Chapter 21
1270 Words
Chapter 21“Ms. Kartz, I am Michael Gillette, your Consul in Miami. I am pleased to meet you indeed.” The middle-aged, brown hair, brown face, brown eyes and brown suit man extended a hand for her to shake, which Talya rudely ignored.
When the landing gear had hit the ground, and after being practically shoved into an awaiting car, her two official goons had brought her to the Canadian consulate’s offices without as much as a word during the ride from the airport.
“Under any other circumstances,” Talya said. “I would return the compliment and say that I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. As it is, however, I am not only utterly displeased but quite appalled by the way you have abducted me from my home.”
“I understand your resentment of my actions, but I had no choice in the matter. I was ordered to take you in our protective custody...” The man, obviously, was not the boss.
“Excuse me. Did you say you had to stop me? And who, may I ask, gave you such an order, Mr. Gillette?” Talya was annoyed with the abuse of power from her own government.
“That is something I am not prepared to reveal at this time. But why don’t we sit down...” Gillette indicated a couple of chairs beside a round table set in a corner of his office.
They sat down and glared at each other for a moment before Talya opened her mouth again. “I am not sure why you have brought me here, but I don’t intend to stay any longer than it will take me to obtain some sort of an explanation from you.”
“If it is an explanation that you want, you shall have it.” The man stretched to the back of his seat, unbuttoned his double-breasted suit jacket, and crossed his legs. Obviously, the explaining was going to take some time.
Talya did the same, relaxed and continued glowering at him. She was far from happy to be where she was.
“I have received a call this morning from Ottawa, telling me of your feat in West Africa where you unearthed what was one of the best entrenched drug operation on that continent. I was also told of the timely demise of Mr. Osnoir and of your earlier intention to come to Miami and make life miserable for the head of the cartel in this region, Mr. Ben Slimane.” Gillette didn’t know that her focus had moved northward. “In this plan, there is however, a flaw, Ms. Kartz. If we are aware of your movements, you can be sure that the head of the cartel is as well. And had I not carried out my orders to bring you here the way I did, you would be dead by now.”
Talya was no longer glaring at Michael Gillette; she was staring at him agape. “Well then, I thank you. Because that’s all I needed to know. You can’t detain me against my will forever, and as soon as I am able to get out of here, I’ll carry out whatever plan I think best not only to evade my assassination but to bring Ben Slimane to his knees; I’ve had it up to here with these people.” Talya was not seething then; it was more like ready to erupt with uncontrollable fury.
“Again, you’re underestimating my discretionary powers.” He said it, didn’t he? “I can, and I will detain you here as long as it takes for my staff and me to be assured of your protection in the hours or the days to come. And if that is not clear enough for you, I’ll put it another way; you are under protective custody in this consulate and that until I release you.” The decisiveness in his voice was unmistakable – the man was going to keep Talya at the consulate for an undetermined period.
“But why... why did you bring me to Miami? And what will assure you that I am sufficiently protected to enable me to leave?”
“For one thing, you’ve been brought here because that’s where we – that is the US and Canadian agencies – need you. In fact, Ms. Kartz, the CIA is convinced that you know much more than you have divulged thus far.”
“Is that all?”
“No, Ms. Kartz. At this point, they need your full cooperation. They need to know why and how you suspect Ben Slimane to be living in Miami for one thing, and what made you suspect that the cocaine you found in Senegal came from the United States.”
Talya returned to her glaring at the brown fellow she now despised. “So, you want me to do their job for them? Come on, Mr. Gillette; don’t tell me the CIA would be that ignorant. If I have answers to these questions, so do they.”
“As you said, Ms. Kartz, the CIA has most, if not all, the information they would need to apprehend Mr. Slimane.” He paused. “But apparently, they are reluctant to involve the FBI in this affair at this juncture.”
“Why?”
Gillette looked uncomfortable. “Let’s just say the Bureau has other things to do than chasing after an elusive cartel boss.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Gillette shook his head. “No, I’m not. It seems the CIA doesn’t want to open their files to them for some reason.”
Talya stared again. “Are you telling me the CIA wants to use me as bait? Because that’s what it amounts to. And once Slimane locates me they’ll call the local authorities and have the guy arrested without involving the FBI?”
“That’s the plan apparently.”
Talya was aghast. “Then, tell me why is CSIS involved? Wouldn’t they buck at the idea of not only involving a Canadian citizen into this but helping the CIA in a cover-up?”
“Because this is not a cover-up, Ms. Kartz.”
“What is it then? As far as I can see, it sure is. When a government agency doesn’t want to open their files to another – that spells cover-up to me.”
“I couldn’t disagree, but as far as this consulate is concerned, our only duty is to see to your safety.”
“So, what do you want me to do now?”
“For now, I’ll only ask that you wait for a few hours until the arrival of His Highness, Khalid Saif Al-Fadir.”
Talya opened her eyes wider. “What has he got to do with this? He doesn’t know any more than I do, and I can assure you he won’t be interested in the CIA’s scheme by any stretch of the imagination...”
“The fact that he is coming down to take you in his custody tells me otherwise. His cooperation is our guarantee that you won’t be running away again and that you’re in good hands.”
So, that was it! Khalid had pulled an ace out of his sleeve. Talya was relieved that he had not only understood the message but also preempted the government’s move.
“You mean he is the one who told you to release me when he arrives?” She looked at her interlocutor fixedly.
“No, he is not the one. He is the one who will take you into his personal custody but he’s not the one who ordered your release. Let’s just say that someone else cares about what happens to you.”
That’s when Talya decided not to probe Gillette for any more answers. If she were to remain on the outside of the CIA’s involvement, she would need to let the chips fall where they may.
“May I ask you to do me a favor, Mr. Gillette?”
“Anything, within reasons and within the bounds of my proposition, of course.”
“Would you mind ordering lunch for us?”
Her host then exploded in hearty laughter. “By all means, lunch will be served in a few minutes actually.”
When I took the flash drive out of its slot after I had listened to this conversation, which Gillette had so graciously recorded for me, I was now certain that Talya knew a lot more than I had imagined. If there was any way for me to get to her, I had to get Khalid to Sinosetu on the double. He was the one I couldn't touch and the one who would throw a spanner in the works every time I wasn’t looking.
- Writer
