“Who is?”
Geoffrey shrugged. “Langley and the FBI.”
“Why the FBI?”
The station chief’s smile was back on his face. “To answer that would be imprudent. Make your own deductions.”
Will said, “Rubner was feeding you details about Mossad operations on U.S. soil. The feds were the prime customer because they were the ones authorized to shut down the operations.”
“Maybe.” Geoffrey looked at Patrick and said quietly, “I’m afraid you’ve made a wasted trip. You can’t expect me to give you information that the director himself has refused to divulge to you.”
Will repeated, “Gerlache, Francois Gilliams?”
Geoffrey sighed. “I don’t know the identity of Rubner’s case officer. It’s quite possible he’s been using a French or Belgian front to meet Rubner, but on that point I know as much as you do.”
Patrick turned toward Will. “Geoffrey’s right to say nothing.”
Geoffrey frowned as he switched his attention to Will. “You’d have known that, young man. So, why drag someone as senior as Patrick halfway around the world to hear that I’m not going to breach security, lose my job, and possibly end up with a prison sentence?”
Will spoke quickly and in a hushed tone. “I needed Patrick to set this meeting up without others knowing.” He looked around. “I had to talk to you without fear that we were being watched or overheard.”
“Makes no difference to the result.” The station head began tapping his fingers again. After a few seconds he asked, “Why do you think there’s something wrong with the Rubner intelligence?”
Will ignored the question. “Does Rubner’s work for the CIA benefit you?”
Geoffrey seemed surprised, then smiled. “Good question.” He thought for a moment. “Not really. In fact, it’s been a bit of a pain in the ass.”
Will could understand why. If Rubner was selling out Mossad operations on U.S. soil, this would place the CIA Head of Tel Aviv Station in a delicate situation given that part of his work involved liaising with Mossad, Shin Bet, and other Israeli intelligence agencies on issues of mutual concern. He asked, “Were you involved in the targeting and recruitment of Rubner?”
Geoffrey shook his head. “Nope, beyond telling Langley that Simon Rubner was a Mossad officer. I’ve no idea how they got him after that.”
“So, you have no personal vested interest in the Rubner case?”
Geoffrey beamed. “I’m not going to blab to you just because my career might not benefit from Rubner.”
“Of course.” Will leaned forward, clasping his big hands, his expression now cold. “But before I answer your question about what’s wrong with Rubner, I need to know if you’re in cahoots with the bastards who leaked my identity and home address to cover up an act that, if they knew about it, would have the president and every senator wishing to string them up by their throats.”
Patrick turned sharply toward him. “What!”
Geoffrey’s eyes narrowed. “I think you have some explaining to do, young man.”
“Like you, I’ll explain what I damn well like.”
“Sure.” The station head looked unsettled, glanced at Patrick, then back at Will. “We’re not your enemies.”
“I hope you’re not. Because I’m giving you due warning that I’m going to find out who betrayed me, and I’m going to drag them over the body of the director and dump their fucking asses at the feet of the president. And if the director’s involved as well, I’ll squeeze his balls until he screams. Nobody’s going to keep their mouth shut.”
“You’d tear apart the CIA because someone pissed you off?”
“No! But I’ll do it to find the scum who’ve put several innocent men, women, and children’s lives at severe risk.” Will leaned back. “The people who’re keeping their mouths shut are going to suffer, and they’ll do so with complete presidential and judicial backing once the truth comes out. You might not be involved, but I’m telling you now that it’s not in your interest to ally yourself in any way to these people.”
A bead of sweat ran down Geoffrey’s face. Facing Patrick, he said, “I’m not involved in the Rubner case. Nobody in my station is. We get the intel, but other than that we’re out of the loop.”
Patrick responded in a stern voice. “But you know what the intel is. That might help us.”
Geoffrey looked confused. “If I make the wrong call, I’m screwed.”
Will pointed at him. “If you make no call, I guarantee you those innocent people will die.”
The station chief kept his eyes on Will’s boss. “There is no ‘off the record’ at our level. If I tell you anything without clearance to do so, you’ve got to assure me that you have my back.”
Patrick pulled out a pen and notepad, wrote for a few seconds, then tore off a sheet and handed it to Geoffrey. “That’s my handwriting, my signature, today’s date, and confirmation that I’ve given you authority to speak openly about the Rubner case with impunity.”
The station head looked at the note. “You still have that level of power, Patrick?”
“If I don’t, then it’s my neck on the line, not yours.”
Geoffrey breathed deeply. “What’s wrong with Rubner?”
Will answered, “I think that Rubner’s CIA case officer gave him the name of a low-level SVR officer who also happened to be a CIA asset. One of our own was sold out. That agent is now either dead, or on the brink of death. I’m trying to find him. And I think the case officer’s trying to stop me before I uncover the truth.”
The station head seemed to be composing himself, though his mind was racing, “Do you know when the SVR officer’s identity was supplied to Rubner?”
“I can’t be specific.” Will recalled the contents of the Gerlache letter. “But it could be approximately one month ago.”
“Interesting.”
“Why?”
Geoffrey lowered his head and muttered to himself, “Jeez, this is some call.” He looked up. “Rubner’s intel dried up one month ago.”
Will said, “That doesn’t surprise me.”
Geoffrey frowned.
Will elaborated. “I think Rubner vanished soon after he got the SVR officer’s name.”
Lenka Yevtushenko.
“Where to?”
“To the organization he’s working with.”
“It was Mossad all along?”
Will shrugged. “I can’t answer that until you speak openly. What was Rubner’s intelligence?”
The station head ran a hand over his face. “The identity of Mossad agents operating on U.S. soil. It’s been gold dust and has enabled us to round them up and put them in prison.”
Will laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
Patrick added, “Yeah, I’d like to know the answer to that as well.”
Will’s expression changed. He felt that things were starting to make sense. “When did you supply confirmation that Rubner was a Mossad officer?”
Geoffrey answered, “Approximately six months ago. He must have been recruited within days of us supplying that information, because that’s when we got the first stream of intelligence.”
“How did you know he was an Israeli operative?”
“Because seven years ago he’d been posted to Brussels; the slot he took is a known Mossad cover. Plus his name was attached to a joint operation we did with the Israelis four years ago. He was billed as a political liaison officer, but we could smell he was an operative.” He sighed. “The U.S. wasn’t the only customer for Rubner intel. We shared it with the Brits as well. And they had independent confirmation of Rubner’s Mossad credentials.”
“He was selling out U.K.-based Israeli agents?”
“Correct. Via MI6, Rubner’s intelligence reports were supplied to MI5.”
Will shook his head. “What a cock-up.”
The two senior CIA officers stared at him, expectant.
Will rubbed his eyes. “You need to call your counterpart in Mossad and tell him that Simon Rubner is a CIA asset.”
“No way.”
“Yeah, no way.” Patrick placed a hand on Will’s forearm and gripped it tight. “No fucking way!”