The Aegis Conspiracy: A Novel. Galen Winter
knew Den Clark was, indeed, a friend. He had been much more than a friend. She was transported back to their days together in the Sherman Kent School for Intelligence Analysis. It was more than fun. They had shared their lives, honestly and completely.
When Gigi heard the knock on her door, the lingering feeling of isolation - of being alone - left her. The sense of relief she felt when she answered the phone and recognized Den’s voice returned to her. She hoped Den hadn’t changed. She hoped he was still the man she knew so well at the Kent School. She needed more than just a friend. She needed someone to hold her.
When Gigi opened the door, Den saw the pretty woman who had attracted him in that cafeteria two years earlier, but her smile seemed to be a bit tentative. Den thought she showed signs of stress. He wondered if she had changed. He wondered if she had moved on with her life. He wondered if she was the same woman who shared his life at the Kent School. He hoped so.
At first, they spoke in short impersonal sentences. Den said she looked great. She said he did, too. Could he come in? Yes, of course. Sit. Make yourself at home. Good to see you again. You too. Then, after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Den removed any reason for further embarrassment. He wasted no time. “What’s wrong, hon. I’m someone who loves you. Remember me? I’m on your side. You can talk to me.”
Gigi was reassured. This was the Den she knew. He could always read her moods. His sympathy was never false. He was more than a once-upon-a-time lover. He was her most intimate friend. She knew she could trust him.
Gigi wanted someone to know how Jacobson stole money from a CIA account and tried to use it to bribe a terrorist. She wanted someone to know how Jacobson feared a double cross and used an unsuspicious Mick McCarthy to deliver the bribe. She wanted someone to know how Jacobson had driven from the scene at the first sign of trouble, leaving McCarthy alone to face terrorist gunfire. She wanted someone to know the Agency had engaged in a cover-up. Her story might never become a part of the official record, but she wanted someone to know it.
Gigi told Den everything she had uncovered during her investigation of McCarthy’s death. When she had finished, she leaned back in the chair. “Jacobson tried to get me to whitewash him. Of course, I wouldn’t do it. I gave my report to Henry Putnam. He’s the Station Chief. He took it to Langley. When he came back, he showed me a doctored document. Jacobson wasn’t even mentioned.
“He said he was told to change it by top echelon people. The reason wasn’t explained: ‘Need to know’ basis only and I, of course, didn’t need to know. I was told to destroy my report and keep my mouth shut. Henry filed the doctored report and Jacobson was given a position in the Projects Branch.”
The cover up was obvious and it was extensive. Even Gigi’s, watered down investigation report was not made a part of the record. Something, indeed, had been wrong in Damascus. Ferdie Robbins told him Jake Jacobson was involved in Mick’s death. Gigi showed him Jake was more than merely involved.
Den showed no outward reaction to her revelations, but, inside, his anger increased. It was an anger caused by his empathy with the pain Gigi had to endure and, equally, by his own reaction to the CIA protection of the man who embezzled funds - the man who caused the death of Mick McCarthy.
Before Den could say anything, Gigi made an additional statement. “I’ve been recalled for reassignment. It won’t be a promotion. Tomorrow, I’ll be offered a transfer. I suspect it will be to a file clerk’s position in the lowest level basement of the Langley complex. Jake Jacobson and whoever is protecting him are behind it. They want me out of the Agency. I know too much about Jacobson.”
Den asked her: “What are you going to do about it?”
“I’m not going to do anything about it. McCarthy’s case is closed and nobody is going to re-open it. I can’t fight the Agency. I’m going to quit. I’ll going to put all this behind me. I’m going to Tucson and I’m going to hang out my shingle. From tomorrow on, I’ll be ‘G. G. Grant - Attorney and Counselor at Law’. If you ever need a divorce, care to start a corporation or want me to probate your estate, look me up.”
Then, for the first time, she smiled. “I feel much better now,” she said.
“You’ve had a tough time, hon,” Den said. He expressed his own feelings as well as hers when he said: “Jacobson is a bastard - and so are his friends in the Agency. You’ve made the right choice. Get out of here and start again in Arizona. You don’t want Jacobson or his friends in your life.” He put his hands on her shoulders and, face-to-face, told her he would make Jacobson pay.
Gigi almost melted when Den put his arms around her and held her to him. They talked about how they had met, the good times they had shared. The talk of happier times helped to restore her. Perhaps life wasn’t so bad after all. She asked him if he remembered their first kiss. He did. He also remembered the first time they slept together. So did Gigi. She looked up at him and, ever so slightly, raised her chin.
“I’d like to kiss you,” Den said.
“That would be nice.” She answered, “very, very nice.”
The sun had risen when they awoke. They showered together and breakfasted in Gigi’s room. When it came time to leave, they kissed again and Den promised he would be there for her, should she ever need anything.
After he left the Four Points Sheraton Den’s thoughts moved from Gigi to Damascus to Mick McCarthy and then to Jake Jacobson. Now he knew what happened to Mick. Jake Jacobson put him in a dangerous situation and when the fight started, he deserted him. That was the act of a coward, an act completely foreign to Den’s character. A man who would leave a comrade in danger was detestable.
Den wondered why the son of a bitch was not exposed. Why wasn’t he kicked out of the Agency? Jake showed his true colors in Damascus, but he was still in Clandestine Operations. As he drove to his apartment, Den remembered Ferdie’s warnings: Teddy Smith relies on him. Jake Jacobson is powerful. The man is dangerous.
Jake was now assigned to Teddy’s Projects Branch. No one was assigned to that Branch without the most careful of background checks. Teddy was aware of Den’s birth name, his favorite brand of single malt Scotch and even his preference for bulkhead aisle seats in airplanes. Surely, he must have known what Jacobson did in Damascus. Was it a case of someone telling Teddy to bring Jake into the Projects Branch?
Or could Teddy be Jake’s benefactor? Teddy said Mick was killed while working with another agent. Why didn’t Teddy tell him that agent was Jake Jacobson?
There was no point in trying to make Jacobson pay for what he did by going through official channels. When the Syria Station chief came to Langley, he must have talked with somebody who had enough clout to be able to scrub the record clean and move Jake into the Projects Branch. Someone up there liked the little bastard. Den had no doubts. Jacobson’s friends would continue to protect him.
Den promised himself Jake Jacobson was not going to get away with abandoning Mick. He wasn’t going to get away with forcing Gigi out of the Agency.
Later that morning, Gigi Grant was notified of reassignment to a station of such modest significance that those who went there were considered by their fellow agents to have received early retirement. As Jacobson had presumed, Gigi Grant immediately resigned from the Central Intelligence Agency. She went to Tucson and reactivated her membership in the Arizona Bar Association.
Jake Jacobson learned important lessons from his disastrous bribery attempt in Damascus. He had long known it was all right to denigrate people below him in the chain of command. It was also entirely proper to quietly attack the competence and credibility of those who shared his same level in the organization chart. Since they were his competition for positions up the corporate ladder, Jake believed their reputations had to be destroyed.
Prior