74
George Wolffe stood at the head of the table, fending off any questions that came his way, stating that Kurt would provide a complete briefing as soon as he arrived. Which he prayed would be pretty damn soon.
The Oversight Council had agreed to his demand of an emergency meeting, and since he’d specifically asked for the president, they all had come. Every one. Some of the most powerful people in the world, they didn’t have a lot of patience, but luckily, the president hadn’t arrived, so Wolffe had some breathing room.
Although not much.
Kerry Bostwick, the head of the CIA, said, “I’ve got work to do. I can’t sit here all night—and I don’t want to direct my assets looking for people that have been recovered. Did you or did you not get Travis Deleon?”
Alexander Palmer spoke up, raising his hand. “Okay, people, not to steal Kurt’s thunder, but we have recovered Deleon. And Kurt’s apparently on another thread. Calm down, damn it. Let him get here.”
Bostwick leaned back, saying, “I could have used that information about two hours ago. I’ve got guys running amok on different threads to him. Putting themselves in danger.”
Wolffe, a CIA man himself, said, “Sir, sorry about that, but this is fast-breaking, and very close-hold. We couldn’t put out a press release. The recovery is intimately tied into the further hunt. You know how that works.”
Bostwick glared but said nothing, turning to the man to his left. For the first time, Wolffe recognized Easton Beau Clute, the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Now apparently read onto Taskforce activities from the recovery of his twins. The first man from the legislative branch of government to do so. Wolffe was unsure if that was good or bad.
The light above the door flashed, and the president of the United States entered, leaving his Secret Service detail outside. Wolffe inwardly groaned. Time’s up.
President Warren took his seat at the head of the table and said, “Okay, so what’s going on? You got Deleon but not Seacrest?”
“Sir, yes, that’s correct. We now have three of the four hostages, and a good lead on the fourth. Nick Seacrest.”
“So what’s the story? You called this rodeo, start the briefing.”
Wolffe said, “Sir, I think we should wait for Kurt Hale. He has the latest.”
“Latest? From the SITREPs I read, it happened over four hours ago.”
Wolffe started to respond when the light above the door went red. Meaning someone wanted in.
Palmer keyed the access panel, and Kurt Hale entered. Wolffe sagged in relief.
Kurt walked straight to the front of the conference table, ignoring the computer and everyone in the room but the president. He nodded at Wolffe, letting him escape to the back of the room.
He turned to the president and said, “I have the ability to recover Nicholas Seacrest. Right now. But I need to get let off the chain. No more reporting to the Oversight Council until it’s done. I need blanket Omega authority to conduct operations.”
There was quiet for a brief moment, then shouted questions. Kurt let them fly about the room like a presidential press conference, saying nothing, eyes on President Warren.
The room stilled, realizing he wasn’t playing their game. Warren, holding Kurt’s eyes, said, “Why don’t you include us in your recent endeavors. Give us a little perspective.”
Kurt smiled and said, “Here’s where we stand . . .”
He gave them everything he knew about the operation in Ireland, and the subsequent extrapolation of data, which was a dead end. He then told them about a new lead, a Croatian arms dealer in Dubrovnik, and the fact that Kurt had already redirected a team to his location. He asked again for blanket authority.
“I’m going to hit that guy in Dubrovnik, and then I’m going to turn that hit into another one in England or Ireland. I can’t come back here and sit, waiting on an answer. We need to be quicker than them. Quicker than their ability to react.”
Jonathan Billings said, “Where is this new information coming from? The thing about this guy you call ‘the Frog’?”
“Where is irrelevant at this point. I’m not going to spend the next hour talking about it. Trust me, it’s true. And every minute we sit here is another minute we lose the ability to succeed. I’ll give you a complete briefing afterward if you’d like, but right now, I need Omega to hit this guy. And Omega to hit everything associated with him. I can’t keep asking for permission. We’re too damn slow doing that.”
Billings said, “No way. You want too much. You want us to let you off the chain because you’ve never liked the oversight. I get the risk, but this is just you trying to get around us.”
Kurt caught the president’s eye and waited.
Warren nodded and spoke. “Jonathan, you came here after the Oversight Council was created. Do you know who did that?”
Billings, looking confused at the change of direction, glanced left and right, then shook his head no.
“I gave authority for the building of the Taskforce, and one man said it was a risk. Said that fighting our terrorist threat was good, but not at the expense of creating something that could get out of control. He demanded the creation of the Oversight Council. Demanded accountability. That man is now briefing you, so I’d hold my tongue before impugning his motives.”
Billings said nothing, staring at his hands. Then Alexander Palmer said, “There’s a reason for no blanket authority, and that’s because we need to evaluate each operation. Determine the pros and cons. We can’t do that here.”
Kurt said, “That’s based on disparate hits against different targets. I’m asking for the authority for a single target set: our hostages. I’m not asking to go hit a bunch of terrorists just because I can.”
Bostwick spoke up. “Wait a minute. Part of that is because you don’t have the ability to leverage the entire intelligence community. You don’t see what we do. You can’t conduct global operations because you don’t have global reach with your intel. You need to come back to us to see what else we’ve got. That’s the very reason we exist.”
Kurt said, “Ordinarily, I’d say you’re right, but not in this case. Your entire global architecture has gleaned absolutely nothing. I have the key, and I want to leverage it. I’m not coming back to you for shit, because that’s exactly what you have. I’ll do this myself. Without any help. And I promise you I can.”
“How are you going to conduct operations on separate continents, then tie them together?”
“It’s no different from what I did in Iraq, before the creation of the Taskforce. Get the intel, create a target package, hit the target knowing what we’re looking for, then turn to another target. I’ve done this before. Speed is the essence. Work faster than they can react.”
Bostwick said, “This isn’t Iraq. We don’t own the battle space. How can you coordinate that quickly over continents?”
“Seriously? It’s a damn radio call. Do you think I was more effective because I was in the same country? I was still talking on a radio. I have the best men in the world. They’ll do it.” He turned to President Warren. “Sir, you said it yourself when you ordered me on the mission—I can operate more efficiently across boundaries. Across our artificial stovepipes. It’s the reason you set me in motion.”
Billings said, “Before, when I asked you about this, you said you didn’t have the capability because of the cover concerns and how long it took to rectify them. What are you saying now? You can do this clean? Without the preparation?”
Kurt drew back, knowing this was the cut line. “No. I’m not. I’m saying I can recover the vice president of the United States’ son. The fallout is something else.”
Billings said, “Turn in your intelligence to others. We’ll get the HRT to execute the targets. Get the host nation to intervene. I see no reason to let you do this unilaterally.”
“We do that, we’ll fail. I’ve already seen what happens when we try to coordinate across agencies and other governments. You get dead men and missed opportunities. The reason we were successful in Iraq was that we owned the entire cycle, from capture to exploitation to follow-on target. No blinks. We held it all, and we crushed them. Because we didn’t need to turn to someone else for help.”
Billings said, “Yeah, Iraq is working out perfectly.”
Surprised at the statement, Kurt said, “That’s coming from the State Department? We were ordered out, and when we left, there was a smoking hole instead of a terrorist network.” He looked to President Warren and said, “I’m asking for permission to do the same here. You want them back, I’ll get them. But it won’t be without cost. Secretary Billings is correct. We’ll be exposed, but we’ll have them home. It’s your call, but you already made it with your order earlier.”
A ghost of a smile on his face, President Warren said, “And what was that?”
“You told me that if I could resolve this, and it meant compromise, I would do so. Well, I can resolve it. Right now.”
President Warren said, “You’re that sure?”
“Yes, sir.”
The president looked around the room, then said, “Time for a vote. Perhaps the last the Oversight Council will ever take. Blanket Omega? Or dead son?”
The words were intentionally biased, and Kurt appreciated it. The first hand up was the vice president’s, followed by the hand of Easton Clute. The secretary of defense, Mark Oglethorpe, raised his, and there was nobody on the Council who would vote no after that.
Kurt nodded, then looked to Wolffe at the back of the room, catching his eye. Wolffe pulled out a cell phone and began dialing.
President Warren saw the exchange and said, “What’s coming?”
“The takedown of the Croatian arms dealer. In the next few minutes.”
Taken aback, Warren said, “I thought you were still redirecting a team to his location?”
“That’s correct. They were flying from Okinawa after the recovery of the Clute twins. They were over the European continent, headed to France when I redirected them. They’re on the ground, ready to execute.”
“And they know everything you do? They know what they’re looking for?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s what I meant about closing the loop. For the first time in this whole sorry mess, we’re going to be ahead of the terrorists. They know exactly what to look for.”