Breach of Protocol

A COLD VOICE

1

A COLD VOICE

The Camino trail, western Spain. About one mile from the town of Melide.

There’s not much of a cell signal along the Camino de Santiago, a five-hundred-mile trail known as The Way of Saint James, that runs through Spain’s rural countryside. So when the phone vibrated, it startled Jana. It had been her habit to leave the phone off until she found a hostel to sleep for the night. As it was, she was high on a bluff near Melide, just two days’ hike from the town of Santiago de Compostela, terminus of the Camino trail.

“We have a cell signal up here? Hang on,” she said to Gilda, a fortysomething hiker from Berlin she had befriended on the trail. “I thought this thing was turned off.”

“Probably that boyfriend of yours,” Gilda teased. “And don’t forget, it’s your turn to buy the wine tonight.”

“Oh no. Last time I did that, you got hammered.”

“Me?” Gilda laughed. “You were singing karaoke in Spanish, and you don’t speak Spanish.”

Jana laughed as she fished in her backpack for the phone. “Oh yeah. What was it you said I told the waiter? That I wanted to sleep with him?”

“Took a while to convince him you didn’t exactly have a command of the language.”

Jana looked at the phone. The caller ID said “Unknown.”

“Yeah, must be Cade calling me from his work,” she said. “But why would he not just use his cell phone?”

“He probably found out you made a pass at that waiter,” Gilda said with a smile.

“Remind me to smack you later.”

“Hello,” Jana said into the phone, but the only thing she could hear was the hollow sound of someone breathing. She looked across the surrounding hillsides, unsure why her nerves were suddenly on edge.

“Enjoying your little walk, Agent Baker?” a cold Middle Eastern voice said.

Ice raced into Jana’s bloodstream and her mind locked.

“Who is this?”

“Oh, but, Miss Baker,” the man said, his throat raspy and deep. “I would have thought you people would have my voice memorized by now.”

Her eyes scanned the horizon as if they might uncover someone watching.

Gilda put her hand on Jana’s arm. “Is everything okay?”

Jana stepped away and continued to look in all directions.

“I asked who this was.”

“Oh, I think you know,” the man said through a laugh. “Say it. Say my name, Miss Baker.”

A wave of terror leaked into Jana’s veins as she grabbed Gilda and yanked her to the ground.

“Jarrah? Waseem Jarrah?”

“What are you doing?” Gilda said as her body folded underneath Jana’s pull.

“You are probably wondering something pointless, Agent Baker, like how I obtained your cell phone number. And that leads you to what must be a very terrifying thought: whether or not I am also tracking your movements with it, or perhaps if I am watching you right now.”

Jana’s breathing rate went into overdrive.

“I have come into a great deal of wealth, Miss Baker, and can obtain a great many things. But it is information that I value most. Information is a most valuable commodity, don’t you think?”

Jana leaned across Gilda, hoping to shield her from the rifle shot she feared was about to come, then began a frantic search inside her backpack for anything she could use as a weapon.

“I’m going to find you, Jarrah. And when I do—”

“You’re going to what?” he interrupted. “Kill me? Well, after I successfully vaporized your CIA headquarters a few months ago with a nuclear weapon, I would think you would want to do more than just kill me. I would think you’d have more concern for predicting my next target. Maybe you should be protecting your FBI headquarters, or the White House? Perhaps I sold the warheads? Perhaps not. I cannot recall. Hmmm, where did I put those warheads?” he said through a grin Jana could feel across the phone. “But, I digress.”

Jana began piecing together the thoughts streaming through her mind. Where the hell is he? Is he watching me right now? I’ve got to think . . .

He continued. “I spent many years in your country, Agent Baker.” His tone deepened. “And I’m still trying to wipe the stench from my skin.” Then he almost yelled, “The CIA, the beast, got what it deserved, and Allah was pleased.” Jana heard him take a deep breath. “However, I didn’t call to tell you to be careful and avoid twisting an ankle as you finish your hike. I called to tell you that it’s more personal this time. In my previous attacks, I was unconcerned about who got in my way. But now I’ve taken a liking to you. You killed someone very dear to me, and I will ensure you feel the pain of your transgressions.”

Gilda squirmed underneath Jana. “What is wrong with you? Get off of me!” But Jana leaned her weight on top to keep the woman shielded from the potential threat.

“Stay down, Gilda,” Jana whispered. “Personal, you say?” she said into the phone. “Personal? Two years ago, you were the one that sent Shakey Kunde to detonate a nuclear weapon on US soil. What did you think I was going to do? Sit there and let him murder sixteen thousand innocent Americans? You sent him to die. He may as well have been dead before he entered that festival. And you blame me for his death? Our psychological profiles were right. You are insane.”

“Watch your tone, Agent Baker,” Jarrah belted. “You might be surprised at how inaccurate your little psychological profile is. I’ll admit, I was focused on wiping the CIA from the face of the earth. But when my second nuclear device detonated, I felt a calm inside myself unlike anything I could have imagined. Destroying the CIA was the realization of a dream.” Then the vinegar returned to his voice. “My path is set, Miss Baker. I have chosen my next target. Shortly you will witness the beginning of a game you and I are to play, a game of death, and the stakes have never been higher. Someone very important to you will die. You should consider their death to be a small atonement in the debt I intend to extract from you.”

Oh my God. He’s going to kill Cade.

“I do have one more thing to say to you, and it is this.”

Jana could almost feel his smile again through the phone, but then his voice became stilted.

“I heard one say in a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’”

To Jana, it sounded scripted, as if he was quoting something from memory or reading the words off a page.

“And you needn’t bother trying to trace this call,” he said. “I only use a cellphone once, then it gets destroyed. I am not stupid, you should know that by now. Say goodbye to your loved one, Agent Baker.”

“What the hell does that mean? A voice like thunder? Come?” Jana paused. “Jarrah? Jarrah?” The call went dead. “Prick.”

“Get off of me.” Gilda squirmed. “You’re crushing my ribs!”

“Sorry, Gilda. I thought he was here. I thought he was watching us.”

“Who? Who’s watching us?”

“I’ve got to call Cade.” Jana’s fingers shook as adrenaline surged into her veins. She navigated her list of contacts on the phone to find his information. “Dammit!” she yelled as she tapped on the wrong contact.

“Jana, you’re scaring me! Here,” Gilda said, “give me the phone. Who do you need to call?”

“Cade! I need to call Cade right now!”

“Okay, okay. Calm down. Here’s his contact. It’s dialing now.”

Jana yanked the phone back.

“I’m not hearing anything. It’s not ringing. Come on, Cade. Pick up, pick up.” But there was only silence. Jana looked at the phone. “The signal. It’s down to one bar and even that keeps disappearing. The call isn’t going through!”

“Well come on,” Gilda said as she grabbed Jana’s backpack and began to jog. “The town of Melide is just down the hill. We’ll get a signal there. Now, tell me what’s going on.”

Jana squelched tears before they could form as the two friends ran downhill in the direction of the town.