Justification For Killing (37 page)

Getting to his feet LJ
glanced toward Rocky, “I do not know about you Rocky, but I never
refuse a meal, especially if someone else is buying.”

Grinning Rocky
agreed.

The Captain pushed his
chair back from his desk, stood up and motioned to LJ and Rocky.
“Come on fellows, I know a new place that has the most fabulous
seafood bar.” Before they could leave Krista summoned the Captain
on his Personal Communicator.

“
Captain, there is a call
for you on line one.”

“
Sorry, Krissy, have them
call back I’m taking LJ and Rocky to lunch right now.”

“
But, Captain I believe
you will want to take this call - it’s Si Lei!!”

“
What? Si Lei, no... no...
you mean they are not dead – what’s going on?”

“
He is calling from Hong
Kong.”

Picking up the
phone, he answered, “Hello...! Si Lei...? Man we thought we had
lost you and Sam Lin. Is he okay...?” For the next couple of
minutes, the Captain conversed with his operative in Hong Kong.
Concluding his call he turned to Lonnie Joe and Rocky. “Gentlemen,
I had a mission all planned out for you, but that telephone call
just proved Robert Burns was right
- ‘the
best laid plans of mice and men’
. Things
have changed. That phone call cleared up a lot of unanswered
questions, but let’s go grab a bite, and I’ll have to talk to Sam
Lin and Si Lei before I decide what you two need to do now. For the
present, Krista has reserved you both suites at the Hilton Congress
Inn. Relax for a couple of days and I’ll call when I have your new
assignment finalized.”

Opening his office door,
the three walked into the outer office. “Let’s go eat!”

As Lonnie Joe and
Rocky closed Captain Scarburg’s door and walked by Krista’s office,
she could not help but smile.
Lonnie Joe
and Jacque, now this was going to be good
,
she thought.

The time was 1:30 p.m.
Friday, November 30, 2012.

Chapter
Twenty-Nine

BANGKOK,
THAILAND

The whine of the huge
turbofan engines of the plane from Hong Kong had been silenced for
only a brief couple of minutes when Sam Lin and Si Lei walked from
the dim lights of the Gate C boarding walkway into the bright
lights of the main terminal building. Exiting the jet bridge they
entered into Concourse C at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok,
Thailand.

The time was 6 a.m.,
Saturday, December 1, 2012. It had taken them a little over a week
to reach Bangkok from their departure from New York on November the
23rd; however, they did not anticipate they would have to factor
into their itinerary a crash landing in the frozen, snow covered,
tundra of Russia; however, both Sam Lin and Si Lei were now willing
and able to continue with the Captain’s mission: the investigation
of Mr. Ryan Rousseau.

Beige, light blue and red
floor tiles echoed the sounds of their leather soles as they walked
quickly across the floor of the main pavilion. They stopped briefly
to plot their next movements under the Thai Pavilion in the center
of the beautifully structured grand concourse. The momentary halt
interrupted their haste to descend the escalator to the taxi stands
on the lower level.

“
Sam Lin, isn’t this a
beautiful building, the ceiling reminds me of a spider’s giant web.
What do you think?”

Looking around the room,
Sam Lin responded, “Si Lei, I do not think beautiful is an
extravagant enough word to describe this structure, but it looks
just as majestic as it did the last time you and I left Bangkok,
remember? But we must get on with our assignment. We need to get
downstairs to street level, find a taxi and get over to CIA
headquarters.”

“
Right you are brother,
but I still have to say this place amazes me every time we pass
through it.”

Before they had finished
their conversation, Sam Lin noticed a tall, seductive looking woman
approaching. Her hair was jet-black, shoulder length and the ends
were cut straight as a ruler. It had a warm, glossy sheen like oil
had been applied to it. She was fashionable dressed in a chic
jacket with matching skirt, black high-heeled shoes and sunglasses.
Sunglasses! Why dark glasses so early in the morning? Even above
the hustle and bustle of Concourse C’s main terminal they could
hear the sound of her heels clicking on the beautifully parqueted
floor.

As she approached the two
Kim brothers, Sam Lin had the impression this stunning beauty must
be from the U.S Ambassador’s office. He reasoned she was sent as a
guide – something the Captain surely must have arranged.

Reaching the two
American’s she extended her hand, “Hello, you are Mr. Sam Lin Kim
and Mr. Si Lei Kim? Your headquarters has requested my office
assist you in any way we can.”
I was
right
, thought Sam Lin,
she is a liaison from the Ambassador’s
office.
“Do you mind? There is a cafe over
there,” she said motioning to a number of secluded food courts to
her right, “We need to talk in private before
leaving.”

“
Sure...
I guess… okay,” Sam Lin replied puzzled. He and Si Lei followed the
mysterious woman across the broad expanse of the grandiose
concourse to a small Thai restaurant with the catchy name -
Taste of Thai
. Walking
inside she selected a secluded table in a back corner and motioned
toward the waiter. Holding up three fingers, she said,
“
Cha-dum-yen
.”
Turning to the two brothers she began to translate... “Hot —
”

“
Hot tea, yes, we love
it,” Sam Lin said finishing her sentence.

Mumbling to himself Si Lei
said, “I don’t. I wonder if they have milkshakes?”

“
Oh, I see you speak the
Thai language.”

“
No... well yes, Si Lei
and I understand a few words.”

“
CALL ME KAT”

The waiter brought three
cups of the hot requested beverage. Removing the cup of tea from
her lips she said placing the cup in her saucer, “Sorry, where are
my manners? I am your connection with the Bangkok office of the
Central Intelligence Agency. My name is Katrina Ryabov. People call
me Kat - I have never understood if it is because of my name or
because of my skills.”

Skills?
Thought Sam Lin.
What
skills?
Before he could formulate an
answer to this intriguing though he blurted, “Forgive me for
asking, but exactly what do you do? Miss... Mrs
—”

“
Just Kat – I am called
Kat.”

“
Okay... Kat, why are you
being so secretive? Are we being watched?”

“
Watched? Since you are in
Bangkok seeking information on your “friend” then yes, “they” are
probably watching.”

“
Yes, wait, how did you
comprehend we came here looking for someone?”

“
From your Director.
Obviously he has a great deal of political pull. The Director of
the CIA instructed the European Director, who instructed the
Thailand Field Office who talked to my station here in Bangkok to
provide any and all assistance you two may need on our mutual
acquaintance.”

Without thinking Sam Lin
asked, “Why? Why would the Agency be interested in our
investigation of Ryan Rousseau?”

“
Oh, I see, Ryan Rousseau,
hmmm, you DON’T know anything about him?” she responded.

“
No not much; however, Si
Lei and I worked with him back in the late ‘60s. He was a
supervisor helping us on a project, but we saw and heard nothing
indicating he was nothing but red, white and blue through and
through. Certainly nothing that would continue to interest the
Agency. We believed at this late date anyone who had worked with
him had long since retired. We were just hoping to find someone who
still remembered him and could help us in any way
possible.”

“
Do you have an idea where
he is now?” asked Kat.

“
Yes, he currently works
with SCAR, our facility, as the Chief of Experimental Design. He is
due a promotion and our Director wants to make sure nothing in his
past might damage the unit’s reputation. His new position would
require him to testify before Congress and other high-level
government agencies. Bottom line, we need to ‘just check him
out’.”

It was getting late
in the morning, luckily this terminal never closed; fortunately
neither did the cafe in which they were sitting. The cafe’s
interior was dimly lit. Sam Lin could see there were a couple of
tables occupied as he and Si Lei talked to this mysterious woman.
Kat, nervously, kept looking around the room.
Who is she looking for,
thought Sam
Lin
? Are the people at the other table
intelligence agents sent to watch us? “
Kat, you seem apprehensive. Are there people watching or
following us?” Nervously she glanced over her shoulder, but did not
bother to answer. Kat moved closer to the table, leaned over and
softly spoke to the two brothers for the next few minutes,
explaining the facts about Ryan Rousseau as she knew them. Sam Lin
and Si Lei sat perplexed at the knowledge the CIA had on him. Why
had they been so interested in him? Sam Lin and Si Lei thought he
was just a low level supervisor in the immense Bangkok CIA complex.
The CIA Bangkok Station was the post for the entire Southeast Asian
region with hundreds and hundreds of analysts and operatives who
worked all over the Asian domain; however, as large, and
multifarious operation as the CIA had in Bangkok on the surface it
appeared as an exemplary example of the American spy
community.

In the next few minutes,
Kat had painted an entirely different picture of the operation that
took place at the CIA address on 126 Wireless Road, Bangkok,
Thailand. The information she divulged, Sam Lin and Si Lei had
never known existed, and they had worked in the same CIA building
for over two years.

Clandestine cliques
existed within the organization, which was common; however, one
operation was so... so... detestable such a... a... nefarious
affair even she was hesitant to talk about it. This was the world
Ryan Rousseau had operated in, the man they had come thousands and
thousands of miles to investigate.

Sam Lin, glanced
suspiciously across the room toward the occupied table and quietly
said to Kat, “I guess our examination of Mr. Rousseau has begun.
Tell us about this... this... atrocious project Mr. Rousseau worked
on. Can you provide us with its name?”

“
Yes, gentlemen, I have
its name, but once I divulge it, you will wish it had never been
revealed to you. You must also remember, even though this project
happened over forty years ago there are those still alive today who
want this secret to stay buried. I use the word ‘buried’ literally.
Those who have unknowingly found out about what I am about to
divulge now reside in unmarked graves, in dark, secluded places in
the dense forest as their reward. I want to tell you two
beforehand, I wash my hands of any consequences resulting from my
disclosure.”

Si Lei turned nervously to
Sam Lin, “Brother, lets return to the U.S. and tell the Captain we
were unable to find out anything about Ryan Rousseau. I’m afraid!
Miss Kay... sounds... serious!”

“
Mr. Kim, you are correct
it is serious... DEAD... serious!”

“
Come on brother, suck it
up. We were given a job... an important job, we must trudge ahead
and find the answers Captain Scarburg tasked us with. He is
depending on us.”

“
You continue, Sam Lin and
let me dis-continue and go home. I don’t like the looks of this. I
know... I just know... this is going to do nothing but get worse! I
feel it in my bones. The hair on the back of my neck is telling me
Death’s sharp sickle is somewhere on the horizon waiting for us.
Sam Lin I don’t want my bones buried in a lonely, weed grown,
unknown place in the dense forest.”

“
He’s just like that
Miss... uh... Kat, pay no attention to him. Please continue. What
was the name of this secret project?”

“
It was called... I do not
like to say the words —”

“
Please Kat, the
name...”

“
MK-ULTRA.”

The time was 9:00 a.m.
Saturday, December 1, 2012.

Chapter
Thirty

MK-ULTRA

Placing his teacup in his
saucer, Si Lei turning to Sam Lin anxiously said, “I told you Sam
Lin, we need to go home... now...!! She is using that... that...
word... I’m telling you this is just going to get worse. She used
the word ‘ultra’ that means it’s not just going to be regular bad
but really, really bad.”

“
Kat, as I said, don’t pay
any attention to Si Lei, this is just the way he is... he is very
good at what he does, one of the best in the business, but tends to
be a little irrational at times. It has no affect on his work,
trust me when I tell you he’s a lot smarter than he sounds. But
both Si Lei and I heard the name MK-ULTRA when we worked at CIA
headquarters, but it was exceedingly hush-hush. What is this secret
project MK-ULTRA?”