Free Assumed Identity (1993) by David Morrell Page B

government and, equally important, to prevent the Mexican authorities from tracing his illegal activities to a covert branch of the United States military. The last thing Buchanan's controllers wanted was an international incident. Indeed, even if Buchanan were arrested while he was posing as Edward Potter, his activities could still not be traced to his controllers. Because he had yet another cover. He would deny to the authorities that he had ever belonged to the DEA, and in the meantime, his controllers would remove or erase all the supporting details for that assumed identity. Buchanan would claim that he had invented the DEA story in order to infiltrate the drug-distribution system. He would insist, and there would be supporting details for this cover as well, that he was a freelance journalist who wanted to write an expose about the Mexican drug connection. If the Mexican authorities tried to investigate beyond that cover, they would find nothing that linked Buchanan to U.S. special operations.
    'Perhaps,' the first twin said. 'Perhaps we can work together.'
    'Perhaps?' Buchanan asked. 'Madre de Dios, what do I have to do to convince you?'
    'First we will investigate your background.'
    'By all means,' Buchanan said.
    'Then we will determine if some of our associates have betrayed us as you claim.'
    'No problem.' Buchanan's chest flooded with triumph. I've turned it around, he thought. Five minutes ago, they were ready to kill me, and I was trying to decide if I'd have to kill them. But I did the right thing. I kept my cool. I talked my way out of it. The mission hasn't been jeopardized.
    'You will stay with us while we verify your credentials,' the second twin said.
    'Stay with you?'
    'Do you have a problem with that?' the first twin asked.
    'Not really,' Buchanan said. 'Except that making me a prisoner is a poor way to begin a partnership.'
    'Did I say anything about making you a prisoner?' The second twin smiled. 'You will be our guest. Every comfort will be given to you.'
    Buchanan forced himself to return the smile. 'Sounds fine with me. I could use a taste of the life style I want to become accustomed to.'
    'But there is one other matter,' the first twin said.
    'Oh? What's that?' Buchanan inwardly tensed.
    The second twin turned on his penlight and flicked its glare past Buchanan's right eye. 'The drunken American in the restaurant. You will need to prove to our satisfaction that you were not in Kuwait and Iraq at the time he claims he spent with you there.'
    'For Christ sake, are you still fixated on that drunk? I don't understand how I'm supposed to-'

    Chapter 12.
    'Crawford!' a man's voice boomed from the darkness near the hotel's bar. The voice was deep, crusty from cigarettes, thick from alcohol.
    'What's that?' the first twin quickly asked.
    Oh, no, Buchanan thought. Oh, Jesus, no. Not when I've almost undone the damage from the first time.
    'Crawford!' Big Bob Bailey yelled again. 'Is that you flashin' that light over there?' A hulking silhouette lurched from the hotel's gardens, a beefy man who'd had too much to drink and now had trouble walking in the sand. 'Yes, you, damn it! I mean you, Crawford! You and them Spics you're talkin' with under that fancy beach umbrella or whatever the hell it is.' He stumbled closer, breathing heavily. 'You son of a bitch, I want a straight answer! I want to know why you're lyin' to me! 'Cause you and me both know your name's Jim Crawford! We both know we was prisoners in Kuwait and Iraq! So why won't you admit it? How come you made a fool of me? You think I'm not good enough to drink with you and your Spic pals or somethin'?'
    'I don't like the feel of this,' the first twin said.
    'Something's wrong,' the second twin said.
    'Very wrong.' The first twin snapped his gaze away from Big Bob Bailey's awkwardly approaching shadow and riveted it upon Buchanan. 'You're trouble. You Americans have an expression. "Better safe than sorry."'
    'Come on, he's just a drunk!' Buchanan