“Craig, you have a minute?”
“Yes, sir, I’m all alone.”
“Good. I know it’s late, but we just got word that a team is on its way. “
“Where to?”
“Some place called Boa Vista.”
“That’s an air force base just inside the Brazilian border from us.”
“Well, that’s where they’re headed.”
“Do they know?”
“I don’t know. It could be they are pre-staging this team down there to use just in case. That’s what I might do.”
Another voice came on the line. “Craig, I don’t want these guys killed unless it’s necessary. If we go telling this guy they’re there, he might do something unfortunate. Remember, everyone is supposed to come back alive.”
“Yes sir, I know that. I’ll just let him know a team is being prepositioned in Brazil. I’ll also tell him we’ll let him know if they receive orders.”
“Good work,” said the second voice.
“Let us know immediately after you call him,” said the first voice.
“Yes, sir, I’ll call right now,” said Jonas.
The line went dead.
Son of a bitch! Wilson said to himself. He had figured Jonas wasn’t the brightest bulb on the tree, but it appeared he also thought he was immune to being found out. How stupid could you really be, he thought.
Wilson looked down at the second call. It was a local number just two minutes after hanging up from the last call. He pressed the switch.
“Si, Señor Ambassador,” said the voice. It sounded like Parente. The next sentence confirmed it.
“Señor Presidente, I wanted to let you know that my government has just sent a special team to pre-stage in Brazil. My sources tell me it doesn’t have orders as yet, but are there to be ready just in case.”
“That is interesting. You are sure they do not have orders.”
“Yes, Señor Presidente. As soon as they do get orders, if any, I will notify you immediately.”
“Very good Ambassador. I will take some necessary precautions and await your call. Please let our friends know that I appreciate their assistance. And I think you may be pleased with a little extra on my part.”
“It is not necessary, Señor Presidente. I appreciate your friendship.”
“Not at all. We both have much to gain in this. Please call me at any time when you get any information.”
“Yes, Señor Presidente.”
The call ended. The third call happened less than thirty seconds later to the same 202 area code number.
“It’s done.”
“You sure he’s not going to go off the deep end?”
“The way he was talking, it appears he bought the line about them just pre-staging. He wants to know immediately if they get orders.”
“Craig, they may already have orders for all we know. But if they start to move, I’ll let you know.”
“You know I’m in a precarious position here. If they do something and I don’t let Parente know…”
“I know, Craig. That’s why I have my people keeping a close eye on things. You just sit tight and help us get this thing finished and we can all enjoy the rewards. I’ll call the minute I know something.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good night Craig.”
The line went dead for a third time.
Bastards, Wilson said to himself. He took out a thumb drive and downloaded the calls and the other information. On a hunch, he reached into a cabinet and took out a small case. Attaching two leads to the private line, he set the electronics in the box to run. A few seconds later a small LED on the panel flashed red. A set of numbers and letters appeared on the display. Wilson grinned. So it appears someone else doesn’t trust you. He copied the information on the display and turned off the electronics. He would later determine that the phone had been tapped by the Venezuelan equivalent of the CIA. Wilson walked to the office of Rick Lozier.
“You look like someone bit you. What’s wrong?” asked Lozier as he looked up from his desk.
Wilson closed the door. “Break out the satellite link,” he said as he pulled out the thumb drive.
Now he had Lozier’s complete attention. He pressed a button on his desk, sealing the door and activating a sound deadening system. “We’re safe,” he said.
Wilson nodded. “You need to hear this. It is from our esteemed Ambassador’s private line.”
Lozier played the recording. He sat back with a dumbfounded look on his face. “I know one of those voices, but we’ll need to get it confirmed. How do you suggest we play this?”
Wilson grinned. “Let them hang themselves and then we use them. I’m sure headquarters has some nice little dirty ways to turn all this to our advantage. In the meantime, we confirm the voices and then trace the calls. If we’re lucky, we can run this back to the source. Then we plug the leak and feed the system. That way our military guys can do their job without getting shot.”
“I like a sneaky guy,” said Lozier. “I think the Bureau will want do the ground work and my guys can be the spooks we are. Let’s get this up the chain,” he said as he opened up a special program on his computer. “I had an interesting conversation this morning as well. You know Angela Harrison?” he asked.
Wilson shook his head. “Staff?” he asked.
“Not really. She’s the wife of a local contractor. Helps out on some of the embassy’s events. It seems she was contacted by two officers last night who seem to know where the hostages are,” said Lozier.
That got Wilson’s attention. “Why her? Why couldn’t they just get word to us at the embassy?” Wilson asked.
Lozier grunted. “For an FBI man, you ask silly questions. Haven’t you noticed that there are Venezuelan security people outside the gate? You don’t think they are here to really protect us, do you?”
Wilson nodded and threw up his hands. “Sorry, it’s been a long day already. Did she know who they were?”
“Oh, not just who. The primary man was a Colonel Messina and the other a Colonel Rojas. The first is the pilot for El Presidente and the other is his personal military adjutant,” said Lozier. “If this pans out, we may have struck intelligence gold.”
“What do they want?”
“For now just a chance to talk to someone. My problem is they are probably being watched. So I am going to be very careful how I do this. I made arrangements for someone to meet with them who is not traceable and who has a nice record of getting through to the heart of things. The meeting will be this evening at a lacrosse game. If it’s a set up, my guy will know. If not, we may have some answers very soon.”
“Damn. It looks like things are starting to fall apart for our illustrious leader of Venezuela. If we can match what they tell us with the info on these calls, we can wrap this up with a bow,” Wilson said.
Lozier grinned. “I love happy endings. Let’s report up the line,” he said. Within two minutes the men were uploading the recordings and making their recommendations. They were surprised that their agency bosses agreed with their ideas. For now, the men were told to continue monitoring the phones and to put a tail on the Ambassador. The rest would be up to the people who could make things happen. Within an hour, over a hundred people were gleaning phone records and video surveillance to make an airtight case that would hold up in any court.