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Outskirts Press - William Poteet

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139 pages

English

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Someone—a foreign power, a competitor, or even someone from within the CIA—has targeted Steve Renick for extermination. But how many more close calls can he endure before his luck runs out? Steve Renick can no longer trust anyone at the agency. Three times in the past 48 hours, executioners narrowly missed their mark, and only those at the agency knew his itinerary. All indications lean toward a security leak. But why is he being targeted? Steve’s SEAL training and 14 years as a field agent in the CIA make him a lethal weapon, but he needs to find answers soon. Otherwise, the odds favor his unknown assassin. All too aware that good guys die too, Steve is not ready to be a star on a wall at Langley. The one sure thing he knows is that he needs to be the first to pull the trigger...

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Fiction

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Publié par	Outskirts Press
Date de parution	01 août 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781977257369
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Good Guys Die Too All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2022 William Poteet v2.0 r1.1
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Outskirts Press, Inc. http://www.outskirtspress.com
ISBN: 978-1-9772-5736-9
Cover Photo © 2022 www.gettyimages.com . All rights reserved - used with permission.
Outskirts Press and the "OP" logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
To Cheryl, Kristen, Chris, Jon, Frank, Bill, Ellen, Greg, Steve, Dani, and Molly who encouraged me to tell this story.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER ONE
The doorknob began to turn in the darkened office space. Light from a streetlamp filtered through window blinds and cast a dim hue over the room. Silhouettes of chairs, desks, and other office equipment were the only visible shadows in the room. The room was still except for the ticking of an old wall clock.
The big brass knob continued to turn. Slowly the door opened. Its metal hinges squeaked, projecting the noise outward into the hallway. Holding the knob was a man dressed in a black suit of thin carbon nanotube armor. His face was smeared with a dark grease paint. A black ski cap covered the top of his head so only the whites in his eyes escaped the darkness. He wore sleek-fitting black Kevlar gloves, and a dark utility belt wrapped tightly around his waist. Over his left shoulder hung a small black leather attaché case. The rubber soles on his tactical combat boots allowed him to move silently as he darted across the room. With great stealth, he examined the room checking for any undetected motions. He was alone. Nothing should interfere with the mission, so he began the search.
He systematically scanned the room with his eyes starting with the bookcases, then worked down to a small table next to the wall, then to a series of metal desks within the room. The room appeared to be setup for use by multiple parties, like a call center or an IT workroom. Each desk was identical in size and shape. Each desk had three small drawers on the left side and one drawer for file folders on the right. The room reminded him of when he was in college and held a part-time job for a small insurance telemarketer. There was just enough room between each desk to allow conversations to occur, but not enough for privacy.
Each time he searched a desk he opened the desk file folder drawer only, briefly shining a small pin light flashlight into the open file drawer. He’d take out a few of the papers only to replace them in the same position as he found them, taking great care not to leave any clues of his presence behind. Leave no trace was a strategic part of the mission.
When he reached the fourth desk, he found something interesting. At first, he just skimmed through the papers as he did in other desks, but then he hesitated, grabbed a handful of the documents, and spread them out on the top of the desk.
The darkly clad intruder understood his job well. For the past 14 years he was employed by United Energy Solutions, a front company for a division within the Central Intelligence Agency. Prior to joining the CIA, he graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Computer Engineering and a minor in Naval Sciences. The FSU/ROTC graduate later served as a Naval officer with an eight-year stint as a Navy Seal and then three more years as an Intelligence officer at the Pentagon, where he rose to the rank of Lt. Commander before moving on to the CIA. He did two tours in Iraq plus scores of covert operations in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Asia. He loved the missions and the thrills. It was at the Pentagon where he realized he did not want to be stuck behind a desk. No, Steve Renick needed the adrenaline rush of covert assignments. His future with the Navy would no longer include field work so with that realization he moved on. Since then, he rarely regretted his decision. It had been a life of excitement, full of risks and challenges.
His assignments were dangerous, but they took him all over the world, and tonight’s mission was in the heart of South America. He was seeking a document that could link Brazilian officials with the Chinese government. According to his intelligence sources, the Chinese sought to stop Brazil from exporting a specific mineral to the United States. It was a rare mineral utilized in the production of nuclear reactors. Such a boycott could seriously jeopardize America’s progress in nuclear energy research and development. But more importantly, it could slow the U.S.’s goal of building its next fleet of nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers. Renick was keenly aware that the Chinese had bribed certain Brazilian leaders so they could control the flow of the scarce mineral.
Halfway through scanning the papers he stopped. There, in front of him, was a printed letter on stationary from a Hong Kong conglomerate the Chinese regularly commissioned to do much of their paperwork in these international matters. The document was written in Portuguese. Among the words were "Baddeleyite and Zirconium Exportation and Sales." Baddeleyite is the mineral the CIA thought was being manipulated. It is found and mined in an area around Sao Paulo, Brazil. The mineral, along with Zirconium, are important materials to the U.S. nuclear energy program. Zirconium, although not as rare as Baddeleyite, was a surprise to be included in the document and clearly an important find. It demonstrated China’s intent to manipulate the two minerals from sale and distribution to the world markets.
The top of the page was stamped "Classified Material." Behind this letter was another letter, this one with the official seal of the Republic of Brazil, Commerce Department, Office of Mining Exploration. Also written in Portuguese, Renick quickly read the document grasping what he could understand. He only had a rudimentary knowledge of the Portuguese language. He was much more fluent with Spanish, French, German, Russian, and Chinese. The document appeared to allocate future sales of the minerals to the Chinese exclusively through the subordinate Hong Kong conglomerate. He had the information he needed. He just needed to capture it and then carefully retreat without detection.
Renick reached into the small case and pulled out a mini camera. He photographed the documents. The sound of the shutter clicks and the motorized shrill from the autowinder broke the silence in the air. After he finished taking pictures of the documents, he carefully placed all the papers back into the drawer just as though he’d never been there. Methodically, he retraced all his steps, checking to see that all the drawers were closed, and nothing was array. No one would know he had been there, and Steve planned to keep it that way.
He moved out the door and into the hallway. Then he scanned the long hallway looking for any signs of being detected. Nothing. It was all clear. To his left was more hallway to more offices and a set of elevators. This was not his route of escape. It was the other direction he needed to go. There to his right was forty to fifty feet of clear hallway before it ended at a stairway. It would be a quick hop down a flight of stairs and then out of the building.
It looked clear on both sides of the hallway. The hallway walls were tall with a few windows near the top of the walls. Exterior lights partially illuminated the hallway, at least enough to see figure forms, but not enough for identification. Steve, dressed in black, blended nicely into the shadows. He moved forward down the hall taking long silent strides. It was now a short distance to the stairway. Suddenly the lights in the hallway erupted into brilliant hot light. The intruder stopped dead in his tracks. The sudden change in light temporarily affected Renick’s sight. He needed a couple seconds to get it under control. He could sense his heart rate slightly increasing as he gathered the facts on what just happened. Numerous footsteps were approaching from both ends of the corridor, breaking the stillness of the night. He could also see uniformed troops spilling into the hallway. Soldiers wore their standard combat greens uniforms complete with helmets. They were surrounding Renick with their rifles drawn. Each soldier was armed with what appeared to be an IMBEL IA2 rifle. Their sudden arrival certainly complicated Renick’s escape.
The entrance to the stairway was now blocked and the hallway on either side of him was lined with armed military personnel. All the guns were aimed at Steve. This was not good.
A medium-sized man in an officer’s uniform stepped in front of the troops near the stairway. Steve counted the number of soldiers and looked for gaps where he might escape. Approximately 20 soldiers guarded the exits. He stood there, motionless, watching the Latin looking officer raise what appeared to be a riding whi