COVERT WRITERS TAKEDOWN by Joe Bergeron (best beach reads txt) 📕

dreamed of tonight - here’s to
you and to success - did you bring the money?”
Leaning toward him while taking a heavy sip
of her vodka, both silk lapels on her jump suit were
caused to fall away from her chest exposing ample
breasts, sans bra. The black haired beauty was well
aware of her position, as well as the cast of his vision.
“This a night you’ll never forget, Dan. And yes,
I brought the money. It’s in the leather luggage. Do
you have the final Yankee Echo security codes?”
“They’re right here.” Reaching to the table, he
lifted the unmarked envelope on its surface and handed
it to her.
Placing his drink in the now empty space
where the envelope had been, Bellcamp reached for the
Fredric’s box and, in another clumsy gesture, struck his
glass with the box’s edge while lifting it for
presentation. This caused his MIAMI HERALD
anniversary edition to empty itself on the already wet
carpet.
The Cuban beauty’s dark brown eyes closed,
and summarily slowly opened.
90
She would need to implement the alternative
plan with the assistance of two Cuban secret police
presently sitting idle in a black Cadillac Seville parked
across the road outside his house.
It would be messy.
“Oh, shit, I’ll get another one.”
Sipping her beverage once again, Salazar
thought of the lamp she needed to illuminate sitting on
a table across the living room in front of a window - a
signal for two agents to lock and load their silenced
revolvers. Enough rounds from each would be
deposited into the body of one Managing Editor until
that body no longer functioned.
The agents were now on standby. When she
left the ranch, they would enter and complete a night’s
work. She would not have to witness it - just accept it.
Uncrossing her legs, Salazar rose to complete
the indicator, but found her long, lower left limb buckle
beneath her weight. Tumbling to the deep, gray rayon,
her own, and second drink splashed to a radius of ten
feet while a blurred, spinning vision of soft light,
accompanied by a generous warmth, consumed her
nervous system. When she resumed consciousness two
hours later, she would remember the words of the bulky
man in white chinos perched over her numb form.
“Catalina, you and Miguel neglected Law
Twenty-Nine because you never studied it. You never
assumed I would take an initiative of my own.”
He prepared to leave with two pieces of
luggage, one containing a compensation the jumpsuited
Cuban never expected him to own, the other
holding enough clothes for three days in California
where he’d replace his wardrobe.
Dan Bellcamp was a fool for women, but he was
also an intelligent fool; and tonight, he was a lucky fool.
The now former Managing Editor had no idea
she’d put enough poison in his drink to kill two horses.
91
His own plan to drug the Cuban was aided by a
‘friend’, a classy uptown whore with access to every
drug known to mankind. His instincts had told him
Miguel Belize had no intention of allocating two million
dollars to his asset balance, no matter how much the
Vice President needed the information he could supply.
He also felt that, once the money was in his possession,
there would be an immediate desire to have it returned,
by one method or another.
Bellcamp also had no idea how lucky he would
be to put two hours between himself and the two men
still in their parked Cadillac waiting for the return of
one Catalina Salazar, they absent the signal to prepare
for an alternative elimination plan.
He’d left his house by the side door next to the
garage, a rose trellis sheltering him from recognition.
Finally, because he’d mowed his lawn earlier in the day,
the door facing the front of his car was still open in his
drive-through garage, allowing him to leave his home
from the rear, undetected.
Dan Bellcamp was on his way to sunny Avalon
on Santa Catalina Island off the California coast, a
weight reduction health spa, and a new identity.
92
Saturday, May 20, 11:45 a.m.
“Michael, should we call the FBI?”
Robert Wirtham’s voice was low and seemed
serious. It was a plan he’d never execute, but he
needed to understand Courtney’s intentions. He never
got the chance. The question was answered by
Kathleen McKenzie as she entered the room.
“NO.”
Her eyes, clear, were filled with purpose.
Quarter-turning a conference chair next to his,
he expressed a silent communication to accept a seat in
the strategy session.
Her hands now folded on the rosewood
conference table, she looked at Wirtham knowing it was
he who would have the most information.
“Robert - where’s my father?”
Over the next half hour Wirtham would explain
to both of them everything that had happened. He
didn’t know how much she could take, and he hoped
Courtney would be able to hold her together.
She addressed the same man again.
“Robert, I know he’s not going to be with us
again until we go and get him. What are we doing
about that?”
He didn’t want her to take it any further while
Courtney was there.
“Kathleen, you know we’ll use all of our
resources.”
Her knowledge of the scope of the organization,
along with accompanying knowledge of its alliances
with other organizations allowed his statement to settle
her for the time being.
Courtney sensed her for-now resignation.
“Did you have a chance to call the Marriott -
Eddie Dalger?”
“He’ll meet us at the hotel this afternoon, at
four.”
93
He looked at Wirtham.
“Let’s send the TAC.”
JGM’s computer room easily handled the daily
transactions of the export company. While the company
did broker exports for a number of food and kindred
product manufacturers, its banks of IBM’s were set up
to control an additional product; an information system
and network of tremendous proportion.
Inside the room’s soundproof wall were Eleven
IBM CL45 class computers with enough stored data on
specific topics to rival the United States Census Bureau
and the U.S. Commerce Department combined.
Forty computer data specialists daily entered
changes into the system with regard to marginal or
spend-able income levels in three thousand U.S cities,
age and population demographics, political party
affiliations by city, U.S. Senate and U.S. Congressional
statistics including voting histories on all bills, multinational
business statistics, and information on worldwide
standard industrial classification indexes broken
out into seventy-two financial and product criteria.
One of the computers housed a transmitter
which would deliver the cryptic message to the writers’
fax machines via a radio signal sent out to a satellite.
Wirtham, followed by Courtney and McKenzie
approached the main console and keyboard of the
complex data center. Taking a seat in a black leather
executive chair, JGM’s president tapped out a simple
code.
HOTEL - JULIET - TANGO
Almost instantly the computer monitor
responded.
CBA 1 WRT
MCTNYLDD
ACC
TTLWRTS
STATS 94
The computer banks were ready to accept
input.
“It’s ready, give me the stats.”
“First, delete all papers with greater than two
hundred thousand circulations.”
Wirtham pressed nine keys.
“Now, let’s add an addendum to the lead.”
Twelve more keystrokes.
“The lead’s up.”
“Last line.”
“Got it.”
“Suggest to readers written contact with
Congressional Reps and U.S. Senators.”
More keystrokes were tapped.
“It’s in.”
Courtney continued.
“I want to exclude New York City, Los Angeles,
Washington, Boston, Miami, and Chicago.”
More keystrokes.
“All set.”
“Let it go - send it TAC five.”
Five additional keystrokes.
“Robert, we’re going…”
The telephone’s ring interrupted the analyst.
Wirtham contemplated the Merlin
communication system sitting to his right at the
keyboard.
“Is the TAC complete, Robert?”
“Yes - it’s through.”
Courtney breathed deeply
He indicated a telephone on a vacant Assistant
Communication’s Director’s desk.
“Kay, pick up the extension over there.”
“Robert, put this one on the speaker.”
Wirtham was slightly apprehensive - both the
metaphysician and his girlfriend noticed.
95
The export company’s president picked up the
receiver knowing the caller had identified him as the
recipient of the communication, and the receptionist
had directed the call to the appropriate phone.
“This is Robert Wirtham.”
“Bobby, it’s Andy.”
Andrew St. Croix was Director of Internal
Security at JGM Exports. A veteran of the Vietnam
conflict, former Naval Deep Cover Operative, and
Physical Laws candidate out of Annapolis. He was a
somewhat irreverent, however loyal organization man
who only knew as much about the clandestine writing
group as Courtney did.”
Wirtham exhaled.
“Go ahead, Andy - I have Michael and Kathleen
McKenzie on the lines with me.”
The Southern born Naval Academy graduate
acknowledged the latter two.
“Hey, Mick, Miss McKenzie, ma’am.”
Wirtham relaxed.
“What’s going on?”
“Well, Bellcamp’s not here. Looks like the man
had a Smirnoff party and decided his rug needed a
shampoo with it.”
“Are his clothes gone?”
“Not all of them, but by the looks of how their
spread out on the hangers seems like a few are missing.
There‘s also a couple dresser drawers open”
He continued to report his findings thus far.
“Ah also found the ugliest card ah ever did see
in his nightstand drawer, had a message on it that was
interesting, dated yesterday - written to a Catalina -
Listen to this…”
‘Let your dream begin, not in vain did you
come, you return to hold another - ah know. If ah’m
betrayed, it is because ah have betrayed.’
“This boy has a real case on some belle. Ah
think you were right about him, Mick - he’s apparently
a problem.” 96
Courtney spoke next.
“Andy, bring the card back with you.”
“Yes, sir. You want me to stay, kind of keep an
eye on the place?”
“Stay through Sunday, Andy, check out the rest
of the house. If he shows up, talk to him.”
“Yes, sir, Ah’ll get a flight out on Monday and
let you know when ah‘m in. Mick, you and Miss
McKenzie staying in town?”
“I thought we’d be going to Miami - it depends
on what else you find out down there, but it sounds like
you have it under control.”
“Ah need to go over your plan. Ah don’t want to
be shooting in the dark.”
“OK, Andy. I’ll brief you either Monday or
Tuesday.”
“Miss McKenzie, you keep him down on Earth,
sometimes his head goes spinning off in space.”
Kay felt a moment of relief.
“He’s a little weird sometimes, Andy, but I can
handle him. You be careful down there.”
“Yes ma’am. So far it’s a walk in a pine forest.”
Phones were cradled following final regards.
Courtney thought out loud.
“If I’m betrayed, it’s because I’ve betrayed?
Sounds like we have our breacher, doesn‘t it?”
Wirtham had the first part of the puzzle and
speculated on the second.
“We may have the worm, but we don’t know
who’s holding the pole, and right now he’s apparently a
double worm.”
She had the perspective.
Robert, we have a suite at the Marriott…”
He faced Kay for a confirmation.
She nodded affirmatively.
97
“I’m taking Kay over there now. I need some
cash, and a favor.”
Wirtham was prepared to provide both.
“Tell me what you need.”
Courtney continued, detailing his
requirements.
“I’d like you to download everything you have
on Cuba; economics, financial status, government stats
with names - then get me a list on Cuban writes for the
last two years. I also need a report on the multinationals
that have expressed interest in the
President’s Reform Package. I’ll need it all by tomorrow
afternoon.”
It was all within the realm of possibility.
“I’ll have to bring some people in, but you’ll
have it.”
There were two additional requisites.
“I’m also expecting a police report from
Waltham. It probably won’t be here until Monday, but
I’d like to see it as soon as it comes in. I also need my
students’ exam papers, and I have