Seeds of the Bitter Harvest. John Sheppard

center of the room with six old straight-back chairs pushed up against it.

      The air was stale, with combined scents of stacks of old paper and cardboard boxes, mingled with warm electrical equipment. The agents in this room took a daily rotating ten hour shifts, with two of those hours overlapping the shift with the next person.

      The agents assigned to this part of the operation ‘rented’ one of the other adjoining apartments on the alley side of the warehouse, or lived in a flat nearby. Like Ramos, those living in the warehouse apartments wore disguises when leaving through the alley. If they entered the regional corporate offices on the ground floor of the warehouse, they were in normal street clothing.

      The downstairs office was manned by locals who really thought Global Ashcott L. L. C. was just a contract cleaning and security company. The branch manager was Craig Ostendorf; he knew the actual purpose of this operation. He was a highly trained covert affairs operative, and the actual business manager for this regional office.

      The comings, goings, and strange working hours of Ramos, Kelly and the other agents was explained to the locals as necessary for this branch to stay in contact with the international headquarters of GA and its other regional branches.

      Ramos, like the other operatives, would often go downstairs, mingle with the staff, and be seen around town. He would attend office parties and have dinner with locals. To office staff, Ramos was known as Glen Allen, a guy from the international headquarters in Houston, Texas.

      “Here’s your next box of goo”, Kelly chirped, as he handed Ramos a foil wrapped package. The package was just over six inches wide and a bit over a foot long. It contained 140 pieces of what Kelly called ‘goo’. Each piece was an individual listening devise, half an inch wide, an inch long and less than 1/8 of an inch thick.

      The devices were encased in a somewhat firm, transparent, gelatinous substance. All the wiring, receivers, transmitters, and power sources were microscopic in size. The gelatinous substance would begin to very slowly degrade within days of being planted; giving each unit a one month life-cycle.

      While Ramos and the other agents went about their tasks as custodians they would periodically place these around the rooms they were cleaning. The ‘goo’ was next to impossible to see with the naked eye, and they adhered to almost any solid surface, so they could be placed anywhere within an office.

      The fact that the gelatinous substance encased the units, and they only lasted a month, made them extremely hard to detect. Once the ‘goo’ fully degraded, it left a tiny dust like pile. No one could really see it, so the remains were either unknowingly dusted or vacuumed away by people doing routine cleaning.

      Ramos would unwrap the individual units in the privacy of the cleaning supplycloset on the 25th floor of the KML building, place a couple on his cleaning cart, and plant them while cleaning. He had the task down to a couple of quick precise moves.

      He would predetermine where in the targeted room the unit or units should be placed. Just before he reached that spot, he would use his right index finger and press down on the devise while it lay on the cart. It would stick to that finger. Then, as he cleaned, he would press his finger on the appointed spot, and the devise was planted.

      Kelly and Ramos heard the subdued sounds of the security panel being accessed in the room next door. There was a click, and then Craig Ostendorf swept into the room. Ramos liked Craig, but it seemed the man insisted upon making an entrance into a room. Ostendorf’s wide girth, bouncy stride, and gregarious personality seemed to make it impossible to just walk into a room like normal folks.

      “Well, gents, what’s cooking?”It was Craig’s code for wanting the latest updates. He seated himself at the table, while Kelly swung his office chair to face the table. Ramos pulled a chair away from the table, spun it to face him, and sat straddling the seat, resting his arms on the back of the chair.

      As Kelly filled in Craig with the most recent wire taps, and conversations gathered by the bugs, Ramos reflected on the curious gathering international law enforcement groups involved in this operation. He was from the FBI, Kelly was CIA; Craig was rumored to be from England’s M15. Interpol, the Canadians, French, and others were all said to be taking part.

      Kelly finished his report, and Ramos gave his. Craig indicated that others from the team would be stopping by for an informal meeting shortly. He seemed to be processing something in his mind.

      “It’s worse than we thought.” Craig said just blurting out the words, his forehead furrowed, and his jaws tense.”KML has more officials in various governments on the take than we ever imagined. Not only are there key members of the American President’s Cabinet in on it, but a couple of Senators and Congressmen too. The heads of several US government departments are taking money and other favors. Add them to the others we know about in the USA, and its ugly.”

      Ramos was also aware that most of the Russian government was not only being paid off by KML, but some were even actively part of the KML operation. Whole South American governments had been subverted, along with some European Union states, chunks of China’s ruling party, a host of Asian and much of Africa. It was Craig’s next comment that floored Ramos.

      “We have known for some time most of the Port City officials from the police to the courts are controlled be KML. What has been surprising is the level to which the GIE (Government in Exile) has been compromised. If this war hadn’t brought this country to the point of near extinction, the level of corruption would have sooner rather than later.”

      Kelly questioned how one company could afford to bribe so many people in so many countries. The simple answer to a complex question was they had almost a monopoly on money laundering for the vast majority of the world’s drug cartels. They were the middlemen for sex trade internationally, and were pretty much the go-to professionals for all things illegal. They had taken the mingling of legitimate legal transactions with the illegal to an art form.

      Craig continued, “The team has more than enough to make things uncomfortable for KML, but it will only lead to chopping off a couple heads of this Medusa. It will pain KML for a while, but then just they will just grow the heads back. In the meantime, the company will continue to function. We need something or someone who can take us to the very heart of the operation.”

      CHAPTER 5

      Andy had been on a drinking binge for most of the last month, or was it two, maybe three? The days, weeks, and months, had mentally merged into one single alcoholic event. The excessive use of drink had been an attempt on his part, to deal with the pain of losing his home and family to the Enemy three months earlier.

      It was very early morning as Andy stumbled his way back to his apartment. The air was fresh, and cold. He hoped it would clear his head a bit. He plans were to sleep his current inebriation off so he could start the cycle all over again in the evening. His friends were still at the bar, and he knew it was foolish, if not dangerous to be on the streets of this section of the Port City by oneself while it was still dark. But, the booze had impaired his judgment, and he was willing to take the risk.

      As Andy passed one of the alleys between the bar and his apartment, he heard a soft voice call-out in broken English.

      “I am a pleasure to be with, young sir. Please consider me. I have much to offer.”

      A young woman, a little over five foot tall, and of a slender build emerged from the shadows. She appeared to be oriental with long, silky black hair. Her walk was suggestive, and her scant clothing was very tight. Heavy make-up almost hid beautiful large almond shaped eyes.

      There was no question in Andy’s mind what she was offering, and his guard was down enough to seriously consider the offer. The two negotiated a price and a place. His friends would be returning to the apartment soon, so they chose hers.

      On the way, he discovered that her name was Daiyu and that she was Chinese. The laughter and conversation to her place was forced. Andy was uncomfortable with the situation, and he judged from her behavior that Daiyu felt the same way. They were each trying to pretend that this was just a normal part of life, like it was just a date or something.