Gator
Tuesday, The Dodoma Rock Hotel, Dodoma Tanzania
“Gentlemen,” General Elliot said once the three Strike Force operatives were alone in the room. “We’ve signed a joint contract to provide CIA and the Department of the Treasury Office of Intelligence and Analysis operatives our support on an upcoming mission. You will be given the details of the operation that you need at each progression.”
“Yes, sir.” Strike Force Commander Striker Rheas answered for their team, though he’d be flying home with the rest of their men.
“The first stage is going to require some acting skills and seat-of-the-pants thinking. Our clients have identified a businessman, William Davidson, as a person of interest. We need to get you on his security team.”
“He’s travelling without security?” Striker asked.
“He has a five-man team with him. A chauffeur, and a man who watches his back. The other three cover his wife and three of his grown children, all males. To expand that team with two more operatives, the CIA is contriving to get the daughter and two of her friends to pay an unexpected visit to dear old dad. Our clients believe that given the time it takes to fly someone in from the US, if our target can find help readily at hand, he might take the bait and hire our guys on.”
Blaze posted his forearms on his thighs and leaned in.
“How do we finagle this?” Gator asked.
“William Davidson, has to discover you. It has to be his idea.” The general said. “Imagine that you’re out and about. Suddenly, you find yourself in a situation where you’re separated from your security but two Americans, who happen to have close protection credentials, jump in and save the day.”
“Impressive,” Striker said.
The general’s face shifted ever so slightly to show the shadow of a smile. “We hope so. Right now, it’s our best opportunity. If this doesn’t work out then the operation will become a shadow detail and that becomes problematic, quick. The CIA operations officers will stage when an opportunity presents itself. There will be no comms between you two. Nutsbe with Panther Force will be your support while Deep Del Toro is on R&R. You have Nutsbe’s direct number.” He waited for a “yes, sir” from Blaze and Gator. “You know the security protocols, you can contact Nutsbe for mundane information with a simple phone call. Anything to do with sensitive materials will need to go through encrypted channels. We know for a fact that FVEY has ears on Davidson. While the members of Five Eyes are our allies, we don’t need them to be looking over our shoulder on this one.”
“Yes, sir,” the men said.
“This first stage will take place in Dar es Salaam on the Tanzanian coast. We have you scheduled to fly there this evening and get your bearings. Tomorrow, according to our intel, the wife and three sons will be going to Zanzibar for the day. If the family follows the protocol that’s been in place up until now, that will leave Davidson with his chauffeur/body guard and his close protection operative. My guess is that this is going to go down tomorrow. The family is scheduled to move to their next destination in two days’ time, so the window to get you onto their team is a small one. Don’t miss it. You won’t know the other operatives, but they’ll know you. You’re going to have to do surveillance and when you see things cooking, you need to go in and pull the pot off the stove, do your citizen-hero act.”
“Yes, sir,” Gator and Blaze said.
“Remember, you’re fighting CIA operations officers. You don’t break our client. Play nice. It’s an acting job. Handguns are illegal in Tanzania, I doubt they’ll flash one around. That doesn’t mean if they do, you let them put their sights on you and pull the trigger, so you can block the bullets with your Wonder Woman cuffs. Just last month some retired librarian was helping the cops in a shoot/don’t shoot training scenario, and the cop double tapped her in the chest only to find out he had live ammo. She’s dead. I don’t need to remind you, we never play around with bullets even in training.”
The general paused, and the men filled in the space with a “Yes, sir.”
“You are to behave as if everything is the real deal. Duck the punches. Soft taps instead of takedown slugs. Get them on the ground and tied up or get the executive bundled out the back. I don’t know how to advise you. But everyone should be able to brush off the dust and go home without injuries at the end of the day. Clear?”
“Yes, sir.” Blaze replied.
“Just follow along, wait for something to go down, run in, and play hero.” Gator said. “Then we wait for the job offer. Do we give them a card? Do we negotiate a contract?”
“Give them a card. Announce that you’re Iniquus operatives. We’ve booked you into rooms in Davidson’s hotel, where he’s meeting with the Tanzanian Department of Energy. You can tell them you put your principal on a plane to Europe, and your assignment is over. You’re taking a week of R&R before returning to the States. Let them know what hotel you’re in. I’m sure they’ll be knocking at your door. If all works according to plan, they can sign a close protection contract with us here at Headquarters. We’ll just email it over to them to sign and hand back to you. The call from his daughter Christen won’t come in until after the staged event.”
Blaze shot Gator a grin.
“Once you’re in place, you’ll get your next step. As always, good luck. Make Iniquus proud.” The monitor went dark.
Blaze slapped a hand across Gator’s chest. “Fighting in public on foreign soil. This should be well-received by the locals.”
“I’m sure if law enforcement gets involved, CIA will pull you out of whatever jail they stick you in. Don’t fight the cops.” Striker said.
“You serious, Striker?” Gator raised a brow. “The CIA will come to our rescue? That don’t sound plausible.”