“Thank you. I’ll keep their names confidential and keep them out of any formal investigation.”
“They would appreciate that, I’m sure.”
“Now, are you ready for some collard greens and ham hocks? They also have homemade root beer and apple pie.”
“I sure am.”
Chapter 13
During his drive back from Georgia, Wade’s mind raced with killing scenarios, evidence, and possible Vietnam connections. The more Wade thought about what had happened, the more moving parts he saw in motion. He and his team had been caught up in a nefarious murder plot being played out at Lockhart’s expense. His suspicions kept coming back to his own Agency, and he kept asking himself why that was so. The evidence didn’t point to a direct Agency involvement, but his instincts told him differently.
There was some link between a CIA Vietnam intelligence officer and Lockhart that involved people higher up in the Agency. The mysterious death of that intelligence officer occurred by a strange hit and run car accident just after he returned from Vietnam. The hit and run driver was never found.
Lockhart had a connection to the CIA operative in Vietnam. It was Lockhart’s platoon that was wiped out from bad intelligence from the CIA officer. Lockhart wasn’t on the mission that evening but never forgot it was the CIA intel that got his men killed.
Mashburn and the CIA agent had also been in Vietnam at the same time. Wade had to find out more about them. Perhaps there was a person at the Agency who could quietly access that information. He knew one person there who excelled at getting that kind of information, but could he trust Megan with that task? Would she even be willing to take the risk? Wade decided to wait. He wanted to mull over and sort out these connections further.
A few days later, Wade returned home to find the red light blinking on his answering machine. It was a call from Yari. When does this guy ever sleep?
“Hi, how did your meeting go with Detective Morrison?”
“Good. Things are more convoluted than you might imagine. Were you able to get any more information on Mashburn or the intelligence agent in Vietnam?”
“Yeah, it turns out that Mashburn attended security training at CID. He also took special classes at the Army’s biological weapons facility over the past three years. I’m still digging out what those courses covered.” Wade could hear Yari shuffling papers before he went on.
“I also found out CID has been doing joint assignments with the CIA and foreign intelligence agencies. One internal memo shows the two agencies were also dealing with organized crime figures involved with Castro during the Cuban conflict. It seems Army Intel played a part in some joint covert activities with mob characters who were trying to do away with Castro. Mashburn’s record looks like it includes some of those covert activities. There were sections of his file that prove he was doing intelligence work in Vietnam after he was a medic. Much of it is blacked out even for Army eyes. I’m still digging.”
“Anything on Lockhart while he was in Vietnam?”
“Lockhart was in Charlie Company Recon Platoon under Major James Wister, near a town called Moc Bai along the Cambodian border. It seems much of their work included excursions into Cambodia. Their missions were geared to breaking up supply lines between Vietnam and Cambodia along that border region.”
Yari paused as he read through some of his notes. “It seems those same supply routes were also used by the Vietnamese to bring weapons and ammunitions out of Cambodia. I found one briefing memo that says this particular region was also used to bring out cocaine, which was sold on the black market to raise money for the North Vietnamese. The memo suggests that some of that cocaine might have gone through U.S. hands, but gives no details.”
Yari shuffled some papers as Wade listened intently, taking notes on their conversation. Continuing with his report, Yari stated, “There was one mission where one of the platoons was wiped out because the informant they used was a double agent who double-crossed us. The platoon walked right into a Viet Cong ambush. The memo is classified top secret. That may have been Lockhart’s platoon. I can’t tell because the name of the platoon is redacted. I’m still trying to find out why Lockhart wasn’t on that death mission.”
“That’s good intelligence work. Keep digging in that area.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
“Were you able to find out where Mashburn is now?”
“I’ve got a trace on an unverified phone call that he was in Spain. It’s been interesting.”
“What do you mean?”
“A week ago he was using a CID secure line and passwords. His CID line uses an older form of encryption, but I was able to break most of the codes and heard parts of several conversations. Those conversations kept using the code word ‘Macho.’ I had to do some real digging into CID records to find Macho. The code refers to the President of Spain, Francisco Franco. Mashburn seems to be on a CID assignment for Franco in Spain. I wanted to get more confirmation before I gave you that information, though.”
“That’s weird. I didn’t think the U.S. was supporting that character.”
“I was also interested to learn that Mashburn is no longer using that CID line.”
“Then how are they communicating?”
“I’m still going through old messages to see what happened.”
“Let me know as soon as you find anything.”
“Will do, partner.”
After finishing his Sniper Navigation Class at Fort Benning, Wade only had one surveillance field class and two minor classroom training classes left before graduating from the Intelligence Agency. He often compared notes on the countdown of classes when he spoke with Megan in the evenings. This evening’s call was no different; Megan got right to the point.
“You still have to take your final Surveillance-Counter-Surveillance (SCS-7) Class here in D.C. But the class is given all the time, so there should be no scheduling problems. Just let me know when you want to take it.”
“Is that graduation reception still taking place in two months?”
“Yes, that date won’t change.”
“It might be good to take SCS-7 around that time.”
“We can make that work. I hope you’re still planning on getting together when you’re here.”
“I sure am. D.C. would be very a lonely place without you.”
“Okay. I’ll plan on it.”
“What else have you been doing?”
“Nothing. I have no time. They gave me three more recruits, since you’re getting near graduation.”
“That’s unfair. I didn’t take up the equivalent of two recruits, did I?”
“Close to it. By the way, did you ever hear any more about that shooting incident at Fort Benning?”
“No. Have you heard anything?”
“There was some discussion around here, but nothing specific. Something about an ongoing investigation.”
“Well, somebody should certainly be investigating it. Did they ever find the guy who shot at us?”
“I think they found the guy dead, but apparently there’s some question regarding whether or not he’s the one who fired on you.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Beats me. I’m just glad you got through it okay.”
“I guess my group was lucky.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“What did you hear?”
“I heard you and another team member went after the shooter bare-handed in the middle of the night. That’s what made the shooter leave the area. At least that’s the story circulating in our office.”
“I lucked out, it was a very dark and foggy, overcast night.”
“Hmmm, one day you’ll have to tell me the real story.”