was not well guarded, however, suggesting easy targets for terrorists.
How Belmopan fit into Mashburn’s assignment in Belize was still a big mystery to Wade. Attacking a city wasn’t in Mashburn’s skill set or part of his prior assignments. Nothing felt right to Wade about the Belize assignment or where Mashburn fit in.
He sat in his car looking at a glistening high-rise building in Belmopan that yielded no answers. He needed to get back to Yari, who was his only source of information regarding Mashburn’s current activities.
As Wade drove back to Belize City, he wondered what Belmopan would be like once it was filled with international dignitaries and news media broadcasting worldwide. Frequently checking his rearview mirror for tails and finding none, Wade drove directly to the library to call Yari.
Yari had difficulty controlling his excitement. “It’s about time you called.”
“Just checking in for any new developments.”
“I just monitored a call from Mashburn to Condor at the airport in Belize. You’ll soon have Mashburn.”
“Did he give an address?”
“No. He just let Condor know he was at the airport.”
“Anything about the other guests?”
“No. They weren’t mentioned.”
Wade figured that Mashburn would be on edge and suspicious right after his arrival. “I want Mashburn to relax and settle into a routine.”
Yari anticipated Wade’s anxiety about Mashburn’s whereabouts. “I should know his location as soon as he makes his first call from the house.”
“I don’t want to wait that long, and I’m not sure I can make it to the airport before he leaves. He has to get a rental car and go by the real estate office to pick up the keys. I’ll be in disguise at one of those positions when he arrives.”
Yari sensed Wade’s frustration and somehow felt responsible. He was dealing with some very smart covert operatives and was also frustrated that they didn’t leave him a better trail. He couldn’t help stating the obvious.
“You realize you may find him before I can get the coordinates.”
“That’s a good possibility. If my hunch is correct, we’ll both know within a couple of hours. Either way, I’ll call back this evening to confirm.”
Parked across the street from the real estate office, Wade noticed the familiar features of Mashburn’s face getting out of a green sedan, someone he recognized from the brief time they spent together at Fort Benning. Ms. Barr came out the front door to greet Mashburn with keys waving in her hand. After handing him the keys, she pointed in the general direction of the house on Adam Roy, giving him directions. Mashburn motored past Wade’s parked car, looking up and down the streets to get his bearings and make sure he wasn’t being followed. Wade knew from the direction Barr pointed where Mashburn was headed. He followed using a different route. When he saw the green sedan in the driveway, he knew his hunch about the Adam Roy safe house had been right all along.