The Tangled Web: an international web of intrigue, murder and romance (12 page)

Jorgé fiddled with a gold plated pen on his desk reminiscing. Virtually all the original kingpins of the Colombian cocaine trade were dead, or in jail. Maria’s father had been among the old guard who had not survived. The massive heart attack had taken him instantly. Jorgé remembered how shaken he had been by Echevarría’s sudden death. Pablo Echevarría had been like a father to him. Had it not been for the older man, he doubted his ascent to the top would have been quite as mercurial. He now supervised every aspect of the cartel’s business, from the movement of cocaine out of Colombia to recycling the drug money. At that particular moment, he was immersed in the business of converting cocaine cash to diamonds from Russia. Jorgé threw the pen aside and cursed under his breath. He already had enough on his plate without Maria asking him to contract hit men.

He understood Maria’s concern over one of the shipments through the island being pilfered. He’d also checked the numbers and they didn’t add up. But what Maria was demanding was a dodgy undertaking. The island was another world, as Jorgé well knew. And not to be discounted was the fact he had spent more than a year building that alliance. It was a shame to throw it away. And there was no need to shed blood. Freeman could easily be replaced by Sterling. Sterling was a potentially strong partner, though Jorgé had some reservations about the minister. He wasn’t sure Sterling could deliver what Freeman could as head of state. He began toying with his pen again as he tried to devise an alternative strategy that would still serve to appease Maria.

Jorgé sometimes wondered what drove Maria to such extremes. The man’s cut was steep, true, and merchandise was missing, but it was a drop in the ocean all things considered. Jorgé was sure of one thing: it was not greed that motivated Maria, but power. They had long ago amassed a fortune. Unlike the drug kingpins of a decade before, their revenue had never been invested in huge stockpiles of weaponry. Instead, they had leaned toward extensive real estate holdings in and outside Colombia. This growing empire of theirs included a chain of hotels stretching from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean, in addition to a string of other legal businesses. Jorgé shrugged. It really didn’t matter what Maria’s motivation was when all was said and done. She pulled the strings. The fact was Maria wasn’t a woman to lock horns with. She could be a formidable enemy as the man down in the islands would soon discover. Taking that into account, he picked up the phone and dialed.

A gravelly voice answered on the second ring. “
Si
,
jefe?”

“
Necesito un hombre,
someone from outside the country. No accent,” Jorgé made clear. “This person has to be able to think on his feet.”

“I know a man we haven’t used in a long time, but he’s good. Our arrangement with him is ongoing. Right now, we’re paying for his son to go to one of those Ivy League schools in the States.”

“I don’t need to know any of those details. Just understand it is imperative there be no trail back to us, or even Colombia for that matter.

“What’s the time frame,
jefe
?”

“Two weeks, three at the outside.”

“
Dónde
?”

“
Una de las islas en el Caribe.
Come to my office for details. Listen, make sure this man is someone who knows what he’s doing. We can’t afford any mess-ups. It’s an order from
el numero uno
.”

Jorgé put down the phone. He lit a cigarette and exhaled a smoke ring, watching it make its way slowly across his office until it broke up. His thoughts returned to Maria. She had been only in her mid-twenties at the time of her father’s death. When Pablo’s intentions that she head the cartel became known to the cartel’s top associates, the reception to the news had been anything but joyous. Jorgé had been forced to hold the organization together by means of brute force until the dust of discord had settled. It had been a struggle, but it had also been the turning point for the cartel. Maria had learned quickly. She was tough, tougher than her father had ever been. She was also brilliant, a facet that would soon become obvious enough to gain confidence, even among the skeptics. It was she who had recognized the importance of efficient production and initialized the construction of their huge complex of cocaine labs. Now they were capable of producing up to twenty tons a month. But the laughing young woman he once knew had become hardened over the years. She had developed a restlessness that consumed her day and night, often calling him to discuss business at two or three in the morning. And she had made far too many enemies who were potentially dangerous. Jorgé was becoming concerned about her. He fervently hoped her trip to Europe would bring her back into balance. If it didn’t, there was no telling what might happen.

EIGHTEEN

A tall man, traces of silver in his dark hair, climbed out of a midnight blue Mercedes and walked over to a discreetly positioned private entrance at the back of the island’s Ministry of Finance. He punched in a code and the door opened immediately. With the purposeful stride of someone who knows exactly where they’re going, he turned right and headed towards the sign marking the emergency exit. Instead of using the elevator on his left, he took three flights of stairs leading directly up to the floor of the minister’s office. It was 4:00 p.m. on the button when he walked into the modest conference room. Compared to the business attire of others in the meeting, he was almost inappropriately dressed, wearing only a casual sports shirt and jeans. But he exuded refinement and the authority of a man who had earned his stripes, and earned them without much assistance.

He was apprehensive and understandably so. Until now, he had maintained complete anonymity, his identity known only to one person involved in the plan. That was the Deputy Prime Minister. Now, there were three people aware of his involvement. Unfortunately, that could not be avoided, because any form of communication, which could be traced was completely out of the question.

The man approached the conference table, astute eyes scanning the group of three as he shook hands with the Deputy Prime Minister and then the Ministers of Tourism and Finance. The two ministers knew him by reputation, but had never met him until now. He took his seat at the table as the Deputy Prime Minister quickly got down to the business at hand.

“I think there’s no reason that we can’t begin without delay.”

“Is this room safe?” the man inquired looking around warily.

“Perfectly safe,” Margaret Thomas told him. “No staff enters this room unless invited by me. In case you’re wondering why this meeting wasn’t scheduled for after office hours, we thought it better to have it at this time so as not to arouse suspicion.”

The Deputy Prime Minister handed a folder to each. He turned to the first page of a report and waited for the others to follow suit. More for the benefit of the visitor than the ministers he explained, “What you will see here is an outline of
Plan APM
. As you’ll notice, it’s largely in coded language. In the unlikely event anyone should stumble upon this information, it will be impossible to make head or tail of it.” Giving the Minister of Finance an appreciative smile, he added, “I think Margaret has covered all the bases as far as keeping our plan under wraps is concerned.”

“There’s nothing on any computer, is there?’ the man asked.

“All computer files have been already discarded. You probably won’t wish to be burdened with some of this information, but since this will be our last meeting, please bear with us while Margaret walks us through the security details for that day.”

The Minister of Finance rose and went over to a chalkboard. “This is phase one of the plan,” she explained as she began scribbling. “Gentlemen, here’s what the security on the day in question looks like.” Their eyes followed her hand as it flew across the chalkboard.

Phase 1
: Security

Capital building

a. 4 police special forces at entrance

b. 2 police special forces inside entrance

c. 4 police special forces in assembly hall

d. 2 police special forces rear of building

Motorcade

a. front, 1 armored escort vehicle manned by 4 special forces

b. back, same

Opportunity

transition from car to building

Quietly, the man appraised the ministers he had just met. Having investigated them thoroughly, he was aware of their strengths and weaknesses. At his request, dossiers containing information about every aspect of their lives had been created for him. He glanced from the Minister of Tourism to the Minister of Finance. There was not much he didn’t know about her, except what motivated her. That was information he would have to live without. He was obliged to trust the Deputy Prime Minister’s judgment concerning her. The other was a simpler matter – an educated man, a good family man, and a man of integrity. He was a rare breed these days. And as far as getting the job done, he had proven himself to be an effective Minister of Tourism despite all odds.

“Where will our man be positioned?” he asked, his attention once again focused on the tedious security details.

Margaret produced a photo of a five-story building opposite the capital building. “Right here in these law offices.” She indicated a window on the fifth floor with her marker.

“And who is delivering the package to him in London?”

The minister halted uncomfortably. “I can’t remember the person’s name off the top of my head,” she answered evasively. Seeing the man’s doubtful look she quickly added, “But I can get that information to you if you like.”

The man chose not to pursue it. He was fully aware delegation required a degree of trust, if only through necessity.

“If I can move on,” Margaret resumed, hastily replacing the photograph of the five-story building with a frontal shot of the capital building. “The meeting starts at two. Our man will be in place before that. The Prime Minister’s car will pull up here – in front of these steps.”

“How will our man gain access to the law offices?” the man asked.

“Easy as apple pie,” Allan smiled slyly. “An appointment with an attorney.”

“Not bad work. Though he’ll be there for more than a meeting with an attorney,” the man smiled back knowingly.

“Are we through with Phase One?” Allan asked returning his attention to the Minister of Finance.

“Yes, I think that wraps up Phase One.”

“Then I suggest we move on to Phase Two.”

Allan began. “I think we have a pretty solid plan in place for Phase Two. But it would be unwise, let’s say indelicate, to put it into motion for at least a few weeks following Phase One. Some pretense of confusion has to be maintained. Of the existing cabinet members, twelve, including those present here today, will remain in office. The other two in question will be replaced by vote. We are pretty confident we’ll get those votes.” He turned to the other ministers. “As we all know, the Prime Minister has the power to fire any member of his cabinet, but with the elimination of the Prime Minister, we need to be careful of political fallout. We also have to make absolutely certain Sterling and McCloud are effectively removed. Our associate here has some thoughts on that particular matter.”

The ministers of Finance and Tourism looked at the man expectantly.

He reached for the glass of water in front of him and took a sip before beginning. “We’re all in agreement indictment of the two ministers in question would serve no purpose. We don’t know how deep this thing runs. It could well be that were Sterling and McCloud indicted, someone else would fill their shoes quickly enough. Judging from all reports, it could be any number of people. What I think we need to do is throw them into complete panic.”

“Create panic?” How would we create panic?” the Minister of Tourism asked dubiously.

“Simple. Fabricate a threat that would lead them to believe it came from the inside, from whoever they’re doing business with. What I propose is bribes, for want of a better word.”

“Bribes?” Margaret asked uncertainly.

The man gave Margaret a half smile. “That’s right, Madam Minister, bribes. That not uncommon thing that oils the wheels of too many businesses in this country.”

Margaret eyed him skeptically. “If our assessment of the size of those shipments is correct, these men would be making tens of millions. What size bribes are you thinking of?”

“Well, I don’t know if I can quite match their cut of what we suspect may be a hundred tons of cocaine, give or take. But I think considering the events that are about to unfold, ten million each would be considered a very attractive offer.”

There was a prolonged silence, interrupted only by the sound of the air conditioning system kicking on. The Minister of Tourism laced his fingers together. He had to admit he was taken aback. It was no secret their no-longer-anonymous associate was well heeled, but twenty million was a substantial amount.

Margaret broke the silence. “Sir, I’m having difficulty coming to terms with your offer. You have financed the entire operation, including a hefty payment for the services of our man in London. I don’t wish to appear to be questioning your motives, but why are you doing this?”

The man had anticipated their skepticism. “In case there’s any misunderstanding, I wish to make it clear I have no intention of seeking influence over the governance of this island,” he said with eyes hardened on Margaret. “Having got that out of the way, I’ll answer your question as to why I’m doing this. It’s because the house needs to be cleaned obviously. If you can think of any other way to achieve that, I’m open to listening.”

Allan’s face tensed. He glanced at the other two ministers deliberating whether he had miscalculated their response. What had been put forward seemed simple enough. And in his judgment, it would be effective. Thus far, there was no better plan, and they were running out of time.