Hail Warning

Sulu Sea — Aboard the Hail Nucleus

Instead of using the complicated video system in Hail’s conference room, Kara opted to use her cellphone to contact her boss, Jarret Pepper. Since arriving on board, Ramey had suspected that one of Hail’s engineers had tampered with her phone, allowing Hail and his team to listen in on her calls. Once she had convinced herself that this intrusion had taken place, she began talking to her boss in a language that she called Zub-a-dub. She had made it up as a child, and the CIA had developed a smart phone application that Pepper could use to decipher her words. Before he responded in English, the reply was translated back into Zub-a-dub. It worked well. However, this call would not require that level of security. What Ramey had to tell Pepper was information she had already discussed with Hail and his crew.

The other reason why she didn’t want to use the video system was to avoid seeing Pepper’s face. There was something about the man that rubbed her the wrong way. He had an air of superiority she disliked. Just because she was beautiful, she felt Pepper disregarded her other assets. He didn’t focus on her intellect, only on her beauty and how it could be weaponized. She realized that being beautiful got her close to some very dangerous men. But wasn’t that the way it always worked whether you were in the CIA or not? Beauty attracted all sorts of men with agendas, and typically the number one agenda was not to discuss politics or the world economy. It didn’t help Pepper was newly divorced. Rumor had it his wife had taken practically everything. She felt that Pepper was predisposed to dislike women, in general. As Kara waited for the phone to make the long-distance connection, she thought of a joke she had read online. “Why is a wife like a hurricane? Because it comes in sucking and blowing, and when it leaves it takes the house and cars.” She smiled to herself.

“This is Pepper,” he said.

“This is Ramey,” she replied. If Pepper wanted to answer his phone in such a curt manner, Kara would respond likewise.

“What’s up, Kara?”

“We have put together a plan to make a play for Kornev,” she told him. “We are also in the intelligence gathering phase in relation to making a move on Afua Diambu.”

“Wow, you guys have been busy,” Pepper said.

Kara thought he sounded sincere.

Pepper asked, “Do you have a timetable in place?”

“Not for the Diambu operation, but we do for the Kornev op. I need to fly into Termez, Uzbekistan as soon as possible, but on a commercial flight.”

“It would be faster on a charter or a private jet,” Pepper suggested.

“No, I don’t want Kornev to feel that he’s worth all that expense. I want it to be as low-key as possible.”

“Where are you now?” Pepper asked.

“We are in the middle of the Sulu Sea.”

“Where the hell is that?”

“We are near Zamboanga.”

“Where the hell is that?” Pepper repeated.

Kara considered telling Pepper, “Hey, you are the head of the CIA. Maybe you should break out an atlas and learn your damn job.”

Instead, she let out a huff of exasperation and said, “The southernmost part of the Philippines. Hail is going to chopper me to the Zamboanga International Airport. From there I’m going to catch like a million connecting flights that will eventually get me to the Termez International Airport. I should arrive the day after tomorrow. Hail will be there with me.”

“You mean he is arriving in Termez on the same plane with you?” Pepper asked, concern in his voice.

“No. He’s flying in on his own Gulfstream the day before so he can get things set up.”

“How is this going to go down?” Pepper questioned.

“It’s a little too involved to go into over the phone, and it may not be a one-time meeting to get Kornev to play ball. Big, dense and rich guys like Kornev need more convincing than small, smart and rich guys.”

There was a moment of silence on the phone while Pepper mulled the situation over.

After a moment, Pepper asked, “What does Hail need from the CIA?”

Kara replied, “Nothing. He asked me to make sure that there isn’t a back-up plan or any other operation the CIA or US government has planned for either of these targets.”

Pepper huffed and sounded upset. The back-up plan he had set in motion during the previous operation had cost lives and equipment. It had also jeopardized Hail and his crew. According to Hail, it was a logical question.

“Tell Hail that we don’t have any back-up plans in place. But make sure he knows that if he screws up either mission, then the intelligence faucet will get shut off. No more info. for him on the whereabouts of further terrorists.”

Kara said nothing.

“Did you hear me?” Pepper said.

“Sorry,” Kara lied. “You were breaking up there for a moment.”

“I said—” Pepper began, but Kara disconnected the call.

“It is so hard to get good reception in the middle of the Sulu Sea — wherever the hell that is,” Kara thought to herself with a smile.