that first mission.
He’d been a green recruit tossed halfway around the globe to a place that was completely foreign to anything he had known before. And when the chance had come to acquire a high-ranking mole in the Cuban army, he had led the operation to successfully bring the man into their fold. Now it seemed that was going to extract a price, as well.
He picked up his chirping cell phone, the tone indicating a text message was waiting. He flipped it open to read: “R59
ops room. Five minutes.”
No time like the present, he mused, slipping on his own pair of viewscreen glasses and navigating to the Room 59
virtual opps center. Two people were also logged in and Jonas nodded to Denny Talbot, the operations director for North America, and Samantha Rhys-Jones, his counterpart in the United Kingdom.
Kate and Judy appeared in the virtual space. Unlike the board meeting, people were linked face-to-face, and Jonas spotted immediately that something had gone down since he had spoken to Kate earlier that morning. Her expression was grim, her lips compressed together in a tight line. Judy, on the other hand, looked even more reserved and unflap-pable than ever, a sure sign that something was bothering her, as well, since the stoic side of her came out primarily during a conflict.
Kate started without any preliminaries. “Thank you all for meeting on such short notice. Directors Planchard and Ramon are attending the Middle Eastern crisis conference and Director Kun is observing the China–North Korea summit meeting, so we’re it. I trust you’ve all had a chance to review the dossier on the mission that’s just been approved. It’s a two-pronged mission, with an insertion into Cuba, as well as an undercover operative going to Miami and finding out who’s behind a possible invasion.”
“Pardon my skepticism, but are we actually going on a hypothesis that someone is actually going to attempt a Bay of Pigs sequel?” Denny crossed his long legs and leaned back, cradling the back of his head in his hands. “The Cuban army can field anywhere from forty-five to sixty thousand soldiers, probably double that with conscripts, along with artillery and land armor to match, including tanks. They don’t have much of an air force nowadays, but can probably put some gunships up to pin down a force long enough for the army to engage at will. Bottom line, while they wouldn’t stand up to any first world nation, they certainly ought to be able to pound the hell out of even a sizable insurgency force.”
Jonas leaned forward. “All good points. However, based on what I’ve seen in this dossier, there is a good chance that this group of exiles will have contacted resistance cells in Cuba, and will coordinate with them around an event that would shake the government there to its very core—like an assassination.”
Denny snorted. “Of Castro? The man’s bulletproof, for god’s sake. His own head of security estimated there’s been more than six hundred attempts to kill him over the past forty years, so what makes anybody think this time will work?”
“Yes, but when something is tried six hundred times and fails, that makes those who try the next time all the more determined to succeed,” Jonas replied.
“Yeah, I’m more fond of the maxim that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” The agency director stared at the virtual ceiling. “Sounds like a lot of running around and risking necks for one missing double agent,” Denny said.
“Gentlemen, I think the main point is being missed here.”
Samantha Rhys-Jones, recruited straight from British intelligence, regarded them all with her limpid, dark brown eyes.
“As I’m sure Mr. Talbot and Mr. Schrader would agree, an invasion of Cuba will likely not resemble other fourth-generation-warfare scenarios, such as the Iraq debacle. The fact is, anyone with enough money can now field a well-equipped, suitably armed force to take over a small Third World country. If the right preparations are made—and I would certainly include assassination of the current leaders to be among those preparations—along with a sizable force already there turning against the current government, then the resulting confusion could allow the overthrow of the regime. Castro certainly accomplished that with his own ouster of the Batista regime in ’59. From what I’ve seen, so far, this threat is real and should be dealt with before it gets out of hand.”
“Thank you, Samantha.” Kate brought the meeting back on track. “Recent intel indicates that some of the army generals have grown irritated at the scaling back of the military, as well as their own reassignment to oversee the country’s economic holdings. We hadn’t any more details before we lost contact with our man. However, we believe there are groups in Cuba that are considering revolution regardless of where it might lead the country, figuring that any change is better than the status quo.”
“Which could lead to regional warlords carving the country up into spheres of influence, or an even more totali- tarian, corrupt, influence-peddling system arising, where bribes and threats are the only way to get things done— well, more so than they already are,” Denny pointed out. “While I’m as cynical as the next intelligence agent—it’s hard to believe that their current system is still the way to go.”
“As Raul Castro had begun training officers in the military in successful business techniques—before his brother shut it down—it’s not that far-fetched. Change can happen internally—look at Libya,” Samantha replied.
Kate’s gaze swept the virtual room. “We have an operative in mind to handle the insertion onto the island, but need a second to handle the Florida end of things. Denny, I expect you have someone to put forward?”
Jonas cleared his throat. “Actually, Kate, I’ve been giving this some thought, and would like to volunteer my services on the American end.”
Everyone turned to Jonas, who glanced around at each of them, returning to Kate to find her narrowed eyes locked on him. He saw Judy stiffen slightly, but didn’t let it phase him. There was something already going on that he didn’t know about, but that wasn’t his problem.
“I wasn’t aware that this was what you meant by being involved, Jonas. It’s highly irregular to let a department head undertake a field mission, especially on such short notice.” Kate’s gaze dropped to the table, and Jonas knew she was thinking furiously. “Denny, this is your theater of operations—therefore, it’s also your call.”
Now Denny leaned forward in his chair. “Sell me, Jonas.”
Jonas smiled, knowing the ex-Navy man would give him a fair shake. Kate, on the other hand, might be a different story.
“There are several advantages for me to be the point agent on this mission. First, the majority of our American agents are ex-military, and therefore listed as such on rosters everywhere, despite the agency’s best efforts to remove or suppress that information. Even with an excellent cover provided by us, the exiles will most likely be suspicious of an American wishing to provide goods or services, whereas a native German who does not appear on any foreign or domestic military service registers might have an easier time of it.”
Denny stroked his chin as he weighed the possibilities.
“What cover were you thinking of going in under? Not a mercenary?”
“If the exiles already have an existing contact with a PMC, that would simply cause unnecessary tension. But there is something that both of these groups will want for their operation.”
He glanced at Denny, who pointed his finger at Jonas and simply said, “Bang.”
“Exactly. An arms dealer will be the perfect cover, and if necessary, we can set up a ship in international waters holding the rest of my supposed wares—all with the right papers and registration, of course. Restricting this to a simple business transaction should lower their guard even further.”
“There are several vessels available to us that could serve that purpose,” Judy said. “If this moves forward, Dennis, you and I could review suitable ones after we’re done here.”
“Lastly, any agent that you send in will very likely not be familiar with Cuba, given the risks of insertion in the first place. I have been there several times—” Jonas glanced at Kate and saw the corner of her mouth quirk up in a wry smile “—and am familiar with the locations where our operative is likely to be during his investigation. I would be happy to advise in a mentoring capacity, as well on site if needed—no offense in that regard, Denny.”
“None taken. Well, Kate, I don’t know about you, but he’s got me hooked.” He looked expectantly at their director.
Jonas knew Kate was no fool, and figured she was wondering why a department head would volunteer for a mission like this when there were those who were equally or more qualified for the job. He didn’t feel the need to explain anything to her, although he wasn’t sure what he would do if she asked.
Judy broke the silence first. “What about the current operations you’re overseeing? My primary concern is if
