One of the analysts at the table interrupted his thought. “Director Carmichael, apologies for pointing this out if it’s sensitive, but it seems clear Aurbach knows more about why we are hunting this target than I do. What does Violator have to do with Israel?”
Carmichael answered in an offhanded manner. “Gentry was involved in an op while working in SAD. Israel came out on the short end of things. Manny knows about it. You do not.” He shrugged. “Not relevant to your operation.”
The analyst said, “It might help us understand why he went to such lengths to protect the Israeli prime minister. That doesn’t fit with what we know about the man.”
“George . . . no.” There was an annoyed finality in Carmichael’s voice. George just held a hand up in surrender.
Brewer took this all in. She was fascinated to see other Working Group members asking questions about Violator. They were tasked with catching him, but their need-to-know apparently didn’t include details of his former operations.
Carmichael turned to Brewer now, surprising her with the speed of the movement. “Okay, Suzanne. Time to earn yourself a seat at the table. You’ve heard what we’re up against. What do you suggest we do?”
Brewer looked around, and her voice became unsure. “I don’t see any outside entities represented here.”
“Outside entities?”
“Protocol for something like this . . . a local threat, I mean . . . is to bring in the FBI.”
Carmichael sighed. Disappointed in her comment. “No Bureau. This isn’t going to be a DOJ dog and pony show. We have one man in the area, we can handle this. What steps do you say we take first?”
She said, “Honestly, if this were Paris, Buenos Aires, even Toronto, we would have more options from an operational standpoint. But D.C. isn’t our turf. I can’t just send a security team in a helicopter over the Capitol and a surveillance team in a van down Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Carmichael shook his head. “There are counterintelligence protocols for resources at our disposal. On an ad hoc basis I can bring in various assets, I can order up contracted security with TS clearance. I can call in JSOC operators.”
Brewer was astonished. “JSOC operators? You are talking about Delta Force?”
Mayes corrected her. “They haven’t been called that for years, but yeah, special mission units. Those guys.”
“To run a direct-action mission in the United States?”
“Yes,” Carmichael replied flatly.
Brewer was realizing Carmichael had been right when he said she’d never worked on an operation of this magnitude. “You would need approval from the director, who himself would need approval from the president.”
“I have approval from the director, who has an existing understanding with POTUS involving Violator.” He smiled. “Welcome to the big leagues, Brewer. You want in this program, you’re going to have to get with the program.”
Suzanne Brewer composed herself for a moment, well aware that all eyes were on her. Then she reached out and touched the intercom button. Mayes and Carmichael exchanged a look, surprised that the subordinate was taking such liberties. She was the most junior officer in the room, but clearly she was no shrinking violet.
A communications specialist answered on the intercom.
“Commo.”
“Where are we in accessing local police, D.C. Metro, and civilian camera networks?”
“We’ll be up on all systems by tomorrow at seven a.m.”
“And facial recog?”
“Ready to go. Once we have the feeds, we’ll get to work. It will be a slow process. A lot of cameras for the computers to look at.”
“I understand. Are we monitoring first responder bands?”
“Uh . . .”
“Do it. Police, ambulance, fire. We need to be on the lookout for anything anomalous in the District involving a single subject fitting his description. If he’s a lone wolf, he might steal a car, break into a building, rob a pawnshop in the burbs. Hell, if he’s been on a cargo ship for that long he might hire a hooker or get himself busted in a massage parlor.”
“We’ll get on it immediately.”
The room was quiet. Then Carmichael looked to Mayes. “All right. I’m sold. Suzanne is in the Working Group, in charge of the tactical operations center. She runs defense, and she is subordinate to you on offense. She sees primary intel on Violator, beginning with everything we know about his actions in the past two years.”
Brewer cocked her head. “You said he’s been on the run for five years.”
Carmichael stared her down. “You get two years. That is plenty of background for you to build a profile of his modus operandi.”
Suzanne Brewer let it go. “Thank you, sir.”
Carmichael addressed the entire table now. “Listen up. Violator has been running from us for a long time. Suddenly he’s right back here in our midst. This gives rise to the possibility he has transitioned from defender to aggressor. That should be extremely disconcerting to you all.”
He pointed a finger at the map. “The quicker we can find him out there, the better. The longer he’s free on the streets, the more time he has to set up an operation to go on the attack.” He shook his head. “We are not going to give him that time.”
5