Smoke and Shadow (2 page)

“
War is Hell,
Ms. Mendoza. It brings out the worst in people.
”
Baker glanced away from them to
look back on his friends.
“
You
’
d be surprised what a man will do
and where his mind will go when he
’
s pushed.
”

“
Can
’
t it
sometimes bring out the best in people?
”
Nikki tried to inject as much peppy
optimism as she could into her question to relieve the growing
tension on the terrace.

“
That depends on
how you look at it, my dear. One man
’
s noble heroism is another
man
’
s total
clusterfuck.
”
Baker paused, looked down at his cane and let out a sigh
Nikki found tragic.
“
The last mission I had in the field is a perfect example of
what I
’
m talking
about.
”

Book One: A Special
Request

Spring
2007

Baker swirled the
dregs of his coffee in the bottom of the cup, hoping the motion
might turn the sludge into two fingers of Woodford Reserve. He
imagined the color brightening from black to golden honey and the
smell softening from burnt tar to hints of vanilla, fruit, and
chocolate. But no matter how many times he flicked his wrist, he
couldn
’
t make it
better. He would have smirked at the symbolic parallels between his
cup and his life if the pain in his leg wasn
’
t so awful.

“
All right,
let
’
s try telling
this story again. Maybe at some point it will make
sense.
”
Shaw stood
flagpole straight at the other end of the table. His urban battle
dress uniform was immaculate. It signaled an attention to detail
Baker found admirable. It also told him the man never spent any
time in the field, which made him the most delusional and dangerous
type of command and control officer. It was like Sun Tzu said;
those who are ignorant of military affairs can only bring
misfortune when they are placed in command of the
army.
”

Carpenter sat to
Baker
’
s right,
closest to Shaw in more ways than one. He sat up straight too,
mirroring Shaw
’
s
body language. Chu and Trent sat across from him, like teenagers
sitting in the principal
’
s office. They looked more annoyed
at this charade than he felt. Trent's look of aggression when he
glanced up at Shaw felt like a challenge.
“
The story isn
’
t going to change by telling it
again. If you don
’
t like the results, fine. Do what you need to do. None of us
needs an operational debrief to turn into a circle
jerk.
”

“
Don
’
t think
that being in the private sector gives you the right to disrespect
authority, you fucking fuck.
”
Shaw slammed his hand down on the table, but took
a step discreet away from Trent. Baker understood the move, but he
knew Shaw was still too close if his friend decided to jump up and
crush his windpipe. In any event, he kept on talking.
“
I
’
ve got the State Department, the
Provisional Government, and Langley up my ass because of your
cluster fuck. You will sit here until I get answers that are
acceptable to this company and its customers and fuck you if you
don
’
t like
it!
”
Trent
didn
’
t say
anything. Baker knew he was ready to respond with action, not
words. He needed to diffuse the situation before the briefing
turned into a brawl.

So Baker spoke
up, still staring into his Styrofoam cup and wishing it was
whiskey.
“
Ladies,
we all know how this story ends, so why don
’
t we just play it out and move on
with our lives?
”
Shaw and Trent were still eyeballing each other, so Baker set
aside his disappointing beverage and reached for the open file in
front of him.
“
As
Shadow said, we
’
ve
been over this half a dozen times already, but one more time
won
’
t
hurt.
”
He shuffled
the papers, but didn
’
t bother to look at them. He didn
’
t need any reminders of what
happened. There was no way for him to forget.

“
This
operational report concerns fire team Night Watch, which consists
of Chris
“
Silence
”
Carpenter as the asset officer, Hamilton
“
Smoke
”
Chu as executive protection,
Harrison
“
Shadow
”
Trent as close protection, and myself as field
commander
…”

“
I know this
part,
”
Shaw
growled.
“
Let
’
s get to
the part where you fucked up.
”

“
Yes, sir, but
if you
’
d like to
repeat the debrief, then I need to repeat it in its
entirety,
”
Baker
responded with a bright smile.
“
To continue: twenty-six days ago, at
approximately twenty-two forty-five hours, fire team Nightwatch,
traveled south on an unnamed road in the old city section of
Karbala
…

“
All right,
let
’
s go over this
one more time for the slow kids in the class.
”
Baker glanced out the window to
admire the full moon and check the rooftops for snipers. The Humvee
bounced through the darkened streets at a speed fast enough to make
it a difficult target, and slow enough for Chu to avoid the random
goats meandering down the side alleys of Old Karbala. Carpenter sat
with him in the rear of the truck, staring out his own window and
looking for threats. Trent rode shotgun next to Chu, his gloved
hands resting comfortably on the barrel of his modified M4 and his
eyes scanning the street in front of them as he responded to
Baker.

“
We don't need
to hear it again. You
’
re just repeating it because you like to hear yourself
talk.
”

“
True, but that
isn
’
t the
important part of the story. Silence was working under the name
Charles Reed when he made contact two weeks ago with an Indian
hawaladar named Singh Popanjar. He claims to have connections to
Kata
’
ib
al-Karbala, and he is interested in a little side action. Initial
research confirms his backstory and his potential current
influence. All we have to do tonight is have a face-to-face to
check his bona fides, determine his utility going forward, and show
him that Silence is actually connected to the American money he
desperately wants to get his hands on.
”

Carpenter leaned
in to insert himself in the conversation.
“
He can tie Bagdad to the ongoing
insurgency. He
’
s
one of the principal money brokers in the city. If we lock him
down, the customer will have the political leverage to expose Iran
and isolate them even further. We need...
”

“
Hold on,
Silence.
”
Baker
nudged him with an elbow.
“
Let
’
s not plan our book deal
yet.
”
Smoke and
Shadow snickered. Carpenter sat back, annoyed.
“
This guy could be fantastic, or he
could be useless. We
’
ll take it slow and see where it goes. No
worries.
”

“
What
’
s the
potential opposition?
”
Trent asked without looking away from the
street.

“
It
’
s
minimal, based on my surveillance.
”
Carpenter went back to looking out the
window.
“
Popanjar
prefers privacy to protection.
”

“
Why?
”
Chu
spoke up for the first time.
“
Hawaladars often sit on substantial
amounts of collateral, and their connection to the opposition makes
them prime targets for guys like us.
”
He swerved the Humvee around a pair
of motorcycles. Shadow tensed for a moment, ready to return fire if
the men drew weapons. They didn
’
t.

Chu
continued.
“
All
the hawaladars I knew about on Java had some level of security. It
would be weird for Popanjar to not have any at
all.
”

Carpenter shook
his head without turning away from the window.
“
Some of his personal tastes
don
’
t lend
themselves to extensive interactions with his Muslim
brothers.
”

“
What kind of
personal tastes are we talking about?
”
Chu asked with a glance into the
rearview mirror at them.

“
Sorry,
Smoke.
”
Carpenter
grinned.
“
He
doesn
’
t like men,
so I
’
m afraid you
don
’
t have a shot
with him.
”

Chu
didn
’
t share his
mirth. He directed his next statement at Baker, slowing down to let
traffic pass them at an intersection. Trent was coiled like a cat,
ready to lash out in any direction.
“
What are we getting into, Ghost? Is
Trident authorized to recruit potential sexual liabilities in this
op?
”

Carpenter snapped
before Baker could answer.
“
You
’
ve got a lot of balls, fucker! You
know we
’
re not
going to get any operational intel from saints and soccer moms! If
we
’
re gonna do our
jobs, we have to go where the action is and talk to the people who
might not be your version of acceptable. Just because
it
’
s OK for you to
suck dick now doesn
’
t give you the right to look down on my
asset!
”

“
Hey!
Relax!
”
Baker
reached out and put his hand between Carpenter and Chu before
anything else was said. Chu pulled into the intersection without a
word while Carpenter glared out the window with an angry snap of
his head. Baker wondered what prompted his outburst. Carpenter was
protective of his assets, like most case officers were, but the
reaction still didn
’
t feel right. Baker filed it away for later as he pulled his
hand away.
“
This
is just a meet and greet. We
’
re not going to marry him and
we
’
re not going to
give him a medal. We
’
re just going to establish a dialogue.
That
’
s
all.
”

Chu stopped the
Humvee and Trent shot a quick glance at Baker.
“
Let
’
s hope your conversation with him
goes better than our conversations with each
other.
”

Chu parked the
Hummer across the street from the two-story flat Silence identified
as Popanjar
’
s home
and office. Baker stepped out of the vehicle in one smooth, quick
motion, scanning the area in a clockwise arc from three
o
’
clock to six
o
’
clock, paying
particular attention to those corners and shadows he would use to
stage an ambush against them. He didn
’
t need to look in any other
direction. All his men were professional. They all had their
quadrants covered. There were a few lights on in the windows, and
two rundown sedans puttered down the street, but Baker saw no sign
of an impending attack.