Appleton put down the phone and climbed out of bed. Claire’s call had signaled the end of his Stateside assignment. He’d need to get packed and book a flight to Stuttgart. As he showered he let his mind go over the chain of events that led to the improbable and somewhat disconcerting result of Claire’s having chosen to remain in Berlin. At some level, he knew, her choice worked to his advantage—she’d be close at hand. But if things got out of control she’d possibly be in real danger. He toweled himself off then dressed quickly. He’d need to get over to the Pentagon and wrap up a few loose ends in time to catch the earliest flight out of Dulles.
* * *
Appleton flashed his credentials as he stepped through the security checkpoint at the entrance to the headquarters of U.S. European Command (EUCOM) on the outskirts of Böblingen, some twenty kilometers west of Stuttgart. He was wearing civies in accord with Army regs regarding off-base apparel and knew he wouldn’t be on base long enough to justify changing into his uniform. It was late morning of the following day and despite a stab at freshening up upon his arrival at Frankfurt International Airport he noticed some raised eyebrows among the military personnel he passed in the hall whose uniforms would stand up to any inspection. He nodded to a few as he walked but didn’t stop to visit, anxious to report to the Director then get down to business.
Task force headquarters of the Joint Interagency Counter Trafficking Center (JICTC) was well marked, though even if it hadn’t been he’d have had no difficulty finding it owing to a two-year posting just before his Berlin assignment. The female sergeant manning the reception desk greeted him with a shy smile as he signed in. “The Director wants you to go straight in, colonel.”
“Thanks, sergeant…I know the way.”
The Director’s office was through a double door at the far end of the hall. Appleton seized the handles of both doors, pulled them open and stepped through.
Brig. General Jack Campbell stood up as Appleton approached his desk. “Lawrence, how the hell are you?” he asked as he reached over the desk to shake Appleton’s hand.
“A little ragged I guess, sir, but nothing a good night’s sleep can’t cure.”
“Take a seat.”
Appleton complied, choosing one of the three chairs facing Campbell’s desk.
“I got your request for an operative. You think she’s likely to run into trouble?”
“It’s hard to tell, sir, but I’d feel better knowing she’s being protected. It shouldn’t be for very long—just long enough for them to shift their possible attention on to us or on to whatever local assets end up getting involved.”
“But her role isn’t obvious…I mean you said she’s using a fictitious name, fictitious employer, cut-outs for all communications, with all actual data gathering done by a local Eastern European outfit?”
“That’s correct, sir, but I imagine our target adversary has to be pretty sharp to have remained concealed for this amount of time. They’re not going to give up their anonymity without a fight.”
“I’m sure you’re right, colonel, so what do you have planned?”
“I’d like to have the operative insert himself into her life in a casual sort of way and I think I know just how to arrange it.”
“Well, I’ll leave the details to you. The guy selected for the job is a Major Elliott Stone. He’s thirty-two, a West Point graduate—class of 2003—with ten years of service. His personnel file shows him having three combat tours—one in in Iraq and two in Afghanistan—all in counter-intelligence.”
“Any special combat training?”
“Let’s see,” said Campbell as he read through Stone’s 201 File, “it shows him having completed sixteen months of special forces training, training that led to his being admitted into the Delta counter-terrorist unit.”
“Pretty impressive! What’s he been doing recently?”
“Well, in 2009 he entered Princeton where he earned a Masters Degree in European history, then starting in late 2010 he’s been enrolled in advance language training—and it says here he’s been able to achieve a working knowledge of German, Polish and Ukrainian.”
“So this will be his first posting since leaving school?”
“That’s right,” said Campbell, handing the 201 File over to Appleton.
“Where is he now?” asked Appleton.
“Waiting for you in Room 1201E; he’d been alerted you were en route to the base and the sergeant at the reception desk called him as soon as you checked in.”
“Thank you, sir. If you’ll permit me, I’d like to get over there right away and set things in motion.”
“Absolutely, colonel. Consider yourself dismissed.”
Appleton rose from his chair then reached over the desk to shake Campbell’s hand a final time before making his way out of the office.
* * *
1201E was a small but comfortably furnished conference room not far from the Director’s office. Major Stone, in full uniform, came to attention as Appleton entered.
“At ease major. I’m Colonel Appleton. It appears we’ll be working together.”
“Yes sir, although the general hasn’t briefed me on my new duties…I suspect he planned on leaving that to you.”
“Quite right. Why don’t we take a seat.”
They both settled into leather chairs across the table from one another and took a moment to perform a quick appraisal. Appleton saw before him a man whom he guessed to be a little over six feet tall and to weigh about one hundred and ninety pounds. Despite the loosely fitting combat uniform, Appleton had no difficulty discerning Stone’s markedly athletic build, leaving him in no doubt the man kept himself in excellent physical condition. He pulled Stone’s 201 File out of his briefcase and placed it on the table. “General Campbell has already briefed me on the contents of your personnel file so there’s no need to spend time on the basics. What I’d like to do is take a little time to acquaint you with the problem before going into a discussion of your assignment…that okay with you?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. I’m sure you’re already familiar with the general mission of the JICTC Task Force—to assist various governmental agencies and their foreign equivalents in the suppression of international criminal organizations, particularly those that might be linked to terrorists....
