Finally, Bradford said, “All right. We go in and brief everything to POTUS and the National Security Council.”
“If they ask for our recommendation?” Sherm asked.
“We monitor the Asian situation and act on the Russian ship,” Bradford said.
“Act how?”
Bradford checked his wrist watch. “Good question. We have just an hour to come up with a plan. But we’ll need to coordinate with Defense. Come up with options and we’ll pitch to Defense before heading over to the White House.”
Sherm got up and Roddy followed him out the door.
Once they were gone, Bradford glanced at a photo of himself standing in his flight suit next to an F-22 Raptor. He remembered the day that photo was taken at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. He would gladly be flying over the hot desert now instead of preparing to brief the president on this current situation.
22
During the seven-hour drive from Punto Fijo to the Venezuelan capital, Juan Ruiz, vice president of new development for Antigua Petroleum, had given Karl and Maya a thorough briefing on the country. Ruiz had been in country for years, helping discover some of the country’s largest oil deposits.
Karl had taken it all in during the drive, trying to shift his brain from the Russian he had been immersed in for the past few months to the Spanish he was equally familiar with from his years of training. But Karl’s biggest concern, perhaps, was the car that had followed them the entire way. Along the way, he had called in the license plate of the car, and had recently heard back from Roddy at the Agency. It was a simple message. Call him pronto.
Now, on the outskirts of the city of Caracas at a wayside rest, Karl had instructed Ruiz to pull in for gas and a bite to eat. Darkness shrouded them, along with swirling clouds overhead.
After getting gas and parking in front of the restaurant, Karl said to the others, “I’ll meet you inside in a couple of minutes. Order me anything. I’ll eat it.”
Ruiz got out and leaned back in. “Make sure to lock the car. There are thieves everywhere.”
Maya leaned forward. “Are you calling in?”
“Yeah. Something’s up.”
She rubbed her hand over his shoulder before leaving him alone in the car.
Once they were gone, he called Roddy and waited for an answer.
“Is it safe to talk?” Roddy asked.
“I’m alone,” Karl said.
“Great. First of all, the car following you. It’s registered to the Venezuelan government.”
“Which part?” Karl asked.
“Unspecified,” Roddy said. “But if I had to guess, I’d say it’s SEBIN.”
“Their intelligence service?”
“Afraid so.”
“How the hell did they get on to us?”
“I don’t know. But that’s just part of the problem. We’re almost certain that the Russian ship is heading your way.”
“Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure. We intercepted a SAT call from the ship to Moscow. They’re heading to Puerto La Cruz.”
“Where is that?”
“Up the coast east of Caracas.”
“What do we do with that info?” Karl cast his gaze toward the far end of the parking lot, where he saw another potential problem.
“You need to hang loose in Caracas until we have more information,” Roddy said.
“I think we have another problem,” Karl said.
“In what form?”
“I can’t be a hundred percent sure at this point, but I think someone else is also following us,” Karl said. “And these people are good. Much better than SEBIN.”
“It’s not our people,” Roddy assured him.
“No. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s the Russians.” But how in the hell had they caught up with Karl and Maya?
“Not surprising. The Russians have a large footprint in Venezuela. Looks like they’re making a huge move.”
“A bold move,” Karl said. “I think they might be testing us. Trying to see if we’ll tolerate nukes in our own backyard.”
“That’s not gonna happen.”
“How do we stop them?” Karl asked.
“We’re working on that. Hopefully we can stop them on the high seas.”
“If not?”
“It might take assets on the ground.”
“That’s not something I can do alone,” Karl assured Roddy.
“Understood. But for now, stay away from our embassy and Agency personnel.”
“Roger that.”
They both hung up and Karl shoved his phone into his pocket. Glancing around the parking lot, he saw that the Venezuelan intelligence officers had also gone into the restaurant. But he had a feeling those in the second car would remain in place.
Karl went in and sat down with Ruiz and Maya just as their meal showed up. As Karl ate, he could tell that Maya wanted to speak with him. She had to be curious about the call he had just made. But he couldn’t talk in front of the oil company rep.
While they ate, Karl kept his eyes open for any danger. What he really wanted to see was anyone who happened to be giving them extra scrutiny. Finally, he saw the two men on the far side of the restaurant. A man with a unibrow and a thick mustache kept looking their way. He was in his late 20s or early 30s. Sitting across from him was an older, more distinguished man, constantly puffing on a vapor stick. Karl made sure that they didn’t notice that he noticed them.
The three of them simply ate their meal and left.
Once they got back outside, Karl saw that the second car wasn’t visible anywhere. But he had a feeling they would show up again.
Juan Ruiz drove them to the downtown capital district area of Caracas, dropping them off at a five-star hotel a half a block from Avenida Francisco de Miranda and the metro line. Ruiz admitted that he had a girlfriend in the city, despite having a wife back in Houston. But he would be available at any time to travel throughout the country.
Karl and Maya checked in using their Canadian passports. Yes, the king bed would be fine.
When they got to their room, Karl quickly moved through the room to make sure they were not only alone, but the place was without bugs. Although this wasn’t the old Soviet Union, where foreigners were placed in specific hotels and even more specific rooms, he was still somewhat concerned after being followed across Venezuela.
Maya sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes intensely focused on Karl. “What’s the matter?”
Karl stopped pacing and said, “What?”
“You’re like a caged animal, Karl.”
He had contemplated this conversation for the past hundred miles or so. She had a right to know. “We’ve been followed all the way from Punto Fijo.”
Maya leaned back onto her elbows and smiled. “That? You mean unibrow and the vape king?”
“You noticed them?”
“Of course. I assumed you had also.”
“That doesn’t bother you?”
“I would be concerned if we didn’t catch a tail. This place is like Cuba. Almost every foreigner has a shadow. They probably picked us up when we left with Ruiz from the oil company compound.”
That was logical, Karl thought. But now he needed to know how to get rid of the tail. These men would obviously check with the front desk and ask for their room.
“We’re not safe here,” Karl said.
Maya sat up and said, “No kidding. We’re not safe anywhere in this country.” She got up and went to the window, peering through the curtains. “Can you hear the protesters in the streets?”
He came up behind her and put his hands on her hips. Then he kissed her neck and nibbled her left ear. “That’s the sound of discontent. Potential freedom.”