Ecuador

Chapter 5

Chapter 5FROM HIS CHAIR, GENERAL Will Crystal contemplated his new oversized office inside the world’s most powerful spy agency. He wondered why he had agreed to be here; nevertheless, he had agreed, leaving him no choice but to follow the old military saying that he, Jim, and Brush often used, ‘Nothing for it but to do it.’

His intercom buzzed, breaking the silence. ‘They’re here.’ The door opened. The general’s inherited PA did not have to ask the general if she could enter. She had quickly learned that the new Director of Central Intelligence did not like to waste words. She remained quiet as Bertrand Gupta, the Director of Intelligence, and Eric Sands, the newly appointed Deputy CIA Director, entered Will Crystal’s office.

‘Morning, General,’ said Bertrand as he moved straight to one of two chairs across from his new boss’s desk, followed by Eric, who nodded. Bertrand felt at ease and content. The agency was in capable hands again. After the full story of the terrorist Najma’s Guantanamo escape and Sorenson’s cover-up had been exposed in the press, the White House had wasted no time in forcing the former politically appointed director, Senator Sorenson, to resign.

The deputy director had just returned from giving the morning briefing to the president. The general loathed giving the briefing and having decided that Eric Sands was the best choice to succeed his intended short tenure as DCI, passed this duty to his deputy. Sands also disliked the briefing task, but having General Crystal as their new director more than compensated for the extra duty. While it had never been mentioned, he knew the general’s intention was for him to eventually become the director. General Crystal’s true loyalty was not here. It would always be to a different Washington, 2,300 miles west-northwest from where they now sat.

‘Good morning, gentlemen. Let’s go over the high points,’ said the general. All three men had the same morning write-ups. They always met to discuss Eric’s presidential briefing after he gave it, not before. After they’d covered all the briefing points, General Crystal asked Eric if he had anything to add.

‘One request we are going to have to act on immediately. The VP asked us to research a disappearance in the sss,’ said Eric. ‘An old school chum of his, who as it happens is now the president of Ecuador, has just been informed that his daughter vanished from an ecolodge where she’d been working in the sss. We have several assets in northwest South America, especially in Colombia, but this happened in a remote area of the jungle in Ecuador. It is unlikely we will be able to gather much on-site information.’

‘If this is a priority, let’s bring the BWC in,’ said Will. Then he reiterated his position. One that everyone already knew. ‘I don’t think it is a good idea to start having my people at the BWC start to work with the CIA, even with me here. I want to keep them independent. So, let’s get the agency working on this, and I’ll ask BWC to see what they can find out on their own. Then, we’ll decide how to handle it.’

‘Is that a challenge?’ asked Eric.

The general thought about the young army hackers sitting at Fort Huachuca and the brilliant older academic IT experts, Misa and Vidya, that he had finally persuaded to move from Fort Huachuca to the BWC. He also knew something that Bertrand and Eric didn’t; Vidya had hacked into the CIA’s computers without the agency’s techs detecting them. I hope it stays that way. Then, a thought struck like a thunderbolt. What if the agency had, unbeknownst to him, Misa, or Vidya, hacked BWC’s computers?

His mind returned to Eric’s question. ‘Let’s just say it will be interesting to see what each comes up with.’

‘The VP was emphatic that he wanted this actioned as soon as possible. I’ll bring Eileen and Martin in and get them started on it,’ said Eric.

After Bertrand and Eric left, Will called Sheilla. They agreed she would set up a group to look into the woman’s disappearance from the ecolodge. Then, lounging back in his oversized director’s desk chair, he contemplated his situation as director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

He had agreed to be the new DCI but only until the re-elected president could find the right person to head the agency. The White House realized what a poor choice could mean to the nation, even the world, and this time they would carefully vet their new nomination. In truth, the man currently sitting behind the desk was, and would be, the White House’s first choice, just as he was Bertrand Gupta’s, but the general intended his replacement to be the thirty-year agency veteran, Eric Sands. The general needed to persuade the president that someone from within the agency was best equipped to run the company, not another outsider.

Many wanted Bertrand Gupta to be the director. But he didn’t want the job any more than the general did. Bertrand’s expertise was problem-solving and intelligence matters, not interfacing with politicians. And if General Crystal would not remain director, Gupta supported Eric for the permanent job of DCI.

Then his thoughts turned to Jim. The colonel had agreed to head the BWC only as long as he also remained its lead field agent. General Crystal understood, and not only because of their long friendship dating back to Vietnam; the general understood that Colonel James L. Johnson was not yet ready to trade in his Glock for a pencil.

In reality, all these director titles were only a mirage; nothing significant had changed with the BWC. The general remained its de facto director. Jim still ran field operations. The only thing that had really changed was that the general spent time on the East Coast at Langley, and Jim spent more of his downtime at the BWC and less at his ranch. Nevertheless, General Crystal could not help feeling removed from the beating heart of the laboratory he had conceived of and started many years ago. He intended to return as often as he could and would do so tonight.