The Increment: A Novel - By David Ignatius Page 0,83
room. “I mean, you people understand that this is crazy. You don’t just throw bodies at a target like Iran.”
Heads nodded. They understood that their boss didn’t want to be rushed. But there was excitement in their eyes, too. They liked the fact that their little division was at the center of the agency’s universe.
“We’ll manage the surge…slowly,” said Harry. “Don’t be in a hurry to get people out there. And when they do come online, make sure they don’t bother the people who are actually doing the work. Okay? What’s next?”
“You’re not going to like this,” said Marcia.
“Try me. Humor me.”
“New tasking for tactical collection. Came over from the Pentagon last night.”
“Shit. Does that mean what I think it does?”
“I’m afraid so. We are supposed to coordinate with Centcom, through our liaison officer in Tampa.”
“What do they want?”
“Target acquisition. Target surveillance. Reporting on military movements and logistics—by the Rev Guard and the regular military, both. Weather reporting from the Iraqi and Turkish borders.”
“Shit, shit, shit. They’re going to do it, aren’t they?”
“Who knows? But they’re definitely getting ready.”
“Well, give them what they’re asking for. I’m sure Centcom isn’t any happier about it than we are.”
“Roger that,” spoke up Martin Vitter, the operations chief. “I spoke to Tampa this morning. They were doing the rope-a-dope last night, hoping it would go away. But now they’re moving a third carrier task force into the Gulf. And they are flying B-2s in from the States to Al-Udeed in Qatar.”
“Is this supposed to scare the Iranians? Because it’s definitely going to scare the shit out of our friends. What else you got, Marcia?”
“We need operational approval to recontact BQBARK-2 when he arrives in Geneva.”
“Remind me. Who is BQBARK-2?”
“He’s in the Iranian foreign ministry. He was spotted by BQBARK-1 when they were both in Paris. He broke off contact when he was recalled home. Now he’s being sent to their UN mission in Geneva on a six-month TDY. We want to renew contact. Pitch him again.”
“Does he know any secrets?”
“Probably not. But it’s another scalp.”
“Okay. It’s a waste of time, but so what? Use one of those ‘surge’ retirees to pitch him. Don’t burn anyone who we might want to use later. Anything else?”
“Well…” she looked at Harry, not sure he wanted to go in this direction. “There’s the restricted handling case. The ‘Dr. Ali’ case. I assume you’re running that.”
“Yup. Close hold. RH, plus. Sorry, gang.”
Harry didn’t want to say any more, but looking at the eager faces around the room, he knew that he had to. They were all cleared for the special-access program. If he didn’t say anything, they would go away confused.
“I can tell you the basics: We’re working with a liaison service that has access in-country that we don’t. We are trying to establish physical contact. As soon as we do, we will set up a normal operational protocol. If we don’t make contact, well, we’ll just keep looking in the email in-box. Right?”
The heads bobbed up and down. They didn’t understand what the boss had said, but they knew he was on the case, which would have to do. Still, they looked anxious, as if they were waiting for something more that would put it all right. Harry gave them a big smile.
“Lighten up, gang. You know what Warren Buffett said when they asked him what his strategy was?”
“Who’s Warren Buffett?” asked Vitter, the gung-ho ops chief. People around the table groaned.
“Only the richest man in the world. He said his strategy was to answer the phone. The best deals are the ones you don’t plan for. So let’s not get frazzled.”
Marcia stayed behind after the others had filed out. She lit a cigarette, which was against the rules. Blue trails of smoke curled around her head.
“What’s going on, Harry? Cut the crap. I know you too well. Where were you over the weekend?”
“Between us?”
“Of course. After all these years, who else would I tell? My cat?”
“I was in London. I’m working on some stuff with SIS. They have capabilities and authorities that we don’t. We have a name and address for Dr. Ali. We need to talk to him in a hurry. Obviously. Otherwise these crazy fuckers downtown are going to get him killed.”
“Does the admiral know what you’re up to?”
“Sort of. Enough to give me a fig leaf.”
“Well, don’t get caught. That’s all I can say. In the meantime, how can I help?”
“Cover for me, the way you did today. I have to do some more