Ghost of Africa Read online

  “Don’t worry. I think we can pass the sniff test if we agree that Steve is you, except for a few changes.”

  “So, Steve will be incredibly handsome – irresistible to most females on the planet.”

  “Stop it, Bret. This is serious. If we get this wrong, you could get hurt.”

  “Please continue.”

  “What we write needs to be credible: ‘A rich, middle-aged’ . . .”

  “But handsome . . .”

  “. . . but handsome businessman who is well-connected. . .”

  “. . . and loves to party with attractive young women . . .”

  “Bret, you’re going to get it as soon as we get off this plane.”

  “I apologize. Okay, I think I get the full picture now. You’re going to create a new identity online, one that I will then assume. We’re gonna move to Sioux Falls, get a new address, birth certificate, library card . . .”

  “. . . driver’s license, passport, cell phone, and credit cards. You’ll be a businessman whose . . .”

  “Import/Export . . . “

  “. . . business incorporated in . . .”

  “Colombia.”

  “is simply a front business for arms, specifically for . . . “

  “MANPADS.”

  “And you spend a lot of time at casinos because you are rich and . . .”

  “. . . because it may be a good way to meet other rich businessmen who are looking for surface-to-air missiles. Of course, Kunga won’t know where to find me unless we provide an abundance of clues.”

  “I can do that,” she said.

  “I guess I’ll need a new suit too?”

  “Clothes make the man.”

  “Shakespeare?”

  “Shakespeare,” she responded, with a smile that lasted all the way into the Marshall Airport terminal building.

  Chapter Nine

  Delta Intelligence Services, 9315 Largo Drive, Washington

  As Bret drove out of the BWI Daily Parking building onto Scott Road, he said, “Hey Babe, since we’re already close by Julien’s office, lets phone to see if we can drop by. Sooner or later we gotta get his okay on our proposal for finding Kunga. Why not now and save the big drive from Adelphi? “

  Chu-lin concurred, and by the time they reached I-195, she had punched in Delta Intelligence’s office address to her map app. Within a minute’s drive on the freeway, Julien had approved the requested visit via cell phone.

  Despite typical Washington traffic, they soon reached the Delta Intelligence Services parking lot, and walked into the agency’s two-story contemporary building. They were greeted by a uniformed guard that checked their ID’s and courteously asked them to pass through a metal detector. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Lee,” said another guard that escorted the couple to Julien’s second-floor office.

  It took the Lees more than an hour to share their ideas with Julien. He liked their plan for establishing a reputation for Steffan Doevendans via social media and websites, and was especially complimentary of Chu’s know-how for using Wikipedia to boost an online Google presence. Reluctantly, he also went along with their request to bring Zhu into the venture as an unpaid participant.

  But then Julien’s defenses went up. “I don’t want to throw cold water on your expectations,” said Julien, “but I can’t help but wonder how you two expect that merely gambling at a fancy casino is going to help build Bret’s reputation as an arms dealer?”

  Chu responded, “Julien, you made it clear to us that Kunga has long had the desire to purchase surface-to-air missiles. It’s not that dealers don’t exist. It’s just that none of the known arms dealers are willing to stick their necks out to sell him SAMs. Right?”

  “Yes, that’s been my take on it.”

  “So Kunga’s likely tasked his staff then to go locate some other arms dealer that is willing.”

  “A good presumption.”

  “Thus, our overall goal is to start building Steffan’s reputation as that dealer. To help Kunga find him, he’s going to masquerade as a wealthy, bombastic playboy who’s very likely to be ‘that dealer.’ Steffan starts to accomplish this notoriety in casino environments, where his antics attract the attention of everyone nearby.”

  Bret expanded on Chu’s explanation. “So the plan is that he’ll be moving internationally from one renowned casino to another, with frequent loud alcohol-assisted tongue-slip boasts of his prowess as a ‘dealer.’ Anyone looking for such an operator would clearly take mental note of Steffan.”

  “Yeah,” interjected Julien, “and clearly the casino security people too. You’ll be lucky if you don’t find yourself sitting on the sidewalk outside, Bret.”

  Chu postulated, “Quite possible, but after a month or so of such activity, Steffan’s shady reputation would be the subject of many whispered casino comments. Hopefully, one of Kunga’s men would pick up on the scuttlebutt.”

  “Smacks to me of wishful thinking, unless I’ve missed something.”

  “Not ‘missed something,’ Boss, ‘forgotten something.’ Remember, in our discussions shortly after our arrival, you complimented us about our use of social media and Wikipedia. That’s happening in parallel with what’s going on in the casinos, a double-barreled shot at reputation building for Steffan.”

  “Hmm.”

  Chu jumped back in the conversation, “Julien, we acknowledge that this dual approach may still not be enough to firmly establish Steffan’s reputation as a potential arms dealer. But we have to get started somewhere.”

  “I guess I can buy that argument.”

  “Speaking of ‘buy,’ Julien, Bret interrupted, I’m gonna need a big stake to help me get started gambling.”

  Julien seemed to choke a little, and after a few moments of silence, he responded “I want to support your proposal and willingness to undertake this as a team, but there has to be a limit to a potential string of bad luck.”

  “I’m well prepared to win, not lose, Boss.”

  ”Just how big a stake do you propose?”

  “Uh, how about . . .”

  “Wait! Don’t answer that. I’ll only agree to an absolute maximum of twenty grand.”

  “Okay (Smiling).”

  “But, I plead that you keep in mind that I have to justify all our expenses to IATA. I’m sure they’d find someone else if they thought any of their money was misspent gambling. Then he added with a sneaky smile, “If you ever lost it all, I’d have a hard time finding a way to hide it.”

  Bret gulped, and made a mental note, Guess I’d better freshen up my Blackjack skills. Been at least a decade since I last played.

  * * *

  “That went well,” asserted Bret back in their car.

  “I can’t wait to tell Zhu,” she added.

  “Okay, so to kick off and put our plan into action once home, we shut down the house, move to Sioux Falls, and become Steffan and girlfriend.”

  “Wait just one minute, Buster. What happened to ‘wife’?”

  “How’s Steffan ever gonna be a casino playboy with a wife hanging around? And besides, do you want to go through all the rigmarole of officially changing your identity? Why not instead just hover around me like all the other girls?”

  “I have to think about that for awhile,” Chu mulled quietly. Then suddenly awakening from her brief lapse into mental fog, curtly exclaimed, “What other girls?”

  “You’ll see,” Bret teased. Quickly changing the subject, he added, “But for now, let’s get busy making the Lees disappear. Pack up a suitcase each, turn the lights out, the water off, lock our car in the garage, and figure out how we can get out of Dodge without anyone able to trace us.”

  “Simple,” she proposed, “we’ll tell Zhu that he’s on the team, and that his first responsibility, before securing your fake birth certificate, will be to fly to BWI, rent a car, pick us up here, and drive us all to Sioux Falls. Voila, we’re there and nobody knows about it or could find out if they wanted.”

  “Fantastic, let�
��s phone Zhu now.”

  * * *

  FBI Headquarters, Directorate of Intelligence, Washington

  To: Joshua Jericho, PSS

  From: Marcela Hewitt, Branch Chief, Surveillance

  Congratulations on your selection as a new hire with the FBI. I’m confident that your choice to become a Physical Surveillance Specialist with the Directorate of Intelligence will prove interesting, exciting and rewarding. As a first assignment, I’m asking you to study the attached assortment of NSA communiqués and other FBI documents. Then begin investigating and surveilling the named target, Bret Lee of Adelphi, MD. Gather intelligence on him, his activities, his contacts and possibly his wife via any open source or covert methods you learned during your first three months of classes as an FBI Special Agent. Employ visual and/or electronic surveillance techniques as necessary, but do not attempt to interview Lee, as we yet do not want him to know we’re investigating him.

  * * *

  To: Marcela Hewitt, Branch Chief

  From: Joshua Jericho, PPS

  Intensive visual surveillance has shown no activity at the Lee’s Adelphi home for more than three weeks. No lights, no entry or exit. The family owns only a single sedan, and it has been locked in the garage since I was assigned to this case. A check with the Adelphi Post Office reveals that a month ago, Lee’s wife placed all incoming mail on “Vacation Hold” for the one-month maximum, but never showed up to collect it.

  Electronic surveillance indicates that there have been no credit card charges for a month. No tickets for air travel have been purchased since a round-trip flight to Green Bay, WI was completed five weeks ago. No train, bus or cruise travel has been booked in the past two months. He’s not in the county jail nor State or Federal prison. Medical records data bases show neither Lee has been treated. Neither Lee has been active online in social media, text or email.

  I also visited the Dean of Chemical Engineering at the University of Maryland, and was advised that Professor Lee will not be teaching any courses next term, and possibly beyond.

  Based on all these facts, one might conclude that Bret and Chu-lin Lee have fallen off the grid. I’ve apparently reached a dead end. At this point I need some experienced guidance on how to proceed.

  * * *

  From: Marcela Hewitt

  To: Joshua Jericho:

  Perhaps you might try sniffing around Green Bay. Or, you might want to set up surveillance of his former employer, Julien Jasper Jones of Delta Intelligence Services.

  Chapter Ten

  Return Counter, Enterprise Car Rental, Sioux Falls, SD

  “May I help you, sir?” asked the female agent behind the familiar two-tone green and black counter.

  Wow! Beautiful features. Big green eyes. Love that long blond hair. Tall and well-built too. She’s gorgeous, thought Zhu as he responded, “Yes, I’m returning my car. I’ve had it for about a month.”

  “May I see your rental agreement? Thank you, Mr. Yeong. Oh, I see you rented a Dodge Grand Caravan in Baltimore. Was everything satisfactory on your trip here?”

  “Yeah, just fine.”

  “Let’s see, . . . the total comes to $2,272.”

  “Put it on my Visa, please.”

  As she reaches to take his card, he observes, Nice long slender fingers, polished nails, hmm.

  “Fine. Thank you. Will that be all?”

  “Nope, I want to rent a smaller car; don’t need the baggage space any more. Probably for a couple of months.” And how about meeting me for dinner tonight, Zhu mentally added.

  “Same home address , or a local one?”

  “Yeah, Wisconsin. Just visiting friends here.”

  “Will you be returning it to this location?”

  “Yes.”

  “How about a Nissan Altima? We have a monthly special right now for $725. With taxes and add-ons, that comes to $923.”

  “Yeah, sign me up.”

  * * *

  Lees’ Rental Duplex, 1724 S. 9th Ave, Sioux Falls, SD

  As far as Chu-lin was concerned, her brother had found and leased the perfect home for their Sioux Falls stay. It was an almost new duplex, roomy on both floors inside, and centered on a treed quarter-acre corner lot. She loved the exterior’s cream-colored aluminum siding that contrasted beautifully with the red brick foundation and huge irrigated green lawn. A two-car garage and parking area behind the building kept vehicles out of sight from the peaceful neighborhood street. All interior rooms were simply but tastefully decorated, and fitted with nearly new contemporary functional furniture. It felt like home.

  “Zhu, is that you (voice from upstairs)?”

  “Yeah, Sis. Just back from Enterprise. Exchanged the Caravan SUV for a Nissan Altima sedan. Shiny black one. Saves more than half. Runs a little over $30 a day. Coming down soon?”

  “Yes, I’m on my way down . . . and now here.” Her oversized tee shirt dangling over pink shorts concealed her trim waist, while still exposing her long shapely legs. “Your insight was certainly correct. Local rentals sure are cheaper than one-ways. Bret’ll be pleased.”

  “Where is he, anyway?”

  “He set up a local Uber account and got a ride downtown to shop for a suit. He just called to say that he found a prominent men’s clothing store, J.J. & Sons, and was gonna try one or two on, and it might be awhile since they tailor to fit.”

  “How goes the battle here?” inquired Zhu.

  “Pretty good. I just got confirmation for a shared hosting plan in Medellin. Thank goodness I took Spanish in high school.”

  “Like Medellin, Colombia?”

  “Right. I’m setting up a WordPress website for Dove International Security dot co.”

  “Don’t you mean dot com?”

  “No, dot co is the top-level domain for Columbia.”

  “That’s the shell company you guys were talking about last night, right?”

  “Yup. I also set up a mail service just in case we get some. And I purchased a local Medellin phone number that’ll forward to my cell.”

  “Wow, you sure’ve been busy with all our start-up IT stuff. But why in South America?”

  “We need what looks to be a legitimate business in a real country to serve as a front for Senor Steffan Doevendans’ arms business. Colombia, as a random choice, seems to fit the bill. The real beauty of it is that we can use that website to give a few clues about Sr. Doevendans that we’ll reference in the Wikipedia article.”

  “Dove International Security.co . . . Ha! that could mean just about anything you wanted, right? So Bret’s, I mean Steffan’s front company is in the ‘security’ business, which of course could secretly mean arms sales. Cool. Anything I can do to help, Sis?”

  “Not for me. But if you feel like putting a few miles on city streets with the Altima, you could meet Bret in town and give him a ride back. Better phone first to find where he’s at.”

  * * *

  Carnaval Brazilian Grill, Sioux Falls, SD

  “Zhu, I could eat a cow, said Bret. How about finding a good steak house and making reservations.”

  “Gotcha.”

  Zhu selected a unique Brazilian restaurant that was renowned for Gaucho waiters serving quality roasted meats, carving the guests’ selections table side. After their sumptuous dinner, Bret, Chu and Zhu topped their meal with Brigadeiro fudge ball desserts. Lastly, they ordered strong black coffee to sip while planning the upcoming mission.

  “It seems to me,” said Chu, “that we have to get a variety of photos of Steffan in action in some of the world’s most famous, identifiable gambling casinos.”

  “In action? queried Bret. “What kind of action do you have in mind, Babe?”

  “Visualize Steffan, wearing a silk pinstripe suit, seated at gambling tables, piles of chips near his hands. A crowd of onlookers, including a bevy of pretty girls hovering nearby, watching his every move.”

  “Sorry, hon, neither of the suits I bought today is a silk pinstripe. Any picture will have to show me wearing a
tailored navy-blue worsted suit, as that’s the one I’m bringing. The other new suit is grey.”

  “That’ll still be a good picture. Another action photo you could easily get would show Steffan, a big cigar in his mouth, standing in front of a casino ID sign, with each arm around a beautiful girl.”

  “That’d be fun setting up. Maybe three or four girls.”

  “Stop teasing me, Bret! My last example is that you and Zhu might be able to crash someone’s party. He could take some shots showing a crowded high-class cocktail event attended by well-dressed casino guests, with Steffan in their midst, ostentatiously holding their attention with expressive stances, moves and stories.”

  Zhu interrupted her train of thought and explanations. “Sis, tell me again what you’re gonna to do with these ‘action’ pictures, assuming we can get them?”

  “They’ll highlight international playboy gossip articles I’ll be writing for a variety of newspapers and magazines. Eventually, I’ll use their reprints on social media. In time, I’ll feed them into the Wikipedia article.”

  “Bret, in which casinos do you think we ought to make a presence? You said you’d done a little online research.”

  “Right, I think we should avoid the big U.S. casinos, like Atlantic City’s Borgata or Vegas’ MGM Grand. We need to dodge being accidentally recognized by friends or business contacts. Instead, I think we should concentrate on overseas establishments like Monaco’s Monte Carlo or Macao’s Venetian. If we come to find we need others, there’s Lisbon’s Casino-Lisboa, or the Rio Casino in Klerksdorp, South Africa.”

  “But before we do anything else, we’ve got to change my identity to Steffan’s. Zhu, you seem to know the ins and outs of making this happen, starting with the fake birth certificate you ordered for me. So now’s probably a good time to get started.”

  “Okay, but let’s wait until after the weekend. I need to phone and meet with at least one of my friends first. Uh, I may be gone a night or two.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Lees’ Rental Duplex, 1724 S. 9th Ave, Sioux Falls, SD

  Ever since the DC meeting with Julien, Bret had been spending his free time downloading and reading Blackjack know-how from Amazon’s three top-selling books on the game: “Beat the Dealer,” “Blackbelt in Blackjack,” and “Blackjack: Play Like a Pro.” Since he also intended to play Baccarat, a game that seemed to attract the wealthiest gamblers, he studied “The Baccarat Battle Book,” Frank Scoblete’s best seller that explored how to reduce overall economic risk by knowing which bets to make and how to make them. By the time he finished reading these, he was eager to depart for Monaco to test his gambling skills at the famed Monte Carlo casino.