The Watchman of Ephraim (Book Club Edition) (18 page)

Wang typed something on her keyboard. After a moment, she looked up at him.

“
I just gave you O-A access to Operation India-Golf 070510.”

Pastak stood up and smiled.

“
Thank you, Michelle.”

As soon as he got back in his office, Pastak accessed the operation files on his laptop. He scanned the monitor until he found what he was looking for then he hit a new auto-dial button on his cell, one he just created.

“
Mr. Fard, its Les. I have good news. Where and when would you like to meet … okay, can we make it after say, nine tonight … I have an appointment at seven I need to keep … very good, I’ll try to get there by nine and oh, Mr. Fard, you’ll need to bring your checkbook.”

Chapter 16

The Foster Lafayette Hotel

Bahman Fard’s Suite

Washington, D.C.

9:15p.m., Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Pastak tucked one manila file under his arm, took the ticket from the valet and headed into the five-star hotel. He checked his watch as he stepped onto the elevator.
Not bad, I made good time here. Days don’t get much better than this!

Fard was already contacted by the front desk and informed of his impending guest, so he was standing at the door of his penthouse suite, when Pastak knocked.

The two men shook hands as Fard closed the door behind him.

“
You have information for us?”

“
I do.”

Fard extended his arm towards one of the plush couches.

“
Please, make yourself comfortable. May I offer you something to drink or eat?”

“
After our business, here, is done, I’ll pay for a bottle of this hotel’s best champagne, but scotch would do, for now.”

“
I’m sorry Les, but I have no alcoholic beverages to offer you. Would you like me to order you room service?”

“
That’s not necessary. I forgot you’re prohibited from drinking alcohol aren’t you. You’re Muslim, right?”

“
Yes, that’s right.”

“
I’ll just have what you’re having then.”

“
I’m having tea.”

“
You know what, nix that. I’ll just have a bottle of water, if you have one.”

Fard fetched a bottle from the other room, placed it on the table in front of Pastak and took a seat on the couch next to his.

“
We’re impressed with your rapid progress, Les. Frankly, we didn’t anticipate that we would hear from you so soon or I would have remained here in town. I hope this is something worth my flying in from New York on such short notice.”

“
Yeah, well, to be honest, I didn’t anticipate that I’d be contacting you so soon either, but something fell in my lap this morning that I think you’d be interested in.”

Pastak leaned over and handed Fard the folder containing Jesus Garcia’s personal information. He gave him a few moments to look it over.

“
Why are you showing me this man’s information?”

“…
Because he headed to Mexico this morning on an I-G mission.”

“
I-G mission …?”

“
I-G stands for intelligence-gathering. You
do
consider Mexico part of the west, don’t you Mr. Fard?”

Fard knew that Zamani had only been concerned with possible counter-terrorism operations
post
their cell’s infiltration into the U.S. from Mexico. Any investigations south of the border, prior to their incursion into the States were unanticipated and potentially troublesome.
Zamani won’t be happy about this! I need to know everything this fool can tell me and then I need to contact Zamani as soon as possible!

“
We do. Where exactly will this … Garcia be investigating and exactly what is he investigating?”

“
Now Mr. Fard, you remember our agreement. I was only asked to provide you with general information.”

“
Les, telling us that this man is gathering intelligence in Mexico is too general to benefit us in any way. I’m afraid we’ll need to know exactly what this man is investigating and exactly where he’ll conduct his investigation, for it to be of any value to us.”

Pastak rubbed his chin with concern.

“
Just what is our interest in knowing those things, Mr. Fard? How could knowing what Garcia is investigating benefit … us … in any way?”

Fard took a slow sip of his tea then placed the cup back onto the saucer he was holding in his other hand.

“
Of course our agreement does not dictate the need for me to explain that to you in any way, Les …but I will, in any case. One of the reasons why we decided to open operations here in the United States, now, is because we were recently contacted by the Mexican government to perform an investigation on one of their drug cartels. They wanted us to look into this cartel’s so-called legitimate business holdings both inside and outside of Mexico. The contract would be multi-year and very lucrative, enough for us to establish permanent operations here. The problem is that after we sent them our proposal, we didn’t hear back from them. We have reason to believe that Mr. De Niro might have …how is it put …undercut our pricing. We had negotiated a binding 90-day clause with the Mexican government where we were supposed to be afforded the opportunity to match anyone else’s offer with our own counter-offer.”

Pastak jumped in, “So, if The Watchman sent someone to investigate—“

Fard finished his sentence, “The Mexican government would be in breach of our agreement. In that case, we could sue them, but we’re not interested in a law suit. We’re interested in securing that business. All we need to do is produce compelling evidence that The Watchman is conducting an investigation, on behalf of the Mexican government. If this man is looking into any of this cartel’s businesses then we can use the proof that he is, to … persuade the Mexican government that it’s in their interests to cancel their contract with The Watchman and sign one with us.”

Pastak looked concerned.

“
Mr. Fard, I’m not privy to client-level info. Even my operational access won’t allow us to know on whose behalf The Watchman is conducting this investigation.”

“
That’s not a problem Les. You see, we already have a complete list of all of the legitimate holdings of this cartel in Mexico. All we would need is evidence that this man Garcia is investigating any one of them. Then we can convince the Mexican government that our attorneys will be able to connect the dots, so to speak, in court and prove they’re in breach of contract.”

Pastak stood up and paced around nervously.

“
I should have had you order me up that scotch!”

“
What’s the matter Les?”

“
The matter is Mr. Fard, making you aware of an ongoing investigation, in general terms is one thing. It could be explained away if something goes wrong. But telling you details, especially pertaining to an agent’s whereabouts during a covert mission … that could be construed, at minimum, as industrial espionage or worse! I know about these things, I’m an attorney, remember?”

Fard finished the tea in his cup then stood up, placed the cup and saucer on the cocktail table and extended his arm again.

“
Les, please take a seat.”

Pastak stopped pacing and stood staring at Fard for a few moments then finally returned to his seat on the couch. Once he sat, Fard also sat again.

“
Why are you anticipating that something will go wrong? Nothing will go wrong! I assure you that the information you provide us will be held in the strictest confidence by our company and the Mexican government. There will be no way for anyone at The Watchman to even discover that you have told us anything. The Mexican government will simply find a way out of their contract with them, probably just exercising their 30-day right to terminate.”

Pastak wasn’t convinced.

“
They may not be able to discover anything externally, but I’m not sure what they’re capable of doing with their new proprietary computer system. The man that installed created it and installed it is a genius. For all I know, I’m leaving digital footprints inside the ops files that could lead them directly back to me.”

Fard was becoming impatient.

“
Les, you must have known there was an element of risk involved, but the level of risk to you is small compared to your level of reward.”

“
Yeah, well, speaking of that reward, I’m NOT going to even think of taking that much of a chance with only being paid the advance! If I decide to give you the info you want, I’m not doing so until AFTER the remaining $900 thousand is deposited in an account I opened in the Cayman Islands.”
It was Fard’s turn to jump to his feet.

“
That is an unreasonable request!”

Pastak jumped to his feet.

“
Is it?! Well, those are my terms, take them or leave them!”

The two men stood with their eyes locked. After a few tense moments, Fard flinched first.

“
I don’t have the authority—“

“
Well then I suggest you GET the authority right now or I walk out that door.”

I would love nothing more than to slit this infidel’s throat … but I’m sure I’ll get that chance soon enough. I have no choice; I’ll have to call Zamani.

“
I have to make a phone call.”

Pastak extended his arm towards the next room.

“
Be my guest.”

Fard walked all the way into the bedroom before hitting the speed dial on his iPhone.

(In Farsi) “It’s Fard, sir. I’m here with the infidel. Sir, he has information that The Watchman has sent one of their agents to Mexico to gather intelligence. The problem is that he’s running scared. He wants the remaining $900 thousand deposited into an off-shore account before he’ll give us the target of the investigation or the agent’s location … yes sir, I think that’s possible … very well … I understand … I think we have to also, it’s too close … I’ll take care of it.”

Fard walked back into the living room area. Pastak was sitting again on the couch.

“
I’ve been authorized to pay you the rest of your bonus, Les.”

Pastak blinked his eyes a few times then slowly a smile appeared on his face. Fard began making the transfer from his iPhone.

“
Please provide me with the account number, to where you want the funds transferred.”

Pastak jumped up and walked over to Fard.

“
May I? It’ll be easier for me to enter it in.”

Fard handed him his iPhone and Pastak entered the account number then handed the phone back to him. Fard then reluctantly hit a button transferring the money. When it was completed he showed Pastak the confirmation on the phone’s screen.

“
Now Les, we have held up our end, it’s time for you to hold up yours.”

Pastak nodded then typed his username and password into the Big Brother front-end on his phone. Then he entered the access code Wang gave him for Operation India-Golf 070510. As soon as the screen populated with data he handed his phone to Fard. Fard began transcribing the information onto a legal pad.

“
This system is quite impressive, Les. I have never seen a system so … dynamic before.”

After copying all of the operational info, Fard looked it over and after a moment began shaking his head.

“
No, this is not enough. Just knowing the company he’s investigating isn’t enough, Les. This company has too many locations. He could be at any one of them using phony credentials and in disguise. You said their system has the ability to track the agents assigned to the missions. You’ll have to give me Garcia’s transponder number so we can locate him.”

“
Mr. Fard, couldn’t you just show the Mexican government that info as proof?”