"Someone who was high up the time," Stephanie said.
"The agency had a lot of failures back then. That was when Aldrich Ames was there. He was right in the middle of clandestine ops, he knew who the doubles were. No one really knows how many people he betrayed. He never told them everything after he was arrested."
"But why cover it up? Ames is the most public example of a traitor within the CIA that there is. There wouldn't be any point in hiding something he'd done from an internal point of view."
Elizabeth tapped the file with her pen. "The last entry is dated nineteen eighty-seven. Ames was still there when this was written. Maybe he buried it. He wouldn't want anyone to find out he'd betrayed Connor to the Russians. It wouldn't have been difficult to make it look as though Connor was the mole. The agency knew they were harboring a traitor and they were looking for him. If Ames set Connor up, it would have taken some of the heat off him."
"You think Ames framed Connor?"
"It's possible," Elizabeth said. "Either way, we have to talk to Selena about this."
"What about Nick?" Stephanie asked.
"What about him?"
"If Selena knows about this, it's a good bet Nick does too. I think he should be here when we talk with her."
Elizabeth opened her desk drawer and took out a bottle of aspirin. She washed three tablets down with cold coffee.
"We have to wait until after they get back from Brazil to do it. Steph, can you find out anything else about Connor? The accident? Who was his handler?"
"That's another thing," Stephanie said. "His case officer was William Connor, Selena's uncle."
Elizabeth tried to rub away the headache growing behind her forehead.
"This gets more complicated all the time."
Stephanie said, "DCI Hood was around back then. Do you think he might know something about it?"
"It's possible," Elizabeth said. "I have to think about whether I should approach him about this. Whatever her father did or didn't do, it's nothing to do with her. I don't want her to feel that she's under suspicion because of what's in this file."
"It might be useful to find out who ordered his death," Stephanie said. "Connor was stationed in East Berlin for two years before he was killed. A lot of the Stasi and KGB records from back then were discovered after the wall came down. Finding out more about Connor's death could help us decide if he was a traitor or a patriot. If we can clear him, it would make things a lot easier for Selena."
"All right. We'll talk to her when they get back. That should give you time to find out whatever you can."
"I'm on it," Stephanie said.
Elizabeth looked at the row of clocks on the wall across from her desk.
"They should be over the drop zone just about now."
CHAPTER 35
Helmets, battle dress and MP-5s. Pistols and plenty of ammunition. Ronnie carried a separate pack with C4 and detonators, just in case. Tropical air blew through the open hatch of the C-130. With it came the smell of the Brazilian rain forest rushing by four thousand feet below. Nick waited for the green light that would signal it was time to jump. The voice of the jump master sounded in his headpiece.
"Get ready. Thirty seconds."
Behind Nick, Selena felt the first rush of adrenaline. This was her second jump since she'd joined the Project. The first had been a high altitude jump over the Himalayas from 23,000 feet. This looked like a piece of cake compared to that.
The light turned green. "Go!" Nick said.
He leapt from the plane, counted seconds and pulled his rip cord. The harness grabbed him hard in the groin and pulled as the chute blossomed open. The ground was coming up fast, a cleared field on the border between the rain forest and the Indian reservation. Nick pulled on the steering toggles and guided himself toward what looked like a soft spot. He looked up and saw the others above him.
So far, so good.
The landing zone wasn't as soft as it looked. Pain shot up his spine as he hit, a reminder of the last time he'd done this. He struggled to his feet and pulled the chute in. Five minutes later, everyone was gathered on the edge of the clearing.
"You're limping," Selena said.
"It's nothing." Nick took out a map.
He looked up and scanned the drop zone. "We're right where we wanted to be."
A fast running stream bordered the far edge of the clearing. Beyond, a narrow path disappeared into the trees. He pointed at the path.
"That's where we're going. It will take us close to the clinic. We won't know what we're up against until we've got eyes on it. The people living here have nothing to do with this, so don't assume everyone is hostile. But don't get careless either. It's a safe bet any Europeans you see could be part of Schmidt's group. If you see Schmidt, don't kill him. We want him alive."
"What about the plague?" Selena asked.
"Better put the masks on now. Anyone we meet could be infected. Make sure you're bloused up tight. There could be fleas and fleas carry plague."
Selena bent down and checked that her pants were pulled tight around the tops of her boots.
"If Schmidt's here, he must have heard the plane," Ronnie said. "He'll know something's up."
"He won't know what it is," Nick said. "Anyway there's nothing we can do about it. Let's get the masks on."
They pulled on the masks. Lamont helped Selena adjust the straps until the mask was tight against her face.
"All set." Lamont smiled at her.
"Whenever this is made of, it stinks."
Lamont laughed, the sound muffled behind the mask. "You'll get used to it."
"I feel like the creature from the black lagoon," she said.
"Yeah, you kind of look like it too. You like those old sci-fi movies?"
"I love them. All those tacky rubber creatures. My favorite is The Attack of the Crab Monsters."
"Mine's The Attack of the Giant Tomato," Lamont said. "It's gotta be the worst movie ever."
"The Blob," she said
"Attack of the 50 Foot Woman."
"How about The Incredible Shrinking Man?"
"That was cool," Lamont said. "The scene with the spider was really creepy."
"Are you guys about done with the film review?" Nick said.
His words were clear, with an odd mechanical quality caused by the voicemitter and mike on the front of the mask.
"Sorry," Lamont said.
"What's this indicator do?" Selena asked.
"If it turns blue it means the filter is no good anymore," Ronnie said. "We should be out of here long before that happens."
"Weapons hot," Nick said. The safeties on the MP-5s clicked off.
"Everyone ready? Let's go."
They set off along the edge of the trees toward the trail.
CHAPTER 36
Schmidt heard the roar of the plane as it passed overhead and knew it meant trouble. He stepped outside in time to see it disappearing over the trees. It had American markings.
Transport, he thought. Military. There's no reason for them to be in the area or to be flying low like that. They must be coming here. It's time to leave.
Schmidt went back inside the clinic building. There had always been a chance someone would discover what was happening and attempt to intervene. Schmidt had anticipated the possibility of government interference, but he hadn't anticipated that it would come from the Americans.
There couldn't be any evidence left behind. He'd been getting ready to leave but he'd thought there would be more time to remove all traces of what he'd done. Now that wasn't possible. Fortunately, he'd prepared an alternative scenario.