Search and Destroy by JT Sawyer (top non fiction books of all time .TXT) 📗

may be connected with the upcoming presidential election. There have also been two Venezuelan journalists killed in the past three months that Perseus filed as being relevant. Again, this was all merely intended to be a test case, but Perseus flagged the elements connected with a potential political assassination or a coup…or both. If I’m correct about this then something of significance is going to happen in Venezuela, gentlemen.”

Begley rubbed his chin. “Amazing work. This is a notch above our targeted kill matrix that was created after 9/11 to identify Al Qaeda terrorists. I’m eager to see what we can do once Perseus is in our hands.”

Burke pointed at the killer’s face on the screen. “I present this here now to not only highlight Perseus’ growing capabilities but to draw attention to the possibility that someone must have known that there was going to be satellite coverage over Caracas at that particular time, perhaps connected with the sudden appearance of Montoya.”

“This is why I requested you be at this meeting,” Patterson said to Gardner. “You know the northern regions of South America. Anything going on there with rebel groups or rival cartels that Montoya might be connected with or that could pose a threat to our field agents or embassies in those countries?”

Gardner’s frame filled the computer monitor as he leaned forward, speaking in a rote fashion, as if he was reading a breakdown of stocks. “Nothing on a grand scale. Just the usual kidnapping and ransom trade, which is in full swing, but that’s mainly occurring with wealthy tourists on their yachts along the coast. Trafficking of women has levelled off, but it’ll pick up again during spring break. The narcos are all pushing north through Panama, with Colombia being the conduit, but that wouldn’t bleed over into Caracas. They’re mostly into designer drugs around here.”

The Director of National Intelligence tapped his fingers on the edge of the table then sighed before turning to the sole civilian in their midst. “Venezuelan politics is hardly of concern to our national interests right now. Their economy is in meltdown, has been for years with their oil industry folding. Their president is more focused on preventing further internal strife than on anything of concern to our agenda in South America…at least at present. A few years from now, if Venezuela’s not a failed state and there’s a leader in office who is more strategically aligned with us, then we might be interested in lending a hand in their affairs.”

Begley glanced at the others then up at Burke. “Thank you for your time. This has been most illuminating, and your work is as impressive as your reputation. We’ll be in touch if we need anything further regarding your current findings.”

Burke gave an irritated nod, knowing he was being hastily dismissed. “Very well. I have another function to attend to anyway. My company will contact you once Perseus is completed.” Burke packed up his belongings, shooting a frown at Begley.

Patterson was the only one who rose to walk him to the door. “Thanks for all your work, Stephen. I appreciate you coming down here today. Cal has had nothing but praise for you and your staff.”

“It’s mutual, I assure you. I’ll call you once this project is wrapped up.”

The two men shook hands, then Burke exited. Patterson returned to his seat as Begley spoke.

“The real question of concern right now is who knew Burke would be running Perseus over Venezuela last week, specifically on Tuesday fucking morning? And what didn’t they want him to see? Was it this mercenary Montoya, or was that just a distraction to send us off in another direction?” said Begley, who slowly turned towards Rourke. The NSA analyst merely leaned back then redirected his gaze at Patterson.

“This is your baby. You granted Burke access to our feeds and intel gathering and let your field agent spoon-feed him our spy tactics,” said Rourke. “This is what happens when you work with outside corporations to get a job done that should be reserved for analysts like my people.”

“If we left it up to the NSA to develop something like Perseus then this briefing would be going on between our very distant successors,” quipped Patterson.

“The work my people perform is far more productive in developing target packages then HALOing a special-ops team into a camel-trodden valley to spend a month doing what my analysts can do in two hours with electronic surveillance,” said Rourke. “Hell, your agency has a $23 billion dollar a year budget, which is more than half of the NSA’s, along with a shitload of drones, and this Perseus thing is what you throw your money at.”

Patterson brushed a fleck of lint off his sleeve. “We all know where lack of human intelligence got us in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. The NSA’s intel works best when it’s combined with boots on the ground—assets that know the customs, language, and geography—all things you can’t do sipping on a caramel latte behind a desk, Tim.” Patterson glanced down at the man’s protruding waistline.

“That’s enough,” said Begley, glancing at both men. “You know what needs to be done. Get an internal investigation going in both of your agencies amongst your senior analysts with access to sat feed. See who’s been analyzing any open- or closed-source material on Venezuela in recent weeks, along with checking the logs for the crew responsible for satellite retasking here in the U.S. and at our two joint sites in the UK and Australia.”

He looked at Patterson. “Then get eyes on Burke and his staff. I know they’ve already been vetted and have varying levels of security clearance for what they’re doing, but find out if any of them have connections, familial, political, or otherwise, to any radical groups in Venezuela. Burke’s corporation itself could be the weak link.”

Patterson nodded then swiveled slightly in his chair to face Gardner. “Keep me abreast of what’s happening down there with regard to any violent political activity or with this