Chapter 49
It's a Go!
Plans were underway to entrap Nathaniel Brody. The CIA was willing to cooperate as he posed a threat to all national security. With the success of the Karbala collaboration they were willing to cooperate with the Agency, particularly while Lee and Kristen were involved as they were pivotal. Ryan was also a newer officer, and had not yet made the splash that Kristen had, so there was some trepidation, however, their relationship outside the agencies made the plan more attractive, not to mention more plausible.
Most importantly, the Professors from Caltech were able to develop some phony plans that would be "stolen" by Kristen and Ryan. The house Brody had been seen in, per the tip from Augie Swann, was owned by a Theodore Miller, a CPA from Ohio, who owned the property and used it as a vacation home. They had considered reaching out to Mr. Miller, however, the concern would be that he may alert Brody, so it was determined they would hold off for now, unless it became necessary later.
A meeting at CIA Headquarters was called to discuss the details of the plan. Lee, Amanda, Kristen, Francine, Duffy, Marquez and Billy were the attendees from IFF. All parties took their seats. Kristen found it a little overly revealing that her personal life was being intermixed with her professional life, but it was her idea. Most of the other CIA officers had not seen Kristen before, so Ryan was getting a lot of "Dude! Well done" nods from the other officers, which served to make him feel a bit little awkward, but gave him a bit of an ego boost as well.
"Gentlemen, and Ladies." Associate Director of Operations, Dabney of the CIA addressed the room. "As you know, Nathaniel Brody has been a threat to National Security for some time. As is in your notes, Mr. Brody was originally arrested in February of 1986 and escaped less than a year later. In January of this years, Agents Stetson and Adler attempted to infiltrate an attempt by Brody to steal laser technology from three scientists from California Institute of Technology. As we have learned, these three pieces, used together, could be made into a targeted weapon system. While Agents Stetson and Adler were able to interrupt the sale of the material, Brody managed to escape again. He has been seen in the DC area recently, and it is believed he may be attempting to exact revenge on Agents Stetson and Ki…Stetson as they were recently followed by an associate of Brody's abroad. In addition, it is also believed he may be still trying to obtain the research material to complete the sale, as intelligence has proven he still has an interested buyer. Because of this ongoing risk, it is now imperative we formulate a plan to not only thwart the sale, but capture and detain Brody. Based on a tip and surveillance, Brody has been seen hiding in a house in Alexandria, but it is believed he is moving around to different locations within the area, which is consistent with his behavior in the past. As most of you know, Brody is rarely seen in public as he usually hires associates to do his work for him. The Agency has formulated a plan, with the CIA's assistance, to attempt to draw him out. I will yield the floor to Agent Lee Stetson to fill in the details." Lee stood up to address the room.
"Thank you Director," Lee started. "In January of this year, Agent Adler and I traveled to Caltech to investigate the murders of the doctoral assistants to three Professors at the university. It was learned that these assistants were being bribed by Brody and his associates for the research material developed by the Professors. Once they accepted or refused the bribes, they were murdered. Agent Adler posed as a student and spoke to each of one of the Professors and, as a result, we were able to track down Brody who used a grenade to escape the scene without the materials. Since then, we have learned that he is back in the DC area, but appears to be moving locations on the regular basis. In order to corner him, we have formulated a plan.
"Because he is aware that Agent Adler participated in the last assignment, he is also aware she knows the location of the research material. More importantly, she is new and an unknown entity, as is Officer Butler with the CIA. As Agent Adler's family lives in Southern California, their cover will be to go to California for Agent Adler to introduce her boyfriend to her family then retrieve the plans from the Caltech Professors to sell for their own benefit. Once this is done, they will return to DC. If Brody is watching, which all indications say he is, he will reach out to try to obtain the research. At that point, they can negotiate a drop site where we can then entrap Brody.
"As they are younger operatives, this will be done under the direction and protection of Senior Agents Desmond, Duffy and Marquez along with several others from the both IFF L.A. Station and local CIA Officers."
"Questions?"
"Are we certain there will be contact by Brody for the material?" One Senior CIA Officer asked.
"All indications are his associates are watching. If the research material is brought back to DC, the intel indicates that at least one of his associates will make contact, at which point the deal is made only if Brody participates in the transaction."
Several other technical questions were asked, at which point, the operation was deemed a "Go" and the meeting adjourned.
- SMK -
Kristen pulled Ryan aside after the meeting.
"Are you certain you are ready for this?" She knew the idea was hers, but needed to make certain he was comfortable with it given the overwhelming danger.
"Are you kidding?" Ryan said. "Yes. I'm nervous as all hell, but this is what we signed up for. I had to sell it my boss. His first instinct was to turn it down."
"Please don't do this to try to impress me. I know I'm making a name for myself, but to tell you the truth, a lot of that was luck and being in the right place at the right time."
"Plus being a complete badass," Ryan said. "I've never known anyone like you who just runs in without fear."
"Oh, there's fear," she said. "I just push it down well. I'm really nervous about this, but we are in a position to make a difference and stop this asshole." How he was able to get this absolute goddess of a woman to go out with him, Ryan didn't know, but damn he was lucky.
"When I saw you outside Mike's Bar after you took out Phyllis Abumani, I thought you were not only drop dead gorgeous but the bravest person I'd ever seen. You took out a woman who was holding YOU hostage. I never thought you'd go out with a guy like me, but then you smiled and waved at me at that sports bar. Compared to asking you out, going after Brody feels like a breeze." Kristen laughed.
"Well, I'm glad you did." She said. "To the new Dynamic Duo of of the Intelligence Community."
"Hell yeah!" Ryan said enthusiastically.
- SMK -
Francine would fly out first to meet with several of the agents from L.A. Station to make certain there was a wide contingency at the ready. She would play the part of a temporary assignment by moving into an apartment should any of Brody's associates be watching her as well. Next, Francine would call Duffy and Marquez to assist in L.A.. A couple weeks later, Kristen and Ryan would play their part. They would visit with her family for the first two days. They would then, as part of a visit to Southern California, go to Caltech, break in, take it the research materials and head back to DC. From there, they drop to bait to see if they could get Brody to bite. As he already had a buyer in place, they were fairly confident they would hear from him one way or another.
The following day, Francine flew to Los Angeles. There had been a breach at the Port of Los Angeles where it was alleged several Chinese operatives infiltrated into the U.S. As part of her cover, she was being sent to L.A. to help with that investigation. Meanwhile, she confirmed the research materials were in place and they were ready for Part II. A week later, she called for Duffy and Marquez to come provide assistance, again under the cover of the Port of Los Angeles case, where they coordinated surveillance and cover at the university.
The minor players were in place. Now, it was time for the lead actors to play their part. As they boarded the plane, Kristen smiled at Ryan. "Let's go kick some ass!"