The Unintended Spy
Copyright© 2025 by A Well Traveled Man
Chapter 23
Early Sunday morning, Raiden drove to town and stopped at Denny’s for breakfast. Then he went to his apartment and saw the large FedEx box beside the door. He picked it up, took it inside, and opened the box. Inside was a large metal briefcase with combination locks and a manila folder. Raiden opened the folder, and inside was a piece of paper with the combination for the metal briefcase. He opened the briefcase, and there was everything he needed for the op, including his instructions.
The Mexican Trade Minister, Carlos Mendoza, was his target and a wealthy businessman. He is holding trade talks with the US at his hacienda. Mr. Mendoza is on the drug cartel payroll and arranges safe routes for drugs to enter the US. His assignment is to use his alias, Todd McCutcheon, an attache to the trade delegation with diplomatic immunity, to plant listening devices at the hacienda. He was also to tag the phones of the Mexican and US delegations.
Raiden was supplied with a floor plan of the hacienda, audio bugs, a receiver/sending unit, and a burner phone in a briefcase to be sealed with tape marked US Diplomatic Property. He was given two rolls of tape to seal his bags, too. A Gulfstream jet would be at the airport to take him directly to the trade talks and return him home. Carlos Mendoza was a gambler, so there was also 25k included in the briefcase, with four decks of cards in different colors and designs if Todd was offered to play poker.
Raiden was to fly to Mexico on Monday at 4:30 a.m. and depart Mexico on Wednesday morning. A pilot would fly the jet, as it would be suspicious if a trade attache flew himself. There was a warning that Carlos Mendoza was known for cheating at poker, so watch him closely and play with a new deck of cards. Raiden thought this op would be interesting and packed for his trip. He packed business casual with two suits, some workout gear, dark clothing, and gloves. He’d also bring his pens and rings with the knockout drug inside.
After packing, Raiden went to the dry cleaners and picked up his tux and shirt. Returning to his apartment, he put his tux and shirt in the closet, then went to Alana’s and sensed the house. She wasn’t home, so he returned to the apartment. Raiden ate lunch and had an idea for an app for his phone. He’d call it “Piggy Back,” allowing him to take over a nearby phone and text, email, and make phone calls using that phone number. It is similar to cloning and enables storage for later use. He spent the rest of the afternoon programming the app, finishing it while eating dinner, and going to bed.
Raiden woke up early Monday morning, showered, dressed, put on his disguise, grabbed his luggage, and drove to the airport. The plane was waiting. Jeff Cole was the pilot and welcomed Todd McCutcheon. Jeff said the flight should take five hours with the time change. Once Todd was seated, they took off, and Jeff notified Todd that there was food and beverages in the galley. They landed in Mexico City close to 10 a.m., and Todd breezed through customs with his diplomatic passport and US Property seals on his luggage.
Todd took a taxi to the hotel and changed his room to a suite. After unpacking, Todd called the embassy for his ride to Carlos Mendoza’s hacienda for the trade talks. He arrived and was welcomed as they broke for lunch. Carlos put out a spread of Mexican food that would rival a restaurant. When they finished lunch, the delegations resumed their talks. Todd tagged all the Mexican and US delegates at the table. Then, using his new app “Piggy Back,” Todd captured all their phones, too.
When talks ended for the evening, Carlos Mendoza offered the delegates to stay and play poker. Only the lead delegate, Randy Bosman, and Todd remained from the US side, along with three Mexican delegates. They were served dinner, went to the game room, and sat at a poker table. The staff served drinks, and everyone bought chips. Todd purchased 5k of chips, and so did Randy Bosman. The Mexican delegates bought 10k in chips along with Carlos.
Carlos pulled out a used deck of cards, and Todd said Let’s use a new deck and pulled out a sealed new deck of cards. He unwrapped it, removed the jokers, and shuffled the deck six times. Then he dealt a card to each player and said the high card dealt the first hand. Carlos was shocked that Todd had new cards and took control of the game. They played for two hours and took a break. Todd, Randy, and one Mexican delegate were winning, and Carlos and the two others were down.
They played until midnight and cashed out. Todd was ahead 15k, and Randy was up 5k, along with one Mexican delegate. The other two and Carlos lost money. Carlos said it was too late to drive back to the hotel, and they were offered rooms to spend the night. Carlos assured them that a driver would take them to the hotel early tomorrow morning to shower and change their clothes. Everyone accepted, and they got settled in their rooms. Todd waited thirty minutes, then planted the audio bugs and receiver/sending unit downstairs.
Todd found Carlos’s safe in the office closet with an electronic keypad. He used the old locksmithing trick and opened on the third try. There was cash, jewelry, and guns inside, but Todd pulled out a black-bound notebook. He took pictures of every page, replaced the notebook, locked the safe, teleported back to his room, and went to sleep.
At 6 a.m. the next morning, there was a knock on the door. The driver was waiting to take them to the hotel. They arrived at the hotel an hour later, and Todd told Randy he didn’t feel well and would miss the session today. Then Todd called Jeff Cole, the pilot, and said he would be ready to leave in under two hours. He showered, dressed, packed, put on his disguise, and put the Property of the US tape on his luggage. Then he checked out and left a note for the lead delegate, Randy Bosman, saying he had an emergency back home and had to go.
On the way to the airport, Todd called the preprogrammed number on the burner phone. He said this is Ares number 3490 and “It’s done.” Todd crushed the phone in the restroom at the airport and then threw it in the trash. Then he met Jeff, and they took off for the US. They landed at Rapid City Airport around noon, and Todd thanked Jeff for the ride, tipping him $200. Jeff refused it initially, but Todd said he won big in a poker game. Jeff accepted, thanking Todd, then exited the plane and drove to his apartment.
While eating lunch, Dana called and asked Raiden to meet her at the airport that evening at 6 p.m., and he agreed. Then Raiden checked his server, and the phone tags were there, so he sent them to the SAC secure server. Next, he checked his phone and had everyone’s phone on his new “Piggy Back” app. Then Raiden removed his disguise, unpacked, and took his clothes to the dry cleaners. It was close to the meeting time, so he drove back to the airport.
He sat in the lobby of the private terminal for fifteen minutes, waiting for Dana’s arrival. She finally arrived and was welcomed inside the Gulfstream jet. They sat, and Raiden told her about the op, from playing poker to planting the audio bugs. He didn’t tell her about the black notebook or accessing the safe. She told him Good job, and they shook hands goodbye. Raiden stopped at Pizza Hut, got a pizza, and returned to his apartment. He ate dinner and went to bed.
Wednesday morning, Raiden went to the garage gym and did his martial arts workout. Then he practiced his Stealth Walk, Strikes, and three-finger punches. Returning to his apartment, Raiden cleaned up and headed home. He arrived around 10 a.m. and went to his workshop. Raiden transferred the photos he had taken of the black notebook in Carlos Mendoza’s safe to his computer and then looked at them. The first page was his bank accounts, logins, and passwords.
The rest were people, police, politicians, and companies he paid for information to get his products and the cartels’ drugs to the US safely. The ledger had their names, phone numbers, addresses, the amount paid, and the date. Raiden left his Mexican bank account alone but changed Carlos’ logins and passwords for his Cayman Islands, Panama, and US bank accounts. Raiden left 25k in each account and transferred the remaining funds through Miguel “Pit Bull” Ramerez’s bank accounts. The funds ended up in the deceased CIA Section Chief Bob St. John’s Cayman Islands bank account.
Raiden laughed as he shut off his computer and wondered what would happen to Carlos Mendoza. The funds in the US Banks were too high, and Carlos had to be laundering money for the drug cartels. Then Raiden went to the kitchen for lunch, and everyone welcomed him home. While they ate, Carmen and Sofia caught Raiden up on what happened while he was gone.
After lunch, Martha and Raiden went to the lab and did an inventory. Then she called in their order to the supply house. Then, they ran experiments for the rest of the day. Raiden noticed the water supply in the refrigerator wasn’t as low as last week. So they were using less, which was good. Martha must have realized and reduced her personal use. After finishing the experiments, they cleaned the lab and returned to the house. Raiden went to his room, showered, put on his robe, and went to the kitchen for dinner.
Dana Norton was called into a meeting with the SAC Section Chiefs in the conference room. Intelligence Section Chief Robert Tucker asked Dana if she had heard of an operative named “ Archangel Michael.” Dana said no and asked who he was working for. Robert said no one knows, but he scared the crap out of “The Power Four” Senator Carl Dunn. Rumor has it that “Archangel Michael” visited Senator Dunn at home, kicked him in the balls, threatened to cut off his privates, and shove them down his throat.
Everyone laughed, and Dana said they needed “Archangel Michael” on their team, causing more laughter. Robert said, as funny as it may seem, we’re concerned that an unknown asset is influencing a senator. Dana said it’s no secret that “The Power Four” has enemies, and they are weaker because they have lost George Hall. Robert said we need to know who he is, so check with your assets and see if anyone knows or has heard about him.
Then Robert asked Dana how the op went with the Mexican Trade Minister, Carlos Mendoza. Dana told them that Ares planted the audio bugs in his hacienda, and they are working. Ares also tagged the cell phones of the US and Mexican delegations, including Carlos Mendoza’s. Robert said Great, as Carlos Mendoza is a key part of the cartel’s transportation of drugs here. Then Robert said we have a situation developing in Spain. The Spanish ambassador’s daughter is missing. CIA local assets are handling it, but we may need to intervene at a moment’s notice, and the meeting ended.
Thursday morning, after breakfast, Martha and Raiden went to the lab. They got eight plastic gallon bottles, went to the stables, and saddled the horses. Then, they rode through the woods along the hillside to the boulders. Roxie guided them through the boulders up the hillside to the secret pond. The horses drank their fill, and then Raiden and Martha went around the pond and hiked down the hillside to the waterfall. Martha quickly stripped and got under the falls.
She stayed there for fifteen minutes, moaning and exiting the falls, saying it was exhilarating. Raiden chuckled, seeing her erect nipples and clit, knowing she was aroused too. Then he stripped, got under the falls, and exited when he began getting dizzy. He felt rejuvenated while Martha was giggling at his erection. When dry, they dressed, hiked back to the pond, filled the water bottle, and returned to the stables. After caring for the horses, they took the water to the lab and put it in the refrigerator.
After lunch, Martha returned to the lab, and Raiden went to his workshop in the basement. He did the homework for his online college courses. Then Raiden read the second ancient Japanese martial arts training manual. It described how to walk up walls and fly to avoid capture. The flying was jumping and doing somersaults over the attackers. The manual described special shoes, and Raiden saw they looked like slippers with rubber soles.
He went online and saw them listed in martial arts supplies. Raiden ordered two pairs and then returned to reading the manual. The exercises for jumping required standing in place. Then, slightly bend your knees and use your feet, ankles, and knees to elevate into the air. The higher elevation standing still would almost double running. There were drawings of the exercises, and Raiden said shit that looked difficult. He’d try it when the shoes arrived at the Mail Center.
But he’d need a gym or a large enclosed space to practice it. The ceilings in his dojo and the apartment garage gym weren’t high enough. He returned to his room, showered, put on his robe, and went to the kitchen for dinner.
Carlos Mendoza had just finished the trade negotiations with the US and felt good about the proposals on the table. The ideas he proposed would help him and the drug cartels. They would have to take them back to their respective government for approval. Then, they would meet again to discuss each government’s objections and alterations. With the trade negotiations, he had been neglecting his work for the cartels. Carlos went online to do his banking. His logins and passwords didn’t work for his US and Cayman Islands accounts.
He panicked, knowing that most of the money in those accounts wasn’t his. He got 10%, and the bank got 5% for taking the risk. The rest was to be forwarded to the cartel’s accounts. Carlos couldn’t call them because the NSA monitors international calls. So, an in-person visit was required, and banks didn’t want him visiting, drawing attention to them. Carlos had no choice and booked a flight to the US. He had seven banks to visit in the US, and then he had to fly to the Cayman Islands. That trip would take a week, and he was pissed.