"I'll have to speak with Sayar about this. He's the team leader, so this will be his call," Stewart said.
Dressed to blend in with the local Arab immigrant population, Abraham Sayar and three operatives from Sanderson's Middle East team sat ignored in a corner office at the Newark Field Office, having tried unsuccessfully to interject themselves into Task Force Scorpion's Mobile Investigative Team. So far, Special Agent Kerem Demir had been highly impressed with their potential for undercover work, expressing an early interest in deploying them near Hamid Abdul Muhammad's mosque to start working the locals, but his enthusiasm had apparently been quelled by someone higher up in the food chain. Sayar suspected that the task force's commander, Special Agent-in-Charge Moriarty, didn't share in Demir's excitement. She had read him the same ground rules upon their arrival at the field office from Newark Liberty International Airport.
"As long as he understands that it's not his call to procure weapons for this operation. If they are found with any weapons, they will be arrested," Sharpe said.
"Even if they have legal permits to carry the weapons?" Stewart said.
"I'm well aware of your organization's seemingly epic ability to procure documents, but that isn't the point. If I say they don't carry weapons, then they don't carry weapons. Period. If I banned a special agent from carrying a weapon on an operation, then the same rules would apply," Sharpe said.
"I know your back is up against the wall on this. I saw the looks cast in my direction and yours when I walked onto the watch floor. Everyone will be keeping a close eye on how you handle the rogues. I get it. Will you at least promise to personally review the roles our operatives may be assigned, and see if carrying a weapon can be allowed? Just keep the option open. My people can be very discreet."
"I'll consider this request. Either myself or Special Agent Mendoza will review the circumstances surrounding their field deployments and make the call. You've been awfully quiet, Admiral. What do you think?"
"I think Ms. Stewart's suggestion makes sense. No weapons as a general rule. Each field situation could be proactively reviewed and the policy reassessed. I do think they should at least be allowed to carry discreet knives at all times in the field. A knife can be a great equalizer for an undercover operative if a situation takes an unexpected turn."
"I've seen firsthand what Sanderson's people can do with knives. No weapons unless approved by Agent Mendoza or me," Sharpe said.
"Understood," Stewart said.
"The second ground rule regards communications. All contact with the outside is subject to strict monitoring. No exceptions. I assume they confiscated your cell phone upon check-in and transferred all of your contacts to the new phone?"
"Yes. That was very nice of them," she said.
"If you want to talk to Sanderson or your field team, you'll have to route through a special channel that has been created just for you. One of my agents will monitor all of your calls. You'll pass no operational information to Sanderson. He's not part of the task force. Special Agent Demir will pass information to your field team, so there really isn't a need for you to do that either," he said.
"That's fine. I may check in once or twice with Sanderson, but I'll probably do this via email, which should make it even easier for your techs to monitor. As for the field team, Sayar is in charge of executing whatever tasks they are given. If he's not getting the information he needs, he'll let me know, and I'll bring it up with you or Agent Mendoza," she said.
"Why exactly are you here?" Sharpe said.
"Because someone at a much higher pay grade than either of us thinks that Sanderson's assets could prove decisive to the task force's success. I'm here to make sure they're employed at these decisive moments."
"Which brings me to ground rule number three. I don't want you walking the floor and sticking your nose into everyone's business. These people still see you as an agent of the enemy, presidential pardon aside. Barely two years ago, Sanderson crippled the most promising counterterrorist investigation in FBI history, severely injuring dozens of FBI agents and police officers in the process. On top of that, his agents ruthlessly killed an off-duty police officer, several civilian military contractors and a loyal DIA employee in the process of accomplishing Sanderson's mission, which turned out to be little more than a cover up of information," he said, turning to DeSantos.
"The less time you spend out there, the better. You can access all posted workflow from the Department of Defense's office on the second level. I expect you to stay close to that office. If we need your expertise in a planning session, I'll teleconference you into the meeting. I need to keep the task force focused on the investigation, and your presence here is already enough of a distraction. Stay out of sight."
"I hope to find bathrooms on the second floor, where I will be sequestered. I don't want to have to use the office waste can out of desperation. I've used worse in the field, but this is such a nice place," she said.
Admiral DeSantos stifled a laugh, but couldn't suppress a sly smile.
"Figures. All of the women assigned to my task force are professional comedians."
"I thought they beat that out of probationary agents in Quantico," Stewart said.
"And I thought the same about the Marine Corps," he said.
"Some personality traits can't be removed, no matter how hard they try. I won't get in your way here. If it makes a difference to your team, you can let them know that I joined Sanderson's crew four months ago as a consultant. I've spent about three weeks at his compound, where his planning staff brought me up to speed on their capabilities, and I briefly joined teams in the field to make a firsthand assessment. I was contacted yesterday regarding this assignment."
"Where do you currently work? I didn't see that in your background," Sharpe asked.
"A small think tank right here in D.C. That's all I can say," she said.
"Great. More secrets. Are we clear on the ground rules?"
"Crystal clear, Agent Sharpe."
"Perfect. Admiral DeSantos, will you be staying with us for the duration?"
"Negative. Colonel Hanson, the Special Operations liaison, will remain on-site to represent the Department of Defense. I'll get her settled in upstairs before I leave. I'll be back and forth as my schedule permits," he said.
"Very well. I'll get to work on a snack station with coffee for you on the second floor. Toilets are up there, to the right of the staircase you were about to use," Sharpe said.
Stewart nodded and smiled, before following DeSantos out of the office. Sharpe was surprised that she agreed to his stipulations so easily. He had expected more resistance to this demand. In truth, the entire conversation had played out more smoothly than he had envisioned. He had secretly hoped that she would refuse to abide by his rules, giving him solid ground to remove her from NCTC. Instead, she had been agreeable, almost pleasant even.
He had been surprised to learn that she wasn't a permanent part of Sanderson's entourage and still wasn't sure what to make of this disclosure. Her current employer was a mystery that a basic background check hadn't resolved, though her security clearance had sailed through without issue. She had provided his administrative personnel with a phone number that had apparently satisfied all of their requirements, without disclosing any information. He'd asked O'Reilly to dig further, but she came back with the same results. She'd never seen anything like this before, but agreed that it was completely legitimate. Callie Stewart, former marine counterintelligence officer, worked for a highly secretive, extremely well-connected private group within the Beltway. He didn't like it.
He activated his computer screen and selected O'Reilly's name from the communications directory. His earpiece came to life with the sound of a ring tone.