A Traitor In Our Midst

Joe Gephard watched his prey through the closed-circuit video camera system in the small operations booth. Avery Decker’s meeting with the committee wasn’t going well.

The captive agent spoke to the group as if he were a free man. “I’m just going to come out and say it. Somebody in this room has something to hide, and it's not me. I’ve probably gotten too close to some truth that’s inconvenient. Who knows? I may have even stumbled on to a plot to do away with this committee.”

He could see the looks on their faces through more than dozen small liquid crystal displays. The committee was not impressed. They’d already made up their minds.

Jessica Knight slipped in to the room and lowered herself in to the only other chair. She offered him a hot paper cup. “What do you think?”

Joe sipped the gourmet coffee without taking his eyes off the screens. “He’ll run.”

The female agent listened to the interrogation. “Have you seen Decker’s file? He doesn’t back down from anything. Listen to him. He’s dictating terms to them. That’s hardly the profile of a runner.”

Gephard tapped the nearest screen. “They’re making a mistake with this one.”

Jessica put her cup down. “You might want to be careful about what you say in here. This entire facility is bugged. Committee members don’t like it when we talk about them.”

Joe fixated on Decker. “The committee doesn’t tolerate failure. That’s their problem. Nobody is allowed the luxury of a mistake. They’ve been in seclusion for so long that they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be human.”

Knight slid back in her chair. “I’m not taking your side in this. I want to make that perfectly clear. Can we get back to the task at hand? You say Decker will run. I say he won’t. He’ll never get the chance. Our security is too tight.”

The cynical man snickered under his breath.

Decker was defiant as ever with his final remarks. “If I were guilty, you’d be talking to an empty chair. So, what’s it going to be? Are we going to get to the bottom of this, or will we eat one of our own?”

Joe drank deeply as the cameras went dark. He got to his feet after tossing the half-full cup in to a trashcan. Jessica remained in her seat as he checked his tie and put on his coat.

“He won’t run,” she insisted.

“Yeah.” Joe smiled at her and left the room.

He walked to an unmanned security checkpoint and reached for a wireless phone. His call to the prisoner detention unit went through on the first ring. “This is Gephard. Double the number of men you send to get Decker. Sedate him before transport. When you have him in a maximum safe cell, jack him up on neural blockers and use the metal restraints. Catheterize him and feed him with an IV drip.”

He made a second call to the armory. “On my authorization, I want you to round up three tactical teams and load ‘em up for immediate fast response. They’ll need armored transport. See if you can get one those teams into a helicopter. Something with a civilian skin.”

He hung up the phone and rang for the elevator. Jessica Knight hurried to join him. They rode down two floors in silence, exiting on the administrative level. Joe made his way to the restricted section.

The accused sat chained to a chair inside a locked conference room. His civilian clothes were wrinkled and spattered with tiny flecks of his own blood.

Joe breezed in and took a seat near his prey. “Hello, Avery. How’s it hanging?”

Decker looked over his shoulder at the trio of guards watching him intently. “I have no complaints. These guys are pretty fun, once you get to know them.”

Gephard smiled. “You know what? I think you and I are the only ones who joined this chicken-shit outfit on our own. Voluntary conspirators and all that. Let’s be men about this. I know what comes next, and so do you. Let me be your friend. Tell me where I can find those hard drive backups, and I swear you won’t feel a thing. I’ll do it myself.”

Avery looked at the woman hovering in the background. “Why is she here?”

Joe shrugged and slid in closer. “You know how it is with the committee. Look, Avery, this is me you’re talking to. I know you didn’t walk back into this hornet’s nest just to be put out of your misery. Whatever your plan is, it won’t work.”

The captive licked his lips. “As a voluntary conspirator, you know better than that. I came back because I still believe in what we do here. Yeah, sure. I found something while I was in the field. But you know what? I was supposed to find it and bring it back here. I’m won't do that unless I have to. It’ll destroy everything we’ve worked for.”

Jessica shook her head. “You’re not making any sense.”

“Be quiet!” Joe snapped.

Decker approved. “Gep and I go way back. If it weren't for us, there would be no committee. Isn’t that right?”

Knight crossed her legs and the guards fidgeted, their edginess obvious.

Gephard checked his watch. “Where’s the transfer detail?”

The prisoner shrugged. “You know how it is with kids these days. Always distracted by something. Who knows?

Joe got to his feet. He pointed at the guards, and then to Decker. “Draw your weapons and shoot this man right now!”

Four men and two women posing as installation security burst in to the room. Silenced autofire from submachine guns took out the trio of guards. Jessica moved to strike the nearest attacker. She was laid out by the shocks from two simultaneous taser attacks. Joe raised both hands over his head. Closing the door behind them, the attackers fanned out around the room.

Avery beamed at his jailer. “Do me a favor and get the keys for these restraints.”

Joe was incredulous. “You can’t be serious.”

The angry man jingled his chains. “Spare me the outrage. There’s no room for compassion in our line of work. Get the keys and unlock me or I’ll tell these nice people to paint the walls with your blood.”

Gephard got out of his chair and searched the trio of dead men until he found the keys to Decker’s shackles and manacles. “You know the silent alarm has been tripped. Lots of people are watching you through lots of cameras. What happens next?”

Decker talked while he was being released. “Standard operating procedure, that’s what happens next. Everybody with a gun comes running to this end of the complex. The committee retreats to its bunker on Level Nine. All except for the traitor, who will make some excuse to separate from the others to make a run for his or her private jet.”

Joe dropped the last of the chains and stepped back. “You’re still not making any sense.”

Avery checked his watch and massaged his wrists. “You saw my interview. I know you did. I wasn’t kidding when I said I found something that wasn’t good for somebody on the committee.”

Gephard leaned on a chair. “Okay, smart guy. Where’s your proof and what is it?”

Decker got to his feet. “During our last op, we found audio and video on a hard drive that documents a series of meetings with an unknown subject and a member of the committee. That person has been compromising our operations for at least a year.”

Joe remained skeptical. “How do you fit in to all this?”

Decker laughed and kicked his chair. “I was supposed to come rushing back here to unmask the traitor. Turns out the hard drives we snatched had auto-destruct systems in them. They would’ve melted hours ago if my people hadn’t deactivated them. It was a pretty slick plan. Nothing but my word left to go on, and I would’ve been telling the truth right ‘til the bitter end. Somebody wants to discredit me.”

Gephard eyed the door to the conference room. “Man, you’re being too clever for your own good. You’ve got nothing if you can’t identify the traitor. Where are those drives?”

Decker began to stroll around the room. He took a pistol from one of his silent protectors and worked the slide to chamber a round. “Right about now, somebody has just arrived at the hangar. He or she called ahead, and the jet is just about ready for takeoff. I’m thinking that they might’ve had to use violence to clear the area before startup.”

Joe felt naked without a gun. “You’re full of it.”

Avery stopped his wandering. “I am. You know why? Because I lied about what I found. The picture and sound quality in those files is flawless. Digitally perfect. There’s no mistaking who the committee member is. That’s why they’re trying to get away.”

Gephard flew in to a rage. “You’re grasping at straws! If you really had anything, you’d show it to the committee and they’d exonerate you.”

Decker checked his watch again. “If I’m right, the committee is looking at my evidence right now.”

“What? How?” Joe spluttered.

The swaggering man raised his pistol. “Some of my people are really good at breaking and entering. I had them put the data we recovered in the executive bunker on Level Nine. They did it earlier this morning, just after the patrol shifts changed.”

Gephard was speechless for a moment. “That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Not for you.” Avery admonished with a wave of his gun.

Joe rested both hands on the back of a chair. “Hold on a sec. You’re not--”

The offended man gritted his teeth. “I am! Let me tell you exactly how it breaks down. I found out who the traitor is, and I found out who’s been doing their dirty work. You lousy rat.”

Gephard reminded himself to stay cool and play for the cameras. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. If what you say is true, the person you really want is already on the run. You know how it is with traitors. They always run.”

Decker shifted to a more comfortable stance. “They do if you give them the chance.”

Joe began to sweat. “They’re going to kick down that door any second now. You’d better come to your senses. I can help you.”

Avery glanced at his watch and adjusted his aim. “The first rule of conspiracy is that nothing is ever what it looks like. Every time I forget that rule, I get burned. We had a textbook-perfect op, and everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I got played, and some of my best people died. None of this would’ve been possible without your help, Joe.”

Gephard took one step forward. “Now, wait just a minute!”

Decker raised his voice. “Sit or die. You’ve served your purpose.”

“What are you waiting for?” Joe demanded as he sank in to the nearest seat.

Every monitor in the large room came to life at the same time. Several cameras provided a stunning sunset view of a private airport. A gleaming executive jet moved slowly down the taxiway. The images came silently as the jet made its takeoff roll. Gephard used a handkerchief to mop clammy perspiration from his brow as the plane lifted in to the coppery sky.

Camera angles changed as the view shifted to the fantail of a large sailboat. The rising jet could be seen nearing the brassy horizon as a hooded man stepped up to the handrail. He raised a long plastic tube to his bronze shoulder.

Joe looked on fearfully as the soundless picture fogged for just a moment due to backwash from the antiaircraft rocket. Chaff and flares fell away from the ascending jet as its pilot struggled for altitude. The missile tracked onto one of the falling flares and exploded as the video feed was cut.

“That’s too bad,” Decker mumbled.

Joe put away his handkerchief. “I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding.”

Avery took a deep breath. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? No. I’ve got it all figured out. I know who you were working for. So does the rest of the committee. They’ve had enough time to see what I left for them. I’ve only got one question. Why did you involve me in your schemes at all? I never suspected them, or you. Why’d you do it?”

Gephard looked at some of the more visible cameras around the room. “Like you said, the first rule of conspiracy. It was only a matter of time ‘til I messed up and gave you a chance to find me out. You know who I worked for. You know what kind of person they are. At first, I did it because I wanted a chance to be on the committee. Then, I did it just to stay alive. None of my…betrayals…were very significant. Little stuff, you know?”

Decker shook his head. “I would’ve never caught you.”

Joe let his chin sink to his chest. “I messed up the disinformation op on those web sites. If I know what I did wrong, I knew you’d eventually find my mistake. I really wanted to be on the committee. It seemed like a sure thing. I thought you’d run. I never thought you’d come back here to clear your name. I was wrong.”

Avery put his gun on safety. “I’m sorry about what has to come next. I hope you won’t take it personally.”

Gephard got to his feet as the door to the conference room opened. “Will you put in a good word for me?”

Decker told his protectors to stand down. He waited for a trio of men in dark suits to enter the room, and then approached Joe. “Nobody on the outside understands what we do. They think they know, but it’s all guesses and gossip. It’s like you said. You and me, we’re voluntary conspirators. If the committee gives you the chance, you can speak for yourself.”

Joe shook his head as he was taken in to custody. “I really wish you had run."