Close Quarters

SIX

‘Help is on the way. Travis will move as soon as he receives the green light.’

Brian Callahan suppressed a shiver as he sat down after making the announcement. He was in an annexe to the Operations Suite in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Langley HQ. The air was clean and pure, with the slight chill and dead feel peculiar to sub-level rooms, where the walls were bombproof and the fabric sowed with auditory disruption networks. But it wasn’t the atmosphere that made him nervous; he was used to that.

It was the presence of one of the three men already seated at the boardroom-style table.

‘Remind us of the situation for the benefit of Senator Benson, will you?’ The first speaker was senior CIA Assistant Director, Jason Sewell. He had the genial smile and manner of a happy golfer, but the watchfulness in his eyes was a dead giveaway; here was a man experienced in the field of espionage and high-risk operations who knew what was involved. Like Callahan, he also knew the risks of not having all his ducks in a row for the man sitting at the far end of the table.

‘That would be very useful.’ Senator Howard J. Benson was probably the most influential — and potentially dangerous — man the CIA could have ever admitted through its blast-proof doors. A former politician from Virginia, he was a long-time fixture around Washington, and a member of the ultra-powerful Intelligence Community, an umbrella organization for all US intelligence agencies set up to coordinate and support, among other things, special activities connected with US foreign policy objectives overseas. But what made him a person for Sewell and Callahan to be wary of was his Congressional oversight role regarding CIA operations and activities. Outwardly a supporter of the Agency, it was generally known that Benson was a CIA sceptic and would not hesitate to drag it kicking and screaming before an investigative committee if given half a chance.

‘Senator. As you may know the State Department recently sent a negotiator named Edwin Travis to Ukraine tasked with holding fact-finding talks with the various groups involved in the troubles over there; that’s both separatist pro-Moscow, and Ukrainian nationalists opposed to the split. Sending a government representative openly would have caused problems with Moscow, so we advised them to place him on a ticket from the Centre for International Coordination and Collaboration, based in Geneva. CICC for short. They would still know who he worked for, but would give them a face saver if it got out.’

‘Let’s hope you’re right.’ The next man was seated sideways on, looking at nobody in particular, his mouth pursed tight. His name was Marcus Kempner, and he was the State Department’s representative. He had good reason to look uncomfortable; this was his first time in the rarefied atmosphere of the CIA Operations Suite and he was carrying a lot of the responsibility for what was currently unfolding with Edwin Travis. He wore a slightly patrician air that many found irritating, and liked to talk of his interest in arts and culture to hide a lack of social ease.

‘Pardon me?’ Callahan looked surprised by the comment.

‘This was a high-risk but extremely worthy venture — but we had to try. We can’t have anything coming out of the woodwork that might suggest that it was actually some sort of CIA spying mission. There’s more than just one man’s safety at risk here.’

‘The Geneva end is not a problem, sir. We’ve used it before. They have a genuine plate on an office along the Rue du Hesse and are absolutely secure. I hope I can say the same about other aspects of this “mission”.

‘What are you trying to suggest, Mr Callahan?’ Kempner blinked rapidly. He wasn’t accustomed to being confronted by lowly members of the espionage community, who usually kept their heads down and left it to senior people to do the infighting.

‘With respect, sir,’ Callahan continued calmly, ‘you specifically allowed us little to do with Travis’s mission logistics other than providing some background information and suggesting he use the CICC cover. That has stood up as we believed it would.’

‘Gentlemen.’ Jason Sewell raised a placatory hand. ‘Please. We don’t have time.’ He glanced at Kempner and added, ‘I’m sorry, Marcus, but Callahan’s right; your people put this thing together with minimum input from us. Travis was up and off before we could fully evaluate the situation. Now you want our help to get him out of a jam, which we’re happy to provide, of course.’

Kempner looked as if he were about to protest at this quiet reproof, but changed his mind and sat back in his chair. Making enemies with senior CIA personnel wasn’t a good idea, especially when asking for their help.

Howard Benson cleared his throat, bringing further discussion to a halt. Dressed in a conservative suit and college tie, he looked exactly what he was: old money and old family. But behind the façade lay the sharp teeth and ambition of a modern-day bureaucrat and political in-fighter. ‘How many people are involved in getting to Travis?’ Benson asked softly.

‘One man, sir. As soon as he’s in place we’ll get things moving.’

‘One? That’s a hell of a task, even for your Specialized Skills Officers. I’d have thought you’d commit a team, at least.’

Callahan hesitated. In spite of his elevated clearance level, Benson was pushing into territory that was not his. The SSOs were paramilitary members of the Agency, recruited mostly from former special forces personnel such as Delta and Seal Team 6, and were responsible for security operations in hazardous areas. They were considered the best of the best at what they did. ‘Sir, the situation on the ground is unpredictable. The entire region is falling apart and is under close scrutiny from the media and local intelligence and security agencies. I decided a contractor would be our best and safest option in case of any fall-out.’

Benson frowned. ‘You’re using an outsider?’ The words were icy in tone, reminding everyone of the senator’s oft-quoted opposition to private military contractors and security groups. He had shown no hesitation for several years now in condemning their use, especially in connection with ‘black flight’ exercises, or rendition, as it was popularly known, and the rumoured torture of insurgents and suspected terrorists.

Callahan took a breath and glanced at Assistant Director Sewell, who merely nodded to show he would support Callahan’s response. He’d known this was going to happen. The CIA used sub-contractors all the time and always had. But there was still an innate knee-jerk reaction against them, as if it were a criticism of CIA ability. And for a sceptic like Benson, any stick with which to beat the Agency would do.

‘I considered it prudent, sir. We needed a clean pair of hands so that there are no links back to us. However, the main reason I chose him was because he has an unparalleled record and this work is what he does best.’

‘What’s his name?’

‘His code name is Watchman.’

‘His real name.’

‘That’s something I’d prefer not to go into.’ He felt the air crackle with tension the moment the words came out. He’d just as good as told a man with the highest degree of security clearance possible to mind his own business. ‘Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t mean to be impertinent.’

‘I’ll take that as read. So why bring him on board?’

‘Because from what Mr Kempner’s State Department colleagues outlined in the briefing for this mission, and knowing what we now know about Travis’s situation, I believe there’s a real and credible risk to him and the outcome of this venture. I have to do whatever I can to protect both.’

‘He’s right.’ Kempner stirred reluctantly. ‘This mission is not some half-hearted fool’s errand hoping to get lucky. We went into it knowing the risks. What’s going on in Eastern Europe right now is not a whole lot different to the Arab Spring of a few years ago. It’s about power and influence and we can’t sit idly by and hope for the best. But getting the embassy involved is not an option.’

‘I agree. But don’t you have a “friend” in the new president? Couldn’t he help?’

‘That rumour is without foundation, Senator. President Poroshenko has never been an agent of the State Department, whatever WikiLeaks might say to the contrary. In any case, we wanted to engage with all parties. If Putin continues on what we believe is his intended course, he’s going to destabilize more and more of the previously Soviet states and grab more control in the region. If we can make contact with those independents early and keep them on-side, we might make his work a little harder.’ He winced. ‘That appears to have gone a little sour. But getting Travis out and back in one piece will go a long way to showing we won’t be messed with.’

It was an uncommonly long speech for anyone in this room, where orders were issued, information relayed and results passed on in usually quiet, measured tones that rarely lasted longer than a few words. But it was a measure of the speaker’s status that nobody ventured to disagree or haul him in.

‘It’s a mess, alright,’ said Assistant Director Sewell. He was studying a large map of central Europe and the Middle East on one wall.

‘To be honest, it’s a little late for Ukraine.’ Kempner followed his look. ‘That scenario was becoming divided before we were aware of it. We’re hoping not to have the same thing happen with the others, which is why we decided to engage with them.’

Sewell looked at him, and it was clear he was trying to identify if there was any subtle criticism in the statement. ‘We assessed the situation in Ukraine as best we could but the picture was clouded.’ His jaw was tense and he looked ready for a fight.

‘We know that, Jason.’ This time it was Benson’s turn to smooth ruffled feathers. ‘Nobody’s disputing it. As I understand it, the point of this exercise with Travis was to get inside the region and make contacts, yes?’ He looked at Kempner, who nodded. ‘Then it’s a lesson learned for future exercises, I think we all agree.’ He shifted in his chair and looked at Callahan. ‘How does this man of yours get in touch with Travis?’

‘He doesn’t, not directly. If things go right Travis exits the hotel where he’s being held and he’ll be picked up and passed along a line of cut-outs until he’s home and clear. He won’t even know about Watchman’s involvement. That’s Watchman’s specialty; he works at a distance and clears the way. If any danger arises he deals with it.’

‘He’s done this kind of work before, you say?’ There was a slight hesitation on the word ‘work’, as if Benson had difficulty getting it out without spitting.

‘Correct.’

‘Who for?’

‘For us, the DEA, the Defence Intelligence Agency, and the UK’s MI6. I can’t go into details but he was also responsible for pulling an important CIA asset out of Tehran just a few days ago. He did that from right under the noses of their Ministry of Intelligence and National Security. The asset had gone in to secure details of new weapons development by the Iranians.’

‘And how did that go?’

‘It didn’t,’ Sewell replied. ‘The asset was blown by a friend. But at least we got him out alive.’

‘What’s this Watchman’s background? How much money are we throwing at him?’

‘I can’t go into that, sir. Sorry.’

Benson threw Sewell a look loaded with meaning. ‘You see, that’s what I don’t like about these operations. But we’ll discuss that later. When does Watchma— Who the hell thinks of these names?’ He puffed his lips with a tinge of exasperation. ‘When does he report in?’

‘When he’s ready and it’s safe to do so,’ Callahan replied. ‘It’s the way he works.’

‘So that’s it? We sit and wait on the convenience of a hired gun?’

‘We have to. Where he’s going there won’t be one-hundred per cent reliable cell coverage due to extensive electronic disruption. In between that, outgoing signals are easy to pick up by Russian monitoring stations. He will call.’

‘Let’s hope he does.’ Benson glanced at Sewell before getting to his feet. ‘I have to say, I don’t like the sound of this operation. But since it’s already up and running, there’s not much I can do about it. As soon as the ball is rolling I’d like a tour of the facility to see the nuts and bolts of how you’re going to work with this man.’ He didn’t wait for assent, but looked hard at Callahan. ‘It had better be good, because if your contractor gets picked up and blown, believe me, your career path will follow very close behind.’

If it was meant as a joke, nobody was laughing.