Locked Away

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Six people sat in the CIA conference room in Washington, D.C. The afternoon sun glared through the windows and one could see the Washington Monument looming high over the buildings across Pennsylvania Avenue.

“This is not an easy assignment, as I’m sure you know,” Craig was saying. “When we got the communiqué from President Ascensio, quite truthfully we were very shocked. He personally requested each of you by name. I must say, the man has done his homework. You three are the best at what you do.”

“He requested us by name?” Cam interrupted. If that were true, there went any undercover work she’d ever thought to do again.

“Well…” Craig grinned. “He asked for Michael and Alicia, yes. Then he asked for ‘that woman in your State Department who negotiates such strong treaties. And the one your DEA calls ‘Chameleon.’ He was quite shocked when I told him those two women were one and the same!”

Cam closed her eyes and smiled at the name she’d had for her undercover assignments. Chameleon. How many times had she changed her identity, her appearance? How many years had she had that dual personality? Cam looked at Michael, then past her to Alicia Clayton whom she’d met at several lectures and conferences during the past ten years.

Alicia was an agriculturist who’d worked in many third-world countries to help with environmental issues. Alicia had quite a list of publications under her belt on change within given types of farming lands. She had a master’s degree from Texas A&M and was a first lieutenant in the air force. As a young woman, she had accomplished quite a lot in her short career. It was widely assumed that she’d earn her doctorate in just a few years.

Cam looked at her. In direct opposition to Michael’s height and her long blonde hair, Alicia was barely five-foot three and had a short dark cut, much like Cam’s.

Craig’s voice shook her out of her reverie. “There are maps in your portfolios,” he was saying. “I would suggest that you memorize as much as you can about the terrain. As you can see, Malaguay nestles between the Andes Mountains. It has no deep-water port and is entirely landlocked. There are only two cities of any population but villages are scattered all over the mountains. The one river that runs through the capital eventually empties into the Rio Solimoes in Brazil and then becomes a part of the sss.

“One of the problems we have is that all of this research must be done undercover. President Ascensio does not want it made known that he’s doing this project until it is fully ready to be put in place.”

“He’s very afraid that the drug cartels will try to stop it before it has a chance to start,” Wendell added. Wendell Adreopolous was Craig’s deputy director.

“And with good reason. We need to go in, do our study, and be ready to put it in place. It’s a lot of work for the three of you, but I hope this will lead not only to better relations between North and South America but also serve as a model to show other countries that drug trade can be stopped.” Craig looked at each of them. “He will expand this team once the three of you have made your evaluations.

“One thing I really like about his ideas,” he continued, “is that he’s including the women in his government. That’s why he asked for each of you. And personally, I think he asked for the best there is, regardless of gender.

“On this assignment, you’ll be working for me, personally. Michael has been graciously reassigned to this office for the duration of the project. Your liaison, as usual, will be Dr. Thomason,” he said as he nodded to the elegant looking woman sitting to his left. Dr. Margaret Thomason, usually known to her friends as Dr. Maggie, had been the control point for many assignments over the past fifteen years. All three agents knew her very well. She knew them, too, having participated in either their training or their evaluation. She was a psychiatrist with her own practice in Baltimore.

“We don’t know what to expect from him,” Maggie said, a warm smile on her face, her salt and pepper hair and makeup perfect as usual. “But we want to give him the benefit of the doubt. When he specifically asked for the three of you, we were quite surprised. Not that you can’t do the job, because we know you can, but because Malaguay has not been known to hold women in high esteem. This is not Argentina or Venezuela. There isn’t a woman waiting in the wings who can become the next president. It’s a small, mountainous country where women have been known to disappear, usually to be held as slave labor for the drug trade or simply murdered and left in a ditch if they make too much noise.”

She looked each of them in the eye. Dr. Maggie always got to the point right away.

“I’m assigning Cameron as team leader for this mission. Anything that needs our government’s approval, and that includes Canadian, should go through her. I hope neither of you have objections.”

Michael looked at Cam and smiled proudly. Alicia merely shook her head.

Then Alicia sat forward. “How much license should we take with this project? I mean…What time frame are we talking about?”

“I have no idea,” Craig admitted. “You might have to wait until you meet with him to discuss it.”

“We also don’t know what the circumstances are,” Maggie continued. “You’ll have to be very careful not to step on the wrong toes. I think you all are well aware of that. Just trust your instincts and each other. Cam can always make a phone call to me or Craig, if it’s urgent. We’ll be in contact every other day. Cameron has a good head for things like that.”

“We’re not sure just what to expect down there,” Craig took over. “As far as anyone will be told, you’re there on a purely diplomatic mission. Visiting North American women, observing the schools and culture. As far as I know, no one has been told about Ascensio’s plans. So you’ll have to be somewhat surreptitious in your activities. Discuss your findings only with Ascensio himself unless he introduces you to someone he feels is trustworthy.

“You’ll probably have to go on fact-finding trips into the mountain villages,” he continued, “so we will be keeping you under constant satellite surveillance. We have agents there already and you’ll be given all the codes and contacts. There is a list of them in your folder but memorize them and leave the list here before you go. Do not take them with you. Now, are there any other questions?”

The three agents looked at each other, and then shook their heads.

“Good!” Craig smiled, slapping his hands on the table. “Wendell has some technology to explain to you two,” he said to Alicia and Michael. “While you are doing that, I need to talk with Cam and Maggie.”

“We can go up to my office,” Wendell said as he stood up. “There are a couple of new things that I want you to wear.” They rose, then he quickly ushered Alicia and Michael out of the room.

“Well, sweetie, how have you been?” were Maggie’s first words when the three had left.

“I’m fine, Maggie,” Cam said, giving her a hug. “When are you going to come up and spend some time on the lake with us?”

“When Mr. Government gives me some time off,” Maggie said as she smiled, gesturing at Craig.

“I thought we were going to retire?” Cam said with a sardonic lift of her eyebrow.

“I thought so, too.” Cam and Maggie had both threatened to quit the agency from time to time over the past decade and a half after something or other had pushed them to their limits. Finally, both had sworn that this assignment would be the last.

They both turned and looked at Craig.

“Hey,” he said, putting his hands out flat in front of him. “This wasn’t my idea. I’m just glad that Ascensio had the brains to pick good people.” He shook his head, his face changing to a darker frown. “This job won’t be easy, Cam. Ascensio is a very popular man among the people there but he’ll gain a lot of enemies with this program. You’ll need to be extremely careful. I know that you and Michael work well together but Alicia is still young. She’s only been on two other assignments for me. Her education and training are topnotch and her record is great. She’s even being considered for the post of director of the new National Environmental Center, but she’s still a rookie. You and she will probably have to go into the mountains for your information. Just keep an eye on her.”

“The way Maggie kept an eye on me when I was that age?” Cam smiled. Alicia had just turned thirty.

Craig shook his head. “Yes, I’ve never put together another team like you two. You are the best. I don’t think Richard Deems will ever get past that.”

All three laughed at the memory of how Cam’s boss at the DEA reacted when he agreed to have Cam and Maggie pose as lovers so that Maggie had a reason to visit Cam in prison as often as possible while Cam was there undercover as a convicted felon. He was, by his own words, a ‘by-the-book-government-man’ which had meant ‘no homosexuals in government positions’. His views had changed through the years as had those of many in the country. A lot of things had changed.

“I’m sorry to have to ask you to do this, Cam. But he specifically requested you. See? If you hadn’t been so good at what you do, you wouldn’t have become so much in demand.” Craig sat back in his chair.

“As long as this is the last, Craig. There’ll come a day when I’ll be too old for this. You may have to put me behind a desk.”

“You’ll never be too old, darling,” Maggie answered, reaching out to place a hand on Cam’s. “But if you keep getting hurt, some of your parts may stop working.”

Cam shook her head. Was everyone concerned for her safety? Yes, she’d been shot several times, stabbed, beaten, poisoned, almost drowned and nearly blown up, all in the line of duty, but she’d survived all that. “My parts are on a lifetime warranty. I haven’t lost any yet and I don’t intend to. All of you need to stop worrying so much about me. I’m a big girl now. I passed that awkward adolescent stage…oh…at least four years ago.” Her wry smile made both Craig and Maggie chuckle and shake their heads.

“Why do I feel like I’m sending Charlie’s Angels into Jurassic Park?” Craig wondered to no one in particular. “There is something I need to discuss with you and it’s something that you’ll need to keep to yourself. Can you do that, even with Michael along?” Craig’s eyes searched her face.

“Of course, Craig,” Cam assured him. “Have I ever let anything slip?” It was rhetorical. The reason Craig had hired her fourteen or fifteen years ago was because she could keep a secret, especially when lives depended upon it. “What’s up?”

“There are drug problems in the country, of course. Part of this country borders on Colombia; they share quite a few topographies. He’s identified a lot of the drug routes and stopped some of the manufacturing but he needs someone with a clear eye to tell him what’s really happening. Our sources seem to think it’s someone in his own government that’s sabotaging the work he’s doing to stop shipments. I’ve only gotten short messages because he’s afraid to talk to anyone because he doesn’t know who’s responsible for all the cocaine production.” Craig took a deep breath. “The major figures in the cartel have been arrested or killed, but there’s still quite a bit of stuff coming out of there.”

“He really wants to stop the drug trade?” Cam was amazed. “Most government officials look the other way when there’s that much money flowing around.”

Craig nodded. “He’s quite adamant about getting the stuff cleaned up. He seems to be a very honest politician—something, I don’t have to tell you, that is a rarity these days. Just stay close to him and watch for any attempts at sabotage. Make yourself sort of a body guard.”

Cam looked at Maggie, then back to Craig.

“What are my parameters here?” she asked, not quite knowing where this would lead.

“You’ll have to take your cues from him,” Craig answered. “I’m not sure what he wants, Cam. Be on guard. Something’s happening that doesn’t seem right to him.”

Cam nodded, thoughtfully.

“Just be your usual self,” Maggie added. The smile on her face told Cam that she wasn’t worried about Cam’s capability. “Wasn’t there one of Charlie’s rules that dealt with this type of situation?”

Cam chuckled. Charlie Harris had been her trainer when she first started to work for the CIA/DEA and his eight rules had saved her life more times than she could ever calculate. “Charlie’s rules take care of every situation, but rule number two, stay alert; and number five, keep your ears open; seem to fit best for this.”

“You still remember which rule is which?” Maggie was astounded.

“Of course!” Cam answered. “You were there. You saw him drill them into my head. How could I ever forget them?”

Maggie smiled and nodded. “There was an additional one that you never remember.” She glanced at Cam out of the corner of her eye.

“Which is?” Cam asked.

“Rule number nine: be careful!”