Monster (17 page)

“If talking about it bothers you, forget I mentioned it. We’ll be working closely with the Colonel. I was letting my curiosity get the best of me.”

“I can understand your interest and I have no problem with talking about it. I thought perhaps you would. Will talking with you about it get the Cold Mountain in trouble, because that I will never do.”

“It will never go anywhere outside this room.” Rutledge leaned towards Rasheed with her arm on the computer desk. “If you’re worried about bugs in here, I sweep the room every time I walk in the door. We cannot afford any leaks.”

“Should we not be following Agent Reskova’s order to find out about those other people with the Mercados?”

“Taking place as we speak.” Rutledge indicated the images flashing across the two computer screens at her station. “We already fed the pictures we took of them into the recognition software tied into every law enforcement database in the world we are allied with and some we’re not allied with. We haven’t gotten a hit on any of them yet but we will. Those people didn’t just materialize out of thin air.”

Rutledge smiled at the awe on Rasheed’s face. She figured he was coming to grips with the computing power capable of such a feat.

“What would you like to know?”

“What caused the Colonel to go off like that?”

“After Cold Mountain began training our anti-terrorist group, a young man came to join us. This was during the first offensive in Fallujah in April of 2003. The foreign soldiers causing all the trouble in Fallujah had killed his parents and sister. He wanted revenge. Cold Mountain asked him how old he was. The boy told him sixteen but he could not have been more than fourteen. I looked after him. His name was Abdi.”

“The Cold Mountain let the boy stay with us, gauging whether the young man might be a spy. He trained with us and followed Cold around like a dog. We all liked him. He never complained and he was fearless. The boy snuck out of the place we were using as our barracks. Cold followed him. When the boy went into the area of strongest resistance, Cold came back and had us set up an ambush. I was very disappointed we would probably have to kill the boy but to allow him to live would have meant our lives. The boy came back before dawn alone. When he saw our ambush he just smiled and put up his hands.”

“Cold asked him where he had been and if anyone was following. The Cold Mountain was very grim. The boy took a handmade map out of his pocket. He handed it to Cold. It was the whereabouts of an Al Queda cell. We attacked and killed them that night but were unable to take any of them alive. The boy was treated like one of us from then on. Cold made him promise to never do anything so foolhardy again. I would go with him on all such recons afterwards. Unfortunately about six months later during the worst of the bombings the boy snuck out of camp and tried to gather information. We found his headless body the next day. Although he had been tortured brutally, the attacks we figured would come from what the boy would have told them under torture never came.”

“Shit!”

“Yes, it was another reminder we were not at… ah… how do you say… Disneyland. The Cold Mountain took the boy’s death very hard.”

“Reskova told us they found sixteen headless bodies the CIA traced to Cold.”

Rasheed smiled grimly, shaking his head in the negative. “Those were only the show pieces. Many more were tortured and killed in the Russian mob fashion. He made a statement those cowards never forgot. I was left in charge of our group. Cold came back to us less and less. We were loyal to him out of respect and friendship. Most of all, we did not want the Cold Mountain as an enemy.”

“You were afraid of him… his own men?” Rutledge asked, entranced by the gritty account of the time.

“We may be brothers to the wild beasts but we do not make light of their prowess as wild beasts. I am a true brother to the Cold Mountain. My life is his to use as he wishes. My family would be dead if not for him. They will instead be Americans, as will I.”

“I guess I understand why you like his new nickname so much.”

“That is not the reason. It is because he looks so annoyed each time we call him by his new nickname. It is very enjoyable to see.”

Rutledge chuckled. “Some things never change. I…”

The program alarm dinged. They had their first match.

* * *

“This dog likes you very much, my friend,” Rasheed joked with McDaniels standing next to the dark blue Chevrolet SUV with the team’s latest recruit.

“Yeah, Colonel, this looks like love at first sight,” Barrington put in. He handed the SUV keys to Reskova.

“You guys should have seen Cold when he hooked up with the dog at the training center.” Reskova took her turn sticking the needle in while McDaniels endured the kidding in good humor. “I thought we’d walk out of there with Cold on the leash and the dog holding the loop.”

Everyone laughed. McDaniels nodded amiably, looking over the folder Rutledge had handed them when they met up in the office. Inside were eight separate rundowns on the terrorists living with the Mercados. Three were known Chechen Muslims, all women. Dino, sitting upright next to McDaniels, rubbed his head against McDaniels’ pants leg as if to remind McDaniels he was still there. Rutledge knelt down and stroked the dog’s head.

“Kay’s right. This dog really likes you,” Rutledge commented, standing back up. “How do you like him, Diane?”

“Cold, I can take in small doses. Dino the dog, on the other hand, is still on probation. He wanted to rip my throat out at the center.”

“Dino just needed to get to know you, Boss. I guess we better get this moving-in thing done while there’s still plenty of light for them to see us get settled. We can take up the uncalled for ragging later. Thanks for the quick training session on the sound equipment, Tom.”

“Not a problem. I needed to go over the stuff with Kay anyhow. Now you both are up to speed. All either of you need now is practice. It takes some getting used to. Don’t forget the recorder is voice activated so when you hear something glance over and make sure your screen shows recognition.”

“I won’t forget. It will all be relayed to you guys here, right?”

“It will but as in all things of this nature we want to make sure we have more than one recording. We’ll have Kay going over everything taped here separately. We’ll then compare your translations.”

“Sounds good. Are you driving, Boss?”

“Yes, I want your hands free to grab Dino in case he takes a liking to the back of my neck.”

McDaniels knelt down next to the dog, placing his hands gently over the dog’s ears as he held the terrorist folder under one arm. “Don’t pay any attention Dino, the Boss is a little testy today.”

“Get in, Mr. Mountain, before I leave you and Rin Tin Tin here.” Reskova climbed up into the driver’s seat as the others laughed.

* * *

Reskova and McDaniels exited the clothing store. McDaniels was now dressed in a three-piece suit holding his other purchases in a clothing bag. Reskova had decided it would be better for him to look as different from his
Cold
Mountain
pictures as he could because of the notoriety he had drawn. At the clothing store, McDaniels had ignored each of her suggestions, picking out a black pin-stripped suit with matching vest and charcoal gray shirt with black tie. He also picked out two pairs of black dress shoes. Reskova had needled him by reminding McDaniels the purpose for the suit was to look like a casual businessman not Will Smith in
Men in Black
. After they tailored the suit while McDaniels and Reskova waited, McDaniels changed into the outfit. Reskova had been shocked at the change in his appearance. McDaniels had ordered three more suits in the same dark conservative vein before indicating to Reskova he was done shopping.

“Wow, Cold, you’re a regular clotheshorse.” Reskova nudged him as they walked out to the SUV where Dino waited patiently on the front seat, much to Reskova’s dismay.

“It would be just as suspicious for me to wear the same suit everyday as it would to walk around in the same outfit I ended up on the news with. This will be dicey as it is. As long as I look way different than my alter ego, the infamous Cold Mountain, I’ve succeeded.”

McDaniels snapped his fingers and Dino hopped onto the backseat.

“Your alter ego? At least you didn’t buy a trench coat.”

“I didn’t see one I liked,” McDaniels reached back to stroke Dino’s head. “I like the Humphrey Bogart look. I should have bought a hat too.”

“All kidding aside, you look way too dangerous as it is. A hat and trench coat would blow our cover faster than you getting out of the SUV with Hughes’ head under your arm.”

“Maybe I was a bad choice for this gig. Those folks cornering me at the airport were a real wakeup call or should have been. If complete strangers recognize me what’re the chances the Mercados and their houseguests won’t make me the first time they lay eyes on me?”

“That suit,” Reskova answered confidently. “I wouldn’t have recognized you if I had seen you on the street. Besides, I may need a cold blooded psycho at a moment’s notice if that mutt you insisted should ride up here does sense something wrong.”

“Gee thanks, Boss. The mutt’s name is Dino. How good is your Russian? I thought it might be a good idea to speak Russian the whole time we’re in public.”

Reskova glanced at McDaniels with genuine interest. “That’s a hell of an idea. It may cause them to look at us a little closer, but this being the Washington area they might think we’re some kind of diplomatic team or lobbying interest.”

“So, how bad is your Russian?” McDaniels asked in Russian.

“I am good enough to get by in public,” Reskova answered haltingly in the same language. “We had better converse in Russian from now on. I will improve.”

“You had better since three of the terrorists are Chechen.

“I’m passable in French. How about you?”

“I am more than passable in French,” McDaniels replied in French.

“I might have known. We should speak French then. After all, France is almost a terrorist country. We’d be like their brothers-in-arms.”

McDaniels laughed. “That was funny, Boss, but I think we’d better stick with Russian. We don’t look French.”

Chapter 13

Undercover

Reskova tiptoed into the room knowing McDaniels had decided to practice with the sound equipment rather than simply tape what conversations were taking place across the street. They had arrived and moved in without incident. Reskova had even waved to a woman watching their progress. The woman, who looked Slavic, gave her a little wave in return before retreating into the Mercado house. Dino had acted the part of a regular dog, watering every bush in sight on the front lawn while McDaniels carried in their baggage. She saw McDaniels sitting in the lounge chair with his feet up and the headphones on. His eyes were shut. She could see the look of concentration on his face while he turned the knobs on the amplifier next to him. She smiled, anticipating him jumping right out of his clothes when she touched his shoulder. As she stepped into the room Dino slunk out from under the equipment desk a low growl emanating from his throat.

“It’s okay, Dino, I knew she was sneaking up on me.” McDaniels patted the dog’s head.

“How the hell would you have known I was coming into the room with those earmuffs on?”

“I sensed your aura,” McDaniels straightened in the chair with Dino taking up a protective stance next to him.

“Bullshit!” Reskova scoffed. “If not for that damned dog I would have Ninja’d you but good.”

“Ninja’d? It’s not that you don’t have skills, Boss, but I’ve been doing this stuff for a long time. I don’t like the thought of you pulling this childish payback stuff though. Remember, I was trying to get your team to pay attention out in the woods.”

“Oh, so you can dish it out but you can’t take it, huh, Cold?”

“Not at all,” McDaniels replied, putting aside the headphones and standing up. “If you want to play the game, I’ll play.”

“Okay, okay.” Reskova backed away with her hands up. “I see where this is going. You’ll use my one innocent little joke to wage a full scale attack on me at highly inopportune times.”

McDaniels grinned. “Oh, it’s a little joke when you do it but a full scale war if I do it.”

“Never mind, Mr. Mountain.” Reskova pointed at Dino. “When do you plan on telling this mutt who’s in charge here. He growls every time he sees me.”

“Dino needs a walk. C’mon, we’ll do a few blocks with him while we circle around the Mercado house. He’ll get to see how loveable you are.”

“Very funny.” Reskova looked suspiciously at Dino as he sat next to McDaniels. “We can continue our Russian while we’re out. Maybe one of them will hear us.”

“Sounds good.” McDaniels picked up the leash near the chair and fastening it to Dino’s collar. “Your Russian improved greatly just since we’ve been talking. Does it seem more natural to you now?”

“I still sound rusty compared with you. Am I carrying on the conversations smoothly enough to fool them?”

“You speak well enough to be interviewed by Pravda, Comrade Reskova. Is that not so, Dino?”

The dog barked in reply while Reskova shook her head. “I suppose you’re teaching the dog Russian too.”