Axis

By Carlos Luria

The world was at peace when they gathered in Hamburg to plot jihad. Some had had flight training; the rest were muscle. If only one knew the endgame, they all knew they were going to die.

They were dedicated, but they were amateurs. They made careless mistakes, and CIA got wind of them early on. When the Agency discovered that one of its retirees was going to Hamburg on holiday, they corralled him to help. Both he and his wife had been Clandestine Service officers; both knew the drill.

This is what happened.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carlos Luria
• Release date: Sep 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476137209

Carlos Luria

Born in Hamburg, educated in Nazi Germany, the UK and USA, he was recruited by CIA right out of college and served in Germany and elsewhere in operations against Soviet Bloc targets. Following retirement, he and his wife lived aboard a 37' sloop for almost four years, sailing the Caribbean and South Atlantic. Today he lives in South Carolina.

Book preview

AXIS

By Alex Miller

Copyright 2006 Carlos D. Luria

Smashwords Edition

Table of Contents

The Cell

Roots of Failure

About Alex Miller

Connect with Alex Miller

The Cell

At 73, a phone call after midnight is a misdial. Or it’s bad news.

Yeah?

Alex, we need to talk.

It’s 12:30, and my wife and I have long been in bed. Wrong number, I grouse as I fumble the instrument back into its cradle. But the memories… Alex was my cover name, when CIA recruited me; I retired 30 years later.

The phone rings again: The first time we spoke, the caller says, without preliminaries, you asked me for directions - to the Madison Avenue subway.

That had been the recognition signal. As instructed, I had walked up to a stranger standing under the big clock, outside of New York’s Commodore Hotel. He’d be wearing a fedora with a small red feather in the hat band, I was told. And a dark gray overcoat. He’d have a copy of The Economist under his left arm, and its masthead would be clearly visible. I was to ask him for directions to a subway we both knew did not exist - on New York’s East side, the subway runs down Lexington Avenue – not Madison.

Fred? I thought you were dead.

"Fred passed away ten years ago. My name is Terry; I inherited your file.

"My file, for Christ’s sake? It’s been over twenty years, and I still have a file?"

He ignores me: Something’s come up, he says, and you’re in a position to help.

"Like what?

Not on the phone, Alex; we need to meet.

Jesus, Terry, my wife Molly and I are leaving for Germany in a few days. For a Reconciliation thing. The Hamburg Senate is…"

Yeah, I know; we arranged for your invitation.

"You?" Don’t be ridiculous. Jews, Dissidents, non-Aryans that had to flee…"

"Yeah, yeah -- but they had to pay their own air fare. We insured that both your and Molly’s expenses would be covered. It’s important, Alex"

But you won’t say what it’s all about.

"I can fly down to Greenville tomorrow. You know the Falls Cottage restaurant, on Main Street?"

By the Reedy River – sure.

Be at the entrance at 1:00. Plan B, the entrance to the main library, at 2:00. I have a current photo of you, and I’ll contact you. Same recognition signal as before.

"Terry, this is