nonsmoker, she loved the scent of a pipe.
“In 2002, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela was thrown out of office by a coup. Two days later, he was back in office, restored to power by the loyal Presidential Guard. Much fuss was made about possible U.S. involvement in deposing him, at the very least prior knowledge, at the most collusion. Stackman worked his way into the Presidential Palace. The Guard retook the palace with little resistance because Stackman had prepared the way for them. He was instrumental in getting Chávez back into office, and quickly.”
Maliha opened her mouth to ask questions, but Abiyram held up his hand to forestall them.
“2003. Military men took over a hotel in Manila in the Philippines and raised a mutiny against President Gloria Arroyo at a sensitive moment in her young presidency. The hotel was rigged with high explosives. Some hostages were let out, but the press and others remained. One mutineer decided to blow the place, actually pressed the button, but there was no detonation. Stackman, posing as a journalist on the inside, had defused the bombs. After killing the firebrand, he then talked the rest of the mutineers into surrendering.”
He puffed on his pipe while Maliha bit her tongue.
This is a good thing too, isn’t it?
“2004. The Sudanese government and the militia group Janjaweed—”
“Stop! Skip this one.”
Abiyram’s eyebrows rose but he did as she wished.
“2005. The year following the tsunami. The central government of Indonesia had a long-standing issue with a northern territory named Aceh, where rebellion brewed for independence. Aceh happened to be the closest point to the earthquake’s epicenter and was particularly weakened by the tsunami. Many of its rebels and military died, and quite a few of those who weren’t killed by natural causes or the Indonesian army were killed by Stackman in a systematic wipeout. The citizens of Aceh, hit by the double whammy of nature’s devastation and no defensive capability, decided that peace was in their interest and an agreement was signed ending twenty-nine years of war. That was it. In 2006, Stackman resurfaced at the DEA.”
“The things you’re telling me don’t sound completely negative. I’m confused. Why didn’t you want me to hear this? You know I’m not naïve about black ops missions. We have done these same things together and separately.”
“You’re looking at these as individual events. You need to put them together to see the big picture, the pattern. D.R. Congo, Venezuela, the Philippines, Sudan, Indonesia. What links them? Put your brain into it.”
She thought for a while. “Gold.”
“Excellent. You’ve heard of blood diamonds?”
Maliha didn’t want to know where this was going, but she nodded.
“Beginning in roughly the year 2000, the dirty little practice of using siphoned-off diamonds to fund arms sales and rebel activities began to get the spotlight on it, in the UN, the diamond industry, and elsewhere. There are still conflict diamonds on the market now, but they are greatly diminished. The world spotlight sent the cockroaches scurrying, only to emerge elsewhere. Gold from these five countries and others is flowing into maintaining some of the most heinous dictatorships and presidents-for-life in the world. That’s not all. I know there’s a link to America. Gold is flowing there but I haven’t been able to find the end of the rainbow yet. In some cases the gold-producing countries know about it, in other cases all that was needed was a stable environment to support the shadowy operation. Stackman was crucial to the setup. To turning on the faucet.”
“Blood gold ?”
“If you wish.”
Not Jake .
“Any chance you’re mistaken?”
“None whatsoever. I would stake my life on this.”
Maliha remembered something he’d said at the beginning of the conversation: At no time were his actions unknown to a few in the U.S. government. A few at the top .
She leaned back
“In 2002, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela was thrown out of office by a coup. Two days later, he was back in office, restored to power by the loyal Presidential Guard. Much fuss was made about possible U.S. involvement in deposing him, at the very least prior knowledge, at the most collusion. Stackman worked his way into the Presidential Palace. The Guard retook the palace with little resistance because Stackman had prepared the way for them. He was instrumental in getting Chávez back into office, and quickly.”
Maliha opened her mouth to ask questions, but Abiyram held up his hand to forestall them.
“2003. Military men took over a hotel in Manila in the Philippines and raised a mutiny against President Gloria Arroyo at a sensitive moment in her young presidency. The hotel was rigged with high explosives. Some hostages were let out, but the press and others remained. One mutineer decided to blow the place, actually pressed the button, but there was no detonation. Stackman, posing as a journalist on the inside, had defused the bombs. After killing the firebrand, he then talked the rest of the mutineers into surrendering.”
He puffed on his pipe while Maliha bit her tongue.
This is a good thing too, isn’t it?
“2004. The Sudanese government and the militia group Janjaweed—”
“Stop! Skip this one.”
Abiyram’s eyebrows rose but he did as she wished.
“2005. The year following the tsunami. The central government of Indonesia had a long-standing issue with a northern territory named Aceh, where rebellion brewed for independence. Aceh happened to be the closest point to the earthquake’s epicenter and was particularly weakened by the tsunami. Many of its rebels and military died, and quite a few of those who weren’t killed by natural causes or the Indonesian army were killed by Stackman in a systematic wipeout. The citizens of Aceh, hit by the double whammy of nature’s devastation and no defensive capability, decided that peace was in their interest and an agreement was signed ending twenty-nine years of war. That was it. In 2006, Stackman resurfaced at the DEA.”
“The things you’re telling me don’t sound completely negative. I’m confused. Why didn’t you want me to hear this? You know I’m not naïve about black ops missions. We have done these same things together and separately.”
“You’re looking at these as individual events. You need to put them together to see the big picture, the pattern. D.R. Congo, Venezuela, the Philippines, Sudan, Indonesia. What links them? Put your brain into it.”
She thought for a while. “Gold.”
“Excellent. You’ve heard of blood diamonds?”
Maliha didn’t want to know where this was going, but she nodded.
“Beginning in roughly the year 2000, the dirty little practice of using siphoned-off diamonds to fund arms sales and rebel activities began to get the spotlight on it, in the UN, the diamond industry, and elsewhere. There are still conflict diamonds on the market now, but they are greatly diminished. The world spotlight sent the cockroaches scurrying, only to emerge elsewhere. Gold from these five countries and others is flowing into maintaining some of the most heinous dictatorships and presidents-for-life in the world. That’s not all. I know there’s a link to America. Gold is flowing there but I haven’t been able to find the end of the rainbow yet. In some cases the gold-producing countries know about it, in other cases all that was needed was a stable environment to support the shadowy operation. Stackman was crucial to the setup. To turning on the faucet.”
“Blood gold ?”
“If you wish.”
Not Jake .
“Any chance you’re mistaken?”
“None whatsoever. I would stake my life on this.”
Maliha remembered something he’d said at the beginning of the conversation: At no time were his actions unknown to a few in the U.S. government. A few at the top .
She leaned back
Similar Books
