Incitement Read online

  Samuels pushed himself back from the table and stood up, clearly agitated.

  “I don’t like this!” he shook his head. “What reason could the Kosovars possibly have for engaging the Alliance? They don’t have anything to gain.”

  “That’s not strictly true,” Schutterop offered.

  “Excuse me?” said Samuels, sounding annoyed; he knew the FBI man’s interest in stirring this up.

  “It’s just that they do have something to gain,” Schutterop continued. “They’re in direct competition with the Alliance, just like lots of others, exactly the same way as Chrysler and Toyota compete internationally.”

  “Can we get back to the matter at hand and leave the business news for some other time?” Samuels turned back to Mesi. “Do you believe the Kosovars are gunning for the Latin Americans?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “And what about the fact that you’re saying the drugs disappeared. Wouldn’t the Kosovars, if they had gone to this trouble, want to distribute them?”

  “Maybe they did, maybe they redirected them to Europe,” she replied, aware the answer sounded very weak. “Or maybe they destroyed them.”

  “And why would they do that? We’re talking about a combined total of hundreds of millions of dollars.”

  “Which is still small potatoes in relation to the long-term value of the US market,” pointed out Schutterop.

  “I agree there’s very little to go on but part of the reason for the meeting was to get people from different backgrounds together and see where the discussion goes,” interjected Marshall. “Diane, for the benefit of those here unfamiliar with their history, can you tell us why it’s reasonable to say the Fifteen Families are in competition with the Madrigal-Zaragosa Alliance?”

  A quick look at Allenby and Samuels convinced Mesi that her hope of getting through the meeting without becoming dragged into the argument between the pro- and anti-Plan Coca camps was a lost cause. She took a deep sigh. “When the struggle in the Balkans exploded and Milosevic turned Sarajevo into a killing field, the plight of the Kosovars became widely known. The West, principally the US and NATO, rallied to support them and as a result the KLA came to prominence. What wasn’t made widely known at the time was what the KLA had evolved from.” Her gaze drifted involuntarily to the representative from the State Department. “Their roots are in an armed brigade which has been maintained down through the years by the Kosovar Albanian traffickers. Many of the leaders of the KLA were the same people who had made a fortune smuggling heroin, weapons and illegal immigrants.”

  She paused to see if any of them wanted to ask any questions. Nobody did. “When the struggle escalated, the traffickers, sometimes collectively referred to as the Fifteen Families, boosted their activities. Some of you may remember a number of dramatic seizures by the European authorities during the mid nineties. This was a direct consequence of the Kosovars scaling up their operations. Just as many ordinary expatriate Kosovars donated money to the rebels, the traffickers too channelled their profits to help combat the Serbs. The difference here was in the amount; hundreds of millions of dollars worth of donations came from these crime lords.”

  “Where is all this going?” interrupted Allenby. “I went to considerable trouble today to attend this meeting. Had I known I’d be getting a history lesson, I wouldn’t have bothered.”

  “I’m sorry, if you’ll just bear with me a little longer. During this escalation period, the willingness of the Kosovars to resort to violence to gain a foothold in many countries’ drug scenes meant that no one challenged them for too long. Ultimately, they became number one throughout Europe. It’s estimated now that they handle at least eighty per cent of the heroin consumed there.”

  “Which is unfortunate but still a matter for Europol and not our concern –” Allenby began again before a warning look from Marshall silenced him.

  “When the struggle in the Balkans subsided,” she resumed, “the KLA came to power and debts had to be paid. There’ve been criticisms from some quarters that Kosovo will evolve into a virtual drug state with the primary mission of helping the Fifteen Families maximise their profits. One way to increase profits would be to start looking for fresh markets, and according to our statistics the amount of heroin in the US which originated from Golden Crescent has climbed steeply in recent years.”

  “What have relations between the Alliance and the Fifteen Families been like up to now?” asked Schutterop.

  “We know that the Colombians and Kosovars have been working together to import and distribute South American cocaine to Europe,” Mesi replied. “But on the heels of these attacks, there may be reason to wonder whether the Fifteen Families have grown tired of being a minor player in the US and essentially well-paid agents in the European cocaine business.”

  “The Kosovar regime is committed to supporting a growing number of armed struggles,” agreed Schutterop, “many of which have served as familiar thorns in the side of Western Governments. To meet these obligations the Kosovars would need ever-increasing funds.”

  It was quite clear to Mesi and, she assumed, to everyone else in the room, that Schutterop, a Plan Coca sceptic, had identified that the stronger the case for a Kosovar campaign against the Alliance, the more his original assessment of the Plan’s limited capabilities would be bolstered.

  “You’re saying their objective is to seize the US market from the Madrigal Alliance?” Samuels asked Mesi.

  “It’s just one of the possibilities, everyone agrees that the best time to strike is when your rival is otherwise occupied. Maybe Plan Coca was the distraction they needed?” she replied, meeting Samuels’ fierce stare. “Look, I’m not saying it’s the only area we should be looking at.”

  “You’re a specialist in trend detection and analysis. Of course you’re going to advocate some outlandish global view,” said Allenby, raising his voice. “And doubtless it’ll have support at this meeting because it exonerates the inaccurate predictions of more than one of the attendees. But the truth is, ascribing Kosovar involvement for these incidents is questionable, bordering on irresponsible.”

  She tried to placate him but he continued, talking over her.

  “For the record, I want to stress my objections. Any link between these attacks is pure speculation. I suggest what we have are a number of unrelated local rivalries that have flared up within a particular time span and which Agent Mesi then misinterpreted. All I can concede is that it’s a coincidence that they all share common features.” Allenby’s tone was as dismissive as the look he levelled at her. “Incidents like this probably happen more regularly than we know. The fact that we caught these on our radar and that they coincided with Plan Coca kicking into top gear means they’ve been attributed more significance than they warrant. The shortages we’ve experienced were predicted by those of us who had a little more faith in Plan Coca.”

  “So you’re one hundred per cent happy to dismiss the possibility of any escalation? You’re recommending, for the record, that we drop this here?” Mesi asked, angry by this stage but trying not to show it.

  “No, that isn’t what I said. Of course we need to look into it,” Allenby backtracked, realising that he could be exposing himself to future difficulties. “It’s just that we need to keep things in perspective. We’re under-resourced as it is and barely able to keep pace with real, concrete problems. I’m questioning the benefit of pouring too much effort into what’s probably going to be a wild goose chase.”

  “There may be something to that view,” conceded Marshall. Seeing that the meeting was deteriorating into argument, he stood up to signal its close. “I tend to agree with Will that the Kosovar link is a long shot but I also think it’s unrealistic to say that none of these incidents are connected. I’m going to have Diane spend some time seeing if the Kosovar theory can be corroborated or dismissed. If in the course of her work she needs any assistance, I know I can count on each of you to give her total cooperation. I think that’s it, there are
dossiers for each of you to pick up on the way out.”

  The train doors closed and Mesi watched the platform slowly disappear. The combination of lack of sleep and nervous anticipation, followed by the events of the day, had taken their toll. Drained, she sank deeper into the seat and resolved to get an early night: something quick to eat when she got home then straight to bed. Although tomorrow was Saturday it made little difference; she would be working every weekend for the foreseeable future.

  The events of the meeting were still playing on her mind. While her presentation had gone well, the rest of it had been mixed. Why had Marshall referred to her as a specialist rather than as the head of TAIT? Was there any significance in this omission in front of the external audience? Did it show a lack of commitment on his part to the team or was she simply reading too much into it? Marshall certainly had other things on his mind. While he may not have shown it outwardly he must be feeling some strain. After all, if the worst scenario came to pass and a conflict occurred, one that detracted from Plan Coca, it would have happened while he was at the DEA’s helm. His professional legacy could be at stake, so perhaps the introduction had simply been a result of understandable preoccupation.

  More significant had been her inability to avoid being pulled into the dispute. Even before she had begun her presentation, she could see the way the two camps had naturally aligned themselves on opposite sides of the table. She had known then that some clash was inevitable but she had hoped they would leave her out of it. Unfortunately, once Schutterop had forced her to speculate on the cumulative effect of the attacks, people like Allenby and Samuels tabbed her as anti-Plan. Thinking about it now, she was not so worried about Allenby. There was little chance of them crossing paths regularly; she was too low in the pecking order to justify his interest. Samuels, however, was another matter; as chief of operations, he could certainly influence her future in the DEA.

  One positive she took away was the task Marshall had set her, to investigate further and establish one way or the other whether there was cause for concern. Yes, it meant seven-day weeks until she could offer something conclusive but it might help TAIT’s cause. A good job might convince Marshall to break the budgetary deadlock.

  The train stopped at a station and she watched some passengers leave. One woman stepped down, walked to a waiting man and together they headed off down the platform, arms interlinked. She would have to give Jean a call to see how last night’s dinner had gone and check how annoyed her intended date had been. Lately she had found herself leading an increasingly solitary lifestyle, a trend she wanted to reverse. Being in her late thirties and having a demanding job made it difficult to meet new people. In college it had been easy; there had always been one party or other to go to and she had enjoyed the exhausting social schedule. Even during her brief time with the investment bank, building a full life outside work had been effortless. Most of her colleagues had been of a similar age and at the same stage in life, interested in making the most of life following the lean financial years of college. After the divorce, though, it had become harder. She had met Alan straight after college and they had been married just six months later, too quickly as it turned out. Less than two years later, when they had finally accepted their mistake, they split. A little time to herself afterwards to get her head together had stretched to months and had then been compounded by her radical career change.

  During the first year with the DEA, she had lost touch with so many people, not all of it due to her being neglectful. The demands of the new job had played their part but by the time she had been ready to rekindle the friendships, a lot of the old crowd had moved on with their lives and, she had realised, so had she. Perhaps it would have been easier had she still shared the same professional background. But how many of them were interested in the street price of crack along the eastern seaboard and, for that matter, how much did she care anymore about the current rate of deficit spending?

  Well, she knew she needed to make a concerted effort to reverse the trend in her personal life, and she would. Just not right now. When she had successfully completed Marshall’s assignment, the situation with TAIT would become clearer and things would get easier.

  “... all the latest gossip from Hollywood.”

  “Okay, something to look forward to later in the bulletin, no doubt. Thanks for that, Mark.”

  Sandra Whittaker, the co-presenter of the evening news bulletin, swivelled away from the entertainment reporter to face the camera.

  “Over the past months, the joint-initiative Plan Coca, the strategy designed to bring the struggle against the Colombian drug cartels to their own backyard, has intensified its operations. We have a report now from Caroline Williams, our correspondent in the Putumayo region of Colombia, on the campaign’s latest success. Following this segment, we’ll be talking to Senator Charles Dalton about the benefits the Plan is already demonstrating here in the US.”

  “In the early hours of this morning, Plan Coca experienced its most significant breakthrough to date.” The picture opened with a close-up of the reporter’s head and shoulders. “For months, the authorities have been trying to locate a major cocaine processing plant in this part of Putumayo. Yesterday, they succeeded. Fierce ground fighting ensued between the army and the FARC rebels who until recently had undisputed control over this area. The battle raged for most of the day but, with the help of tactical air strikes, the army eventually forced the rebels’ surrender.”

  Footage was run of the interior of the large building. The pictures showed rough workbenches, primitive processing equipment and rows of palettes. Each palette was stacked high with large clear plastic bags and each of these bags was filled with white powder.

  “We’ve learnt from the authorities that this victory exceeded even their most optimistic projections,” Williams’ voice resumed, in tandem with the images. “Given the size of the plant and the amount of cocaine seized, it’s now thought that they’ve found the main production centre for the entire region. Although firm estimates are difficult at this stage, it’s speculated that as much as forty per cent of the region’s total processing capacity may have come from this plant.”

  The footage ended and Williams was joined by a short man dressed in green fatigues.

  “I have Lieutenant Javier Blanco with me to discuss this latest success. Lieutenant, can you put this development into context?”

  “We knew that the rebel forces had constructed a number of processing plants for the coca harvests of the region,” the soldier replied. “The rebels guard these plants zealously; the revenues generated are their lifeblood and enable them to continue their campaign of terror. Initially we suspected that there would be many similarly sized plants, each capable of producing a small amount of processed cocaine.”

  “But that wasn’t the case?”

  “No, to our surprise, this plant was many times larger than anything we had envisaged. Based on our estimates of its peak capacity, it could account for ten per cent of Colombia’s total annual production.”

  “Why the deviation from the practice of having many smaller plants?” the reporter asked. “Doesn’t this maximise potential losses when they lose a plant?”

  “I suspect that the rebels sought to benefit from the obvious economies of scale for production and distribution. This is not a political struggle we’re dealing with but a criminal one.” Blanco’s disdain for the rebels shone through. “A movement truly committed to the advancement of legitimate political views would never have tied itself so closely to the proceeds of drugs.”

  “FARC’s position has been that they’re not directly involved in the narcotics trade but merely levy a tax on the cartels, just as they’d tax any multinational doing business in this area. You don’t believe this?”

  “Absolutely not. We and our colleagues in the US Administration consider the rebels and the cartels to be indivisible. To find where one stops and the other begins is impossible. The more success we have against FARC and the
ELN, the closer we will be to eliminating the cartels.”

  “Thank you Lieutenant Blanco. So, another impressive success from Plan Coca and optimism that a drug-free Colombia is one step closer. This is Caroline Williams for IBNC in Putumayo, Colombia.”

  The report ended and the broadcast returned to the studio. A wider shot than before showed the distinguished figure of Senator Charles Dalton alongside Whittaker.

  The report ended and the broadcast returned to the studio. A wider shot than before showed the distinguished figure of Senator Charles Dalton alongside Whittaker.

  “Senator, before we talk about the broader aspects of the Plan, a question about your own role. You’ve been one of the biggest supporters of Plan Coca and, consequently, you’ve come in for strong criticism from some quarters. Do these mounting successes represent a personal vindication?”

  “It’s not a matter of vindication. This is far too important for anyone to be keeping a personal score sheet,” the senator replied, looking aggrieved. “The reason I supported Plan Coca was its ability, beyond any other strategy, to deal with the crisis that’s crippled our country.”

  “And your reaction to this latest report?”

  “Developments such as those we’ve just seen are great news. If we can defeat the drug producers and traffickers at source then we all benefit. From those spared addiction, to all of their families, friends and co-workers, not to mention the easing of the burden on over-stretched law enforcement and social services.”

  “And apparently the benefits are already being seen on the streets of some of our major cities?”

  “Yes, Sandra, I thought it was vital to show end-to-end commitment to the Plan. With that in mind, my office established contacts with various police forces around the country, enabling us to receive direct feedback from the professionals who fight the war at street-level.”

  “Allowing the closest possible monitoring of the situation?”