The Eighth Sister (Charles Jenkins #1)(95)

“He told me Carl Emerson was his station chief in Mexico City. Is that not true?” Sloane asked.

“That part is true. But sprinkling a story with verifiable facts is a field officer’s technique to get a person to believe that if some of the facts are verifiable, then the others must also be true, such as that Mr. Jenkins was authorized to disclose the names Alexei Sukurov and Uliana Artemyeva to his Russian contact.”

“What do you mean?”

“The names Alexei Sukurov and Uliana Artemyeva first originated in the Mexico City field office as potential targets that could be flipped to CIA assets. Mr. Jenkins worked in that office.”

“You’re saying that because Charlie worked in that office, he would have been familiar with those names?” Sloane said.

“I’m saying it’s possible he was familiar with those names, and he used them because he thought, again, that it would add a level of credibility to his story.”

“But the government is arguing his disclosure of those names led to the agents’ deaths.”

“My point is, they were two real CIA assets who could be verified. Think about it. If you’re going to say that your former station chief showed up at your farm, unannounced, forty years after you left the agency, doesn’t it make sense to use two names your station chief also would have known and used?”

“Are you saying that he made all of this up?” Jake asked.

“I’m telling you what the government will argue. When your client left the CIA he was upset at the agency. The prosecution will beat this point home to the jury like a drum. They’ll argue Mr. Jenkins needed money, and by selling secrets to the Russians, he could get even with the CIA for whatever perceived injustice initially made him leave.”

Sloane took a sip of water, trying to slow his thoughts.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Sloane. But look at this from the perspective of a person who could be in a position to convict and sentence Mr. Jenkins. Look at it from the perspective of a juror. Mr. Jenkins gets to Russia and makes contact with the FSB. He offers to provide them information for money, which he desperately needs, and it works the first time. He receives fifty thousand dollars—”

“That money came from his CIA contact,” Jake said.

“But you can’t prove that, and I don’t think you’re going to want to try.”

“Why not?” Jake asked.

“Because I did try to find the source. The funds came from a Swiss bank account, and were deposited directly into CJ Security’s business account. There’s no way to determine where the money originated, whether from inside Russia or from some account the CIA uses to fund operatives. Regardless, Mr. Jenkins got his money for his actions, which, without some corroborating evidence to prove where the money came from, won’t help him. The government will argue that, having succeeded once, Mr. Jenkins determined he had more information to sell, but this time things didn’t go as anticipated. After that first payment, the Russians had evidence that he’d accepted fifty thousand dollars, and when Mr. Jenkins returned to Russia, the FSB blackmailed him, which was very typical of the KGB and, I suspect, is of the FSB as well.”

“You’re saying they threatened to expose him,” Sloane said.

“Yes, and Mr. Jenkins, well versed in the game, recognized what was happening, and he took off running. In my opinion, Mr. Jenkins wasn’t working for the CIA. He’s just a traitor who got caught and is working to get out of it. And that’s coming from a guy who’d like nothing better than to expose the CIA, again.”



After Levy left the office, Jake said, “Charlie would never make this up. I saw men at the airport in Greece who were watching the gate.”

Sloane nodded. “Levy’s right though. Charlie’s story doesn’t ring true, and without some concrete evidence to prove it is true, we won’t get very far trying to convince twelve jurors.”

“So what do we do now?”

“We come up with a better story.”

Jake look pained. “I’m not sure that’s going to be enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to be an alarmist,” he said. “But I did some research this afternoon, and as far as I can tell, no CIA agent accused of espionage has ever been acquitted by a jury. Not a single one.”





56



Jenkins and CJ entered the kitchen after a morning spent fishing, without success. As the days wore on, Jenkins felt less and less sure of his own chances of success.

“We need to go over your math. We don’t want you to fall behind.”

“I’ll get my backpack.”

“I’ll check on Mom, see if she needs anything.”

CJ started up the steps, but stopped. “When did you say she was going to have the baby?”

“Two days,” Charlie said. “How are you feeling about becoming a big brother?”

CJ shrugged one shoulder. “Kind of cool, I guess.”

Jenkins thought of the impending trial and what it could mean if he were to be convicted. “Being the big brother comes with responsibilities.”

“I know, Dad.” CJ got quiet. Then he said, “Are you going to be there to help?”

Jenkins nodded. “Sure I will. Why do you ask?”