“I have one more thing to convey before I decide what I’m going to do with you.”
Mashburn was shaking, afraid to show his curiosity.
“The people I work for want to see you out of the assassination business — as in permanently retired. They’ve left it in my hands to ensure your retirement. I believe your covert skills are good enough to give you an opportunity to disappear forever from the intelligence community. If your skills are not good enough to permanently disappear, one of the agencies will find you soon enough.”
Wade took a breath and then continued. “There are at least three agencies and several independent operatives chasing you in addition to Condor and his men. As I see it your only chance of survival is to hide for the rest of your life. There’s no other way out. ”
Wade paused to adjust the tape over Mashburn’s eyes.
“I suggest you go find some small village in the backwoods of Europe or South America. Find a village where nobody’s heard of a U.S. citizen. You might even practice some real medicine, helping people in that village. But as of this moment, your days as an undercover assassin are over.”
Mashburn was silent, slightly nodding his head in acknowledgment.
“My people have shown the ability to hunt you down. In fact, if they find that you’re not dead or in complete hiding, they will find you and terminate you. I may be given that assignment, and I can assure you we won’t have another discussion like this before it happens. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes.”
“Your cleaning lady comes tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. To ensure that you remain still until that time, I’m going to tip your chair backward until it rests on the edge of another chair that I’ve set up.”
Wade checked Mashburn’s chair by balancing it backward on its two rear legs. He returned it to the upright position before continuing.
“I’m going to insert a syringe of your favorite solution into your neck and leave the plunger extended, taped to the chair and your neck. You can take your chances trying to wiggle free, but I’d encourage you to remain perfectly still until the maid comes tomorrow.”
Wade wiggled Mashburn’s chair from side to side, showing the effects of the movement. “No matter which way the chair moves the syringe will automatically plunge the gray solution into your neck. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“When the maid finds you, she’ll initially panic. Assuming you haven’t moved your chair during the night, you can show her you’re still alive by making sounds. Let her calm down so she carefully removes the tape from around your mouth. She can help you remove the rest of your bindings — but not the syringe. You’ll have to remove the needle yourself.”
“I understand.”
“After you get the maid to calm down, tell her you were robbed. You’ll also have to inform the real estate agent, Ms. Barr of the robbery, and perhaps even give a report to the local police. Ms. Barr won’t want the news spread that her rental property was robbed, so the report will go no further. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“I have one more thing to do before I leave you. I’m going to put the remaining sock in your mouth and tape over it. Do you have anything to say before I do that?”
“Thank you for letting me live.”
Wade put the sock in Mashburn’s mouth and taped it around his head, leaving an open area below his nose to breathe.
“Remember, you’re retired as of now. If I were you, I’d take the next few hours to think about how you’re going to disappear so that you won’t be seeing me or anyone else looking for you — ever again.”
“By the time you get through with the police and the real estate agent, you’ll have only one day before Stephan arrives. I left the return ticket to Panama in your bedroom. Stephan is also coming to Belize through Panama, so you’ll need to be careful not to cross his path at the airport.”
“Since neither of you knows each other, he probably won’t be able to track you for a while. Once you leave Panama, you’ll have to remove all traces of your existence. You won’t have much time to disappear, but it’s your only chance to survive.”
Mashburn nodded his head and grunted, acknowledging Wade’s advice. Wade leaned Mashburn’s chair all the way back until it rested precariously against the seat of the other chair. He inserted the needle at the base of Mashburn’s neck and taped the syringe to his neck and chair, leaving the plunger end extended a few inches from the supporting chair.
Wade gently rocked the chair side to side, showing Mashburn how easily the chair would trip the syringe. He collected the sniper rifle and the other weapons from the living room. After checking Mashburn’s bindings one last time, Wade made sure he had all the documents and vials of solution. He gathered his tape recorder and notes before wiping down everything for fingerprints wearing surgical gloves, as an extra precaution. He quietly closed the side door behind him.
The street was quiet, with only the sound of large tropical leaves dancing to evening ocean breezes. Wade never told Mashburn that the syringe he’d left in his neck was filled with tap water.
Wade arrived at the military section of the Belize airport to catch the first morning flight to Houston. He’d accomplished one part of his mission with Mashburn, but had turned up another more serious terrorist threat that he hadn’t yet addressed. Wade’s stomach churned as he considered the ramifications of that threat and what could go wrong.
He needed time to think. His only hope was that Mashburn would take his offer to disappear, and that the Belize police would believe the robbery story. Stephan and Condor would have to change their plans to exclude Mashburn from the assignment, or call the whole thing off.
As Wade boarded the military flight 771-L, he looked into the faces of the other soldiers, who also seemed to have a lot on their minds. The loud flight back to Houston took place with little conversation among the passengers.
Running scenarios back and forth during the three-hour flight exhausted Wade. What troubled him most were the unknowns, especially the scenario where he would return to neutralize the terrorist threat. How was he going to take on at least three additional operatives? What if he had misread Mashburn? Instead of disappearing, what if Mashburn went directly to Condor with the whole story? Wade began questioning his decisions and repeatedly replayed the “what ifs” as the plane touched down in Houston.
Wade wondered if things would have been any different if he had terminated Mashburn, as he’d originally intended. Instead of a robbery investigation, the Belize police would have a homicide on their hands. Wade kept justifying his decision to himself. If Mashburn’s disappearance doesn’t work, Stephan will terminate him in a few days anyway.
On the other hand, if the robbery story played out and Mashburn disappeared, things would calm down and the threat would go forward with a few minor adjustments. Wade thought about his own situation. He couldn’t formally explain his actions with Mashburn or the Lockhart murder without putting himself on the agency’s hit list. The scenarios kept leading him back to Belize to deal with the planned threat and the other operatives. For now he just needed to distance himself and see what happened with Mashburn.
By the time Wade disembarked in Houston, nothing had been resolved. His pockets were filled with small slips of papers containing notes and lots of To Do lists that would occupy him for the next couple of days.
He called his cousin Frank to pick him up.
“How was your trip to Belize?”
“Great. That is one beautiful country. I was mesmerized by the scenery.”
“I used to get down there every year to fish.”