Satan's Spy (The Steve Church saga Book 2), André Gallo [ebook reader color screen .txt] 📗

Their friendship had started during their initial CIA training. Deuel had recruited Church to his sport parachuting club, and later they had volunteered together for their first assignment: Laos, Operation MOMENTUM. President Kennedy had decided to hold the line against communist expansion, and the agency was working with local tribes, especially the Hmong, a mountain tribe of Chinese origin, also interested on keeping the North Vietnamese out of their mountains.

They were in Deuel’s seventh floor office standing by the large window and looking down at the trees. The leaves were in the process of changing to reddish and golden hues.

“I wish you had chosen someone else,” Marshall responded. “I always gave Steve considerable leeway when he was growing up and he always took it. He’s way out of my control now; he’s been making his own decisions for years. Of course, I would be much happier if XYSENTINEL was a tested agent and Steve had diplomatic immunity. We didn’t even have time for a full debriefing, if you recall? He received a message to come back to Iran immediately. He already had informed al Quds that he was aborting the plan to assassinate you.”

With a tight-lipped smile Deuel said, “Yes, I do recall. The hit team is being inter ... debriefed right now. We don’t do interrogations any more. That’s only for petty criminals, not for foreign agents on assassination missions.

“Maybe I’ve been here too long.”

“Mousavi definitely thinks so,” Church replied chuckling.

A helicopter was circling for a landing on the CIA campus Helipad. “There is always the chance that SENTINEL had a change of mind on his way back,” Marshall said, his eyes following the chopper. “It’s conceivable that he spilled his guts to Mousavi who’s now waiting for the agency to get a case officer on the ground. With no diplomatic passport or immunity, what is to stop Mousavi from executing Steve if he arrests him?”

“Is that what you think? I think that Mousavi’s boys are probably all over the personnel of the American Interests Section to either catch them spying or to prevent them from spying. Steve will have less visibility if he has no connection to the official American presence. The basic judgment comes down to your recruitment of SENTINEL. Is he a controlled agent? Is he ours? Or did he agree to your pitch just to get out of the country?” Gradually losing altitude as it approached, the helicopter had disappeared around the side of the building toward the landing pad. Church and Deuel sat down on chairs in front of Deuel’s desk.

“I’m confident that his agreement was sincere. Naturally, stuff happens after the recruitment that can change the agent’s mind. Buyer’s remorse. Our ace in the hole is that part of the deal concerns his family here. If he changes his mind, he knows we can send his son and family back to Iran. I know he doesn’t want that. SENTINEL has a lot riding on this operation, on both sides of the equation. He has much more to gain if he stays true to us. His life is not worth much if he reveals our little conversation ... Mousavi will have him killed, ‘Pour encourager les autres’,” Church said, referring to the execution by the British of an admiral who had not done his utmost in an encounter with the French navy in the eighteenth century.

Deuel said nothing, looking at Marshall and rolling his cigar in his fingers.

Church, trying to stay objective and personally removed, said, “The bottom line is the answer to the usual risk-reward equation. How important is the information that is likely to come out of this operation?”

“Extremely important. We’re under pressure from the White House and from Congress. Decisions are being made about Iran as we speak. Unfortunately, based on very little hard information. We’re getting some reporting from foreign intelligence services. Some have a dog in the fight. Their information could be accurate but it’s also meant to influence us.”

“I’m still troubled, and Kate even more, about the lack of diplomatic immunity for Steve. She and the kids were in Tehran with me during the Revolution. They and the other U.S. Embassy dependents were eventually evacuated. The American Embassy was the last embassy to take its families out of the country. Kate concluded that Washington cared more about not wanting to offend the Shah—the State Department feared that an evacuation would be interpreted as a lack of trust in him and thus weaken him further--than about the safety of American dependents. In a word, she, the kids, and all the other American families were hostage to politics. I need to tell her what we as a government will do if Steve is arrested.”

Deuel looked at Church directly for a moment, leaned forward and, looking directly into his eyes, said, “It won’t happen. If it does, tell Kate that I will do everything in my power to get him out. No, tell her that I will go to the president and convince him to do everything in his power to get Steve back.”

Their gazes still locked, Church absorbed Deuel’s commitment and said, “Thanks Wally. We go way back, all of us. I know that she trusts you and your word will mean a lot to her. It won’t make the time that Steve is in harm’s way go by faster but it’ll help. Thanks.”

Wally Deuel pushed a button on his intercom. “Mary, please call the others in.”

Steve, Thérèse, and Radu walked in and joined the director and Marshall who had moved to a sitting area to the right of the director’s desk. Steve and Marshall smiled at each other. In spite of the cool temperature dictated by federal energy-saving measures, Radu wiped the perspiration from his face.

Deuel looked at Steve and said, “We appreciate your willingness to do this Steve–although