William Richardson
2063 Words
New York City
William Richardson leaned out of the large window of his office, from which a sector of the street could be visually controlled, and pulled the curtains aside. He first looked at the small rectangle of sky that the tall buildings left uncovered, and then looked at the entrance to his company building. The entering figure was familiar to him and he immediately recognized her.
Lakshmi Dhawan, he thought silently. Then he recalled that for that Monday the members of the steering committee of the Diadem project had to meet in New York. He mentally prepared himself to go to the second floor to welcome them, but something on the street immediately caught his attention. A tall, blond and stocky man located some thirty meters from the entrance to the building was closely following the woman's movements, and when she made her entrance the observer took a cell phone from his pocket and made a call. This seemed suspicious to Richardson, coupled with certain characteristic movements of the man, his dark suit and black glasses.
"An element of the secret services of some country in the world." He said to himself.
Richardson had been a member of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service where he had had extensive and hard training and a prolonged period of experience. He could recognize tics that agents from any country share, and this was the case with the man he was watching from his window. With his cell phone he took a snapshot and sent it immediately. Then he dialed a number and when someone answered quickly, he said.
“Lou. I just sent you a picture of a man standing in front of our building. The photo is not very good but it will allow you to locate it without a doubt. Please leave the building and without being seen, take close-up photos and see if he gets into a car and also take a photo of it.”
“Understood Dr. Richardson.”
Lou Savino had been a New York City police officer and had retired as a detective. He was a resourceful operative and Richardson entrusted him other confidential tasks in addition to the security of the building. Once he cut the call with Lou, the Englishman dialed Watkins' phone.
“Jerome, today you have a meeting of the steering committee of the Diadem project. I would like you to call me before the other members leave, I have something to share.”
“I understand William.”
Indeed, an hour and a half later Watkins called him and said succinctly.
“ We are already concluding.”
“Well, I go up immediately.”
Then he called Lou Savino again.
“Lou, do you have someone to replace you at the reception?”
“Archie is here.”
“Well, leave him in charge and please go up to the second floor.”
Both men arrived at the same time in different elevators. In a small room Watkins, Lakshmi Dhawan and Thiago Ferrari were waiting for them.
“Thanks for waiting.” Richardson said and as was his custom he was straight to the point.
“I just sent you through what´s app a series of photos taken today by me from my office window and then by Lou after Lakshmi entered the building. I ask you to watch them on your cell phones.”
In doing so, the first to react was Thiago.
“This big blond guy was following Lakshmi. His attitude is highly suspicious.”
"And then he's communicating the news to someone," Watkins added.
“Yes.” Richardson replied. “Lou, can you please tell us what you saw later?”
“Once Mrs. Dhawan entered the building a car that was double-parked on the opposite sidewalk started and the man in the black suit entered it. Then the vehicle immediately disappeared into the corner.”
"Could you take the license plate number from the car?" Asked the homeowner.
“Yes, I have it listed here, but I went to my contacts and found out that it is rented. I tried to find out by whom but the rent was paid in cash by a certain "Mr. Smith".”
"So this track is a dead-end." Watkins made a disgruntled gesture.
“Unfortunately it is.”
“But it's not wasted time.” Richardson added. “At least it left us a very important clue. Someone is watching us, someone who is aware of our daily activities, and since the only case that the Bluthund Community is currently studying is what we call the Diadem Project, the interest of our presumed rivals must be associated with it.”
"At least that's what we should assume," Added Watkins.
“Right.”
“But then the field members of the steering committee in Russia may be in danger.” Thiago Ferrari added with an altered gesture. “My wife Irina may be at risk!”
“Calm down Thiago.” Richardson replied. “I don't think they are in immediate danger and Jack Berglund and Taro Suzuki are used to avoiding complicated situations. Of course we must inform them so that they redouble the alert.” Turning to Watkins he asked.
“When could we call them? What time difference is there?”
The aforementioned looked at his watch and made some mental calculations.
“In five hours. At midnight New York time.”
“We'll take care of that. But I must also insist that you and I also take special precautions, because this is where there has apparently been an information leak.”
He looked at Lakshmi and Thiago.
“You two must be on guard. Lou, please give them some safety instructions.”
"In my case it is unnecessary, since I work in the FBI." The woman replied.
"We'll set up a control group for the three of you anyway, including Lou and me."
After receiving the call on the satellite phone, Jack Berglund returned to his companions with a worried expression on his face.
"What's wrong Jack?" Asked Irina, who with her fine intuition noticed the change in attitude of the group leader.
“Someone has been following Lakshmi and perhaps the members of the Diadem Project in New York, in all probability someone from some intelligence service.”
"Russian?" Asked Igor.
"It is too early to tell, but Bluthund has no other case on its hands at the moment."
"And what does Richardson propose?" The woman insisted.
“It leaves in our hands the decision to abort the Diadem Project and return to New York.”
A thick silence spread among the members of the group. Finally it was once again the Russian aristocrat who spoke.
“We have never been so close to conducting an exhaustive investigation of this topic. I do not intend to give up.” Her cousin added immediately.
“I agree with Irina. I vote to stay.”
Thus, one by one the members gave their opinion, which ultimately was that the project should continue its course, although with additional precautions.
"What could we do to avoid unnecessary risks?" The woman asked once again.
“First of all stay together. The division into groups of two to go unnoticed is a weak alibi and at the same time does not allow us to join efforts if a really dangerous situation arises.” Demidov said. “We must take care of each other's backs.”
“From now on we are going to emphasize our tourist role that serves as a screen. Although it will take us a few days on our trip, we will stop at other stations even though they are not related to the imperial treasure and we will visit the points of interest that the tourist brochures recommend. The next major stop is Krasnoyarsk so we will get off and spend a day there. This city is about 1400 km from Omsk.” Said Jack.
"But even so, we will be defenseless against any attack, and we cannot count on the Russian authorities to defend us," Replied Eichenberg.
A silence spread again in the group. Finally Igor Fiodorov asked.
“Where is Professor Suzuki?”
Jack Berglund nodded toward a shady, secluded spot. After a few moments the Japanese appeared impassive, keeping a phone in his pocket.
“Any idea to contribute to our situation, Professor?”
Suzuki replied in a calm tone.
“I've already taken care. We will have news in Krasnoyarsk.”
"What do you mean?" Irina's question denoted her anxiety, but the professor had already turned away once more. The woman's gesture revealed helplessness so Jack Berglund said reassuringly.
“Trust Taro. It is not the first time that he has pulled unexpected solutions out of the hat.”
Keneisha Sullivan heard discreet knocks on her office door. She knew beforehand that no man would be so gentle in his manner, so she said without question.
“Come on, Lakshmi.”
The aforementioned opened the door that bore the inscription
“Keneisha Sullivan. Deputy Director"
The office occupant was a splendid African-American woman in her mid-forties, with very dark skin and a spectacular body.
“Take a sit. Tell me how I can help you.”
The two women had great mutual trust and a certain friendship, above the range difference. Keneisha was one of the few women with a high degree in the FBI's operational arm, and Lakshmi was one of her best agents, proven in numerous field actions.
The visitor narrated succinctly what had happened in the offices where Bluthund met; she had no need to keep secrets from her boss as she was aware of her membership in the Community, which was implicitly accepted by the bosses of Keneisha, since in the past there had been synergies between both activities carried out by the Indian woman. The boss then listened to what they told her and meditated for a while, saying later.
“Do you want to tell me roughly what you are working on in your Community? I need to know it in order to estimate the degree of risk you may be running.”
“It's about finding a… Russian treasure.”
“Jack is also involved?”
Keneisha and her husband were friends of the family consisting of Lakshmi, her daughter and Jack.
“Yes, he is very involved in the field actions.”
“Do you think it was you they were spying on in front of your group's offices?”
“It was me this man was following. I must assume they were behind me.”
“I get it. Do you think these are spies from the Russian government?”
“Impossible to know at this point.”
“You're right. The issue is that in Russia it is very difficult to separate the actions and interests of the government from those of private groups that enjoy preferential status.”
Keneisha thought for a moment.
“As your superior I must insist that you take additional precautions. I can temporarily send you to Los Angeles or San Francisco.”
“I do not want to separate from the Community in this instance, since Jack is exposed and through them I can keep in touch with him.”
“Good. Who is Anila with?
Anila was the daughter of Lakshmi and Ingo Ragnarsson, an Icelandic academic and her former husband.
“In my house, with Jack and me.”
“Can't you send it to your parents' house?”
“ Ingo, her father is temporarily in Montana and would be delighted if the girl spent time with him.”
“And you don't have issues with that?”
“None. Ingo is a good person and we are still friends.”
“Then do that. In any case, I am going to insist that you change your residence for a while.”
“ Not at the moment, but I will accept doing it if something else happens.”
“Good. I can't risk losing one of my best agents.”
Keneisha got up from her chair and walked over to a heavy closet carrying a bunch of keys.
“Come on, I'm going to give you some means of self-defense of my private stock. You have already been trained in its use.”
- Writer
