The Maverick Experiment Read Free Page A

had a distinguished look; his beard, glasses, and sweater-vest combined to give Davenport a look of prestige and an aura of confidence, as though he belonged in the director's office. Derek knew immediately from the sight of him that this was no ordinary contract officer. He had something about him, something different. Though he was a contractor, it seemed clear that he, not the senior-looking staffer who stood by his side, wore the pants for this new program.
    “Derek, this is Jerry Carr. He is the man in charge of this fine new program we want to discuss with you, and a longtime friend.”
    Jerry handed Derek a cup of coffee. “Pleased to meet you. Do you drink coffee?”
    “Only way I've survived this long, Jerry. How are you doing?”
    “Very good. Thanks. Carlisle here has said some great things about you.”
    “Derek, we would like to step out into the courtyard, if you don't mind,” Carlisle said. “I know it's a bit chilly, but hopefully the coffee will help.”
    “Sure.”
    “Right this way.”
    The large cafeteria at CIA headquarters was nice for a government facility. Outside was a large courtyard for agency employees to enjoy the weather or take a smoke break. During the colder months the patio was usually empty, with the exception of a few heavily addicted smokers.
    Derek and the two other men made their way to a patio table and sat down.
    Carlisle began to speak. “So, let's get right to the point. Jerry has been tasked to start a new program in support of our counterterrorism efforts worldwide, and he has asked me to help him staff it. The trial will be in Afghanistan, but the plans will have you going all over the Middle East, Europe—the world, really. These days, terrorists are expanding faster than we can track them, and they aren't limiting themselves to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. You should see some new places. We have fusion cells tracking groups across the globe; you name it, they're there. But you already know this.”
    “Of course.”
    Carlisle continued, “With lawyers and the media in a frenzy about Renditions, we've had to all but scrap that program. It has become a standard debriefing program in most cases.”
    Derek nodded in understanding. The CIA's long-running Rendition program tracked and eventually snatched major terrorist targets or those connected to them, all around the world. Once captured from their homes, public locations, or other places, these targets were taken on private planes to top-secret detention facilities all around the world. Now, however, with all the public attention being brought to bear, the agency was being forced to greatly curtail Rendition, even though it had garnered some critical intelligence about terrorist operational plans.
    “Is this similar to the original Renditions? Where do I come in?”
    “Well, it is and it isn't,” Jerry said as Carlisle nodded. “You will be a rover, in a sense. You know as well as I do that agencypersonnel in Kabul or Baghdad are handcuffed and limited in what they can actually do. All we have there now are essentially two more headquarters facilities, and we all know nothing gets done at headquarters, except for paper getting shoved around. You will not report to station upon arrival, you will not visit station. In fact, the chief of station himself will have no idea you are in country; thus, the name of the program.”
    “And what's that?”
    “We're calling it the Maverick Program,” Carlisle said, “because that's what you will be: a rogue—but supported—officer conducting missions outside the laws that the agency has to follow.”
    “Who does it fall under?”
    “CTC, SMD, DSG,” Jerry said.
    Derek shook his head as he chuckled. “This place gets more difficult to understand all the time. Who is that in layman's terms?”
    “It's the CTC/SMD Defense Survey Group,” Carlisle said. “However, chief of SMD doesn't know who you are, or even that you are under him, for that matter.”
    “So …