“What did you find out about the politics of the current war games?”
“They seem to be all show with a few political agendas. It’s a ‘Mine’s bigger than yours’ parade, from what I can tell. More fanfare than substance. I haven’t been able to discover any specific threat.”
Wade rubbed his weary eyes and sighed aloud. “My question is who would benefit from a disruption of the war games?”
“Is that what we’re talking about here?”
“It’s purely a hypothetical question. I’m not sure. I just wanted your thoughts on who might have that kind of motive.”
There was a pause before Megan responded. “I’d like to think about that for a while. Other than the countries you mentioned, I can’t think of any.”
Wade’s next question summoned Megan to the dark side. “Can you think about anyone from the U.S. who might have a reason to disrupt the games?”
Megan sounded annoyed when she replied, “I don’t suppose you want to tell what you’re basing that question on, or what you’re up to now.”
Wade sensed that Megan felt he was off base and had little to add to support his suspicions regarding a possible U.S. plot. He redirected his thinking to the more obvious Russian, Cuban, and South American countries.
“I don’t really know how to answer that question. Just considering all the possible candidates and speculating on who would benefit from disrupting things here.”
Megan paused, as if referring to her latest research notes. “That’s really heavy stuff. I just don’t see evidence that points in that direction.”
Wade agreed. “Just me speculating out loud.”
Megan said nothing for a long moment. “You don’t normally speculate like that. But you’re not going to tell me more, are you?”
“Not at the moment.”
“You keep your secrets well.”
“I learned from the best.”
She could see the call was ending. “We’ll have to discuss that at another time. I miss you.”
“Miss you, too.”
Chapter 24
Before dawn the next morning, Wade followed Max’s directions to a location two miles east of Belmopan. Max spent the night staking out Stephan’s movements and had swollen red eyes to prove it. Wade got into Max’s car and studied the layout. He liked what he saw.
“This is a great observation point. When did he finally come home to roost?”
“About eleven o’clock. He was very wary, closely checking at every turn. He also had binoculars out that second window from the left.”
“Does he sense anything, do you think, or is he just cautious?”
“I think mainly cautious, but he may also have a sixth sense. He’s not totally comfortable yet.”
The two-story house was located at the back of a five-acre parcel. Anyone approaching the house could be seen all along a stretch of gravel driveway leading to the front door. The back of the house was set fifty feet in front of what looked like dense jungle.
Max’s observation post couldn’t have been better. His car stood at an angle to the driveway off the main road that wasn’t visible from the house, and was nestled tightly between two rows of shrubbery, which obscured most of the vehicle. The position provided a direct line of sight to the house through a dense hedge that lined the road behind a row of tall banana plants.
There was little activity to report from Max’s night watch except that Stephan had gone to bed early and engaged in a hard work-out early that morning.
Wade commented on Stephan’s selection of the second site: “This is a good location for them. They’re closer to Belmopan, and he has a clear line of sight in every direction.”
Max nodded. “There’s even a possible jungle extraction point at the rear. I want to check that out by approaching from the jungle side at the back of the house. I think there may be trails leading into the jungle.”
Wade replied, “And this location is far enough away from the ceremonies not to draw attention. In the confusion after an attack, they could easily extract to this location before splitting up. If they had to use it, the jungle would provide both cover and a secondary extraction route.”
Max could see why Stephan had chosen this location for a safe house. “I see your point. They might also use the Belize City house as part of their initial extraction plan. My guess is the police would immediately close all routes in and out of Belmopan, and the area will be crawling with police and military after the incident. The key will be the timing.”
Wade was curious. “Was there any movement last night?”
“No. Everything was quiet. He came straight here from the rental agency and hasn’t left. He’s only used two rooms of the house the entire night.”
Wade was already thinking about calls Stephan might be making to the other operatives. “We have to let Yari know about this location. Does this place have a street address?”
“I think there may be a road sign back where it turns off the main road, but I don’t see any street numbers.”
“I tell you what. You look exhausted. I’ll take over your watch. You go get some shut-eye. On your way back, look for any address, street signs, or mailbox numbers that would give Yari a general location so he can monitor calls. If you can’t find street numbers, borrow the neighbor’s mail from one of those boxes so we can at least get an address code. After you get some rest, call Yari from the library with the location information.”
Max’s all night stake-out had given him time to think. As he departed he tossed out an idea that surprised Wade. “Listen, I’ve been thinking about something else I want to discuss.”
Wade smiled. “Stakeouts do strange things to people’s minds. Let’s hear what you’ve got.”
“You know the black cases at the cemetery? I think I have a pretty good idea what’s in them. I’d like to try to get into those cases to deactivate the mechanism.”
Wade wasn’t keen on the idea. “You’re not only tired — you’ve gone mad.”
Max was persistent but careful. “Before we do anything I need to confirm my ideas with one of my explosives instructors at the base. He’s been a real friend, and I trust him. I’ll also need some tools.”
Reluctantly, Wade agreed to let him at least investigate the idea. “When you talk to Yari, ask him to set up a secure patch for a call to your friend at the base.” He made a face and shook his head before adding, “This is crazy — I can’t believe I’m even considering this plan. But we need to discuss your intentions before you do anything rash, okay? I wasn’t going to mention it, but I was just thinking about renting a boat, weighting the cases down, and dropping them overboard.”
Max frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. If the cases are missing, the other side will be alerted instantly. In addition we can’t be sure what water pressure will do to the detonation device. They may not have to travel far underwater before they explode. That could mean right under our boat.”
“I didn’t say my idea was a good one — forget I said anything, okay?