“That’s not all it was about, Hawkins. This was about national security.”
Hawkins’ cutting laugh brought a frown to Fletcher’s jowly face.
“So those tuxedoed fat cats are just patriots taking up arms to defend their bank accounts?” Hawkins said.
“They are wealthy mining officials, but in their own way they are foot-soldiers in a worldwide struggle in which our country is engaged.”
“Do tell.”
“I understand your skepticism. What do you think would happen if the Chinese gained monopolistic control of the rare minerals like lithium? We and China both devour natural resources to fuel our economies, which support our military. Being denied access to those resources would fatally weaken us as an economic and military power.”
“So by plundering Afghanistan, you and your rich pals defend the U.S.”
“You seem troubled because someone will make money off this arrangement.”
“From the look of this mansion and the quality of your liquor cabinet, you, apparently, are not troubled in the least.”
“People have always gained wealth by conflict or the threat of conflict. We need symbiotic relationships with those who provide us with the means to be secure.”
“Relationships like you have with Arrowhead?’
“Quite correct.” He eyed Hawkins like a poker player. “How did you know?”
“You left latent fingerprints all over the place. It was only a question of lifting the partials and assembling them into a full set. Real CSI stuff.”
“Impressive. What else do you know?”
“Bits and pieces. Maybe you’d like to fill me in on the whole story.”
“You’ve played cozy with me, lieutenant. Why should I tell you anything?’
Hawkins shrugged. “It’s the only way you’ll learn how a psychotic ex-SEAL has been able to give you nightmares.”
The two men locked stares. Hawkins was not surprised that Fletcher was the first to back off. The man was consumed by his self-importance and would want to tell Hawkins how smart he was.
“We had three main goals. Eliminate the Shadows as a threat. Torpedo Pakistan’s effort to ease Chinese exploitation of the lithium fields and beyond. Gain control of the mineral wealth for the U.S. We would accomplish the first goal by luring the Doctor, the Shadows’ head, and his friends out into the open. The treasure was a bonus because the Shadows would eliminate Amir, clearing the way for us to move into the vacuum thus created.”
“What was Arrowhead’s role in all this?”
“You have to go back to 9/11 to understand the whole picture. The nation was frightened and confused. No one knew if another attack was coming. The CIA was empowered to use unusual methods to find and interrogate suspects.”
“Torture.”
Fletcher dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand. “They couldn’t let their methods be known, so they hired contractors who were willing to dirty their hands.”
“The Arrowhead corporation provided those contractors.”
Fletcher nodded. “I had been an intel consultant for Arrowhead. I set up an enhanced interrogation team.”
“Archer?”
“Archer. When news of the CIA interrogation methods went public, we were officially disbanded, although in reality our talents were used in Afghanistan in the intimidation program against the Taliban.”
“Intimidation? Another euphemism.”
“Assassination and torture, if you will. We were trying to persuade the Taliban to come to the bargaining table.” Even Fletcher had to smile at the irony of his statement.
“Tell me about Trask and McCormick.”
“Trask was head of our psychological unit. He oversaw how far a suspect could be pushed before breaking or dying. McCormick was in charge of delivering counter-punches.”
“What about Murphy?”
“He was a strong-arm man. An enforcer, if you will. He relayed your message about a trade for Trask and McCormick, by the way. Murphy is prone to error and loose talk, which is why he is no longer with us.”
“Dead?”
“I prefer to say he is longer in our employ. He told you the truth about Honest Abe. He warned the warlord that you were coming. The ambush was entirely out of our control.”
“But the cover-up and the slime job against me were not.”
“Your investigation could have led to our unit. Trask suggested the psychiatric discharge. People had already started asking questions as a result of your probe, so we left Afghanistan. We came back together when rumors of a very nasty group, the Shadows, surfaced, but we were revamped a bit.”
“Murphy called it a think tank with muscle.”
“That’s right. We had almost carte blanche at a high level of authority. The government was making progress against Al Queda, but was worried about unaffiliated splinter groups less easily identified. The Shadows were particularly dangerous. Their fanaticism went beyond the whole caliphate nonsense. They had lost family in drone attacks and wanted pure revenge against the U.S. They were run by a leader who had ties to the Pakistani intelligence service. We wanted to wipe out the Shadows leadership. The challenge demanded new strategy. You know how difficult it was to hunt down and kill Bin Laden, but he was an outlaw. The people we wanted were part of the fabric of society.
“We had to draw the Doctor and his friends out. Our only leads were the contacts they had made trying to radicalize U.S. citizens. They had grown tired of seeing the FBI roll up amateur young radicals over stupid mistakes, so we decided to give them people who had military skills to organize attacks in the U.S.”
“That’s where the Marzak twins came in,” Hawkins said.
“That’s right. The Marzaks had been on the fringes of Arrowhead, taking jobs no one else had the stomach for. They made it known to the Shadows that their skills were for hire. The Shadows wanted proof, so the twins performed an assassination on one of their enemies as a demonstration.”
“A marketing demo?”
“A good description. It worked, and the Shadows formed a connection with the Marzaks as we planned. But they were skittish. We were going round and round. The Marzaks attempted to lure them with a ruse called the Prophet’s Necklace, but they were still suspicious. It seemed the whole thing would fall apart. We needed to think outside the box.”
“Dr. Everson provided you with a path when her research uncovered the location of the Prester John treasure.”
“Correct. We knew they would be intrigued by the symbolic value of the treasure and the emerald scepter in particular.”
“Where did Saleem figure in this?”
“A useful fool. The ISI had sent him to the U.S. as a spy. Professor Saleem related the odd little story he had heard from his colleague to his cousin at ISI, who in turn told his contacts in the Shadows. The emerald scepter was like a piece of the True Cross, something mystical and powerful they could use to recruit new followers. The treasure would buy weapons and foot-soldiers.”
“But Dr. Everson messed up their plans when she told the State Department as well.”
“State was aware of the significance of the treasure’s location near a huge lithium deposit originally surveyed by the Soviets. The State Department passed the treasure information to the CIA. Eventually it made its way to Archer.”
“Saleem said he regretted telling his cousin about the treasure.”
“He became irrelevant after that point. The Shadows told the Marzaks to kidnap Dr. Everson so she could help find the treasure and then kill her to prevent her from talking to others. That was fine by us. We had visions of using her to lure their leaders someplace to view the treasure, and—”
He snapped his fingers.