Code Name: Camelot (Noah Wolf #1)(53)
Moose looked across the restaurant at the girl in question, then turned to look at Noah. “Won’t be the last time, and sure isn’t the first.” He turned to look back at her again, and Noah saw the girl toss a smile at Moose.
EIGHTEEN
Their briefing took place in Allison’s meeting room. A projection screen had been pulled down at one end of the room, and a projector had descended out of the ceiling. A photograph of a tall, balding Hispanic man was being displayed.
“The man you see on the screen is Pablo Ortiz,” Allison said. “Ortiz has been a major player in moving a lot of contraband into the United States for the last several years, but it wasn’t until he got involved in some recent activities that the NSA decided he needed to be removed from the equation. They sent me the file, and I have to agree with them. Ortiz is involved in transporting Islamic terrorist cells and operatives across the border near Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. He uses bribery, extortion, anything at all to find ways to get these people past the border. Some of them come across the river, some are driven straight across the bridge, and some of them have actually come into the country inside tanker trucks full of milk or vegetable oil. Imagine trying to stay afloat for several hours inside a closed tanker trailer, and you’ll see just how serious these people are about getting into our country.”
She pressed a button on the remote in her hand, and a different image appeared. This was another man, also Hispanic, but in much better physical condition.
“This is Henrique Valdes. Henrique is probably Mexico’s answer to the Terminator. As a soldier, he was one of the most formidable the Mexican army ever fielded, and upon his discharge, he went to work for their intelligence services. Unfortunately, being a good guy in Mexico doesn’t pay as well as being a bad guy, so Ortiz was able to recruit him without a lot of trouble. Make no mistake, this is one of the most dangerous men you will ever encounter, anywhere. While Ortiz is the target, Henrique is going to be the biggest obstacle between you and him. You can take him out, if you get the chance, but he is not officially on the sanction.”
“Is there a reason to leave Valdes alive?” Noah asked.
Allison smiled. “It’s possible that there is,” she said. “Henrique is actually a fairly reliable source of information for the DEA in that area. There are those who believe that he may succeed Ortiz, and could possibly become an even greater source of intelligence. If you can manage to take out Ortiz without killing Henrique, some agencies would see that as a blessing from heaven.”
She pressed another button, and a picture of a tavern appeared. “This is one of the places that Ortiz is known to frequent. That’s probably because it’s run by his nephew, so it makes it easy for him to have some kind of control over the place. Observers have seen that Eduardo defers to his uncle on just about anything, so it’s quite possible that Ortiz is holding something over his head. This tavern is in an area that is not normally frequented by Americans, so you’re going to look quite out of place there. I suspect you’ll find a way to use that to your advantage.”
“Shouldn’t be hard,” Noah said. “I’m thinking a cover as a drug buyer? Make some deals while I’m there, buy up as much as I can?”
“That would definitely fit in, but be sure you read the whole file before you decide on a plan. Both of these men are very dangerous, and while Ortiz was once a major drug supplier, today his focus is on terrorism. He’s been running illegal aliens into the country for years as a sideline, but now it’s become more profitable than his drug businesses, because the illegals he’s smuggling in now pay upwards of a hundred thousand each, to get themselves and their baggage into our country undetected.”
Noah sat forward. “What about the baggage? Are we talking weapons, bombs, what?”
“We’re talking whatever kind of baggage they want to bring with them,” Allison replied. “On the other hand, Ortiz has been known to deal in weapons, lately. There are even rumors that he has connections for weapons with nuclear and biological potential, or at least the necessary components to produce them.”
Noah whistled. “Definitely not a good guy. Are there any instructions on how you want him taken out?”
Allison shook her head. “Noah, only the team leader can decide on the mission plan. I set this organization up that way on purpose, because it’s just too easy for generals to sit back in the war room and throw away their soldiers like yesterday’s newspaper. We don’t do that, here. Instead, you will look the entire situation over, and devise your own plan for completing the mission. I want that plan submitted to me for approval, but it’s very rare that I ever disapprove one.”
Moose spoke up. “You mentioned simulations,” he said. “Are we going to get the chance to run through some?”
Allison pushed another button, and another tavern appeared on the screen. This one didn’t look quite as rough as the other, but its dimensions were approximately the same. “We’ve built a mockup of that part of Ciudad Juárez, an area of about six square blocks. It will let you get a feel for where buildings are, alleys, streets, etc. That way, you can get some idea of where cover might be available, hiding places and things like that.” She hit the button again, and suddenly they were looking at the interior of the tavern. “This is the interior of our mockup,” she went on. “It’s been constructed from detailed photographs of the inside of the original, and everything’s placed accordingly. You can practice moving around in this one, and then you’ll be able to move with confidence.”