Angela looked forward to the games and scrimmages just to watch her son play and to meet the other families. It was a great way to meet other people. Tonight’s scrimmage wasn’t too bad. The boys were playing well for being so inexperienced. Brian was the stand out. But one of the new players was the one she was watching. Emilio Messina had been a walk on just a few weeks before. Up till a few days ago, he played with borrowed equipment. Then his father got him a worn, but usable set of pads, helmet, and a stick. Starting as a defender, it soon became obvious that he was nearly as skilled as Brian and eventually became an attacker on the team. Already he had scored two of the goals and had worked with Brian to maneuver the ball around the field to help with four more. Emilio and Brian were becoming close friends.
At the end of one of the time periods, she noticed Emilio join up with a very tall, nice looking man. Within a few minutes she noticed Emilio point her out and the two made their way over.
“Hi, Emilio. Is this your father?” she asked.
Emilio had a large grin on his face. The man extended his hand. “Carl Messina. It is good to meet you. I’ve been watching your son. He is very good on the team,” he said in English.
Angela beamed. “Emilio is the one to watch. I can’t believe he started playing only recently. Did you play?”
Messina shook his head. “No, we only played fútbol when I was young. But when Emilio saw what these boys were doing, he liked the game from the start. I am glad he has become interested in any sport. It keeps him busy,” he chuckled.
Angela laughed. “At this age they need it,” she said. She found Carl Messina a pleasant man, but after a few minutes of talking she noticed a slight uneasiness in him. He kept looking around as if he were looking for someone. As the game continued, both parents cheered the teams on. They continued to talk about the game and things to watch for. After about half an hour, a man in uniform came walking up. Messina smiled and waved to the man, who quickly joined them.
“Señora Harrison, this is my friend Colonel Juan Rojas,” he said introducing the two.
Rojas smiled and shook her hand. “It is good to meet you,” he said with a smile. “I hope I haven’t missed too much.”
“Almost,” Angela said. “We just have ten minutes left in the game.”
Two of the boys collided on the field and the entire crowd let out a gasp. They were relieved when both got up and continued the game as if nothing happened.
“Who is that one?” asked Rojas. “He is very good,” he said, pointing out Brian.
“That’s my son, Brian,” Angela said not taking her eyes off the game.
“Not bad at all,” Rojas exclaimed. “And young Emilio is doing very well.”
Suddenly Rojas dropped the English and shouted some things in Spanish, urging directions for the boys on the field.
Angela looked over at him. “You must have played before.”
Rojas nodded as he watched. “I was on the first team ever formed here in Caracas. I played through the time I was in the University.” He called out some more, obviously getting excited about the game.
The coach was standing nearby and heard the instructions Rojas was shouting and came over as well. After a few minutes, he and Rojas walked a short distance away to talk about the team. When they left, Angela and Messina were standing alone and apart from the rest of the parents who had moved down the field a short distance.
Suddenly Messina came slightly closer and asked in a lower tone, “Do you ever work in your embassy?”
Angela glanced at him and noticed he had not taken his eyes off the game. “I sometimes help out with events. Why?” she asked.
Glancing around the field again, Messina appeared to watch the game, but got very serious. “I need help getting information to someone there and I don’t want anyone to know about it.”
Angela resumed her gaze toward the field, but was no longer watching the game. When they had arrived, a person at the embassy had talked to them about what might happen if someone wanted to pass information through them to the embassy. Until now, she thought it was some foolish notion. But there he was and he obviously was concerned that someone might find out.
“What is it about?” she asked between shouts to the field.
“We know where your American hostages are,” he said quietly above the shouts around them. “I need to meet with someone to give them the exact location.”
Angela began to understand why he was so uneasy. “You think you are being watched?”
Messina broke into a grin. “I don’t see anyone here, but I am certain of it,” he said.
The whistle blew calling an end to the game. The boys made their way back to where the coach and Rojas were standing.
“Time for the pep talk,” she said. “You coming to the game tomorrow?”
He looked at her. “I will.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she said.
After the talk by the coach, everyone began making their way back to their cars and home. Messina said his good byes and joined Rojas. “Looks like you made a friend,” he said.
Rojas smiled. “Yes, I’ve been recruited to become an assistant coach and help out when I can. It means I’ll be at almost every game. What about you?”
Messina nodded. “It’s a good way to meet people. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game,” he said. Both understood the meaning. Now came the dangerous part.
Chapter 10
Betrayal
“What the hell is this?” exclaimed the analyst as she was pouring over the latest satellite image of southern Venezuela. The images clearly showed large concentrations of troops appearing along the hilltops of the border with Brazil. As she looked further, two radar sites and a missile battery had also appeared along the border. Closer look at the missile battery concluded that it was a 9K33 Osa / SA-8 Gecko Surface to Air Missile system. The six wheeled vehicle held both the missiles and a phased array type radar system. This was bad news. After summoning her supervisor, she shifted to some other mountain tops along the border. There were spots along several where such systems could be deployed, and indeed, one had a vehicle making its way along a dirt road leading to the site. She began highlighting the areas electronically. After an hour of close work, more than thirty areas showed an increase in personnel, armor, and other systems. It all added up to one thing — someone was expected.
“Print four copies and send it to the Director,” the supervisor said as he picked up the phone. He dialed a number he rarely used. “This is Thompson in satellite analysis. I need to speak to the director, right now.”
One hour later the President stood with his fists balled. “Okay, who has leaked this out!” he demanded. The men in the room stood and looked around at each other. “Damn it, I told you people I wanted a tight lid on this thing. By the look of these images, the cat’s out of the bag. Who has been let in on this?” he demanded.
Admiral Perry looked almost defeated. “I don’t know, sir. I know the Commandant and I only went over this with the team and General Richardson. Everything was listed top secret, and everything, except for the orders themselves which were hand delivered, was scrubbed so that nothing was said about the actual mission. I have no idea where the leak could be,” he said.