Sneak Peak: Amsterdam Offline – An International Crime Thriller

Amsterdam Offline by Wilberg Rivera

On his way to a CIA recruitment event, Tom Castro was apprehensive about the future. Iran was at the brink of war with Saudi Arabia over the targeting of Saudi diplomatic property in Tehran and he couldn’t shake the feeling that this career move would change everything. At 26 he was working in the State Department’s 24/7 Operations Center—he had a front row view to every emerging crisis as it developed. He was a civilian employee and the CIA had always intrigued him, especially the Directorate of Operations. After finishing grad school at George Washington University at Foggy Bottom, he applied and made the initial cut with an invitation to interview for the role of operations officer.

Roseann Charles was always ambivalent about public service, but she was ambitious, and she had reached her ceiling in Chicago. She was tired of barely making ends meet and living in sketchy areas to afford rent. She wanted something different. In college she had a fling with a guy she met at a bookstore in DC while she visited family in the area during the holidays. Roseann couldn’t forget that spark or his obsession with international politics. They drifted apart through their early 20s. She figured he worked for the CIA, so she gave a career change a shot because she wanted a fresh start. It surprised her that she made the cut and didn’t tell anyone. Her goal was to work for the new Directorate of Digital Innovation as a targeting officer. She didn’t know what to write about for her presentation as she didn’t know any foreign languages. She wrote about the cultural fallout from Brexit and its impact on national security. She had applied to the FBI as a backup plan.

As fate would have it, she both ended up at the same place for the hiring event. It was a big, fancy hotel resort. Tom tried to look away, but she approached him directly. “Well, I guess you didn’t lie to me. You really do work for State?” “Holy shit, you’re the last person I thought I’d see here. Yes, I do, why are you stalking me?” They sat next to each other. She poured him some water and the instructors began their pitch. Neither expected this reset to happen so fluidly but they embraced the moment along with at least 100 others as they crossed the rubicon.

After the event he snuck out to go wait for her next to her car. She was surprised “oh, I thought you were gone!” “No, I just wanted to beat the rush,” he said. “What did you think?” he asked. “Doesn’t feel real & it doesn’t surprise me you were the star recruit of the event.” Tom already knew plenty of people at the agency who had tried to recruit him since college. He always thought he needed more experience to really be successful in his role, the last thing he wanted was to flame out like so many had. “I’m taking it slow; it really is what I want to do and seeing you here convinced me it’s the right move. Do you want to get dinner? Where are you staying?” “Tysons Corner. Let’s just go to the hotel bar.” It was a fast-moving night, in the morning they found themselves at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” Tom told her. Roseann shrugged, neither did Tom.

Chapter 1: Don’t Look Back

Tom Castro was never good at waiting. He was in line at a bookstore in DC after Thanksgiving and was in a hurry to get back to writing a paper he had been thinking about for the past year about the intersection of criminal activity and terrorism. When he made it to the register, he noticed her walk in, a brunette with a red scarf. “Forget the paper,” he thought. He immediately went back to the travel section where she was browsing. Roseann glanced over at him and smiled. Tom did not have a blog, after smiling back he asked, “I’m working on a blog post about American travel experiences, you seem to be browsing the travel section pretty thoroughly, can I ask you a few questions?” “Absolutely, I have plenty of time before I have to get back to my family, want to go somewhere?” “There’s a bakery down the street, want to go there? I have my notebook ready!” “Let’s go, I’m a complete novice to the area.”

They walked out and after a few minutes they shared a few facts about each other. Roseann was a student at William and Mary in Williamsburg from Asheville, North Carolina studying English. Tom was a student at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA and had grown up in the area. “My family is from El Salvador, and I went to school there first before moving back to the U.S,” he told her. Unfazed, she told him “That’s interesting, that’s the reason I was in the travel section! I have some connections and it looks like I could end up teaching at the American School in San Salvador, wow I can’t believe I ran into you here!” Tom froze, this was too real, he couldn’t fathom meeting someone this perfect for him. After just ten minutes of talking, he knew he’d met his soul mate.

——

Two years later Tom found himself being sworn in at a State Department conference room. It was his first day as an analyst in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He had been a Directorate of Operations intern at CIA in college but the prestige of working in INR was difficult to pass up. He worked in the Office of Analysis for Terrorism, Narcotics, and Crime on radicalization and regional terrorism. He got to his cubicle and introduced himself to the girl next to him, Erin. She was watching Daily Show clips on her computer when he startled her. She was from the Midwest and had graduated from the University of Iowa. She walked him around the office to introduce him to everyone. There was a mix of career analysts and Foreign Service Officers doing rotations in the office. Everyone spoke a second language and were very sharp analytically. By the end of the week I was tasked to take notes at a staff meeting. It was not his favorite activity. He learned to write out an outline of talking points and fill in the details later but to do this you have to understand the context by focusing on listening rather than trying to write everything down. He’d become good at picking up key ideas of complicated subject matter.

It had been a busy week. A diplomat was killed in a gas explosion in Moscow and a rare bomb threat forced the State Department to evacuate all facilities in DC. His first problem set was terrorist messaging of Western audience. That is usually the end point of the path to radicalization. He was focused on understanding what made non-criminal people become interested and persuaded by this type of messaging by terror groups. It was the beginning of a long problem set that no one had really focused on before and his boss Richard wasn’t convinced our bureaucracy would let us effectively combat this influx of terror media.

Tom had no idea where to start. He started by getting coffee with his boss Richard. He had been in the Foreign Service for over 20 years and spoke fluent Arabic and German. He told him had been an English teacher in Saudi Arabia before joining. Tom was amazed at the prospect of working in diplomacy for that long. They talked about the limitations of the government in countering extremist messaging and the importance of civil society understanding of the problem and their role. Tom told him, “I still think it’s important for the government to build connections and networks that will be self-sufficient.” Tom knew that an independent movement would be better at harnessing credibility in an increasingly volatile world. Richard nodded “the source of legitimacy is what we need to figure out first. What is driving people to radical messages and how do they get to a point they’re willing to act in a violent manner?” Tom knew that there is often a trigger that pushes someone over the edge into violence. “I think when someone gets to a point of no return and when they’ve lost perspective or grasp of reality, they are more likely to run out of options to redress their grievance. Radicalized people are often isolated from personal relationships, community, or even professional opportunities,” Tom said. This was a problem in marginalized populations. “We should start by focusing on sources of radical networks. Find out how they communicate and build an audience and what makes them so persuasive. Start in France and Belgium” Richard said.

—–

Three years later, Tom had become a seasoned analyst with a strong reputation for foreseeing the rise of a new terror organization called ISIS. It was an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The group had become renowned for its social media prowess and ability to recruit disaffected Muslim youth from the West. Tom had spent time in Western Europe and Sri Lanka trying to get a read of extremist groups most at risk for becoming radicalized. This mostly involved working through grants with NGOs and educational institutions and attending conferences as a representative of the State Department. He had become disillusioned by the onslaught of terror communications and thought it was time for a career change.

 Out of the blue, his former flame Roseann had reached out to him as she was in the area working on a media series. She wanted to know of good scenery in DC to shoot an interview. She had a few questions about working for the government and traveling overseas. Tom had just finished a part-time grad school program at George Washington University and had a singular focus on counterterrorism with not much thought given to getting entangled in a romantic relationship. The truth was he had never been in a serious relationship, but he had been unable to get over his feelings for Roseann and their short-lived romantic getaway. He decided not to think about that much more unless she pressed him; he enjoyed their non-platonic, sometimes unhinged understanding.

Roseann had plans to move to DC and she figured she’d start by reaching out to the only guy she trusted. She had been on many dates but could never uncover in others the unconventional passion that Tom had for her wellbeing and future. He didn’t care about her romantic angling but always knew what to say when she wanted more than conversation—no one else had taken the risk to get to know her that well. She felt more alive in his world and wanted to be a part of it. She applied to the CIA after a talk with a family friend who encouraged her to apply to the Foreign Service. Turns out, Tom had the same idea. They both applied in June and six months later they were on their way to DO Orientation. But for Tom, things were about to get more complicated when he was approached for a clandestine opportunity, he couldn’t turn down given his unique family connections in the business world.

After spending the night together, Tom decided to make more of an effort and commitment to Roseann not to disappear again. She decided to accept an offer from the FBI to further press him on the issue of staying in the U.S. after he told her he thought the private sector would be a better fit for him. They were both only 26 and so much responsibility had just been thrust on them. They spent a three-day weekend at a resort in Miami. For better or worse, they had just entered a stage of life in which the room for error or overthinking was non-existent.

—–

Within a week of the event, Tom received an envelope in the mail. It was a cryptic set of instructions. He was to report to a nondescript building in the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington, VA. He was told not to bring any electronics and to take a taxi about a mile away from his destination. Then he had to walk the distance to meet the interview team. Most importantly, he couldn’t tell anyone, not even a spouse, about this meeting. When he arrived, he was led to a conference room with two CIA security officers. He was debriefed about his special assignment and had to undergo a polygraph examination.

Paula Miller told him that he’d been selected to serve as a unilateral operations officer under non=official over. He would have to resign from the State Department and find private sector employment on his own with no connection to the federal government. Then within six months he was to contact his handlers to start his training. Tom was a bit shaken by this sequence of events. He was told his assignment would deal with economic/financial intelligence, supply chain security, and federal procurement security. He was to build a network outside the government chain of command and integrate it into his routine. He would be given access to a line of credit that he would be responsible for managing. Eventually, we would be asked to start a company funded unilaterally to build an influence network aligned to U.S. government foreign policy and national security objectives. This what they referred to as track two alignments with the U.S. federal government. He would have access to any training he needed to be successful in his professional cover building assignments. Once this influence network was established, he would begin sharing messaging to persuade and manipulate foreign adversaries of the U.S. government. The catch was that there would never be any recognition of his ties to the U.S. government. Tom had just been recruited by the Special Activities Center within the Political Action Group which had around 100 operatives posted worldwide conducting U.S. influence operations.

Tom decided to apply to an MBA program at George Mason University, his undergraduate alma mater. Within a week he had an interview with a renowned business intelligence firm in New York City. Kroll was known as a risk compliance firm with important multinational clients. Tom was offered a position as a manager in the Latin America division. His client was Goldman Sachs and he led a team of compliance analysts that wrote reports regarding business interests and investment risk analysis. Tom’s main job was to act as a liaison between the DC office and HQ in New York. His boss, Pamela Solomon, was based in New York.

Pamela didn’t know all the terms of Tom’s employment at Kroll with the CIA as it wasn’t a traditional cover assignment. Tom was on his own to figure out and establish a pipeline. She knew enough to suspect that Tom was building cover, but she hired him because she figured alignment with his network from his position at the State Department would help Kroll expand reach. Tom’s first project was in Brazil. His team was conducting legal vetting of a Brazilian natural resources company. Goldman Sachs wanted to know how much risk the company was exposed to given the regulatory environment. Tom went to Brazil to develop contacts within the Brazilian business community, specifically within the resource extraction industry.

At an industry event Tom is approached by Alejandro, a Spanish journalist. Alejandro tells him that these events never help anyone but the prestige of the hosts. Tom tells him that’s maybe because people at these events want to avoid journalists and publicity. “Are you interested in talking off the record about American investment in Brazil? I’m working on the background of the geopolitical competition in Brazil and the MERCOSUR economic alliance.” Tom figures that it couldn’t hurt to make a new contact in such a dense information environment. They go to a Hard Rock Cafe for a more familiar setting for Tom since he didn’t know Rio that well. At the bar, they start having a serious conversation about the opportunities in resource extraction in Brazil and the increasing regulatory pressures. “It’s really complicated for investors to figure out the legal system here in Brazil and corruption and knowing who to bribe is what really makes things run here. Of course, the Chinese and Russians have an advantage because they’re more willing to engage in corrupt environments” says Alejandro. “Do you think people will get sick of entrenched corruption and violence eventually? Any indications of political revolts that could shift the landscape?” “That is a cycle that always happens but eventually things return to their old ways. There is just always some sort of cabal or cartel behind the scenes, which is what I wanted to talk to you in the first place. I have got a hold of some damaging information about the targeting of American investments & Brazil and I was hoping you could deliver it to the FBI since I can’t be seen anywhere near the U.S. embassy. I must warn you this is dangerous information that I will never be able to act upon and I hope to open a back channel to U.S. law enforcement for my own safety net.” Tom’s heart dropped, he didn’t know if this was a trap or not, but his instincts told him this was real and couldn’t brush it off. “I can get this to reliable contact at the FBI and even set up a meeting in another country if they’re able to verify and establish a reciprocal point of contact,” Tom told him. He knew that he couldn’t share this information with any of his business contacts after Alejandro handed him a flash drive. “All I expect is a way to reach you after I fly back to Cairo.” Tom could only think of one person for this operation, FBI Roseann.

*****

Roseann was having a hard time adjusting to life as an FBI analyst. It was a constant worry about whether she had made the right decision. Her day-to-day work was initially daunting to her as it wasn’t a career she had planned on or even prepared for. She was learning to manage the expectations of her managers who had lofty expectations. Tom had given her access to all the research and papers he had written since high school. He was a nerd, she thought, but she really did want to learn the work and make a difference in a city she had never felt at home in, Chicago. Tom told her about a new business venture that he had started and his job at Kroll, which she was convinced was a cover job for training. Her mind was constantly preoccupied about the future, and perhaps trying to start a serious relationship with Tom. She knew that all she could do now was be the best analyst she could be for her team and worry less about the future now that she had made it through a difficult training. She had never expected to be in this position but she did find it more engaging than teaching or her acting career. She hadn’t told anyone about her new job except her parents and Tom. She seemed to think that Tom seriously overestimated her potential to do intelligence work, but as she adjusted she accepted that this was the life she wanted. Over time, she lost touch with most of the acquaintances from her short-life social media celebrity status. She tried to read the books the Tom had given her but she eventually realized most of the material was outdated. When Tom reached out to her, she didn’t expect him to be so flustered. “Hey, it’s Tom, I need to talk to you about a new contact I made who has important info regarding a business conspiracy in Brazil with American companies. Nothing classified, I reached out to my contacts, and they agreed I should contact you regarding this issue. Call me back when you get a chance,” the voicemail completely shocked her.

*****

Tom couldn’t believe the material he was reading. Corruption was common in Latin America, but the extent to which these American companies were intervening in the political and judicial process at the local level was shocking. Essentially, the American companies in the resource extraction industry had developed a mechanism through local Brazilian contacts to manipulate public decision-making regarding regulations, taxation, and public works contracts in a way that would benefit their entry into the market initially through investment and eventually through acquisitions. They were colluding to manipulate the market through bribes, political & economic coercion, and even assassinations. There seemed to be a firewalled, air-gapped way of doing this to avoid detection by U.S. authorities.

Roseann called him back and they agreed to meet at their usual spot in Hyde Park near the University of Chicago where Tom had a few contacts. Tom had rented out a basement about a 15-minute walk from his favorite Chicago bar. When Roseann showed up to his basement, she saw Tom was still printing documents. He had already given her a key and she enjoyed the novelty of their occasional Chicago rendezvous. “I have to tell him it’s time to lock this down,” she thought to herself. “This is going to generate so many operational leads,” Tom thought to himself. One thing they did agree on was how to greet each other after long periods apart.

They walk to the college bar down the street. It was a cold January evening. There was a bit of fog and a moist atmosphere. This neighborhood reminded him of the many Georgetown neighborhoods he visited while interviewing business veterans for a funded project he had in college. However, this area of Chicago felt somewhat disconnected from the rest of the city. “Oh, the South Side,” the Lyft driver nodded approvingly when he picked Tom up from the train terminal. It was a dark, serene environment that winter. At the bar, Roseann and Tom choose a table in the back corner. The fare was simple, but Tom felt most comfortable in a collegial setting. Roseann always felt like an outsider wherever she went unless she was with Tom who knew how to always justify even the riskiest endeavors. “Well, what do you think about this scheme?,” asked Tom. “I think there is so much more to this than just the capitalist death cult. It would be dangerous to even think about making any of these allegations public. Your friend would have to agree to keep our connections confidential and of course, he would have exclusive access to our law enforcement channels that no other journalist has ever had. What do you think any of this is impacted by current treasury sanctions?” Tom finally felt at ease about this whole situation, “no, I don’t think any sector of the U.S. government, except maybe the CIA, knows enough about what’s happening to impose any sanctions.” They continue talking about the need for Tom to meet with her team which investigated public-private financial corruption. Tom was willing to talk to law enforcement, but he knew eventually he’d have to tell Roseann about his affiliation with the CIA. “Okay, let’s get out of here, he whispered.” As they walked back, Tom figured it was time to tell her. “If we’re going to go through with this, I need to let you know that I’m working undercover for the CIA in an extensive non-official covert action program. That’s all I can tell you for now, and I’ve already cleared this with my counterintelligence team. Only the Special Agent in Charge can know about my true affiliation apart from you and both of you will need to sign an interagency agreement for us to work on this together.” Roseann wasn’t at all surprised, “I figured, but you need to transfer to Chicago then,” she said smiling since she knew he never wanted a domestic assignment.” “Yes, I have no choice, I’m working out of the Kroll office here for the next three months.” She rolled her eyes, “I also need you to agree that we are dating exclusively now, no more hiding bull shit from me.” Tom was taken aback, “I told you that’s what I wanted, glad you finally agreed. I only want to tell our parents.” “Agreed,” she said. 

*****

Tom was landing Schiphol Amsterdam as an undercover CIA officer for the first time on business. His mission plan wasn’t clear but the objective was to establish contact with a criminal netweek node in a hacktivist commune. The group was known simply as “XY” in reference to the term “proxy.” They were non-aligned and presumably non-violent. Tom’s research had yielded to this group as a potential link to Alejandro, the journalist Tom had met in Brazil who turned over a thumbdrive. This group did seem benign to Tom but there wasn’t much room for error. Tom needed to find the source of their funding, their recruitment methods, and their operational planning.

On the other end, Geoff, a black French national, was expecting him. He had placed spotters at the airport train station, and his hotel. The group was interested in meeting with Tom, primarily because they wanted to know how extensive his contact with Alejandro was and whether he had been justified in connecting with law enforcement. The lookout man sent him an encrypted message “he made it through customs with no issues, what should we do next?” Geoff him to cease all surveillance.

Tom noticed various spotters but his biggest concern was making it through customs and to the city center with no interruption. He directed his taxi to a flower shop in the middle of Jordaan district next to the redlight district. He withdrew cash from an ATM and he knew at that point every transaction would be tracked. He stopped by a restaurant for pancakes. Soon after a group of British tourists walk in. Tom asks his waitress – who he knew had extensive links through social association – where she parties on Thursday nights. She winks at him, and writes down an address to an industrial site for a rave that night.

Tom decides to check into a CIA safehouse to transmit his report back to his HQ covert action team. They are apprehensive about the whole endeavor. Tom had set up a front company with a unilateral line of credit. For all intents and purposes Tom’s status as a non-official cover operative was known only to his FBI liaison in Chicago and this facilitated the use if various law enforcement channels and access, The commune knew he had made contact with the FBI but had no proof he was a CIA officer, They didn’t think that the CIA had the audacity to run this type of operation. They mostly just thought that Tom was just a rich asshole with connections trying to make a name for himself. He was only 28 and Geoff believed his money and connections could expand their reach in the Americas.

The last instructions from Tom’s team were to establish a reliable liaison to XY and to learn more about how the group operates in the market for dark web services. His team wanted to know how extensive their contacts to hostile foreign intel services were and if they received any funding or direction from the Russians or Iranians specifically.

This space was difficult for the CIA to track and operate within. They needed Tom to establish credibility among the most paranoid, high capable tech people on the planet. Alejandro’s approach to Tom had been god-send from an intel perspective for the FBI. But the CIA needed to determine if this was a real contact or a wolf in sheep’s clothing with harmful ulterior motives.

Tom didn’t know anything about the leadership structure of the group or who it’s leader was. His initial reading was that they were a nefarious group that conducted mostly tactical commercial espionage and hacking. Their tech teams were able to infiltrate any commercial entity on behalf of the best bids on the dark web. It really was all about who was willing to pay the most for their commercial access. Tom did not think the group needed disruption – they just needed to establish a link on good terms to figure out the hostile intent of those who paid for their services.

Geoff suspected that Tom’s links in the U.S. and access to a compliance firm along with his impressive resources could help his group with more difficult access operations within the U.S. There was a sense that they could legitimize some of their work and more easily launder their earnings to keep expanding. He was convinced that Tom was mostly driven by profit and adventure more so than allegiance to any country.

Tom figured the best way to start was by finding a finance team – the link to the international finance system to move money and resources around. First, he needed to get to a point where he could pay for their services. This meant using his front company “Line Start.” His goal would be to access a competitor’s book of work, their clients, business partners, contracts history, and contacts within the risk compliance and cyber insurance sectors.

If XY was able to gain this access to the Brazilian company, it would be a binding illegal act and contract. From that point, he could begin to frame working relations and build connections within the group. At the rave, Tom went straight to the makeshift bar for a vodka drink. He figured the best place to start was the bartender and any spotters sitting there. He noticed he caught the eye of Helen. She was a British national with a piercing stare. He approached her “Is this the best rave scene in Amsterdam?” “It depends on how fucked up you plan on getting.” They start talking. She’s in the oil extraction business working for a Norwegian company. It becomes clear to Tom that she’s in Amsterdam on more nefarious business. He didn’t think she was MI6 but she couldn’t rule it out. It was at this point that Tom realized he couldn’t turn back. He was in too deep.