Free Sign Of The Cross by Chris Kuzneski Page B

give us the courtesy of your name and rank. I feel that’s the least we deserve.’
    ‘No, Mr Payne, you don’t
deserve
a thing. Not with the charges you’re facing.’
    The man took a seat at the far end of the table and removed a folder from his leather briefcase. Then he sat there for a minute, studying its contents. Refusing to say a word. The only sound in the room was the occasional rustle of paperwork. When he spoke again, the harshness in his voice was softer than before. Like he had reconsidered how to handle things. ‘However, due to the circumstances of my proposal, I think it would be best if I remained civil.’
    ‘Your proposal?’ Payne asked.
    ‘Before I get to that, let me honor your request. My name is Richard Manzak, and I’m with the Central Intelligence Agency.’ He whipped out his identification and handed it to Payne. Manzak’s partner followed his lead. ‘This here is Sam Buckner. He’s been teamed with me for this particular, um, situation.’
    Payne studied both IDs, then passed them over to Jones. ‘I don’t understand. What do we have to do with the CIA? Shouldn’t this be an embassy matter?’
    Manzak grabbed his badge, then ordered Buckner to stand guard across the room. Payne found that kind of strange, since they were in the middle of a secure facility. Nevertheless, the big guy lumbered over there and leaned his ass against the door like a tired moose.
    ‘This is well past an embassy matter,’ Manzak assured him. ‘The embassy tends to avoid crimes of this nature.’
    ‘Crimes? What are you talking about? We didn’t do anything. We came here as tourists.’
    ‘Come now, Mr Payne. Both of us know the type of missions you used to run. I’m sure if you thought about it you could come up with a long list of activities that the Spanish government might disapprove of.’ Manzak leaned forward, lowering his voice to a whisper. ‘For now I think it would be best if we refrain from any specifics. You never know who might be listening.’
    Payne thought back to his time with the MANIACs and realized they had passed through Spain on hundreds of occasions. Moron Air Base, located near Seville, was midway between the U.S. and southwest Asia, making it a prime spot to gather supplies and jump-start missions. Same with Naval Station ( NAVSTA ) Rota, positioned on the Atlantic coast near the Strait of Gibraltar. It gave them access to the Mediterranean Sea and assistance on amphibious assaults. Throw in Torrejon Air Base and all the other U.S. facilities scattered around Spain, and Payne shuddered at everything they might have on him and Jones.
    Hell, every time they carried weapons off the base was a breach of regulations. So was crossing the border with nonmilitary personnel. Or flying through restricted airspace. In fact, just about everything the MANIACs did in Spain – even though it was always in the line of duty – bordered on a punishable offense. Not the type of violation that was
ever
pursued or prosecuted. The symbiotic relationship between the U.S. and Spain would not survive if the Spanish government started cracking down on active personnel in sanctioned U.S. missions. Still, the thing that worried Payne was the classified nature of his operations. How could he defend himself if he wasn’t allowed to talk about anything he did?
    Payne said, ‘You know, you’re right. This
isn’t
an embassy matter. It’s way beyond their scope. This is something the Pentagon will have to handle themselves.’
    Manzak shook his head. ‘Sorry, gentlemen, it’s not going to happen. The Pentagon was notified by the Spanish government as soon as you were arrested. Sadly, in their eyes they have nothing to gain by getting involved. Can you imagine the public relations nightmare they’d face if they admitted to the missions you were involved in? Things
might
be different if you were still on active duty. Unfortunately, their desire to help is usually related to your current usefulness.