Operation Gold Eagle

Chapter 5

Unlike the usual hustle and bustle of the White House on any given day, tonight's silence seemed almost palpable. President Andrew Carr stood behind his desk, wearing dark gray sweats, staring down at the scrambler phone, waiting for it to ring, expecting to talk with Premier Nikolai Gorshevsky.

Sitting on couches across from one another were Vice President Evan Forbes and National Security Advisor Stan Hillman. Everyone awaited the arrival of CIA Director Bancroft, NSA General Prescott, and SecDef Daniels.

The CIA still hadn't come up with any reasonable explanation as to how Reznikov escaped, leaving more questions than answers.

Because the van and its passengers never reached Tempelhof on schedule, and because the agents never reported in, CIA in Berlin started searching. What they found was worse than they imagined. The charred, shattered remains of a van, bullet casings, blood splatters, pools of blood.

Questioning the East German police was all but useless, except learning only four men were found at the scene and the name of the hospital where those men were transported. Special Agents Carl Traimore and Blake Torres were in intensive care, both with burns and gunshot wounds. The bodies of Special Agents Steve Leamon and Marty Fitzgerald were in the morgue. The whereabouts of Ivan Reznikov remained unknown.

Forbes leaned back, watching the President, and finally asked, "Do you think Gorshevsky will be cooperative?"

Carr pushed up the sleeves of his sweatshirt. "Hard to say, Evan, but I have my doubts he'll want to offer assistance. He could probably care less whether or not we have Reznikov. All he wanted was Dotsenko."

Hillman stood, stretching his back. "Think I'll go down to the Watch Room, see if anything's come in yet about Dotsenko." He glanced at his watch. "They should've reached the embassy by now." He left.

Forbes leaned back, linking his fingers behind his head. "What about Stevens and his men? Are you thinking about pulling them out, and ending the mission?"

"It's imperative they bring out Dotsenko and Pankova, especially now. But I'd like everyone's feedback before deciding." Carr tapped a fist on top of the phone, willing it to ring.

Forbes reached for a black, insulated carafe and refilled his coffee cup. "Any decision on Reznikov? I mean, if you keep the Team over there, will you have them search for him, too?"

Carr slowly shook his head. "Don't know. They've got a helluva lot on their 'plate' already. Think I'd better wait until Grant calls, or until CIA and NSA give us updates."

Hillman came rushing back into the office. "They were just bringing this message to you, Mr. President. Dotsenko is safe at the embassy!"

Carr read the message, saying softly, "Thank God." He focused again on Hillman. "Stan, any word if Captain Stevens was still there or whether he left for Schonefeld?"

"Nothing was reported."

"Do me a favor. Contact the embassy. Have the station chief call me on the scrambler." Hillman nodded then immediately left.

"What are you thinking?" Forbes asked.

"Maybe he knows something about that 'hit' since it was about the same timeframe the Team was to have snatched Dotsenko. If Grant is still there, maybe he can add … "

A knock at the Oval Office door, and Carr responded, "Yes?!"

"Mr. President," Director Bancroft said entering, with General Prescott, and SecDef Daniels right on his heels.

Carr walked toward Bancroft, offering a hand. "Hank, sorry about the loss of your agents."

"Thank you, sir."

"Have you heard anything further on the men in the hospital?"

"Still critical."

Carr put a hand on Bancroft's back. "Come on; have a seat."

Handshakes went around, then Carr sat on the edge of his desk and got the meeting started. "Anything on Reznikov?"

"Still nothing," Bancroft answered. "Whoever helped him escape has been quiet. But we've been monitoring East Berlin. They're more frantic about Dotsenko, and not knowing what happened to him. Our last intercept indicated the Russians who were in charge of the exchange have all but vanished. The embassy has sent agents on the 'hunt.'"

Carr stood, as a slight smile crossed his face. "Two to one the Alpha Tango 'boys' had a hand in that."

NS Advisor Hillman returned, acknowledging the three men with a nod. As he walked toward the President, he pointed at the scrambler. "A call should be coming in any … "

Carr pressed the yellow blinking button, then picked up the receiver. "This is Andrew Carr."

"Mr. President, Sam Nichols, Station Chief in Berlin."

"Sam, let me first send my condolences for the loss of your men."

"Thank you, Mr. President. They were good people."

"I'm sure they were. And your men in the hospital?"

"Still critical. As soon as there's any sign of improvement, and they can be moved, we'll have them flown to Landstuhl." The U.S. Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Hospital was located southwest of Berlin, approximately one hour flight time.

"Director Bancroft will keep me informed of their condition, Sam."

A brief silence ensued before Carr said, "I understand you have Alexei Dotsenko."

"Yes, sir. Be assured we'll have one of our guards stay with him at all times."

"I'm sure you'll take good care of him until it's time to bring him to the States. In the meantime, Sam, can you tell me if Captain Stevens is still on site?"

"He is, sir. I believe he was in the crypto room using the scrambler."

"Is he calling here?"

"Don't know. If you want to chat with him, I can have someone get him."

"I'd appreciate if you could, Sam. And, Sam, maybe you could give us some privacy when he arrives."

Five minutes later, Carr heard, "Grant here, Mr. President."

"Grant, were you just trying to call here?"

"No, sir. I called Scott at State, since that's the s.o.p. for the Team."

"Well, you've got me now. Hold on a minute while I put you on speaker. Vice President Forbes, SecDef Daniels, Director Bancroft, General Prescott, and my National Security Adviser are here. Okay. Fill us in. Were there any problems snatching Dotsenko?"

"It was pretty much a straightforward op. One of the Russians was, uh, injured, but the other three men were unharmed. They're probably not too comfortable, but it was necessary to keep them out of commission for as long as possible."

Carr nodded in understanding, then commented, "Guess that explains why I haven't heard from Gorshevsky. Grant, I assume you've been told about Reznikov?"

"Yes, sir, but I don't have anything to add. We were just about ready to haul … I mean, depart the area when we heard gunfire, then an explosion, but we had no idea what happened." Grant hesitated before asking, "Mr. President, do you want us to continue with our mission, or has Reznikov taken over the 'top spot'?"

Carr glanced around the room, looking at the expressions on the other men. "How much longer will you be at the embassy, Grant?"

"We were getting ready to head back to the Gulfstream and start putting the op together. I'm hoping we can head out well before 2300 my time. But we'll stay here as long as you want us to, sir."

"Do you want to tell me the location of the operative?"

"Uh, I'd prefer not to at this time, sir." Grant was well aware that Team Alpha Tango went on missions considered as "plausible deniability" for the President.

"I … understand, Grant. Hold on a minute." Carr put the phone on hold, then leaned back against his desk. "Gentlemen, I'm thinking we need to let the Team find the operative, and let the CIA handle Reznikov. I don't think we'll get any help from the Russians. Opinions? Thoughts?"

Bancroft spoke. "I think that's the best plan. We need to get her out."

Carr looked at the other men, who nodded their approval. "Grant, we want you to find and bring out the operative. Director Bancroft will have his agents in Berlin pursue Reznikov."

"Very well, sir. I'll contact Scott before we depart from here so he can bring you up to speed."

"Up to you, Grant, but don't let anything interfere with your completing that mission."

"Yes, sir."

"Godspeed, Captain."

"Thank you, Mr. President."