NCRI—National Council of Resistance of Iran. MEK provided irrefutable evidence of Iran’s nuclear-arms program way back in 2002 that made us realize how advanced Iran had become toward nuclear proliferation.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “I thought they branded MEK a terrorist group.”
She shrugged. “Yesterday’s terrorists are today’s patriots. Anyway, they claim to have mended their ways. I’ve been using these contacts in France—through their network in Iraq, where they were given protection—to narrow my scope to those Iranian who may have been set in place by Hassan and his agency, MOIS.”
“And this guy, Hassan, crossed your radar in France?”
She nodded. “As far as I knew, he’d never stepped foot outside of Iran for years. Then we spotted him in Paris with Martin. Things really got interesting. Roadblocks started shooting up the more I asked questions about Martin.”
“From your own agency?”
Two men walked passed them, talking about their weekend plans. No one in the immediate area seemed interested in Jack and Shakeela, but she let the two strangers walk out of earshot before continuing. “My team stayed with Hassan after that meeting, and I followed Martin back to his hotel. I got enough information from the hotel to finally get a name to go with the face I photographed. Then your request came through, and things started to get weird.”
“That’s when they pulled you back stateside?”
“You bet! Two years undercover, and they risk my exposure to call me back from the cold. It just doesn’t make sense. And that’s when Gerrit’s name popped up. Attmire called me into his office and asked about my relationship with Gerrit. I told him that was old history and asked why he was asking about Gerrit after all these years. Attmire tried to pass it off as a name that recently crossed his desk and that it was tied to an operation I ran a long time go.”
“The op in Afghanistan?”
She gave him a sheepish look. “Actually, we traveled into Iran from the Iraqi side, just before we took out Suddam Hussein. The CIA needed someone like Gerrit who understood the interworkings of labs and technology. At that time we were more interested in chemical and biological weapons systems, and we could not latch on to lab rats from the States and send them into Iran. Gerrit, with his military background and MIT training, was perfect for the job. He never told you?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Not a word.”
“That man can sure keep secrets.” Shakeela wondered if Gerrit ever told anyone about their nonoperational activity. Warmth rushed across her face. She hoped it did not show. “Anyway, it had nothing to do with what I’m working on now, and I thought it was odd that Jason brought it up. So when they recalled me from Europe, I ran Gerrit’s name and came across the incident in Seattle last week, as well as all the other trouble he’s gotten into.”
“The way the report read, Gerrit was a one-man terrorist organization, almost getting blown up a second time when his boss was killed. What is Gerrit caught up in, Jack?”
The colonel met her gaze and held it. “Will you trust me when I say you do not need to know right now? He is one of the good guys. It just may be hard to prove right now because of those who’d like nothing better than to put him down. Gerrit—and the group he works with—have been forced to live in the shadows because certain people with immense power want him dead.”
“Why? Who could he have ticked off so bad that they would do this?”
Jack looked at her intensely. “We’re trying to find that out, Shakeela. I believe Martin is connected to these people, individuals who are not tied to one country, one continent. People wielding a lot of influence to gain their objectives on an international level.”
“And what is their objective?”
“Before I try to answer that,” he said, “let me just add this. We don’t have a clue how big this organization
Jack raised an eyebrow. “I thought they branded MEK a terrorist group.”
She shrugged. “Yesterday’s terrorists are today’s patriots. Anyway, they claim to have mended their ways. I’ve been using these contacts in France—through their network in Iraq, where they were given protection—to narrow my scope to those Iranian who may have been set in place by Hassan and his agency, MOIS.”
“And this guy, Hassan, crossed your radar in France?”
She nodded. “As far as I knew, he’d never stepped foot outside of Iran for years. Then we spotted him in Paris with Martin. Things really got interesting. Roadblocks started shooting up the more I asked questions about Martin.”
“From your own agency?”
Two men walked passed them, talking about their weekend plans. No one in the immediate area seemed interested in Jack and Shakeela, but she let the two strangers walk out of earshot before continuing. “My team stayed with Hassan after that meeting, and I followed Martin back to his hotel. I got enough information from the hotel to finally get a name to go with the face I photographed. Then your request came through, and things started to get weird.”
“That’s when they pulled you back stateside?”
“You bet! Two years undercover, and they risk my exposure to call me back from the cold. It just doesn’t make sense. And that’s when Gerrit’s name popped up. Attmire called me into his office and asked about my relationship with Gerrit. I told him that was old history and asked why he was asking about Gerrit after all these years. Attmire tried to pass it off as a name that recently crossed his desk and that it was tied to an operation I ran a long time go.”
“The op in Afghanistan?”
She gave him a sheepish look. “Actually, we traveled into Iran from the Iraqi side, just before we took out Suddam Hussein. The CIA needed someone like Gerrit who understood the interworkings of labs and technology. At that time we were more interested in chemical and biological weapons systems, and we could not latch on to lab rats from the States and send them into Iran. Gerrit, with his military background and MIT training, was perfect for the job. He never told you?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Not a word.”
“That man can sure keep secrets.” Shakeela wondered if Gerrit ever told anyone about their nonoperational activity. Warmth rushed across her face. She hoped it did not show. “Anyway, it had nothing to do with what I’m working on now, and I thought it was odd that Jason brought it up. So when they recalled me from Europe, I ran Gerrit’s name and came across the incident in Seattle last week, as well as all the other trouble he’s gotten into.”
“The way the report read, Gerrit was a one-man terrorist organization, almost getting blown up a second time when his boss was killed. What is Gerrit caught up in, Jack?”
The colonel met her gaze and held it. “Will you trust me when I say you do not need to know right now? He is one of the good guys. It just may be hard to prove right now because of those who’d like nothing better than to put him down. Gerrit—and the group he works with—have been forced to live in the shadows because certain people with immense power want him dead.”
“Why? Who could he have ticked off so bad that they would do this?”
Jack looked at her intensely. “We’re trying to find that out, Shakeela. I believe Martin is connected to these people, individuals who are not tied to one country, one continent. People wielding a lot of influence to gain their objectives on an international level.”
“And what is their objective?”
“Before I try to answer that,” he said, “let me just add this. We don’t have a clue how big this organization
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