swing over the fence in the backyard, and Dan comes over in the front.
The second we hit the ground, the security control board inside the house is going to light up. I don’t know for sure, but it’s my guess that the guard inside will hit those floodlights that we saw last night. Don’t worry about them right away. Take the cameras out first.
There are two sets of cameras mounted on each of the four corners of the house. Dan, you take out the ones in front and then take out the floodlights closest to the house. While you’re running from one side of the house to the other, I want you to fire some shots at the windows.
It’ll set off more alarms inside and keep that fourth guard busy.”
Coleman turned to Hackett. “There are four floodlights in the backyard.
I want you to pop them ASAP and then cover us.” Looking back at Stroble, he said, “Now for the tricky part. The surveillance report says that Arthur is outfitted with a homing device and alarm. He has a lot of secrets in his head, and the CIA doesn’t want someone getting ahold of them. I don’t know if this homing device is sewn into his clothes or in his shoe or in his watch, so Michael and I have decided not to take any chances. We’re going to strip him naked and put everything in a bag.
Dan, when you reach the patio, we should have everything ready to go.
Michael will give you the bag, and then I want you to get down to the boat as fast as possible and get the engines warmed up.” Coleman pointed at Hackett. “Kevin, you stay in the tree and cover Michael and me until we are over the wall with Arthur. The second we’re clear, get the hell out of the tree and down to the boat.”
“What do I do if the owner of the house hears the engines start and comes out to see what’s going on?” asked Hackett. “Scare him away with a couple of warning shots.”
“What if he has a gun?”
“If he keeps coming at you, kneecap him. Once both of you are on the boat, I want you to head straight out into the Bay. No one is going to be around to cover you, and I
don’t want one of the guards taking potshots at you from the cliff. When you are about three hundred yards from shore, head south. Run at full throttle and keep your running lights off. I’m estimating that you should be able to do about seventy knots in that boat. If the CIA is on the ball, I’m estimating that the quickest they could get a chopper up to
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intercept you would be fifteen minutes from the time the alarm is sounded. Kevin, after you’re done taking the guard out, mark the time. At seventy knots it should take you approximately fifteen minutes to reach Cove Point. Seventeen minutes after we go over the wall, I want both of you out of the boat!
Even if you haven’t made it to Cove Point, jump ship. I don’t want you on board a second longer. Tim O’Rourke will be waiting to pick you up.
He has a radio and a red filter light. When you go over, ask him to give you a signal for bearing.” Coleman paused and looked all of them in the eye.
“I know we’re not as prepared for this as we’d like to be, but we don’t have the time.
Just stay cool and everything will be fine. Any questions?” They all shook their heads, and then Coleman went to the trunk of the car. He grabbed four bundles of rope and handed one to each man. “Let’s get moving. Be careful and stay cool.” Coleman patted each of them on the shoulder as they started down the path. The former SEAL team commander took up the rear and fell in step. The four dark figures moved one by one into the black night. Six floors beneath the main level of the Central Intelligence Agency was a room that never slept. The Operations Center of the CIA was the Agency’s version of
NASA’s Mission Control. But instead of monitoring space missions, these men and women monitored spy missions. They were in constant contact with every U.S. embassy and consulate around the globe. The men and women who worked in the Operations
Center were not in charge of running spy operations.
Their function was to serve as the main communications link between the field and the rest of the Agency. Information was what the Agency was all about, and disseminating it in a quick, secretive, and orderly fashion was crucial to the overall mission. The Operations Center was divided into four separate clusters of desks. In the front of the room, beneath three twelve-by-twelve-foot computer-projection screens, was the European Section. The section had one supervisor and three operators who handled
Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet republics.
The next section handled the Middle East and Africa. The third section monitored
Asia and the South Pacific, and the last section handled Central America, South America, and the United States. In the rear of the room, elevated and watching over the section supervisors and operators, were two watch officers. Just behind them, elevated still farther and behind a wall of Plexiglas, was the Operations Center’s watch commander.
The room was softly lit and comfortable. Every operator had three monitors on his or her desk and multiple phone lines. To battle boredom, they were encouraged to read or play computer games while on watch. If they received any flash traffic, their computers would beep, letting them know it was time to pay attention. The supervisors and watch commanders often kept the operators on their toes by running drills. Day to day, the
Operations Center was one of the most boring places in the Agency to work, but when a crisis erupted, it was one of the most exciting. Charlie Dobbs sat behind the Plexiglas wall of the watch commander’s office and looked at the computer monitor to his far left.
A chessboard was on the screen. Charlie was sixteen moves into the game at the grand—
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master level and was holding his own. The computer monitor to the right beeped once, and his eyes jumped from one screen to the other. A routine message was coming in from the Tokyo embassy.
Charlie noted that it was on time and went back to calculating what the computer’s next move would be. Five
