Morrison had a call coming in on another line. “If anything turns up on my end, I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds like a plan. Thanks.”
Wade hung up, thinking about Mashburn’s Spain connection. Was it a legitimate assignment, or did they just want to get him out of the U.S. when the Lockhart matter heated up? A trip to Belize was certain to be in Wade’s future. He couldn’t wait to come face-to-face with Mashburn and interrogate him on his black ops history. Wade knew his mission would have to go unsanctioned, under the radar. He had to slip in and out of the country without the Agency, the government, or law enforcement knowing he was there. He tried putting a positive spin on the idea. Belize is supposed to be a beautiful place with great fishing — I’ve always wanted to go fishing down there.
Even though he considered his mission “company business,” Wade felt the Agency wouldn’t see his involvement that way. The next problem Wade faced was expenses for the Belize trip. He needed a plan that would let him use military and intelligence transportation assets to get him to the tropics without attracting unwanted attention.
Wade couldn’t get Megan’s help on transportation because of his continuing Agency suspicions. He had to find another way to get to Belize on the government’s nickel. The military contacts he’d made during training sessions should be useful in some way.
Wade made a list of his transportation contacts. Surely one of those contacts could help him slip in and out of Belize without notice. He decided to call the people he knew best at military bases near him, hoping to find an unofficial ride to the tropics.
“Fort Rucker Army base, may I help you?”
“This is Wade Hanna. I’d like to speak with Master Sergeant Chris Cassel, please.”
“Cassel here.”
“Hi, Chris, Wade Hanna. I’d like to pick your brain, if I could.”
“Sure.”
“I’m trying to hitch a ride to Belize and back. You got anything going that way?”
“Let me check our upcoming flight schedules.”
After a few moments Chris was back on the line. “Sorry, nothing headed in that direction. However, I think there are some war games being planned between the U.K. and Belize. You might try Ellington in Texas. I think that base has lots of flights going to Central America.”
“I don’t know anyone at that base. Can you help me out?”
The sergeant replied quickly. “You do too know someone at Ellington. Don’t you remember Ramon? He used to work with me here at Rucker. He now lives in Texas and works as an independent contractor for Ellington.”
“I do remember Ramon. Do you have a number for him?”
Chris was silent as he looked up the number and gave it to Wade. As he thanked him, Chris replied with a question. “How are you getting to Texas?”
“I guess I’m driving.”
“You don’t have to do that. I can get you to Ellington.”
“Great. What are the flight options to Ellington over the next week?”
“There are lots of options. We have almost daily flights from Rucker to Houston.”
Wade’s next call was to Ramon, with whom he quickly renewed his relationship. The Ellington Air Transport Wing supported regular flights to Belize and other Central American countries. The regular flights to Belize usually ran twice a month but would soon increase due to the upcoming war games. With Ramon’s help and a few more calls, Wade nailed down flight details and a primary contact to schedule his trip.
His next call was to his cousin Frank, who lived in Houston. During the longer-than- necessary call Frank offered to set up dinner invitations, parties, a fishing trip, a barbecue or visits with friends, all of which Wade politely declined.
He explained to Frank that he was on official business. The term “official business” meant little to Frank. He just wanted to celebrate. It took some time, but Wade finally convinced him that “official business” meant government undercover work. In the end, Frank reluctantly acknowledged the connection and backed off the robust party agenda.
“I keep forgetting you’re with the government, where you do clandestine missions and all.”
Wade responded, trying to curb more unwanted attention to his mission. “Yeah, this trip is official business. I’ll just be in Houston for one night. We can go to dinner that night, but I can’t plan anything else. Don’t worry, cuz. I’ll be making other trips in the future that aren’t so tightly scheduled.”
“Okay, I’ll make the reservations at Ciprio’s for dinner. You can stay at the house and use the spare car.”
“I appreciate that. We’ll party next time I visit, I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep — spy man.”
Weapons and tactics were on Wade’s mind as he planned his trip. He assembled maps of Belize and in-country transportation systems, weapons, and disguises. Wade thought it best to keep his schedule flexible until he discovered Mashburn’s location. There were lots of moving parts and unknowns about Mashburn and his reasons for being in Belize. Yari’s monitored calls were Wade’s only source for more information about Mashburn.
The payphone near Wade’s apartment was convenient and more secure than the phone in his apartment. He dialed Yari’s secure number.
Without preamble Wade asked, “Any new developments?”
“Condor has Mashburn taking trains and public buses to the airport in Spain for his extraction. They talked about changing passports. Apparently Mashburn is using the name Ramos on his current passport, and for some reason I don’t get, there seems to be some concern about getting out of Spain.”
“What kind of concern?”
“Condor told Mashburn that once they got the passport issue straightened out, he wanted to break off all communication with him until he arrived in Panama. Condor suspects their communications are being monitored.”
“Well, aren’t you monitoring them?”
“Yes, I am, but he’s not referring to my monitoring— there’s someone else. He seems to be worried about the Spanish government.”
“Could he be worried about CIA monitoring?”
“No, I don’t think so. I have a handle on that situation.”
Wade wondered if Mashburn was in Spain hiding from U.S. investigators or if he was on another mission. What plans did CID or the CIA have for him in Belize? Wade wondered if he had any intention of slipping back into the U.S., because of its relative proximity to Belize.
“Does Mashburn have any family in the U.S.?”
“I’ll have to check records, but he’s not trying to make any calls to the U.S.”
There was a pause before Yari continued. “I’ve been thinking. Are you going on this mission alone?”
Wade had the thought that Yari might want to join him. “That’s what I’m thinking about. Why do you ask?”
“Well, it turns out that our old friend Max from Fort Benning might be available. He was wounded in the leg in Vietnam and is finishing a couple of months of rehab before he ships back.”
Wade briefly thought about Yari’s suggestion, but he wasn’t keen on the idea, because he didn’t know what he would find in Belize. “Let me think about it. Where’s Max living these days?”
“He’s living in Texas.”
“Interesting.”
“He says he’d really like to finish the job you guys started at Fort Benning.”
Wade thought more about the idea before responding. “First I’ll have to see how everything works out in Belize.”
“I understand, but you might have more to contend with in Belize than just Mashburn. The calls keep referring to other guys that are part of this group.”
“I know. Get busy and try to find out more about those other guys.”
“I’m working on it.”