‘He’s right.’ Kempner stirred reluctantly. ‘This mission is not some half-hearted fool’s errand hoping to get lucky. We went into it knowing the risks. What’s going on in Eastern Europe right now is not a whole lot different to the Arab Spring of a few years ago. It’s about power and influence and we can’t sit idly by and hope for the best. But getting the embassy involved is not an option.’
‘I agree. But don’t you have a “friend” in the new president? Couldn’t he help?’
‘That rumour is without foundation, Senator. President Poroshenko has never been an agent of the State Department, whatever WikiLeaks might say to the contrary. In any case, we wanted to engage with all parties. If Putin continues on what we believe is his intended course, he’s going to destabilize more and more of the previously Soviet states and grab more control in the region. If we can make contact with those independents early and keep them on-side, we might make his work a little harder.’ He winced. ‘That appears to have gone a little sour. But getting Travis out and back in one piece will go a long way to showing we won’t be messed with.’
It was an uncommonly long speech for anyone in this room, where orders were issued, information relayed and results passed on in usually quiet, measured tones that rarely lasted longer than a few words. But it was a measure of the speaker’s status that nobody ventured to disagree or haul him in.
‘It’s a mess, alright,’ said Assistant Director Sewell. He was studying a large map of central Europe and the Middle East on one wall.
‘To be honest, it’s a little late for Ukraine.’ Kempner followed his look. ‘That scenario was becoming divided before we were aware of it. We’re hoping not to have the same thing happen with the others, which is why we decided to engage with them.’
Sewell looked at him, and it was clear he was trying to identify if there was any subtle criticism in the statement. ‘We assessed the situation in Ukraine as best we could but the picture was clouded.’ His jaw was tense and he looked ready for a fight.
‘We know that, Jason.’ This time it was Benson’s turn to smooth ruffled feathers. ‘Nobody’s disputing it. As I understand it, the point of this exercise with Travis was to get inside the region and make contacts, yes?’ He looked at Kempner, who nodded. ‘Then it’s a lesson learned for future exercises, I think we all agree.’ He shifted in his chair and looked at Callahan. ‘How does this man of yours get in touch with Travis?’
‘He doesn’t, not directly. If things go right Travis exits the hotel where he’s being held and he’ll be picked up and passed along a line of cut-outs until he’s home and clear. He won’t even know about Watchman’s involvement. That’s Watchman’s specialty; he works at a distance and clears the way. If any danger arises he deals with it.’
‘He’s done this kind of work before, you say?’ There was a slight hesitation on the word ‘work’, as if Benson had difficulty getting it out without spitting.
‘Correct.’
‘Who for?’
‘For us, the DEA, the Defence Intelligence Agency, and the UK’s MI6. I can’t go into details but he was also responsible for pulling an important CIA asset out of Tehran just a few days ago. He did that from right under the noses of their Ministry of Intelligence and National Security. The asset had gone in to secure details of new weapons development by the Iranians.’
‘And how did that go?’
‘It didn’t,’ Sewell replied. ‘The asset was blown by a friend. But at least we got him out alive.’
‘What’s this Watchman’s background? How much money are we throwing at him?’
‘I can’t go into that, sir. Sorry.’
Benson threw Sewell a look loaded with meaning. ‘You see, that’s what I don’t like about these operations. But we’ll discuss that later. When does Watchma— Who the hell thinks of these names?’ He puffed his lips with a tinge of exasperation. ‘When does he report in?’
‘When he’s ready and it’s safe to do so,’ Callahan replied. ‘It’s the way he works.’
‘So that’s it? We sit and wait on the convenience of a hired gun?’
‘We have to. Where he’s going there won’t be one-hundred per cent reliable cell coverage due to extensive electronic disruption. In between that, outgoing signals are easy to pick up by Russian monitoring stations. He will call.’
‘Let’s hope he does.’ Benson glanced at Sewell before getting to his feet. ‘I have to say, I don’t like the sound of this operation. But since it’s already up and running, there’s not much I can do about it. As soon as the ball is rolling I’d like a tour of the facility to see the nuts and bolts of how you’re going to work with this man.’ He didn’t wait for assent, but looked hard at Callahan. ‘It had better be good, because if your contractor gets picked up and blown, believe me, your career path will follow very close behind.’
If it was meant as a joke, nobody was laughing.
SEVEN
Entering a potentially hostile country can be accomplished in a number of ways. You can go in under the badge of an official or accredited body, such as government, trade mission, approved NGO — a non-governmental organization — or, if allowed, a member of the media. Or you can use whatever independent routes or means might be available that require a visa and a business plan. Since Callahan had told me an official badge was out of the question, and media personnel were already getting the run-around because of the deteriorating political situation, I was having to be inventive.
I’d flown in to Ukraine’s Sergey Prokofiev International Airport at Donetsk late in the afternoon on papers supplied by Callahan. I was of mixed Polish/German parentage from a small German town near Cottbus on the border, and was looking for building work and possibly setting up a small business. Although I wasn’t planning on going to any meetings, I’d had Callahan’s people make a couple of appointments beforehand with the local department of trade and chamber of commerce. With everything else going on in the country, I figured they would soon forget all about me, and by the time someone realized I hadn’t shown up, I fully expected to be on my way out of the country.
The atmosphere in the airport terminal was tense, with a heavy presence of soldiers and cops around, all heavily armed and looking jumpy. There was a variety of uniforms, some complete and reasonably smart, others with men wearing a combination of combat jackets, jeans and trainers. Anywhere else and they could have been special forces, but these guys had the rumpled look of militia rather than highly trained specialists.
Given the situation, I wasn’t the only optimistic business traveller entering the country. There was a mix of German and French convention delegates, with a sprinkling of Koreans, and their numbers gave me useful cover until I was certain I hadn’t attracted any official attention. As soon as I could, I broke off and headed for an anonymous hotel close to the airport where I’d made a reservation. I was already dressed for the part, in a dark leather jacket, pants and heavy shoes. I’d sourced them from a German chain store specializing in work casuals, and looked about as invisible as it was possible to get in this part of the world. Just another working stiff edging his way through life.
Ed Travis was being held at a large hotel half a mile away, within the airport boundary. I’d tried to get a room there, but had been told there were no vacancies ‘for the foreseeable future’. It sounded as if whoever was preventing him leaving had taken over the whole building. Travis was waiting to receive the ‘go’ message as soon as I got myself organized and called in to Langley. At that point the local asset would be given the nod and the rabbit would begin to run.