Free Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History by Matt Baglio, Antonio Mendez Page B

the phone. She told him that someone had called the police, that help was on the way, and that everyone should sit tight and wait it out. Then Lopez got word on his radio that the militants had broken into the chancery. Since the consulate had a door that led out onto the street, at that point they realized their best option was to flee the compound, take their chances in the city streets, and try to make it to a friendly embassy.
    Before leaving, Don Cooke smashed the visa plates with a steel bar so that they wouldn’t fall into the Iranians’ hands. Mark, who was in charge of the cashiering, debated taking all the money and stuffing it into his pockets as he locked up. In the end he decided against it. Much like everyone else, he was still under the assumption that they would all return in a few days and business would be back to usual. Several days later, when he was out on the streets and needed money, he would regret that decision.
    The front entrance to the consulate opened onto a small sidestreet far away from the chaos at the chancery. After unlocking the door, Richard Queen poked his head outside and was surprised to see that there were only a couple of Iranian police officers standing around. Other than that, the street was completely empty.
    The plan was to let the Iranian visa applicants go first, then the Iranian employees, then the Americans. In order not to attract too much attention, Morefield suggested that the Americans split into two groups. Kim King, an American tourist who had overstayed his visa and had come to the consulate that day to get it sorted out, decided to head off on his own, and instantly disappeared.
    Mark, Cora, Joe, Kathy, Bob Ode, and Lorraine, an American woman who had come to the consulate that day to get a visa for her Iranian husband, were all in the first group of Americans to leave. With them was an Iranian employee who said she could act as a guide to help them find the British embassy. Cora remembers that, as they left, for some reason one of the Iranian policemen checked everyone’s bags.
    As they started off, Ode went back to help a blind Iranian man who said he was waiting for somebody to pick him up. Seeing the first group heading off, Bob Anders hurried after them and caught up.
    They walked for about fifteen minutes down one of the side streets toward the British embassy. It was raining pretty heavily and it wasn’t long before they were completely soaked. Mark felt particularly conspicuous in the rain, wearing a three-piece suit without a raincoat. Cora and the Iranian woman had gotten out in front a little, and when they rounded a bend they were surprised to see that the British embassy was having its own problems. A huge crowd of demonstrators was out front, shouting and screaming and banging on the gates. The two women headed back to confer withthe rest of the group. The British embassy was out. Where should they go now? As they discussed their options, they became increasingly aware that more and more Iranians were beginning to stare at them. The Iranian employee offered to take them to her house, but none of the Americans wanted to impose. Since Anders’s apartment was the closest, he suggested they go there to get dry and wait it out. Everyone agreed; the Iranian employee said good-bye and melted into the streets.
    After helping the blind man into a car, Ode had joined the second group of Americans, consisting of Morefield, Lopez, Gary Lee, Richard Queen, and Don Cooke. They couldn’t have been more obvious. Unlike the first group, they’d decided to turn down a larger street that ran parallel to the embassy. They didn’t get far before a crowd of Iranians began shadowing them, shouting, “CIA, CIA!” and “SAVAK!” Finally one of the policemen who had been checking bags outside the consulate ran up and fired his pistol into the air. “Stop!” he shouted. Morefield turned to him and explained that the building was empty and they could do with it whatever