“Where did that order originate?”
“My CID unit commander — someone I inherited from Vietnam. His name is Cory Fortier. Cory told me his authority was coming from above. That’s all I know, I swear.”
“So you met Lockhart at the motel. What happened next?”
“Lockhart liked to drink. I told him we had to celebrate when I gave him the money. I had a fifth of his favorite single malt bourbon and drugged his drink. That knocked him out.”
“Let’s go back to your assignment in Spain. I don’t believe you were really working for Franco. What’s the real story?”
“The U.S. owed Franco some favors, but he had gone mad killing everyone. The U.S. couldn’t appear to be supporting him in any way, so they sent me in to do some covert work for Juan Carlos.”
“That sounds like a cover story.”
Mashburn suddenly grew silent as though he had been paralyzed by the question.
Wade slapped Mashburn on the side his head with the pistol butt to jar his memory. “Well, do I need to get the syringe out again? Is this really the end of your story?”
“That was my cover story.”
“Who was your real target?”
“Franco.”
“So you were a double agent?”
“Yes.”
“Is that when you met Condor?”
“Yes. I’d just been assigned to Condor for the Spain assignment. My orders from Condor were to carry out Franco’s orders, but in reality I was to try to get to Franco himself.”
“Did Condor instruct you on how to do that?”
“He pretty much left it up to me. He told me to get close to Juan Carlos first. Franco was having some medical issues at the time. I was told to find out as much as I could about his health issues, and then work that angle.”
“Why is Condor involved in your current operation?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think he knows much about what’s going on.”
“What do you mean?”
“He doesn’t seem to have any details or answers to my questions. I don’t understand why this operation is even going on. I mean, Belize is a friendly country with strong ties to our British allies. I don’t know why we’re disrupting these games. I was just told to follow instructions.”
“I know that. What’s the real operation?”
“I swear I don’t know. I just know Condor is turning me over to another operative who’s running the operation. I’m now supposed to report to him and follow his instructions.”
“Who’s the other operative?”
“All I know is that it’s a guy by the name of Stephan. I haven’t met him or spoken to him yet. I can’t even tell you what he looks like.”
“Isn’t it true Stephan is out of Germany?”
“I was never told that.”
“What’s in the two black cases you delivered to the cemetery yesterday?”
“I swear I don’t know. They were delivered to me at my hotel in Panama before I came here. I was just told where and when to drop them off.”
“You weren’t curious about what was inside?”
“I took one look at the locking mechanisms and didn’t even want to handle the cases. All I was told was to make the drop at the cemetery, and Stephan would take it from there.”
“Aren’t there other operatives who will be arriving?”
“Yes, I was to make arrangements and pick up two other operatives from the airport, though they would arrive at different times.”
“When are they arriving?”
“I haven’t been given flight numbers or times yet, and I don’t know who they are. I just know they’re supposed to arrive a few days after Stephan.”
“And when does Stephan arrive?”
“In two days. I have his flight information in the bedroom.”
There was a pause in the interrogation. Wade hadn’t counted on getting so much information on the current operation. He considered his options with Mashburn and their consequences.
“This is the way I see your position. You’ve been passed from handler to handler since Fort Benning. You did the Spain assignment, which could have serious political repercussions. Your name is on lots of target boards for the work in Spain.
“You’re wanted in the U.S. for the Lockhart murder, and you’ve always been a problem for my agency. CID has completely distanced themselves from you. You’re a liability to them not only because of the Lockhart murder but because of what went on in Vietnam and Spain.
“If my agency has tracked you down, so can others. You’re here in Belize as a gofer for an operation you claim to know nothing about. It’s not your kind of operation. You’ve not been given any specifics, and you’re reporting to a German-trained assassin by the name of Stephan. Is any of this smelling a little strange to you?”
“It smells like hell. I’m being set up.”
“There’s an old intelligence saying, ‘If you ever feel you’re worth more dead than alive to your agency, you’d better start looking over your shoulder.’ That’s because chances are you won’t be around long.”
“I get your meaning, and I’m not too proud to admit that I wouldn’t like my position even if I wasn’t sitting in this chair.”
“If I were to tell you that my agency knows that your Belize operation is already designed to have a dead fall guy found at a rest stop off Hummingbird Highway, would that ring any bells for you?”
Wade let some time pass for the concept to sink in before continuing. “If my agency has the information on the dead drop, don’t you think you would have been informed of that phase of the assignment?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m that fall guy.”
“Who can be certain of anything in our business? But you do have all the right credentials for being that fall guy, especially if they plant incriminating evidence on you. It solves the Lockhart murder, the Vietnam drug incident, and the Spain connection all at once. You’re the rogue agent who couldn’t be controlled.”
Wade paused before going on. “Knowing what you know about the Belize assignment where do you see your skills coming into play? I don’t see your skills being used here at all, and Condor has better and cheaper gofers to do the grunt work.”
“If I were a betting man, I’d wager that your body will be the one found near the creek at the rest stop. Your death solves too many problems for people above who need to remain protected.”
A grim silence fell between the two men. Mashburn squirmed uncomfortably in the silence before he asked, “What happens now?”
“Quiet. I’m thinking through my options with you.”
“Please don’t kill me, I beg you.”
“Quiet. I’m thinking.”
The pillowcase over Mashburn’s head was wet from the sweat pouring from his head.
Without a word, Wade got up and walked to the other room, leaving Mashburn to his own thoughts. He returned with scissors and a pair of Mashburn’s socks. He placed them on the table loudly enough for Mashburn to hear the clang of the scissors. Mashburn jumped back in his chair. The silence that followed was deafening, and Mashburn couldn’t wait before asking.
“What are you going to do to me?”
Chapter 20
“I’m going to take off the hood from behind you and place some of your socks I just cut over your eyes and tape them to your head.”
“Then you’re not going to kill me?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Mashburn heard the duct tape being torn into strips. The room was now dark as evening set in. Wade worked with just the table light on.
“Keep your eyes closed tight.”
He stood behind Mashburn and placed a sock over each eye. He held the material in place with one hand as he pulled a strip across Mashburn’s face to hold the socks in place. He strapped extra tape all around his head, leaving his nose uncovered so he could breathe.