04.1 The Wolf Pack

Nobody knew Tony Yunis – an available CIA operative in the area; the man on demand. Nobody at Embajada de los Unidos knew him. They had telephone contact, photographs and a profile on him.

James Sinclair, a top-ranking officer in the Foreign Mission spoke on the telephone, “Lean against the wall at Gaucho Monument in Centro, reading a paper and facing the church on Constituyente. I will be there sharp at six.”

Tony Yunis arrived at the point in a taxi and climbed down on Avenida 18 de Julio. He noticed the statues on Monumento al Gaucho stand against the wall. He located the church and paused beside the fence erected around the monument. He looked up at the sculptures in contempt for he was told to stand alike. He gave a shrug and leaned on the fence to read a newspaper.

The sky turned red in the dusk. Traffic passed down the crossroads and pedestrians moved about. Briskly, it started to rain. People ran to shelter. Tony Yunis decided to run but leaving this position would lose his mark. He turned his collars and waited.

Meanwhile, a Jaguar turned around the corner, headlights on and windshield wipers running. Sinclair noticed his contact, the secret agent, standing in the rain and the whole place deserted.

“Alright, it’s him. Stop the car!” he said, “Lone Wolf!”

The Jag stopped in front of the church and he ran into El Templo Metodista.

Then an elder from the church crossed the street holding an umbrella, all black. “Mr Yunis! Your friend is waiting.”

Tony Yunis entered the church. He was received by this man, “James Sinclair.”

“How do you do!” he shook hands.

“Please, sit down!” They sat on a pew, “This one is tough. Operation Fearless. Orders from the top. Do it in 24 hours. These are the charts and photographs.” He produced a note, it read a name and an address. “This is the guy you meet. You say you are Mr Fish. Got it!” He put it back into his pocket.

“Mister Fish!” uttered Tony Yunis.

“These guys cannot be trusted so we’re sending you to make sure the job is done. No other party involved. A Lone Wolf who appears and disappears without a clue. You don’t book in at any hotel. Take a boat and not the usual ferry ride. In fact, a boat is waiting. They drop you in Quilmes. When the job is done, you get the hell out of the place.”

“Who’s Borys Jasinski?” enquired Yunis taking a look at the photos.

“I understand he has some enormously sensitive information to some secret plan. He is unheard of since he arrived in Buenos Aires three days ago. CIA fears he will talk and they believe he is talking now at the Avenue Palace Hotel. He hasn’t come out. Another party over there is keeping watch at the hotel but we can in no way let them know about this operation. Nobody there should know.

“This guy works for a Swiss company and they supply cipher machines to numerous organisations around the globe. Breaking him is breaking the code.”

“Can’t we save him?” asked Yunis.

“No time. Twenty-four hours is twenty-four years for this job.”

“What is your plan?”

“Use a Browning and make it look like suicide,” he suggested.

“Who are these guys?”

“The Wolf Gang,” James Sinclair carried on, “Wolfgang Alvieri is an Argentinean gambler, businessman, capitalist, racketeer and he will provide logistics. You take a look, plan it, simple and efficient, do it with their help and finish the job quickly.”

“What if I can save him?” asked Yunis.

“The purpose we are sending you there is to put a bullet in his back. Do not take any chances!” warned Sinclair.

“When do I go?”

“Now. I will go with you to Colonia, two hours from here. You can study these files on the way. Take nothing out with you.”

Tony Yunis and James Sinclair climbed the Jaguar and left Montevideo in the rain.