Chapter 15
For morning traffic in Istanbul, the private cabby made remarkably good time to their hotel. Francine and Marina walked in as Efraim watched to make sure there were no tails following them. When he was satisfied that they had not been followed, he went into the hotel and took the elevator up to their floor. He found Francine and Rassner waiting outside of the suite that Dr. Smyth was in.
Efraim knocked on the door, standing to the side with Francine and Marina behind him. The door opened and Smyth frowned when he saw Efraim.
"Expecting someone else, Dr. Smyth?" Efraim asked as he walked in the suite.
Smyth had turned and walked back into the sitting room when Efraim entered. "I'm decidedly bored, Boy Scout. There is no one to keep me amused." He turned to look at back at Efraim and stopped, a stunned look crossing his face. He saw Francine and Marina come into the room. "You bastard!" he roared at Efraim as he launched himself at Efraim as Francine closed and locked the door behind them.
Efraim easily sidestepped and re-directed Smyth so he landed on the couch. "You old fool, knock that off before you get hurt." Efraim watched Smyth carefully as the old man lay winded on the couch.
"Austin? Is it you?" Marina's voice was hesitant and laced with fear. She took several steps toward him and stopped.
Dr. Smyth stood up, casting a cautious eye at Efraim and held out his hand to Marina. She closed the space, taking his hand and smiling at him. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
Efraim nodded to Francine who followed him out to the balcony. "You took a huge chance Efraim. Are you alright? Smyth didn't hit you, did he?" Francine put her hands on her husbands shoulders, giving him a quick look over.
"Of course he didn't hit me. But I was worried he was going to trip in there. Old fool."
"B, are you matchmaking?"
"No, I'm using my assets to the best of my ability. Smyth was playing games with what information he was giving us. I just pulled the rug out from underneath him, that's all."
Francine hugged her husband. "Right."
"Francine! I'm deeply crushed that you don't believe me!"
"Oh, I believe you alright, Boy Scout." She kissed his cheek and wrapped her arms around her against the cold.
Efraim smiled back and took Francine in his arms, rubbing his hands up and down her arms to warm her. He was damn lucky she didn't believe him, because that was exactly what he had done. He had used Marina Rassner to pull the rug out from under Smyth. He was counting on the fact that Marina would tell Smyth that she had told them everything. Maybe then he could get some cooperation out of Austin Smyth. He leaned back and closed his eyes, hoping to give his mind a rest for a few minutes. He heard the balcony doors open and he sighed.
"Boy Scout, Mrs. Beaman. Would you please come in?"
"Is he armed Francine?"
His wife laughed quietly. "No, B. He isn't."
"'Good." Efraim followed his wife back into the suite, casting an eye over the players as he closed the sliding glass doors.
Marina Rassner was seated on the couch, Dr. Smyth joined her there. Francine sat in the chair opposite the couch and Efraim sat on the arm of her chair.
"Excellent strategy, Boy Scout. What next?"
"We go to Romania."
"The Dark Horse?"
"Yes Sir, I believe that Carlson is there now supervising the raising of the van."
Marina Rassner shook her head. "No, I saw him yesterday, he came to the house late in the day and I spoke with him this morning, not two hours ago."
"It doesn't take long to travel to Romania. And if he called you, or even if you called him, it's easy enough to re-route a phone call. He's not at the Crowne Plaza. He hasn't been seen since last evening, there hasn't been room service to his room or local calls made from his room. He's not there."
Francine nodded her agreement. She had seen the information he had accessed in Wilson's office. "Ms. Rassner has been obliged to broker a deal for the sale of the unit once it has been raised."
Marina nodded her head in agreement. "He threatened our daughters, Austin. I could not allow him to harm them."
Dr. Smyth patted her hand. "I understand Marina. I wish you had called me. Commander, what is your next move?"
"We get Carlson back to Turkey. I'd rather deal with him here, and bringing him back here allows me to get a team into Romania without his immediate knowledge."
Smyth nodded, a small smile playing across his lips. "Well done Boy Scout. Do it."
Efraim nodded and stood up, casting a look at Marina Rassner. "Will you be alright here, Madam?" He put out his hand to Francine, who took it with a small smile.
Dr. Smyth raised his eyebrows and Marina laughed. "Yes dear boy, I will be fine here. Thank you for your concern."
Efraim and Francine went to their room, Francine quickly called Dave and told him to come back to the hotel.
Efraim took the phone and called DC, Billy answering the phone. "Lee said you called and pulled one of your disappearing telephone acts again. What the hell are you doing over there?" Francine grinned as she heard their boss chewing her husband out.
"I need to mobilize a team in Romania. Carlson's going after the Dark Horse. He has a buyer. I'm luring him back to Turkey with his wife and Dr. Smyth, but I need to insure that we get that laser."
"Beaman, what the hell are you talking about? Who's wife? How do you know this? Where is Francine? Where the hell is Geiger and why isn't he sitting on you?"
"Billy," Francine said, grabbing the telephone. "Just do what Efraim asked. We need a recovery team in Romania as soon as possible. Leatherneck and Efraim have been working on a recovery strategy. We need agents to stop Carlson's actions now. Billy, we have Smyth's permission. Please, we're running out of time."
"Where is Smyth?" Billy asked, sounding weary.
Francine grinned, her blue eyes sparkling with devilment. "He's with the mother of his children right now. We have to go, get that team moving. We'll call back soon." She hung up the phone on absolute silence. Glancing at Efraim from under her lashes, she laughed. "Oh that felt so good B! What 's next?"
"Marina calls and tells Carlson the deal has fallen through. The new buyer will only deal with Carlson."
"Won't he smell a trap? I mean, we found him here, don't you think he knows we're here?"
"Yeah, so. We can just as easily show up in Romania."
"B, I can't keep up with you when you're flying by the seat of your pants. What do we do, fly all over Eastern Europe after Carlson?"
"No hon. Marina tells Carlson she refuses to continue, that the deal has fallen through. She states that she has called Smyth, who is coming to Turkey to her aid. Carlson wants Smyth more than he wants the laser. Besides, if he has a team in place for recovery, it won't matter whether he is there when they pull it out. He wants Smyth, he'll come back to finish what he started."
Francine took her standard role as devils advocate, making Efraim think through his plans. She was on the bed, leaning against the headboard, her arms crossed over her chest, her posture telegraphing her doubts if her words didn't. "And if he doesn't come back?"
"Leatherneck and I worked models based on the premise that SEAL Team 2 or 5 would be injected for the recovery. Both are cold weather teams and they specialize in exactly what we need to get the Dark Horse to the surface. The SEAL Team will take care of Carlson if he stays in Romania. But, he won't stay if he knows he can have a last shot at Smyth."
"Can he take a shot at Steele too?" Francine said, her voice derisive and teasing.
"Francine, you are a vindictive woman!" Her husband replied.
"You didn't think I saw that little touch she gave you this morning, did you? I see everything about you B, and you are mine. I keep what is mine."
"Yeah, I'm yours hon. You can't honestly think I'd even look at anyone else when I have you, do you?"
"It's become a habit to keep you to myself B. I like having you and your attention all to myself."
Efraim took his wife in his arms and kissed her, showing her how much he liked her attention. He rolled back to the far side of the bed, holding her at arms length, both of them breathing heavily. "I think we had better stop this now because I'm not gonna want to stop in a few more minutes. We'll discuss this later!"
"Bad timing, always bad timing." Francine said on a sigh as she scooted to the edge of the bed.
A knock on the door had Efraim reaching for his SIG as he checked through the security hole, "It's Dave." He opened the door and Dave Geiger came in.
"Okay, what the hell is going on? Someone tell me, cause my head is spinning today. Francine? Someone put me out of my misery now, will you?" Dave threw himself across the bed, his hands behind his head. "If I give your wife a hug now, will you take me out Beaman?"
"I won't have to, you saw Francine toss that stall owner this morning." Efraim knew that Geiger was just tweaking tails.
Francine swatted Dave and got up, going to sit in the chair. Both Dave and Efraim grinned. Efraim got right down to business. "Here's the plan Dave. Carlson is in Romania, he's going for the Dark Horse. Rassner is going to call Carlson and tell him that's she out, the deal has fallen through and that she called Smyth and he's on his way over."
"Doesn't he know Smyth is here?"
"I never had Smyth's name on the manifest. I used Leatherneck's instead."
Francine started to laugh. "Oh B, Leatherneck is going to kill you when he finds out."
Efraim shrugged. "We need to get Steele in protective custody until this is over, I don't want her hot dogging because Smyth is here. Supposedly, she doesn't know that Smyth is her father, by the way." The three of them rolled their eyes; they really didn't believe that bit of information. "The youngest is Smyth's as well."
"Beaman, man, I'll tell you! You were born under a bad star or something because you get the crappiest operations that can be devised. Are you sure you don't want to stay in the Navy? Nice long cruises to exotic ports . . . a wonderful woman waiting for you at home?"
"Shut up Geiger. He's happy the way he is, aren't you B?"
"Yes Ma'am, I sure am! Look, I think we should get this going, I have a feeling we're running out of time. And to be honest, I just want to go home." He watched as both his wife and Geiger nodded their agreement.
Geiger rolled off the bed and slapped Efraim on the shoulder as he went to the door. I'll go call Wilson and tell him to lock down Steele. She can harass him." Efraim closed the door behind him.
"You ready Francine? Let's get this done so we can go home."
Francine nodded and stood up, putting a hand out to steady herself.
Efraim took her in his arms and steadied her, concern lacing his voice. "Hon, are you okay?"
"I'm just really tired Efraim. I think all the traveling is finally catching up with me. I'm fine. Let's go, okay?"
Efraim nodded and felt better when Francine smiled at him. They followed Geiger back to the suite where Smyth and Rassner were waiting.
"Marcus Carlson's room please." Marina Rassner said to the receptionist at the Crowne Plaza. She looked at Austin Smyth, her eyes apprehensive as she waited for the call to be connected. Smyth reached over and took Marina's hand, raising it to his lips, unaware of the amused looks his agents gave to one another.
"Marcus, it is Marina. We have encountered a problem. . . . The Syrian's have pulled out of the deal. They have found out that the Agency has sent a team to Romania. . . . No, they have said that it is too high profile for them at this time. . . . I have anticipated your response, I placed a call to Austin last night, he is flying to Turkey as we speak. . . . No, I have not forgotten my daughters, I told him also of them, he has taken steps to insure their safety. . . . Austin said he received your last message and that he was grateful you had thought of him. He did tell me that perhaps you would like to repeat it in person. . . . Then we will all meet, let it be so." And she hung up the telephone.
Efraim hung up the extension and Dr. Smyth took off the headphones to the listening device that Francine had set up.
"It seems as though we'll have an interesting meeting with Carlson. Boy Scout, are you sure that Maria is safe?"
Efraim looked at Geiger who filled them in on the precautions for Maria Steele. "Yes, she's safe Dr. Smyth. I personally spoke with Wilson and he said he would take care of it himself."
"Perhaps you should be with them, Geiger." Smyth let his concern for his daughter show, surprising his agents.
"Dr. Smyth, I need to be here with Beaman. I have the high ground. Maria will be fine."
"How do we know when Carlson gets back?" Marina was less convinced of the plan to capture her husband, having first hand experience with him.
"We'll watch the usual entry points, but he'll get in touch with us. You can count on that." Efraim answered as he studied a map of the city. "Dr. Smyth, when you both were in Turkey, where was his preferred place for company business?"
"The markets in old Istanbul." Smyth replied immediately, Marina nodding her head in agreement.
"I was afraid you would say that. That doesn't give us much maneuvering room. Anyplace in particular?"
"It will be the Kapalicarsi, the Grand Bazaar. There is a shop called the Sark Kahvesi, not far from the police kiosk. It is across from the costume shop." Marina said, casting a soft smile toward Smyth when she mentioned the costume shop. Francine raised her eyebrows and hid a smile, Efraim wasn't about to ask.
"It's all domes there, Beaman. I might be able to find an upper window, but we can't be sure that's where Carlson will arrange a meet." Geiger told them as he lounged in the chair, his booted feet resting on the coffee table.
Efraim nodded absentmindedly, his mind already working on the angles. "I know. I need to check on that SEAL team insertion into Romania. I have to find out if my parents are alright. I need information on the bazaar. . . ." Efraim began to prioritize everything that required his attention.
"I'll call Dad and Peg, B. Don't worry, they'll be fine." Francine got up and dragged the phone with her across the living room for some quiet to make the call to her in-laws.
Geiger's boots hit the floor with a thud. "I'll go check out the bazaar. I think I'll stop and get Murphy from the office, he's an ex-Ranger and a damn good sniper." Geiger walked out the door, letting it slam behind him.
"I'll check with Leatherneck on that insertion, as well as get coverage on routes into Istanbul." Efraim headed into Geiger's bedroom and pulled the door shut. The suite had separate numbers for each room, so he called Leatherneck in the DC office.
Leatherneck answered on the first ring. "Jeez Commander, you sure can scramble a response team! Man! We had only been tossing around using SEAL 2 or 5 to retrieve that truck! Now they're packing up and getting underway!"
"They've done this type of retrieval before, you know that Leatherneck. That's why they're SEAL's, this is what they do best. Leatherneck, you ever work with Smyth in the field?"
"Is this just casual questioning or are you looking for something specific?" Efraim could clearly hear the hesitation in Leatherneck's voice across the miles.
"What aren't you telling me?"
"Listen college boy, you didn't hear it from me, but the old man makes Lee Stetson look like a choir boy."
"Great."
"You should be used to it Beaman, the three of you together would make an interesting team. As it is, I'm wondering who's winning match points."
"Put your money on me Leatherneck. I don't like to lose."
"Neither does the old man." Leatherneck's warning raised the hair on the back of Efraim's neck.
"I'll remember that. What's in the daily's today?"
"Bad news buddy; Lang's picture is all over the place. Carlson is numero uno on the hit parade. They're heating pitch and plucking chickens over on the Hill for an old fashioned tar and feathering party."
"Yeah, I told Smyth they would want to hang Carlson from the yard arm." Efraim sighed. "Do me a favor will ya, don't tell Billy you've talked to me. He's after me about my people skills."
Leatherneck laughed. "Not a problem, Commander. Take care of your beautiful wife and get yourselves home in one piece."
"That's the plan, Leatherneck. That's the plan. Thanks, see you in DC soon." He hung up and was surprised to see Francine standing by the door. "Come on in, hon. How are my parents?"
"They're fine. Peg is mad like you wouldn't believe, your dad is spending a lot of time trying to keep her from hopping a plane to hunt Carlson down herself." Francine ran her hand on husband's shoulder. She sat down beside him on the bed and laid her head on his shoulder. "Dad said to get one for him. Alice is fine by the way. Both your parents send their love, and Peg said to be careful."
Efraim nodded, trying to think what he needed to do next. Picking up the phone, he called Wilson just to make sure that he got a call if Carlson came through any of the usual routes to Istanbul.
"I wondered why it was quiet at the Plaza. Where do you think he's coming in from?"
"Romania." There was a wealth of information in that one word.
Wilson let out a low whistle. "Damn. You run with a rough crowd."
"Tell me about it. You sure you're sitting on Steele?"
"Yeah. Can you tell me why?"
"When all of this is over, you can take my wife and me to dinner and I'll tell you everything." Efraim rubbed his forehead, his mind spinning with all the possible pitfalls that made this particular operation seem like it was going to last forever.
"That will be worth it!"
"Just keep that woman tied down, I don't need her in the thick of things, okay?"
"Consider it done. Good luck."
"Thanks." Beaman hung up and took his wife's hand. "Let's go get a nap, I'm tired hon and I think we're gonna need every extra bit of rest we can get."
Efraim waved at Dr. Smyth and Marina Rassner and headed towards the door. Smyth didn't bother to ask where they were going; he and Rassner were talking. Efraim checked his security and sighed, opening the door to their room.
"Are you alright?" Francine asked as they took off their coats, Francine taking Efraim's and hanging them both up.
Efraim sat on the bed, leaned over to untie his shoes, thought better of it and laid back on the bed. "My head is spinning Francine. I'm beginning to think you'll have second thoughts about me. I mean, since you've been hanging around me, we've been arrested for solicitation, nearly arrested for breaking and entering . . ."
"That was you B, you jumped onto my balcony, remember?"
"Yeah, okay. You were jumped in a garage in LA, kidnapped and almost killed on a boat. You had to pretend to be shot in Romania, were nearly sizzled by a laser, almost tossed into a chasm nearly a mile deep by a madman, you had to run across the roof of your home to escape being shot and now this."
"Don't forget that you saved me in LA, that you were the one who was shot, that you saved me in Romania and were shot again and that you saved the Vidraru Dam and the village below the Fargaras Ridge when you deep sixed the laser into the reservoir. You heard those agents break into our house and you somehow got us out, saved your research and figured out where Carlson had gone. You've bested and cornered Dr. Smyth, and that's not an easy thing to do, and now you have come up with a plan to finish this once and for all."
"Don't leave me Francine." He took her in his arms and held her tightly, the only thing he was sure of right now was that he loved this woman more than his own life.
"I'm not going anywhere B. You're stuck with me. Besides, the office pool is up to 1500 bucks that we don't make it six months. I plan to win!"
"And after six months?"
"We'll stage a public tiff to start a new pool! What else? I figure we can finance our vacations this way."
"Francine, I love you. You're always thinking."
"Someone has to keep us on track, B. Don't you worry about us, I'll make sure we're fine. You just keep loving me the way you do and I'll love you right back and we'll be fine. Okay?" She kissed his cheek and laid her head on his shoulder. "Close your eyes for a little while B."
"Okay."
"Stop thinking."
"I'm not. Well, okay I am, but I'm thinking about you."
"Okay, think on then." She giggled as he tickled her side.
They both fell asleep worrying about the other.
Francine was sitting at the small table in their room when she heard the knock on the door. Efraim jumped in his sleep, reaching for his SIG at his side. Francine patted his foot as she passed him on her way to get the door. Peering though the peephole, she saw Geiger on the other side and opened the door.
"Shhhh, Efraim's asleep, come on in." Dave nodded and walked into the room. They found Efraim sitting up and stretching.
"What did you find in the market, Dave?" Efraim stood up and holstered his gun, pulling his leather jacket over his broad shoulders.
"I took Murphy with me, he was a Ranger sniper and one of the best around. We found some spots where we should have decent coverage, if Carlson chooses that spot. Oh, you'll love this. The CIA station chief is all up in arms that we're here running ops in his town'. He was at the office chewing Wilson up one side and down the other. Seems he got his orders from the director himself to bring Carlson in; the director doesn't want the Agency bringing in one of his people."
"Always something, isn't it. Okay, I talked with Leatherneck and the SEAL team was packing up and getting under way. It seems that Leatherneck has field experience with Smyth. He told me that Dr. Smyth makes Scarecrow look like a choir boy."
"Well that's comforting. Although it really shouldn't come as a surprise to us, we've all seen how he runs things." All three of them nodding as they remembered cases where Smyth set things to suit himself.
"I'll give the old man this, he thinks one hell of a game." Efraim said, rubbing his temples.
"I just wish he would remember he's on our side." Francine sat down at the small table in the room and sighed. "I'm hungry, B. Anybody else want something to eat?"
"Yeah, I could eat." Geiger took the chair across from Francine, leaned the chair back until it hit the wall, hands behind his head. "Well, what's the plan?"
"We wait." Efraim picked up the phone and called down for room service. He handed the menu to Francine who pointed out what she wanted as did Geiger. Efraim looked at his watch, it was after 1, and knew why his stomach was growling.
He was hanging up the phone when he stopped and looked at Francine. "Francine, what are the chances that Rassner is in this with Carlson?" He hung the phone up and looked at Geiger who got up with a sigh and left the room to check on Smyth.
"I don't think so B. That was real emotion on both their parts this morning. Those two have been in love for years. Plus, we have her children. She's more likely to play ball with us than Carlson."
"I'm just trying to cover all the angles hon."
"I know you are, B. You know, it's funny that you should use the name choir boy."
"Why?"
"It's just that I've read some classified files regarding an agent code named Choir Boy. They were some pretty wild cases." Francine gave a delicate shrug of her shoulders.
"Classified, huh Francine? Breaking into files?" Her husband grinned at her.
"Maybe. I was bored."
"Uh huh. Think Choir Boy is Dr. Smyth?"
"Please! I hope not! Leatherneck wasn't kidding when he said Dr. Smyth would make Lee look like a saint! If Dr. Smyth is this Choir Boy, we have our hands full."
"Like we don't all ready?" Efraim asked walking to the bathroom to throw cold water on his face. A knock on the door revealed Geiger.
"They okay down there?" Efraim asked, not really concerned.
"Yeah, talking at the table. I suggested they eat lunch and call room service. Dr. Smyth misses the congeniality of his club."
"Okay. Tell me about the bazaar again Dave." They walked back into the room where Francine was pulling several tourist maps of the bazaar out of a file and laying them on the table.
"Like I said, it's all pretty much domes there. There are several gates that lead into the market, making it an ideal place for a fast meet and exit. I would choose this spot given the chance." Dave's finger hit a grid on the map, pointing his choice for a meet with Carlson.
"Can we cover the gates?" Francine asked as she studied the maps, her glasses slipping to the tip of her nose.
Geiger nodded. "Yeah, if we get the local office to do it. Have you given some thought to the local CIA office?"
"Yeah. I want to keep them in the dark as much as possible. With orders from DC, they're just gonna be in our faces. I'm not worried about anybody giving Carlson a helping hand, they've probably pulled them all back for fear of losing it." Efraim reached over and pushed Francine's glasses back up to the bridge of her nose.
"How do you want to tie them up when we go after Carlson?" Francine asked him.
"To be honest, I don't think we'll have to worry about them. Carlson has to know his options are limited"
Francine nodded her head in agreement as she went back to studying the map, committing to memory routes in and out of the bazaar.
"I'm going to check and see if he's been dumb enough to use his own name to book a flight back to Istanbul. I doubt it, but it won't hurt to check." Efraim pulled out his laptop and connected it, checking all flights into Istanbul for Carlson's name.
"Nothing. What I wouldn't give to have Agnes Ferguson here watching for Carlson. If she had been here, none of this would have happened. We would have had him at the airport."
"I can't believe you said that B!" Francine was aghast! "She'd probably be locked in a closet someplace!"
"Stop trying to cheer me up, Francine."
Francine laughed. Another knock on the door revealed room service and their lunch. The three agents ate lunch, discussing various aspects of the case they were working.
"Francine, not all agency files are computerized, are they? Old case files, things like that?" Efraim asked, something niggling in his mind. Francine was familiar with the way the Agency handled dead files.
"No, there are hard files kept at different repositories in DC, as well as around the US. Depends really on what they are. Why?"
"I'm just curious as to why we've never heard about Choir Boy before." Efraim shrugged, his curiosity getting the best of him.
"What you mean to say Beaman is, you haven't come across that name in your file forages, right?" Geiger as always, cut to the chase.
Efraim grinned. "Yeah, something like that. I guess we'll have to look into that when we get home."
"Efraim, you frighten me sometimes. Some things are best left alone." Francine warned him. "I mean, do we really want to have all that information on Dr. Smyth if the Choir Boy is Dr. Smyth?"
"Yeah!" Both Efraim and Geiger answered.
"What are you going to do with it, blackmail him with it?" Francine said, shooting disgusted looks at both of them before the humor of the situation took hold.
"That's such a nasty word, isn't it Dave? I've never liked it much myself. I prefer leverage." At Francine's look, he quickly continued. "Look hon, I've had to think myself in circles this trip to try and stay a step ahead of Smyth and I'm tired. I'm just looking for something to make my life easier. It's not like I'm gonna sell the stuff. Jeez! I just want to hold it over his head at opportune times, that's all."
Francine shook her head, he had sounded like a petulant little boy. He must be tired if he doesn't want to play mind games. "We'll look when we get home." She smiled and pat his hand. She wasn't really worried about Efraim digging dirt on Smyth, she knew that she would be able to count on something else capturing Efraim's attention when they got home.
"Okay, we have Carlson hot footing it back to Turkey. We have Dr. Smyth and Marina Rassner in the suite. We have Smyth's daughter in lock down, and now we wait. I suggest we wait in the suite, I'd rather have us all in one place anyway."
"Yeah Beaman, it'll be easier for us to protect Smyth if it comes to that." Geiger agreed.
"Well, shall we move the party then gentlemen? No reason not to be friendly." Francine told them, gathering her coat and files.
"Friendly? With Dr. Smyth? Hon, I don't think so!" Efraim told his wife, Dave nodding his head in agreement. "Smyth doesn't do friendly."
"The two of you are just being pessimistic! Think of how annoying it will be for him!" She laughed at the grins on her husband and Geiger's face. Efraim opened the door, holding it for them to leave.
"Remember now, friendly!"
