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

/> help them along, or to help Benson’s plan.”
“OK, so tell me what we have, Mick.”
“Well…someone takes a shot at me…Robert
and I agree that it was probably just an attention
grabber to introduce some fear into the beginning of
this game. Then, they throw a rock through Kay’s
window with their note attached to it…and guessed I’d
be running to her, and they probably grabbed Pat
because of my association with Kay. If they only knew
what they were holding, and that he runs this whole
operation, we’d probably have a very different set of
circumstances going on.”
Courtney paused to take a sip of his coffee
while further reflecting.
171
“Bellcamp’s gone, he was writing to this
Catalina chick, and that name is popping up
everywhere it seems - the Vice President of Cuba has
Bellcamp’s house searched - and, to me, that’s the
biggest piece of information we have right now..”
St. Croix indicated agreement with a nod of his
head.
“…and Tom Griffin, one of our youngest writers
who’s a reporter at THE WALL STREET JOURNAL,
gets an exclusive interview with The United States
Secretary of Commerce, compliments of Miss Catalina.”
“What was under Griffin’s by-line?”
“Pretty typical Commerce political talk.
Should we be in Cuba now? What about cultivating our
own resources first? For someone who’s supposed to be
pretty smart, George Tollman is one wobbly son-of-abitch.”
“OK, Mick, so we got Belize, Catalina,
Bellcamp, Tollman, Griffin, they guy who’s calling you,
and that dude sittin at the end of the bar. Where do we
start?”
“Everywhere. We also have a missing Pat
McKenzie, and that situation needs to be fixed as soon
as possible. Did Robert and Kay tell you about the
unanswered call that got recorded through an antistatic
system.?
“Yeah, interesting little piece of equipment.
That would negate State INTEL to me since McKenzie
only sells that little air conditioner to the fly boys, CIA
and NSA. Let’s say we got a CIA spook or an NSA cat
at the end of the bar. Ah think we should play to their
hand, Mick, and do our own thing. It that your
contingency?
“I’ve always had several contingencies for when
the breach would occur, Andy. I can remediate any
damage to the organization - but I never anticipated a
kidnapping along with the breach. I’m going to need a
lot of help from you to get Pat back.”
172
St Croix appreciated his friends confidence in
him. He also respected his knowledge of The Laws, and
his ability to bring them to practical application.
“A’hm with y’all Mick, but listen to me -
depending on the situation, we may need to apply some
serious firepower to secure Pat.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“You know a little about Zero’s, Mick. What
you may not know is that, once you’re in, you’re in for
good. Ah never had to go active again because they
have some pretty bright boys and girls in there, and
they can handle the world just fine right now. But ah
still have friends active, and, should we need it, ah can
put together a Zero team complete with a retrofit Huey.”
“A what?”
“Helicopter, with hellfire missiles, thirty
millimeter canon, and hydra rockets. If we get into a
match with someone other than the U.S. Army, whoever
we’re bumpin up against is gonna wish their mommas
never blinked her eyes at their daddy’s.”
“Let’s keep that piece of information to
ourselves for now, Andy. I don’t need Kay to be
worrying about a possible firefight somewhere. Oh,
man, hellfire missiles?”
St. Croix formed a slight smile.
Courtney finished his coffee and added closure.
“Listen, Andy, I want to go over the Cuban data
again. I also want to pull together anything we can find
on every name we talked about. What should we do
with the turkey at the end of the bar?”
“You leave - ah’ll stay. Ah want to see if he’s
gonna tail you, or wait for me. You’ll be OK - ah’ll be
right behind him if he follows you.”
“Courtney pulled his wallet from his pants
pocket. Securing a twenty dollar bill - he passed it
across the table to the Zero.
“Take care of the tab, Andy. Leave the kid the
change. He could probably use it.”
173
“See you at the ranch.”
Without looking directly at Courtney, St. Croix
watched him leave.
He also noticed the well-dressed stranger leave
immediately thereafter.
Finishing the last of his coffee, he did the same
- leaving the twenty behind, slightly under his saucer.
Outside on the sidewalk, his eyes followed both
men, one fifty feet behind the other.
It was a typical recon - no big deal - just report
where Courtney was, what he did, who he was with -
and where he was headed.
What was important, he thought, was the
person, or persons, and the organization receiving the
messages spoken into the tie.
He thought to himself.
‘Damn, Mick, we may have gotten ourselves
into one hell of a snake pit. Ah got a feelin we’re gonna
need the Snake, and a few other buddies to help get us
out.’
Sunday, May 22, 4:38 p.m.
Although he’d crossed the International Date
Line, he felt little jet lag. Not because he’d flown
dozens of thousands of miles every year, but because he
had a mission, and non-intervention of outside
influences were easily controlled by this man.
Scott Orefice, Director of The United States
Central Intelligence Agency was presumably in Tokyo to
discuss the design of one of the electronic components of
a super computer chip with Mister Saito Kushima,
Chairman Of The Board of Kushima Electronics.
A world leader in the field of electronics,
Kushima was a major international competitor of
McKenzie Industries. The two companies had been
working on the same technological development for
months.
174
There were multi-million dollar contracts
waiting at the end of each production line, and both
companies were working twenty-four hour research and
development shifts to complete their respective designs.
Orefice was, in fact, in Japan to discuss the
electronic component and the chip - it’s possible uses in
rapid information storage and retrieval, and possible
subsequent uses in hand-held hardware.
He had met seven weeks earlier with Patrick
McKenzie to discuss the same topic - but not the
addendum topic he would address with Kushima.
At sixty-nine, The Director possessed a
physical constitution envied by many men in their late
thirties and early forties. A faithful swimmer, he logged
five miles a week at the CIA indoor pool.
His appointment to The Directorship,
confirmed by the United States Senate on its first vote
was testimony to the confidence and respect he had
from almost every man and woman sitting on Capitol
Hill.
Following service as an Army Field Officer in
World War II, he had returned to Rochester Institute Of
Technology in Rochester, New York, and completed both
undergraduate and graduate studies leading to a
Master Of Science degree in Management Engineering.
He understood that engines drive people
systems, and because of his talent and education, had
been able to bring a prestigious sense of order to the
world’s most secret organization.
Although there are Congressional committees
and Senate
sub-committees with authoritative powers that affect
the structure and form of the CIA, there is no
committee that can direct its inner substance.
That - is controlled by The Director.
It is an absolutely necessary organization of
almost unlimited power, access, and unaccountability.
175
‘ Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely’ is not only proverbial, it is a fundamental
truth.
Scott Orefice, although a dedicated public
servant, could not be separated from a universal truth.
He was corrupt, but not maliciously corrupt. While this
was a contradiction in terms, it was not without
attending essence.
Orefice constantly lied to Congressmen and
Congresswomen, United States Senators, press
reporters, and to anyone else who asked him about his
job or his agency.
He also routinely allowed special favors in
exchange for information from Arab oil sheiks, Eastern
European Government officials, African Heads of State
- and, if he needed information, and it was available,
from Japanese businessmen.
It would be impossible for a man in his position
not be apparently corrupt. Were it not the case, he
would have no base of power.
The world of authority is sometimes as
confusing as authority itself.
Admitted to the Chairman’s office immediately
upon arriving, he greeted the seventy-two year old
founder of the electronics giant.
“Mister Kushima - it’s a pleasure to see you
again, Sir.”
Extending his hand, he was summarily greeted
by the Oriental, who spoke perfect English, as well as
French, and German.
“The pleasure is mine, Mister Orefice. May I
offer you something?”
“Thank you, no, not right now.”
“As you wish - are you staying at the embassy?”
“Yes - there’s always pressing issues.”
“Absolutely, a man in your position has many
communications to complete that I’m sure are most
sensitive.
176
You are still welcome, whenever you wish, to be my
house guest. You may one day, find it a welcome
change.”
He motioned to a set of black walnut chairs
sitting on a red and blue-lioned pattern oriental carpet.
Each took seats opposite the other.
The Director, not without purpose, and
missioned, began.
“Mister Kushima, as we speak, an unexpected
event is unfolding which will allow us to conduct our
business to fruition. In a bizarre twist of fate, Patrick
McKenzie has been seized from his vacation in the
Bahamas, and has been taken to the island of Cuba
where he is being held for ransom by a terrorist
organization.”
The Japanese businessman’s eyes didn’t
evidence incredulity at the statement, but rather
suspicion of The Director’s motive for bringing up this
piece of information.
Orefice thought it best to continue.
My agency has the situation under control, and
would be able to free him, but not without a struggle.
The President feels that, for the time being, we should
leave this alone. Other people are working on it, and it
certainly does work to our advantage.
Kushima felt compelled to respond.
“I concur with Mister Benson’s judgment,
Mister Orefice. Patrick McKenzie has been a thorn in
my side for many years. Although I highly regard his
corporation, he has, by commission, held back
Kushima’s expansion in the Western Hemisphere…this
is most fortuitous.”
Orefice knew he’d like it.
“We should have the Cuban initiative for
Kushima through the U.S. government process by late
June, or early July.
177
President Benson’s recently had additional
conversations with President Santiago confirming the
positive position a company such as yours would bring
to the island - and to all of Latin America. He’s also
informed the new Cuban leader of the addendum
industries that would follow an electronics firm onto
their soil. The injection molding companies, the
software brain trusts, and rail, air and ground
transportation industries will all follow Kushima into
the new world. I’m sure both you, and your senior staff,
know that from Cuba your empire can build south
through Honduras and Nicaragua, then into Columbia,
Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, and the balance of
South America. Your existing product line is perfectly
matched for the developing counries.”
Shifting in his chair, he continued.
“Their manufacturing bases, communications
systems, medical institutions, and their military
infrastructures are all prime candidates for
technologies you would consider antiquated. You could,
and will be the controlling and dominating electronics
influence through the Latin corridor into South
America. Your markets are driven by people in political
systems presently watching the success or failure of the
Cuban initiative, and we, Mister Kushima, control that
system. You have a failsafe procedural task, and
nothing more before you.”
The Director paused - knowing a response was
imminent.
“You have a unique business perspective,
Mister Orefice. You’ve just outlined a plan of action
that is rooted in the fundamental development pattern
we have