Running from the Devil (8 page)

The only relative that would have heard different news was someone related to Emma Caldridge. However, no one called about the woman. When Stromeyer contacted Caldridge’s employer to ask for next-of-kin information, the receptionist transferred the call to the vice president of research and development for the company.

“Gerald White.” The man’s hearty voice boomed through the phone.

Stromeyer introduced herself. “I understand that you were the one Ms. Caldridge sent her text message to after the plane went down.”

Mr. White cleared his throat. “Yes, I head up her department. I gave the message to someone from the Department of Transportation.”

“Yes, thank you, but I’m not calling about that. I’ve been trying to track down her next of kin. No one has asked for her. Do you have any information?”

“It’s not my area. I think you’ll need to speak to human resources for that.”

Stromeyer bit her tongue to quell a retort. “Mr. White, if our suspicions are correct, Ms. Caldridge survived the jet’s landing. If there are any next of kin worried about her, I need to know that. Surely she left instructions with the firm about who to call if there is an emergency.”

“Perhaps she did. I’ll be happy to look into it and get back to you.”

“I’m in a press conference that should last about an hour. Is that enough time? I can drive over to your offices after.”

Mr. White cleared his throat. “Yes, that would be fine.”

Now Stromeyer drew circles around Mr. White’s name while she waited for the press conference to begin. She heard Banner cough.

“You look preoccupied. What’s up?” he asked.

Stromeyer frowned. “Something about Emma Caldridge is bothering me. I think she has family in Florida, or at least a man named Caldridge lives near her in Miami Beach, but when the plane went down she sent a text message to her boss asking for help.”

Banner took his eyes off the computer screen. “Maybe she isn’t close to her family.”

Stromeyer nodded. “Maybe. But in such an extreme circumstance wouldn’t you text your family first?”

Banner shook his head. “I’d text you first. You’re the one I know could manage the situation to my best advantage.”

Stromeyer smiled. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but she’s not a covert operator, she’s a civilian. I would think they’d text the person they love the most.”

Before Banner could reply, the door swung open and Whitter strode into the room. From the look on his face it was clear that he did not have good news.

“Banner, I just spoke to the secretary of defense. There’s been a strategy reversal. You are to tell the press that we already have five hundred special forces personnel in place in Colombia whose sole mission it is to find and free these people.”

Banner snorted. “Sole mission? Five hundred? Miguel said he’s working with twenty.” Banner pointed at Stromeyer’s computer. “Is Rubenstein there? The smart one from that cable channel?”

She checked the computer monitor. “You betcha.”

“And,” Whitter continued, “you are to tell them that we flew these men down within twelve hours of learning of the trouble. You are to let them know that we had fighter planes scrambling in one hour and ready to go within three.”

“What a crock of shit,” Banner said.

Whitter bristled, pulling himself up like a private on roll call. “It’s not shit. We do have five hundred men in Colombia.”

“There to protect some private corporation’s precious pipeline.”

“There to fight terrorism whenever and wherever it may be found!”

Banner grabbed a clipboard that contained his notes and headed to the door.

“Do you hear me, Banner?”

Banner was gone. Stromeyer made herself busy with her ever-present manifest lists. Whitter slammed out of the room.

The news conference went fine for twenty minutes and slid south at twenty-two, when O’Connor threw the first mud ball.

“Major Banner, isn’t it true that this breach of security would never have happened if the liberals in Congress had approved additional spending for Homeland Security?”

Banner gave O’Connor his patented military stare, a look that had quelled greater men than the soft reporter. In his relentlessly perfect suit, with his erect military carriage, and with his reputation as a former military man who’d seen battle, even the jaded media guys in the room felt a certain respect.

“Mr. O’Connor, save the spin for your television show. We don’t have the time for it here.”

The other reporters snickered.

“Isn’t it true that this administration had fighter pilots in the air within two hours of learning of the event and over five hundred special forces personnel on their way in three?” O’Connor said.

Banner glanced at Whitter, who leaned against a wall in the back of the room. The smirk on his face was enough to tell Banner that he intended to get the ridiculous story out one way or another.

Banner knew if he confirmed the lie, then he would be the one in the hot seat when Congress convened a committee to review the events. Whitter leaned against the back wall and looked very pleased with himself while he waited for Banner to take the fall.

Over my dead body, Banner thought.

“There are five hundred special forces personnel in the area and available to assist should we need to call on them,” Banner said. At least that much was true. Banner figured a guy with O’Connor’s simplistic thought processes would never see the difference in the two assertions. He was right. O’Connor gave a supercilious nod, as if Banner had confirmed what he already knew.

Banner wasn’t out of the woods, though. While O’Connor wasn’t bright enough to see the fine distinction Banner had drawn, Rubenstein was.

“What were they there for, if not to assist in this operation?” Rubenstein said.

Banner watched an alarmed look wash over Whitter’s face.

Serves you right, asshole, Banner thought.

“There are several projects proceeding in Colombia that require a U.S. military presence,” Banner said. He eyed Whitter, who seemed to hold his breath.

“Like the joint effort between Colombia and the U.S. to spray herbicide on the coca plants to reduce cocaine production?” Rubenstein said.

“Like that,” Banner said. “Now, ladies and gentlemen, that’s all I can tell you right now. I’m needed back at headquarters to continue managing the situation. We will attempt to keep the press, and the public, informed as much as is reasonably possible as this unfolds.” He strode out of the room while the press corps screeched questions at him like a flock of magpies.

“Good job,” Stromeyer said. “But a little short. You didn’t give them much to report.”

Whitter slammed into the conference room before Banner could respond. Today’s tie was a hideous gray with yellow vines running up and down in a trellis pattern. Banner would rather have taken a bullet than wear such a tie.

“That was damn close,” Whitter said. “You didn’t tell them what I told you to.”

Banner handed Stromeyer his clipboard. “If you want to tell them something, tell them yourself.”

Whitter pursed his lips. Banner glanced at Stromeyer, who flicked a glance at Whitter and then winked at Banner. Her lighthearted response to Whitter’s aggression made the muscles in Banner’s neck relax. She had a way of making the worst situations bearable.

“Meet me at Southern Command offices. We’re having a conference call with the American embassy in Bogotá in twenty minutes.” Whitter snapped out the information and stalked out of the room.

The Miami sun felt like a blowtorch. Banner and Stromeyer strolled along the downtown streets, taking a short break before heading to Southern Command’s offices. It was their first quiet moment since the hijacking, and the constant meetings and conferences were taking their toll on both of them. The sunlight and fresh air revived them. A limousine prowled behind, waiting to whisk them away when necessary. Banner began overheating within seconds. He searched for shade, while Stromeyer turned her face up and let the sun wash over her.

“You like the heat?” Banner said.

She nodded. “I love it. I grew up in Iowa, and this kind of weather came only in August. I lived for August.”

The sun warmed Banner’s shoulder, and he realized it hadn’t pained him once since his arrival in Miami. Darkview’s offices were in Arlington, Virginia, close to the powers that be in the military. Arlington was home, but Miami had a certain flair.

“We could open a satellite office here,” Banner said.

Stromeyer laughed. “I’d love the weather, but I don’t know if I could stand the vibe. It feels like a banana republic, all glitter and too laid-back for type As like me.”

Banner grinned. “Maybe they’ve got it right and the poor working stiffs like us have it wrong.”

Stromeyer smiled at him. “I love my work.”

The Southern Command building was new and, to Banner’s mind, much more inviting than most army headquarters. Waving palm trees and ample parking surrounded the two-story building. Built less than ten years ago, the facility boasted state-of-the-art technology, and its location near Miami International Airport made commuting convenient. One thousand people worked there. Banner thought the pink exterior color a little strange and whimsical for a building with such a serious purpose, but it tended to blend with the other construction in the area.

They passed through security in silence. Stromeyer’s mood darkened the minute she stepped out of the sunlight.

She said, apropos of nothing, “I hate talking to the relatives. I hope Miguel rescues the hostages soon. This situation is breaking my heart.”

They stepped into the main conference room. Whitter, two aides, and another man sat there. Whitter introduced the others as embassy personnel. He waved at the flat-screen television that showed a man in a suit sitting at a table. The man sipped from a coffee cup and looked at them as if he could see them.

“We’re on closed-circuit television,” Whitter said. He clicked on the speaker phone.

“Mr. Montoya, can you see us?”

Montoya nodded. “I can, Mr. Whitter.”

“Good. Then perhaps you tell us how the Colombian government views this situation.”

Mr. Montoya shook his head sadly. “I am afraid they are as puzzled as the rest of us. They believe that the disarmament program with the guerrillas is progressing well. They do not view this situation as a result of a hostile act against Americans. In twenty minutes the Colombian president is going to give a press conference in which he will tell the world that the plane was not hijacked.” Banner and Stromeyer looked at each other, stunned. Whitter closed his eyes.

Banner recovered first. “If the plane wasn’t hijacked, then what accounts for the text message we received from one of the passengers that said army men were taking hostages?”

Montoya gave a small sigh. “Major Banner, the last plane that was downed in the Colombian jungle landed there due to an equipment malfunction. Five American bank executives survived. They were taken hostage by some guerrillas in the area shortly after the crash. It was not a planned kidnapping, merely a crime of opportunity. The men landed in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“When was this?” Banner said.

“Three years ago.”

“Where are they now?” Banner prepared to note their names.

“They are still hostages.”

Banner sat forward. “No one’s gotten them out? Have you gone there?”

Montoya shook his head. “Absolutely not! Major Banner, I don’t think you understand the extent of the problem here. Embassy personnel are forbidden to travel to these areas. For our own safety we are not allowed to use the roads or public transportation. We fly over these areas, if we go there at all.”

“But these men are American citizens. Surely the embassy could assist in negotiations, or search and rescue,” Stromeyer said. Banner knew her well enough to hear the underlying layer of anger in her voice.

“Ms. Stromeyer—”

“It’s Major Stromeyer,” Whitter said. Banner did his best to hide his surprise at Whitter’s correction. Stromeyer raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

“I apologize,” Mr. Montoya continued. “Major Stromeyer, the embassy has a strict policy of noninterference. We have no jurisdiction. We tell all Americans that they assume the risk when they come here, and if something happens they must appeal to the Colombian government and to the Colombian forces in charge of kidnap rescue.”

“How is their success rate?” Stromeyer said.

“Good, but this is a big job and the hostages are deep in the jungle.”

Whitter and Banner exchanged glances. For a brief moment, Banner saw a flicker of pain in Whitter’s eyes.

“Did you know the bank executives?” Banner said.

Whitter gave a curt nod. “One. He was an acquaintance. His family lives in D.C. My wife sees them occasionally.” He turned to the image of Mr. Montoya. “Mr. Montoya, what do you think is behind this extraordinary decision? Is the Colombian president aware that the American government believes the plane was hijacked in a manner consistent with terrorist action?”

Mr. Montoya sighed. “Mr. Whitter, I think the Colombian president is concerned that if he acknowledges the plane was hijacked by forces that could be defined as terrorists, then America will overreact. He is frightened that the aid will stop and the United States military will be sent in to wreak havoc on his country.”

“Good thing I didn’t tell the press that we’d flown five hundred soldiers into the country.” Banner spoke to Whitter under his breath.

Whitter shot him a dirty look before turning back to Mr. Montoya.

“Mr. Montoya, has the Colombian government told the embassy what it intends to do to find these passengers?”

“I understand they have sent a search team,” Mr. Montoya said.

“That found nothing,” Banner said. “Do you believe them?”

Mr. Montoya sighed. “I don’t believe anything until I can confirm it through trusted sources. The corruption here is staggering. But understand that these people may have been long gone before the search team flew over. However, the Colombian president is also aware of the statistics regarding missing planes. He intends to mention these statistics in his defense of the Colombian special forces, and to defer any claims of corruption.”