Byzantine Gold (26 page)

Why is he watching the camp?

We knew you’d leave to communicate with us someplace safe, where you wouldn’t chance someone seeing your message.

Don’t. Leave her alone.

Either you bring her tomorrow or we arrange for her to join our little party tonight.

I’ll bring her tomorrow.

Binici logged off.

“Kharestin!” Atakan swore. “Saska’s presence is a major problem. And, who is Goker? Do you know?” He popped the prescription Paracetamol into his mouth and quickly chased it with a swallow of coke.

“No. I’m running the name through government and intelligence files now.” A moment later Iskender said, “Got a hit on three with PKK associations. One appears to be the right age. I think the others are too old for this crowd. Goker Ulvi. He’s twenty-seven years and from the same province as Binici. He’s suspected of taking part in an ambush on one of our military patrols along the Iraqi border. We pursued him, but he disappeared into the mountains.”

“Capturing four is awfully tempting.”

Iskender typed in the location information. “I’ve got the BP stations. There are two within a five kilometer radius of here. One is three kilometers north and one is two kilometers south. What do you want to do? I can make a fast call to Firat and tell him the situation. See what he says.”

Atakan grunted. He had a good idea how Firat thought. “The Director will say, ‘you’re onsite, you make the decision.’ He’ll leave it up to us. That way if things go wrong and finger pointing starts, he won’t have to take any blame. He has us to lay the blame on.”

“Ah yes,” Iskender said with a smile, “The benefits of being on the top of the food chain. I vote for holding off taking Binici and Lokman now and wait to observe tomorrow’s meeting.”

“I agree.”

“Want to split up and we each sit on one of the BP stations?”

“I’ll take the north station for the meet. I’m pulling up Google Earth shots of the locales now.”

“I’ll notify the military base. They’ll have a unit to follow Omar and the rest after the meeting. We’ll learn where they’re holed up-” Iskender quickly scribbled a name down on a pad of paper. “Halim just sent a message. He traced the IP to a cyber café in Bogaz.”

Atakan’s mind ran through possibilities. “The hotels there fill up as fast in tourist season as those in Famagusta. They came on the spur of the moment, which means they probably couldn’t find a place to stay onshore. I’ll bet they’re on a boat.”

“Ask them to contact the naval base at Buyuk Ada have a patrol boat close off shore in case they’re using one as their base of operation. Make sure they know we don’t want them apprehended yet in case they’ve divided up to work in teams. We want all of them. This is reconnaissance only for now.”

“I’ll tell the navy’s unit to make it appear they’re on a routine patrol but we need all the info they can acquire surreptitiously.” Iskender started to make the call then stopped. “Problem is--we don’t know what kind of boat they should be looking at. They’re going to ask.”

A good question Atakan didn’t have a good answer for, which wouldn’t make the navy boys happy. “I doubt they’re using an upscale pleasure boat, the costs are too high. Tell them to take a second look at any small, inexpensive pleasure boat or any fishing boats they’ve never seen in the area before.”

When Iskender finished the calls, Atakan laid out their other pressing problem. “How shall we deal with Saska? She cannot go. We can’t have a hostage situation.”

“This thing with her could force our hand. We might still catch Lokman at the café if we send a police unit ASAP there. We have Binici. Maybe we can get Goker too. That gives us three. Lokman said Goker was watching the camp as they spoke. I can ask for a chopper from the base to do a flyover,” Iskender said.

“A fixed wing is less noticeable but what good will it do? If the plane spots him, we’re back at the same issue we had with taking Lokman and Binici. If Goker doesn’t turn up wherever they are staying, the rest will take off.”

“How can we keep her from going with Binici?”

Atakan shook his head. He had no immediate idea how to prevent her leaving with Binici that didn’t result in sending alarm bells to Binici. In fact, if he tried to talk her out of going, she’d question how he knew their plans. Then, if he managed to come up with a credible lie, she’d question why he didn’t want her to be with Binici. He did not need this complication. The Paracetamol was slow taking effect today. He closed his eyes and pressed his cold fingertips to his lids for a few seconds and then massaged the corners. It didn’t help.

He opened his eyes. “Stay here,” he told Iskender. “I’m getting Charlotte. We clearly cannot try and stop Saska without raising difficult questions. Being a woman and not an authority figure, maybe Charlotte can help...convince her to change her plans somehow.”

“What am I supposed to do—cuff her to the bed?” Charlotte understood the predicament they were in and wanted to help but she was at a bigger loss than Atakan and Iskender for a solution.

Saska had grown close to the disgusting Nassor or as Atakan called him, Binici. Even if he wasn’t a terrorist, her attraction to Nassor mystified Charlotte. There were times she’d see the two of them with their heads together chatting and laughing. She felt like asking Saska, really? But, for whatever reason, Saska liked him. Convincing her not to spend time with Nassor was not going to be easy. If someone Charlotte hardly knew asked her not to go with Atakan somewhere, she’d blow them off and go with Atakan.

“We’re not exactly good friends,” Charlotte continued. “I don’t see what I could possibly say to convince her not to go.”

“We have to do something. I don’t trust Lokman not to snatch her to make Binici cooperate.”

Atakan plucked a small chunk of ice from his coke, closed his eyes and ran the cube over each lid then held the chip to one eye. Familiar with his headaches, Charlotte knew they often caused knife-sharp pain to radiate behind his eyes. He endured them without complaint. He’d start off massaging his lids. The pain was always worse in one eye. That eye would develop an almost imperceptible twitch. She wondered if Iskender had noticed the tiny tic under his left eye. If the headache came at night, Atakan couldn’t sleep. When massaging failed, which it did if the headache was bad enough, he’d sit on the sofa with ice packs over his eyes.

“Should I get a baggie of ice from the cook?” she asked.

“No, I’m fine.” He opened his eyes and dropped the melting chip into the wastebasket.

“Did you take your prescription?”

“A few minutes ago. Please, we need to concentrate on this situation with Saska. I’ll deal with the headache.”

“What if we have Refik tell her the Ministry wishes to speak with her and she must be available when they call,” Iskender suggested.

“She’ll just say tell them to call me on my cell. It’s not like Refik can force her to take the call in his office,” Charlotte said.

She told Atakan, “You said that Binici commented she’s sympathetic to their goals, which goes along with the questions she asked you and Iskender. If true, then she’s going to really be anxious to go. Not only because she’s tight with Nassor but she might get a magazine article out of the meeting.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Atakan admitted. “If she thinks she’ll get a story, stopping her is twice as difficult.”

“What would stop you from going somewhere with Atakan?” Iskender asked Charlotte.

“I’d have to be extremely pissed at him,” she flicked a glance at Atakan, “which he’s occasioned to happen. Or, I’d have to be ill. But, Saska is neither angry with Nassor nor unwell.

Iskender perked up. “What we can we give her to make her sick?”

“Syrup of Ipecac will make her vomit. I’ve never tasted it, but I hear it tastes similar to concentrated prunes, very sweet,” Charlotte said. “We could put it in prune juice.”

“Where do we get the Ipecac?”

“The pharmacy in Famagusta should carry it.” For a small tourist town, when she shopped there, Charlotte found the pharmacy offered a wide variety of products.

“No. We’re not poisoning her with this Ipecac nonsense,” Atakan said.

“Technically, I don’t think it’s like really poisoning her but truthfully, I wasn’t thrilled with making someone deliberately sick,” Charlotte said.

Iskender gave a long sigh. “We’ve no choice.”

“We take Binici now and transport him to the military base. Call the commanding officer and let him know we’re bringing a subject on our terrorist watch list.” Atakan stood. “I’ll run to the local police station and obtain cuffs and leg irons. I want him wrapped up tight.”

“What about a taser in case he fights?”

“Can’t hurt.”

Iskender checked his watch and began calling the base again.

“I’d rather do this fast and quiet. Can you keep Saska busy while we affect the arrest?” Atakan asked Charlotte. “I don’t want to chance interference from her” 

“Don’t worry. Give me a heads-up a minute before you grab him and I’ll make sure she’s out of the way,” Charlotte said.

Iskender turned the cell phone to his chest and said to Atakan, “The C.O. is asking if we want to be there for the interrogation.”

“Absolutely. We can make him give us which BP station is involved. Once the interrogation is over, you and I can go with a few of the men from the base and scout the location. We’ll figure how to set up for tomorrow’s meeting after that.”

Iskender relayed the information to the base C.O.

“What do you mean you’ll scout the location and figure how to setup for the meeting?” Charlotte asked.

“We’ll be working with their men from military intelligence tomorrow to arrest the rest of the PKK members here,” Atakan explained.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Chapter Fifty-Two

“Atakan--,”

He raised a halting hand to cut Charlotte off. “Stop.”

“No, I’ll have my say.”

“Let me explain how we’re handling the capture of the others first. Once we have Binici in custody, we’ll interrogate him and keep him locked up. When he doesn’t show for the meeting, the others may get spooked and leave. But we think they won’t. After analyzing their possible reactions, we decided that knowing Lokman, he’ll figure Binici simply didn’t show. He’ll be incensed and we anticipate him to contact Binici. When he does, we’ll have Binici set up another meeting. When they do and the others arrive, we’ll be waiting.”

She wasn’t liking the plan so far. “Think they’ll come armed?” she asked.

“If I were in their position, I would. Iskender dealt more with radical PKK members while he was in the military than I did.”

“Everyone I had contact with, the ultra hardcore members, like this group, always had weapons on them,” Iskender said. 

Just what she didn’t want to hear, it was scary enough knowing Tischenko was hunting Atakan. A group of armed fanatics was worse than the Tischenko threat. Why did Atakan and Iskender need to be in the thick of this arrest and possible deadly confrontation? She wanted answers.

“This meeting you’re ordering Nassor,” she paused to correct herself, “Binici to set up, you really are planning on participating in it?” she asked Atakan.

“Of course.”

“Why? Why isn’t the military handling the entire operation? Why do either of you need to get involved? If arrests are made, the group will be taken to the base for interrogation. There’s no reason this shouldn’t be an all military action.”

“We are working with men from the base. But, we initiated the operation and want to be part of it as we should be,” he said flatly, in his most stubborn tone.

Charlotte threw her hands up. She wanted to strangle Atakan. He sat there, forearms on the desk, a sphinx-like expression on his face, talking to her as though he was explaining an algebra equation.

“So, I was right. You’ve lost your mind. Have you given a thought to Tischenko? You know he’s in Cyprus. You know his intent. Yet, you’re going to run around at some gas station, out in the open gathering terrorists...terrorists that can easily be captured by military personnel alone. They have enough manpower they don’t need you or Iskender there.”

“Charlotte--”

“Don’t. Tischenko is undoubtedly watching you. And now, you’re putting yourself in his crosshairs by choice. There’s nothing to stop him from following you to the station and just gunning you down,” she said with a snap of her fingers. “Piece of cake for him.”

“I am not unprotected. I, like all the men there, will be wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet.”

“Oh, B.F.D. One shot between the eyes through the visor of your helmet and you’re done. What do you think of this insanity?” she asked, turning to Iskender.

“I think I should leave.” He closed his laptop, tucked it under his arm, and hurried out the door.

“What would you have me do, Charlotte? Sit here in the safety of the camp, like a woman? Ask them to call me when the operation is over? It’s all right now, Agent Vadim. You can come out. Do you really think I would allow this?”

He unclipped his cell phone from his belt and set it on the desk. “Here, why don’t you call your brother? Ask Nick, if he were in my place what he’d do.”

“Nick is a macho idiot who’d side with you and you know it.” She slid the phone back toward him. “Why don’t you call your mother? Let’s hear her opinion.”

“My mother would side with you and you know it.”

“Rightfully so, although that would be a first.”