Sacrifice, page 24
part #18 of Rogue Angel Series
Vic read the transcript and frowned.
“What is it?” Annja asked.
“The Chinese ambassador has left Manila.”
“Is that unusual?”
Vic shrugged. Ordinarily, maybe not. But given what’s coming, it looks a little suspicious.”
“You think the Chinese are involved in this?”
“I don’t know.”
Annja frowned. “What would they have to gain from nuking Manila? That doesn’t make any sense. They’d be outcasts at the United Nations, and the whole world would ostracize them.”
Vic shrugged. “Ours is not to reason why. Ours is simply to figure out and stop things from taking place.”
“I guess,” she said.
“Come on.”
Annja stood and followed him. “Where are we going?”
“The communications room.” Vic led her back to the bubble and into the mass of confusion that seemed to envelop the entire room.
A full team of people still worked and every one of them looked as exhausted as Vic. He headed over to one desk run by a young sergeant who looked to be only twenty years old.
“You heading up the cell-traffic surveillance?” Vic asked.
He nodded. “As much as we can pluck out of the air given what we have for interception equipment.”
“Is it good stuff?”
“Fair, I guess. It’s not latest NSA generation, but it handles the workload pretty well.”
“Can you pinpoint cell-phone traffic originating in the Chinese embassy for the last twelve hours?”
“That could be a lot of phone calls.’
“Yes, it could be,” Vic said.
The sergeant typed away on his keyboard. After a minute of typing in search parameters, he leaned back. “Looks like there were twenty calls placed within that time frame.”
“That’s it?” Annja asked.
The sergeant grinned. “The Chinese are a little paranoid about people using cell phones inside their embassy. Some folks don’t care and do it anyway. Mostly, they’re the higher-ups who think they’re untouchable. That works out pretty well for us since the intel is top-shelf stuff if they get lazy.”
Vic studied the screen of the times and durations of the phone calls. “What about destinations? Can you narrow down those calls that were made to phones here in Manila?”
“Sure.” The sergeant typed a few more keys and then waited for the results to scroll across the screen.
Vic pointed. “There. What’s that one?”
The sergeant highlighted it and a new screen came up. “The call originated in the office of the secretary for domestic exports.” He grinned. “That’s one of our favorites. We think he’s actually with the intelligence bureau out of Beijing, here running Chinese assets throughout Southeast Asia.”
“Where did the call go to?”
“Hang on, I can get a grid reference.” He typed a few keys and a map of Manila showed up on his screen. “There. Somewhere in this area. The best I can pinpoint it is to about a hundred yards square.”
Vic studied the screen. “What’s there? Anything of importance?”
“You’ve got the shopping mall, a Jolly Bee restaurant and the Imperial Hotel.”
“Hotel?” Vic asked.
“Uh-huh.”
Annja looked at Vic. “You think?”
He shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. What else do we have to run down?” He looked back at the sergeant. “I think we’re going to need your help for a few more minutes.”
39
As the sun crested the horizon and the new day began in Manila, Annja was driving down the already clogged streets with Vic next to her coordinating teams on the ground.
“I want a mobile perimeter established. But make sure he can’t see you. If he sees us coming, he’ll detonate. We can’t have that,” Vic said.
Between them in the foot well, Vic’s new sniper rifle lay wrapped in its carrying case. He hadn’t had time to test fire it yet, or zero it, as Vic called it. That meant he’d have to hope that if he needed to use it, the rifle would be reliable.
They knew it was a big gamble. The parts of the rifle could have shifted and might throw his shot off, making him miss completely.
Their driver, one of the State Department regional security officers, swerved to avoid a jeepney crowded with people on their way to work. Annja marveled at the elongated jeeps left over from World War II. The fact that so many of them were still in operation was testament to the ingenuity of the Filipinos who drove them.
Vic looked at her. “Got the latest information on cell-phone activity from that area in question. Looks like he made a call to another number we didn’t know about. We’re tracing it now.”
“He might already be moving,” Annja said.
Vic nodded. “We have to hope that if he is, we can find him.”
“And how would you do that?”
Vic grinned. “We might just call him.”
AGAMEMNON SETTLED BACK into his first-class cabin seat, looking out of the window at the Manila metropolis. He felt the inevitable pull of G forces on him as the jet raced down the tarmac and then lifted skyward.
He’d gotten out just in time.
The ticket in his pocket guaranteed that he would be welcomed back home in Beijing.
He smiled. Beijing. After all these years. He was finally going back to his true home.
He’d spent so many years undercover, and it had been so long since he’d looked at himself in the mirror, the time seemed forever lost.
Still, with the amount of money he’d been paid, he could go anywhere and do anything.
He would, too. Right after he got himself a brand-new face.
He flipped through the magazine from the pocket in front of him. There were several cover stories about high-profile celebrities.
Agamemnon smirked. Perhaps it might do him some good to have a truly handsome face this time. He would then have the luxury of concocting a brand-new life story for himself, just as he had for Agamemnon all those years ago.
Who would ever have suspected that the ferocious leader of Abu Sayyaf was in fact a deep-cover agent of the People’s Intelligence Bureau?
Agamemnon hadn’t been so sure the ruse would work when he’d been approached so long ago. He remembered the day he was called into the gray masonry building outside of Beijing and met by a gnarled old colonel who sat him down at a desk.
“We’ve got a mission for you, Comrade Cheng. It’s long and will be the toughest thing you’ve ever done in your life. But if you’re successful, we will see to it that you are rewarded beyond your wildest dreams.”
He hadn’t hesitated. “When do I begin?”
MIKI WOKE UP refreshed and determined.
After speaking with Agamemnon, he’d done as he’d been instructed and made his death video.
As he pulled on his pants and socks, Miki reflected on his life. I’m doing something far greater than anything I’ve ever done before, he thought. And what a blow this will be for the masses.
He glanced at the unmarked videotape sitting on the table. He smiled. He didn’t have much in the way of worldly possessions, but Agamemnon had promised him that his family would receive fifty thousand U.S. dollars for his sacrifice.
That was more than enough to see his younger sister through school.
And perhaps she’d have a better life than the one he’d had.
“My life is about to become a thing of amazement,” he said.
He walked to the closet and opened the door. In the back, the blue-and-white backpack rested against the wall. Miki bent down and hauled it out. He checked the detonator and made sure the time was set properly. He started the countdown and then checked his watch.
He had just over ninety minutes to get to his target area.
Miki took a deep breath and slid the backpack on.
He was ready to go.
“WHY THE PHILIPPINES?”
The old colonel had simply smiled. “The country represents an important alliance with the Americans. If that country is weakened from within and chaos ensues, we will be able to exert more influence in the Southeast Asia theater.”
“Because the Americans will be too busy helping the Philippines recover?”
The colonel smiled. “You see? We knew you would grasp the logic of the operation.”
“But why me?”
The colonel placed a file in front of him. Inside was every fact and detail of his life. “You’ve got no family. Nothing to hold you back, nothing to look forward to. You’re a loner in your unit—we’ll teach you how to be a leader. You could quite literally disappear tomorrow and no one would ever go looking for you.”
He smiled. “And that’s what I’m going to do, isn’t it? I’m going to vanish.”
“Right off the face of the planet,” the colonel said with a smile.
VIC LISTENED TO THE VOICE speaking to him and then glanced at Annja. “We got the trace on the building where the call was received.”
“Are we going there?” Annja asked.
Vic shook his head. “We’ve got a team nearby already. They can hit it faster than if we try to get there.”
Annja frowned. It was getting right down to the wire.
Vic plugged the phone into a special jack in the car’s back seat. Annja watched him work. “What are you doing?” she asked.
“Patching us in so we can listen when they take the building down.”
“They’re going in?”
Vic nodded. “Yep. In about two minutes.”
“SO I GET A NEW FACE, is that right?”
The colonel laughed. “Well, you can’t really pass for a Filipino unless you look the part, now, can you?”
“Yes, but will it be a good job?”
“The man you’re going to see is the best in the world at this type of thing. We have used him several times before.”
“Really?”
“Believe it or not,” the colonel said, “there are times when our best operatives have to disappear. If they’ve served us loyally for many years, we will gladly make sure they’re retired in honor. Many of them live abroad now, living out their last few years in luxury in some remote Third World country.”
“It’s amazing to me. That’s all.”
The colonel shrugged. “If it’s too much, you can always go back to being in the tank platoon. But I would hate to see such talent wasted on being in an armored cavalry division.”
“It’s not too much.”
“Good,” the colonel said. “Then let’s begin.”
INSIDE THE CAR, Annja listened to the crackling static on the phone as Vic patched them into the greater area network.
“Eagle One to Control.”
“Go ahead, Eagle One.”
“We’re at the staging area. Please advise.”
Vic looked at Annja. “They’re asking for the final authority to begin their approach to the target.”
Annja found her heart beating faster. She could visualize the men getting out of their vehicles, about to step into harm’s way.
“Control to Eagle One, you may commence your approach.”
“Copy that.”
Vic leaned closer to the speaker. Annja could tell he was listening keenly. Even the driver had stopped swearing at the locals as he drove through the streets. Somewhere across town, the special-operations team was about to hit the building where the nuclear device was.
Annja hoped they made it in time.
“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING,” the colonel said, “is simply your ability to lose yourself absolutely in the character you are going to portray.”
“How so?”
“You must become another man. There can never be a time when you think about who you used to be. Never again will you be Comrade Cheng.”
“Is it hard?”
“Is what hard?”
“Letting go.”
The colonel leaned across and patted him on the arm. “It has already begun. You don’t even realize it yet, but you are already starting to forget yourself. And when I introduce you to the man you eventually become, you will lose a little bit more of yourself. The process may even seem…magical.”
“EAGLE ONE TO CONTROL.”
“Control, go.”
“All units at final checkpoint. We have eyes on the building. No movement. Repeat, no movement.”
“Stand by, Eagle One.”
Vic looked at Annja. “This is it. Get ready.”
Annja leaned close to him.
The speaker crackled again. “Control to Eagle One.”
“Go ahead, Control.”
“You have the green light. Repeat, you are go for execution.”
“Copy that.”
There was a pause and then Annja heard another voice come over the speaker. “All units…Execute! Execute! Execute!”
Annja could hear what sounded like several explosions as the teams hit the building. She could almost picture them crashing through doors and windows, trying to get control of the building as quickly as possible.
She heard more shouting and bits of garbled talk on the radios, but nothing seemed clear. She closed her eyes and hoped to God they’d find the bomb.
“What’s taking so long?” she asked.
Vic held up his hand. “Give them a second.”
“Eagle One to Control.”
“Control, go.”
“Building secured. All units intact.”
“Eagle One, do you have the package?”
There was a pause. “That’s a negative, Control. We do not have the package, repeat, no package. This place is deserted.”
Annja slumped back against the seat.
The bomb was still out there.
40
“Get me a map of the area, leading from the target building to the center of Makati,” Vic said almost immediately after the team had failed to locate the courier and the bomb.
Annja spread out the map of metro Manila that they’d brought with them from the Embassy. Vic took it from her and traced his finger over the area the search team had just covered. From there, he drew a line leading right into the heart of the city.
“He’ll want the quickest route. He can’t take the chance that he’ll be found if he takes a more circuitous route. Every second he’s out there adds to the risk.”
“Will he drive?” Annja asked.
Vic shook his head. “Doubt it. A car stuck in traffic? Too much of a chance that he’ll get bogged down. No, they’ve got a schedule they want to keep. He’s got to be in Makati at the height of rush hour, when there will be maximum casualties.”
“So no car. That leaves him walking what—about two miles?”
“About that, yeah.”
Vic’s phone buzzed. He grabbed at it. “Yeah?”
He listened for another moment and then nodded. “Yeah, send it right over.” He hung up and looked at Annja. “The search team found a suicide video left behind by the courier. Calls himself Miki. That ring a bell with you?”
“Nope,” Annja said.
“Yeah, well, they’ve got a still coming in so we can get a look at this guy and see who we’re actually after.”
“That’s good, right?”
Vic nodded. “Very good. Now we have a definitive target.”
MIKI WALKED THE STREETS heading to the city center. The sun beat down on his head and shoulders. He hadn’t known that carrying the bomb would be so difficult. And the sun’s heat didn’t help. He already felt all sweaty. The bomb was heavier than he’d realized.
He knew appearances were important. He had to look as normal as possible. And hefting fifty pounds in his backpack wasn’t exactly the most normal thing he could be doing.
He stopped at a food cart and bought himself a bottle of water. He drank it down fast, looking around.
He felt scared.
What if they knew he was coming? What if they knew what he looked like?
Miki smiled. How could they possibly know that? His communications had been secure with Agamemnon. No one knew who he was. No, there should be no trouble making it to the target area.
Miki shifted the weight, tightened the straps and continued on his way.
ANNJA STARED at the picture on the screen on Vic’s phone. “He looks young.”
“They always are.”
“Always?”
Vic nodded. “Disillusioned with society, they’re natural recruits for extremist philosophies. It’s easy pickings for someone who knows how to do it the right way.”
“And you think Agamemnon chose him for this job exclusively?” Annja asked.
Vic frowned. “Knowing Agamemnon, he probably had a number of candidates picked out for it. But he lost some of his men in the jungle.”
“Thanks to you.”
Vic shrugged. “I don’t know if Luis was his choice for courier. Luis was known. Agamemnon would want someone we didn’t know about. A lower-level soldier who was impressionable and eager to make a name for himself.”
Annja leaned back. “So, how do we play it?”
“We find an interception point. And then we stop him.”
“Stop him?”
Vic looked at her. “Yes.”
MIKI HEADED EAST, tracing his way along the route he’d memorized earlier. It was the quickest path into the city. The only problem was it kept him outside in the brilliant sunlight.
Sweat soaked him. It almost felt as if he was back in the jungle. He smiled. Who would have thought that he would have this chance to do something this great for the cause?
Certainly not him. Maybe not Eduardo, either.
