Recker continued staring at his host, a whirlwind of thoughts going through his mind. This certainly was a day for bombshell announcements. First, his girlfriend tells him she’s pregnant and he’ll be a father, then the organization that once tried to kill him tells him they want him to work for them again. All that was missing now was for Agent Seventeen to rise out of his grave and stand before him again. The way things were going, he wouldn’t have necessarily been surprised. Lawson could tell he was stunned by the suggestion and sought to clear up any questions or concerns he had.
“So, what do you think?” Lawson asked. “Would you be interested?”
“I thought the last time we talked I made it clear that the agency and I are better off apart.”
“That was before.”
“My answer hasn’t changed. I’m not interested in coming back.”
“I figured that would be the case. We don’t want you back full time. Well, if you wanted to, we certainly wouldn’t be against it. But we know that’s not in your heart now.”
“So, what are we doing here then?”
“We want you back for one assignment,” Lawson answered.
“Why?”
“You know how classified material works. I can’t really divulge anything unless you’re on the job.”
“Well, unless I know what you’re talking about, the answer’s an automatic no.”
Lawson sighed, knowing full well she’d have to explain everything, anyway. She knew he wouldn’t just blindly accept an assignment from them without having to tell the details.
“OK. I will tell you the basic details without getting too specific.”
“Why me? Answer that. I thought this bridge had already been burned.”
Lawson thought for a second to collect her thoughts before explaining. “Because we have an operation that’s extremely urgent, and it’s falling off the rails.”
“That doesn’t tell me why you need me.”
“OK. It’s an operation overseas…”
“They all are.”
“OK, just let me explain.”
“OK.”
Lawson took a deep breath. “We have been tracking an international arms dealer for the last several months. We’ve sent undercover agents into Europe to try to find him and take him out, or bring him in, whichever is doable. Every agent we’ve sent in has been killed.”
“What do you mean every agent?”
“We sent two men into France three months ago. They turned up dead five days later. We sent two more men into Germany two months ago. They turned up dead three days later. We sent two more men into Ireland one month ago. They turned up dead after two days.”
“I’m sensing a pattern,” Recker said.
“And we sent two more men into Spain a week ago. They lasted three days.”
“Are they making contact and being eliminated?”
“That’s the thing. Every agent who was sent in had barely contacted any of our sources and contacts on the ground. None of them had yet to break into Cloutier’s inner circle. There’s no way he should have known who these agents were or where they were yet.”
“Then they’re getting some kind of inside information.”
“Have to,” Lawson said. “We don’t believe there’s any other way. There’s a leak somewhere. And it’s costing agents their lives. Not to mention putting thousands of people at risk.”
“Who’s this Cloutier guy?”
“Francois Cloutier. He’s a high-profile target. He’s now on the CIA’s top ten wanted list. He is an arms dealer, who is supplying anyone who’s got the money, including several terrorist organizations. He’s very dangerous and doesn’t care what you’re planning to use the weapons for, as long as he gets paid. And he’s rumored to have a very large warehouse full of powerful, powerful weapons a man like him should not have.”
“What about reversing things?” Recker asked. “Find the leak, work backwards until you find their contact, then that’ll eventually lead to Cloutier.”
“That’ll take time. Time I’m not sure we have. And there’s no guarantee we’re gonna find the leak on our end. We’ve been looking at it for a couple weeks now and we still haven’t found it.”
“What’s the importance? Other than the fact he’s dealing arms, I mean, so are a lot of other guys. What makes him different?”
“What makes him different is the fact we’ve heard he’s got a meeting planned with one of the terrorist groups on our watch list for a couple weeks from now. We’re having a tough time pinning down an exact date. All we have right now is it’s scheduled for a few weeks from now, date and time to be determined.”
Recker didn’t reply, instead, just taking it all in. Lawson knew she needed to keep up the pressure to get him to agree to work for them again. She couldn’t afford to have him say no.
“Have you heard about the church bombing that killed a hundred people in France last week?”
“Yeah,” Recker replied.
“Cloutier supplied the explosives. How about the school shooting in Spain a few weeks back?”
“Yeah.”
“Guess who supplied the weapons? How about the bombing in Russia a month ago?”
“I get the point.”
“The point is this guy is a dangerous, dangerous, man, and he needs to be stopped now before more people get hurt. And they will.”
Recker shrugged. Though he obviously was saddened by the news of innocent people being hurt, he didn’t see how he could really help. “Listen, even if you take out this guy next week, there will be another guy to take his spot the week after. It’s just an ongoing battle.”
“Yeah, and you might be right, and we’ll deal with that when and if the time comes. But for now, this guy is our target. This guy is a threat. We can’t worry about if someone else pops up. Right now, we have to prevent this guy from helping to carry out any other attacks.”
“Why me? I’m sure you still have other agents you can send.”
“It was my suggestion to bring you in.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to send someone over there who knows what they’re doing, who’s done this sort of work before, is as good as there is, and is someone I can trust. And I can’t keep sending over agents that are known. They’re just getting killed. I need someone who’s off the books right now, who’s unknown to everyone, contacts abroad, our own agency, everyone. I need you.”
“But I’m not off the books,” Recker said.
“You’re not on the active list. Nobody would know you’re there. I wouldn’t be asking you if I thought there was another way.”
“So, agents are getting killed, and you want to send me over? I’m expendable?”
“No, you’re not. I don’t think that would happen to you.”
Recker shook his head. “If you got a leak over there, there’s no chance I’m gonna set myself up for the same thing.”
“You won’t.”
“How can you be so sure? You know I got trust issues. I’m not gonna put my life in the hands of people I don’t trust.”
“Because you’re only going to deal with me. You only have to trust me.”
“You’re sure of that?”
“I’m your contact. You deal with me and me alone. If someone comes up to you and says the agency sent them, you put two in their head and walk away.”
“I’m sure someone besides you has to know of this plan,” Recker said.
“Only the Director and Deputy Director. I had to get their approval to bring you back in.”
“And they signed off?”
“They did. They said whatever it takes to get you in.”
Recker sighed and looked away, thinking about his options. “And just how long do you think this mission would take?”
“That would be up to you. However long it takes you to find him. If it takes you a week, then you’re done. If it takes you six months, then that’s what it takes.”
“Six months. It’s a long time to leave the life I’ve built up here.”
“Then find him sooner,” Lawson said with a smile. Though she thought Recker was interested, at least he wasn’t saying no, she thought she might have to sweeten the pot. “I’ve been authorized to offer you whatever kind of payday you want. That’s how bad the agency wants this to happen. Name your price.”
Recker let out a deep breath, knowing they were going to make it very hard for him to walk away. “Any price, huh?”
“Whatever you want.”
“I’m not interested in money. I’ve got all the money I need. It’s not what motivates me. Never has.”
“Well, what does?”
“You mean there’s no other agents who are off the books who couldn’t take this on?”
“Uh, well, there’s one… but he’s living a quiet life in Kentucky right now. He’s been out of the game for a couple years, whereas you’re still doing… whatever it is you’re doing. You’re still in the thick of things.”
Recker knew he was going to get sucked into this somehow. The allure of a name your price offer was too strong to just let go by the wayside. Especially in his line of work, that could be something he really needed at a later point in time. As he sat there thinking, Lawson gave him a few minutes, figuring it was best to let him figure out what it would take to get the job done.
“Anything I want?” Recker asked, several ideas floating around in his head.
“Anything.”
“It’s not money related. And I’m not sure your bosses are going to sign off on it.”
“Let me worry about that.”
“I’ll agree to go on several conditions, and every single one of them has to be met. It’s going to cost you dearly.”
Lawson finally let a little smile emerge on her face, excited by the prospect of Recker re-joining the team, even if it was just this assignment. “Go ahead.”
“David and Chris come with me.”
“I don’t see a problem there. You think they would go?”
“Chris wouldn’t be a problem. David might take some convincing. I’ll worry about that though. I can get him.”
“That’s easy enough to put through.”
“I’m not done yet. I don’t want extra money, but the agency will foot the bill on basic costs. Hotels, cars, payoff money, any of that, it’s not coming out of my pocket. But I don’t need to be paid.”
“Done. I can sign off on that one. Is that it?”
Recker smiled. “No. I want a get out of jail free card.”
“What?”
“Since I’m typically avoiding police these days, if me or Chris is ever arrested, whether it’s the police, FBI, or the Park Rangers, the agency will make sure we’re released within twenty-four hours.”
“And how would we accomplish that?”
“That’s your problem. And if it’s not done, the agency will not like what comes out of our mouth’s.”
“That might take some doing,” Lawson said.
“I’m sure it could be done.”
“OK. I’ll run it up the flagpole.”
“I’m not done.”
“There’s more?”
“Oh yeah. I want assurances that Chris or myself will never wind up on the other side of a sniper’s crosshairs.”
“Deal.”
“There’s one more thing.”
“Which is?”
“David. He’s still on the wanted list by the NSA.”
“And?”
“I want him off.”
“I don’t even know if they’re still looking for him,” Lawson said.
“Doesn’t matter. We both know if you’re on one of those lists, they never really stop looking. Priorities change, names slide up and down, but you’re never off.”
“That might take some doing. We don’t have any special pull with the NSA. They do what they do. You know we don’t generally interfere.”
“Pull some favors. Tell them he’s working for you now. Do something.”
“I’m gonna have to get approval for that one too. Is that it?”
“Yeah. I think that’ll cover it. If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know.”
“I’m sure you will. It might take a few days to get everything approved.”
“You’ll let me know, huh?”
“I certainly will.”
“And if everything’s agreed upon, when will I leave?” Recker asked.
“As soon as you’re ready.”