“I also know the general location of the house he’s renting in Belize, although I don’t have an actual address yet.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s an area called Belama, in Belize City not far from the highway to the airport.”
“Good job. Anything more on when the other operatives arrive?”
“Apparently they’re not arriving for another two weeks — just before the war games start. But I can’t figure out why Mashburn would stay in a house instead of a hotel.”
“A house would be more isolated and attract less attention than a busy hotel.”
Wade’s mind was racing, interpreting Yari’s new information. He could see timing was getting tight. Yari continued speculating about war game events when Wade cut him off.
“I only have a narrow window of opportunity, so I have to leave now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I need time to interrogate Mashburn before the other operatives arrive.”
“Is there any chance that there’s another operation tied to the war games? Isn’t that why they’re meeting?”
“Probably, but I can’t deal with both issues right now. Once the other operatives arrive, they’ll have resources in place that I don’t have.”
“What about using Max?”
“It doesn’t make sense right now. I’ll deal with whatever comes up after that, once I’m down there. Just tell Max to stand by. I’ll call if I need him.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Keep monitoring. I want to know everything I can find out about their operation and when the other operatives will arrive. Try to get the names of dignitaries who will be in Belize during the games. Belize has payphones. I’ll keep in touch. But there’s no time to lose. I’ve got to hit the road ASAP.”
“I’ve got your back, partner.”
In fifteen minutes, Wade was packed and ready to go. He called his friend Chris at Fort Rucker and confirmed passage on the 2:00 p.m. flight to Ellington in Houston.
He made two more calls in rapid succession: the first was to his cousin Frank in Texas to let him know he was coming, and the second to Megan.
“Megan Winslow.”
“Hi, it’s me.”
“It’s not like you to call in the middle of the day like this. What’s up?”
“You’re not going to believe this, but that fishing trip I mentioned just came together for me. I’ve been invited down to the Texas coast, and I’ll leave as soon as I can get out of here. The guys wouldn’t tell me in advance, but it looks like it’s a surprise graduation gift. I just wanted to let you know, because they don’t have phones on fishing boats, so I’ll be out of touch for a while.”
“That’s great. How long will you be gone?”
“About a week.”
“I’ll miss hearing your voice, so call when you can, okay?”
“I will. I’m just not sure what day I’ll be back on solid ground.”
“I understand. Just let me know you’re safe when you get a chance.”
“I’ll be safe. Remember, it’s only a fishing trip.”
Wade couldn’t shake deep feelings of regret that he couldn’t be up front with Megan about the trip. But he couldn’t risk revealing things that could put her in danger, especially if she was merely a pawn in a dangerous political chess game.
The air transport flight from Fort Rucker rolled to a stop on the tarmac at Ellington. Wade checked in with the flight sergeant on duty and confirmed the next day’s flight to Belize. Passing through the hanger on his way to the exit door, Wade saw the smiling face of his cousin, Frank, who grinned and waved, clearly overjoyed to be reunited.
On the way to the car, they joked about childhood escapades and parties on the bayou, rodeo rides, and country music. Frank reminded Wade of a relative who was still trying to make it big on the country music charts. Frank’s enthusiasm eased Wade’s tension about his upcoming mission.
“I’m taking you to Ciprio’s Steak House tonight. The food there is fantastic.”
Wade’s smile mirrored his cousin’s.
“I can’t wait.”
“Are you going to need the car to go see your father?”
“I’ll see him on my way back. I leave for the tropics tomorrow morning.”
“I know you can’t say much about your destination, but…” By the look on Wade’s face, he knew better than to ask for details.
After a long pause, Wade changed the subject, “So what dish do you recommend that I try?”
“Have the steak with lump crab meat. It’s awesome.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Chapter 16
The flight to Belize was delayed an hour on the Ellington tarmac while they repaired a cargo door malfunction. Wade waited in the pilot’s lounge, chatting with the copilot. He’d already learned that the soft-spoken man was a Belize native and had recently inherited the house he grew up in, after his parents passed. Wade turned the discussion to the upcoming war games off the coast of Belize.
“How long have you been flying to Belize?”
“Ever since I started flying, in my late teens.”
“I understand the war games are a big deal down there.”
“You could say that. Our command supports both land and sea operations. We’ll be sending fixed wing and chopper flights down with supplies and equipment throughout the exercise.”
“Is everything being staged out of the airport in Belize?”
“Yeah, the commercial airport is shared with the U.K. fighter squadron. We train with their guys on a regular basis.”
“Will you be transporting any big wigs down to Belize?”
“I haven’t heard. Most of the U.S. top dogs are Navy brass who’ll be at sea on flag ships. I heard from the U.K. pilots that British dignitaries are coming in for press conferences and ceremonies.”
Pleased to have the additional information, Wade kept asking questions because the man was so congenial.
“I guess even though Belize wants their independence, they still need the British Air Force to protect them.”
“Yeah. Every so often Guatemala or one of the other countries starts marshaling forces along the jungle border and gets everyone worked up. The U.K. boys have a number of those Hawker Harrier aircraft in their squadron that require hidden landing cutouts in the jungle. When the unfriendlies start making noise, the U.K. pilots pop up out of those jungle cutouts and run tree-top passes with full afterburners. It breaks up ground maneuvers pretty fast. After a few sonic booms, everyone goes back to playing nice again.”
“Do you spend much time in Belize other than your regular flights?”
“I go back down three or four times each year to spend time with relatives. I haven’t spent much time there in the last six months though. I’m too busy up here. How long will you be there?”
Wade wanted to dismiss any importance to his mission, so he quickly responded, “Oh, I’m on a fast turnaround. Just down to interview some people for the Agency.”
The sergeant finally alerted everyone in the lounge that the aircraft was ready to board. Sitting in the rear compartment of a C-130 was loud even with ear protectors on. It was impossible to have a conversation with any one of the other twelve men on the flight so passengers had to be content to look around the open expanse of the immense cargo bay. The only communication came when someone had to yell instructions to be heard over the cacophony of engine noise.
The flight was bumpy due to a tropical depression off the coast of Mexico. As they touched down at Belize International Airport, the British military presence was visible on both sides of the runway. After disembarking, a flight sergeant pointed Wade to the car rental agency where the rental agent gave him a map of the city and keys to a mid-size car.