Max shrugged. “Why don’t I follow Stephan tomorrow to the airport and you take your intuition out to the sites and see if you come up with anything we’ve missed?”
“That’s fine. What I like about the positions we chose for our hideout is that all of Stephan’s sites will be visible to us. If we don’t split up, I don’t see how we’ll be able to cover all of their firing positions.”
“I agree. Our angle is toward the shooters, not the stage.”
“Don’t forget, partner. We have to extract as well, and we might have some of the same challenges they do if they’re able to get off just one round.”
“I’m already giving that some thought. I have some ideas and want to go back there tonight to check on a few details.”
The next day Max again followed Stephan to the airport to pick up the third operative. Wade continued watching the safe house and checking the cemetery to see if the cases had been removed. They agreed to meet at 1:00 p.m.
The second airport pick-up went smoothly, much as it had the day before, with a few minor exceptions. After the two operatives greeted one another, Stephan seemed agitated with the new arrival, whom Max nicknamed Jackson.
As was the case with Boris, Stephan seemed to know Jackson, but they were definitely not on good terms. Stephan began lecturing Jackson from the minute he arrived. His agitated demeanor was apparent in the car and continued all the way back to the safe house.
Something must have happened to cause Stephan’s annoyance. He wasn’t hostile, but close to it. Jackson meekly took Stephan’s verbal lashing in stride seemingly, with apologetic acknowledgement and little reply.
Wade and Max met over lunch to compare notes. Max described Stephan’s hostility toward Jackson. Wade thought it was an unusual way to start a mission with a fellow operative.
Wade asked Max, “What do you think Stephan could be annoyed about?”
“I’m not sure, but I think it was enough to cause him to have to change some plans. I have to wonder if Jackson screwed something up.”
“Perhaps it was his arrival time?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it was, Jackson is not getting any favors from Stephan on this assignment.”
Max asked, “What happened at the safe house?”
“Boris and Stephan were extremely busy before Stephan left for the airport. I couldn’t see through the frosted glass windows, but both men were going from room to room doing something. At one point Stephan backed the car up to the back door, and he and Boris unloaded something. I couldn’t see what it was because I was facing them.”
Max frowned. “Do you think we should be in position for this afternoon’s ceremony?”
“Yes, I think we should be there and ready to act if we need to, but stay out of sight. I don’t think it will happen this afternoon because of who’s addressing the audience. But they may show up for a dry run.”
“We need to check the cases again to see if they’re still in place. So far it seems like they’re keeping those cases in place at the cemetery until the very last moment.”
Wade replied, “I think that’s smart on their part. Let’s get over to the library and call Yari.”
The normally quiet city hummed with more street and foot traffic as tourists and dignitaries poured into Belize City. Even the library hosted more visitors. Wade quickly dialed the number.
“It’s Wade. Just called for an update. We saw a little dissension among our new guys today, so I’m just wondering if they made any calls.”
“No calls to the outside. Silent as lambs.”
“If they’re getting ready to take action, they may be under radio and telephone silence. Did you get the private telephone number for Zara Wicks?”
“I sure did. We have an understanding about private numbers with U.K. friendlies, and she’s on that list. But I could get my ass handed to me for having her secured private line.”
“Don’t worry. If I make the call, it will be anonymously. Who knows where anonymous people get phone numbers? I’ll be calling you for the encryption patch.”
“Great.”
Wade joined Max in the library’s reading room. There was one article indicating a change in one of the scheduled ceremonies, detailing the new times of the speeches and a different order for the people presenting. They made a copy of the new schedule.
The two men met over an early breakfast the next day to finalize plans. The day would be spent on surveillance, checking equipment, and verifying schedules for the best extraction plans. That afternoon was the first of three days they thought were the most likely to be targeted for the attack.
“I need to check in with Yari to see if there have been any last-minute calls made from the safe house.”
“Good. I’ll cover the news stories while you’re on your call.”
The men returned to the motel where they checked and cleaned their sidearms and two sniper rifles before going to the library to contact Yari. Nothing had changed since their last call. They took two cars to Belmopan and parked one at a predetermined space just outside the city for easy extraction. Then Wade took up his position at the safe house after dropping Max off at the city center.
The minute the administrative building opened for business, Max approached the reception counter in a coat and tie, asking for directions to the planning department.
Signage everywhere said the building would be closing at noon for the International Peace Ceremonies. The attractive counter hostess smiled and directed Max to the fifth floor.
With briefcase in one hand and several sets of rolled building plans under his other arm, Max approached the elevator like a seasoned architect. No one got in the elevator with him, so he pressed the button for the fifth floor and exited. But he made a right turn instead of a left as he had been directed.
The plain reddish-brown door opened to a set of stairs, followed by another door which opened onto the rooftop. In the stairwell Max changed into blue coveralls before he stepped out on the roof. With a radio transmitter and binoculars strapped to a waist belt, he moved behind the large gray commercial HVAC unit.
He quickly removed one of the outer doors on the unit, exposing the control panel, and set down his tool kit. If anyone discovered his presence, he was simply a heating and air conditioner serviceman performing regular maintenance.
Max went to the far side of the roof where he was able to see the rooftops of all the numbered buildings on the map. He crouched under the parapet and peered out through a small space between two red roofing tiles. A small reflection caught his attention. He saw additional movement on the top of Building 3.
“Sky to Base, over.”
“Base here.”
“I have movement on Building 3 east of my position. Over.”
“Can you make out the parties?”
There was a brief pause while Max rolled to his right, landing at a better angle of sight. “Boris and Jackson with binocs. No weapons in sight.”
“Any sign of the Stephan?”
“Negative.”
“Continue observing and keep me posted. I’m moving into position on Building 5.”
“Copy.”
Max watched as the two men disappeared from that rooftop only to be seen again three rooftops over. It only took them a few minutes to reappear.
“Sky to Base.”
“Base. Over.”
“Boris and Jackson are now scoping Building 1, no weapons visible. They definitely have keys to these buildings. Over.”
“Keep observing and take notes. I’m vacating my current position on a hunch. Meet me at the rendezvous point in two hours, unless you need me here.”
“I’ve got this covered.”
By now Wade was operating on instinct. He retraced his steps to where his car was parked and drove to the cemetery to check the status of the black cases. He confirmed the cases had finally been removed. Wade drove back to the safe house to check on Stephan’s whereabouts and found Stephan’s car in the safe house driveway, and a flurry of activity was visible inside. Wade could only see shadows moving back and forth between rooms, so there was no way to tell exactly what they were doing inside. With the cases gone from the cemetery and the operatives in place, everything was pointing to an imminent attack.