Rogue Asset (Book 3 of the Wade Hanna Series) (8 page)

Megan gave Shaw an unmistakable look of frustration and disgust, “I just don’t understand this.”

“I know you’re upset. He’s being plucked from us, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. I want to go through the file and see what we might be able to redact. No one has said we had to send the entire file unredacted. I’m sure we can get this file thinned down a lot.”

Megan handed Shaw the file and turned to leave his office.

“Have you said anything to Wade about this?”

Megan turned her head and replied with frustration, “No, I thought we could handle this without involving him. I thought we had better control over how our agents are treated. I guess we don’t.”

She firmly closed the door behind her. She returned to her office and started throwing files across her desk. Her irritated demeanor sent a signal through the office to give her wide berth if she had to be dealt with today. She thought about what she would say to Wade during the evening’s call. The more she thought about it, the hotter she became.

Shaw earmarked the pages and paragraphs in Wade’s file he wanted removed or blackened out before the file was copied. He gave the task of copying Wade’s file to one of the secretaries before calling Phil Damian back to let him know it was on its way.

That evening Wade and Megan spoke. Wade could tell immediately that Megan was upset and asked why.

“We got the order today to have a copy of your file transferred. The request came from Leo in Zurich. You remember he’s that former agent you met at the reception.”

“I remember him. Why do you think he wants my file?”

“It seems to be some assignment request, not a permanent posting. I have no idea why he wants your file. I’m pretty pissed about the whole thing.”

Wade paused, realizing the file issue was what had Megan upset all along.

“What do they mean by an assignment request?”

“It means Leo may be reaching out to pluck you out of the system probably for some secret, off-the-books assignment. This will take you off the permanent posting listing and it’s not the way we treat our new graduates. Rumor has it that everything Leo is involved with is dangerous or has some ugly component to it.”

“Well, don’t I have something a say about this?”

“Sure. No agent is required to accept an assignment request. It’s just that I know you.”

“What do you mean by that statement?”

“Well let’s just say that you’re attracted to adventurous situations. Situations that are eventually going to get you killed.”

“That’s not fair. I’ve been in some situations before but it’s not because I’m drawn to them.”

“I’m just very upset over this. Maybe we shouldn’t be having this conversation right now. I love you and just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Wade never heard Megan use the “love” word before. There was a pause before he replied, “You’re the best thing that’s ever come into my life.”

For the first time in their relationship Megan started to cry, and Wade was at a loss for words. He didn’t think she had a sentimental bone in her body.

Megan spoke as she sobbed, “We’ll talk about this some other time.”

Before he could respond, Wade heard the click of her hanging up.

A week passed after sending Wade’s file to Phil Damien. Shaw picked up his phone believing it was a local incoming call. His secretary answered instead. She said a call was coming in on the secure line from outside the country.

Shaw immediately recognized the slight delay in transmission from the secure line connection.

“Hello, Shaw here.”

The voice on the other end was low and came with static in the transmission, “Leo here. I understand you’ve been looking for me.”

Shaw sat up straight in his chair surprised he had heard back from the black ops agent. Leo and Shaw had only met a couple of times over the last 20 years. All of their meetings were brief and informal settings. What Shaw knew about Leo came primarily from the Agency grapevine and that reputation was dark and clouded with mystery. When he heard Leo’s name mentioned it was usually connected with the termination of senior foreign political figures. Shaw didn’t like the idea of Leo’s poking around in his department. He was tense over the fact that he seemed to have the Agency Director’s blessing.

“Hi, yes Leo, I was hoping to have you clarify a file request we received on one of my agents, Wade Hanna. I understand you may be the one requesting that file.”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“Your request is tied to an undisclosed mission request.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“I’ll come right to the point. I’m concerned about having one of my agents with no field experience being plucked from my department without my being involved in the assignment decision.”

“I thought that might bother you. I can’t go into the mission details, but I need a new face for this job in Europe, someone who has not been seen in the European intelligence community. All of my guys are too well known here.”

“Are we talking about a wet or dry operation?”

“For your agent we are talking completely dry. The job involves surveillance of some assets all within regional European borders.”

“How long are you expecting the mission to take?”

“One to two months. I’ll try to have your boy back safely in your hands by that time.

“Have you received his file yet?”

“Yeah, I received the file. It’s been redacted as hell, but I have it. I met the kid at your reception and liked him. I think he’ll do just fine for this job.”

“You know he’s looking for a permanent posting and this will take him out of the market.”

“Yeah, but what else has he got to do? No one’s going to be making a posting decision until June. This will give him some good, real life field experience. He might even enjoy the trip to Europe. You know you can’t keep them all under your wing forever.”

Shaw felt Leo’s jab laced with arrogance, “I don’t want them forever. I just want to make sure they come back in one piece.”

“You have my word on that.”

“You know the kid doesn’t have to accept the assignment.”

“I know.”

“What’s the next step here?”

“It will take me another week before I have all the pieces in place here. After that, I’ll give the kid a call to see if he’s interested.”

Shaw replied before hanging up, “I need to be kept in the loop on this all the way.”

“Not a problem. We’ll talk soon.”

Shaw hung up the phone, suspicious of Leo’s motives and assignment. With Leo’s reputation, he couldn’t let Wade walk into this assignment without warning. There could be political ramifications if Shaw tried too hard to discourage Wade from taking the assignment. Shaw pondered,
Perhaps Megan can convey the risks of Leo and the assignment, keeping my political exposure to a minimum.

He pressed Megan’s intercom line, “Can you come into my office for a moment?”

Megan had a blank pad and pen in her hand and closed the door behind her. Shaw had his serious face on. He looked a little pale.

“I just got off the phone with Leo. He confirmed that he was the one making the request for Wade’s file.”

“What’s the assignment?”

“He couldn’t say, which means it’s off the books. The assignment has the approval of the director and above. The only good news is Wade’s role seems pretty limited to surveillance.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.”

“I have my suspicions as well, but I don’t have any more political leverage. Remember, Wade doesn’t have to take the assignment. That’s where I think you might have some influence in this. I can’t discourage him directly.”

“So you want me to be the fall guy in case anything happens?”

“I wouldn’t put it like that. You’re just pointing out to an agent the potential risks of a potentially dangerous assignment. The agent makes the final choice.”

“I don’t know anything about Leo or this assignment. How can I advise him?”

“I’ll tell you some of the things I have heard about Leo over a cup of coffee outside the office. You can take it from there.

Chapter 8

Washington, D.C.

Megan was despondent when she left Shaw’s office resolving herself to the fact that she no longer had any influence over this assignment or the breakdown in Agency protocol that she worked so hard to maintain. The Agency and Wade were going to do whatever they wanted. Her only chance now was to try to influence Wade’s decision to reject this assignment. She cared about him and worried that the unsanctioned mission would put him in grave danger.

She spent much of the day thinking about how she would approach Wade knowing his adventuresome tendencies. A few ideas came to mind but were not solid enough to convince her they might work.

The evening call started with usual casual exchanges. Megan soon changed the direction of the conversation with a question to Wade.

“Have you heard anything more about your proposed assignment we spoke about?”

“Not a word.”

“I’ve done a little research today on agents’ rights and responsibilities and wanted to read you what the practice manual says about accepting assignments.”

Wade seemed surprised she was doing this research and wondered if she knew more about the assignment. He replied meekly, “Sure.”

Megan began to read parts she had highlighted from the manual.

“No agent is required to accept an assignment offered by a superior officer or department. An agent may request and shall be provided additional information about the assignment and what duties the agent is expected to perform before accepting or rejecting an assignment. If at any time during an assignment which an agent has accepted the agent’s duties become different, or in any way change from the original duties an agent was provided prior to accepting the assignment, the agent may request to be dismissed from the assignment by providing notice to his superior officer or department head.”

“That’s good to know. I guess if you’re in the middle of a tense situation you can’t hold up your hands and say this isn’t what I signed up for.”

“Well, of course you can’t do it then. The point is you don’t have to take the assignment in the first place and if you do find out it’s not what you thought you could still get out.”

“That’s great to know but in my case I haven’t been offered an assignment.”

“I know, but I just wanted you to know that according to the Agency rules you don’t have to accept an assignment and can get out of sticky situations if you are not comfortable with what they are asking you to do.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

A week later Wade was lying on his couch reading when the phone rang. Wade picked up the phone immediately recognizing the delayed clicking sound that broke up the voice on the other end of the line. He knew the call was coming in from a secure line. He thought it might be Yari.

“Hello?”

The voice responded. It wasn’t Yari, and he didn’t recognize the voice.

“Hi, Wade, this is Leo. We met at the Agency reception some months ago.”

“I remember.”

“I’m calling because I may have an assignment in Europe for you. You mentioned you wanted to get some field experience, and I think this one might be ideal for you.”

“That’s interesting.”

“I think this assignment will take about a month to six weeks. The role you will be playing is a liaison to me, observing the transfer of some products and equipment. I need someone who has not worked in the European intelligence community before.”

“I qualify on that account. I’ve never been to Europe.”

“I’m not expecting any rough activity. I just need eyes and ears on this cargo until my transaction teams put it in the right hands.”

“Sounds pretty straightforward.”

“It’s very straightforward and while I’m not expecting any problems you never know for certain what will happen in our business.”

Remembering the regulations Megan read to him Wade thought he should ask more questions. He knew he was talking to a pro. Wade didn’t want to accept the assignment without knowing more about the operation and his duties.

“What exactly will I or we be transporting?”

“You won’t be transporting anything. All of that is being taken care of by my people. You will just be keeping eyes and ears on the party receiving the goods.”

“What countries are we talking about?”

“Parts of Europe and North Africa.”

Wade asked a few more questions but didn’t get much information from the answers. He could feel Leo’s uneasiness about revealing much of the assignment. Between Wade’s questions, Leo interjected his own.

“Look, I understand you have a lot of questions. You have a right to know what you’re getting into. Rather than answering all these questions over the phone I tell you what I’m going to do. I’m having a three-day secure briefing for folks on this assignment. It is being conducted by my staff in Canada. If you are willing to attend the briefing and hear what your role will be, you can make up your mind at that time if you want to be involved. If you don’t want to participate in the assignment, you can elect out at that time, no hard feelings. That briefing should answer all of your questions.”

“That’s more than fair.”

“Good.”

“When do I go for the briefing?”

“One of my men will contact you.”

“When do you need me?

“How long will it take you to get a change of clothes?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Good, just bring one change of clothes and your toiletries. We will get you everything else you need once you’re in Europe. I don’t want any of my agents with clothes or toilet articles with an American label on them. My people will coordinate your flight to Canada and get back to you.”

“Will I be working with you during the operation?”

“You will be working directly with me all the way. I’ll see you when you get to Europe. That is, of course, if you accept the assignment.”

“I understand. Thanks.”

Wade left Leo’s call with some trepidation. He knew Megan didn’t want him accepting the assignment. She was concerned with the danger. The little he knew of Leo’s reputation might be enough to put his young career in jeopardy. He kept telling himself all he committed to was hearing what they had to say in Canada. Now he had to explain his decision to Megan.

That evening Megan was attending an Agency business function. His call would have to wait until tomorrow. Wade decided to give Yari a heads up. He might even know something about the mission. He called on Yari’s secure line. Yari had little new news to report.

“I’m probably going to be on a mission for a month or two.”

“Can you tell me anything about the mission?”

“I don’t know much about it myself yet. I’m leaving for Canada tomorrow for a briefing. The mission will be in Europe and North Africa. I’m going to be undercover so I don’t know if I’ll have secure lines to call you from.”

“Remember, if you can get to any public phone you just need to call me once when you get there. I’ll track you from that call. Let me give you a secure international number to call. It will always be secure.”

Yari gave Wade the new number.

“We track European communications all the time through this number so it won’t be a problem.”

“By the way are you guys tracking any CIA mission out of North Africa right now?”

“Hang on, let me check.”

The pause was soon broken when Yari’s voice replied, “None at this time.”

“I’m going to be working with a former agent that goes by the name of Leo. See what you can find out about him.”

“Will do, partner. Be safe.”

“I’ll sure try.”

The thought of a call coming in from Leo’s man made Wade anxious. He got his suitcase and the change of clothes Leo mentioned. Putting his things together, he noticed how everything he had included American labels. He zipped his bag and was ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Waiting until tomorrow to call Megan wasn’t a good idea. Eleven o’clock  was late enough for her to be back from the Agency function.

“Hi, I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, I got back from the planning committee dinner about a half hour ago.”

Wade could sense Megan was tired and knew the conversation might be tense. He decided to take the direct route.

“I finally received a call from Leo.”

There was silence knowing the call was inevitable.

“And?”

“He briefly told me about the assignment involving my observing the transfer of assets between parties in Europe and some neighboring borders. Before you say anything, I didn’t accept the assignment directly. I asked a lot of questions and struck an arrangement with Leo that I would attend a briefing. And only based on having all my questions answered. I have the option to decide whether to accept the assignment or not.”

There was a pause before Megan replied, “Well, I’m glad you took that extra step. I’m not happy that you agreed to go to the briefing, but at least you can still opt out.”

“I would not have known I had that option if you hadn’t read those regulations to me the other night. Don’t worry. If I don’t feel comfortable with the assignment, I’m not going to accept it.”

“We’ll see.”

There was another long pause before Megan spoke again. Wade could tell she was upset.

“I spoke to Shaw again today about his conversation with Leo. According to Shaw it’s a dry operation, and Leo assured Shaw he would keep you out of any danger. I hear all the words but just don’t trust Leo as far as I can throw him.”

“Well, that’s more than I got out of Leo. All he told me was I could go to the briefing and decide whether or not to take the assignment. It was all up to me.”

“When is the briefing?”

“I think in the next day or so. I’m waiting for a call from one of Leo’s men. That’s why I wanted to call tonight.”

“Where’s the briefing?”

“Somewhere in Canada. He didn’t say.”

“That’s interesting. We hold a lot of Agency briefings in Canada to keep away from U.S. ears.”

“I’m assuming I’ll be able to call you from the briefing.”

“Don’t be too certain. If you can’t call just get me a message somehow.”

“I will.”