The Deadly Deals (ePub)

Things have grown more precarious for young spy Julio Antonio del Marmol. Despite his continued stream of intelligence relating to the subject, US intelligence refuses to believe that the Cubans are capable of putting together the vast resources and monies required to assassinate John F. Kennedy, the sitting President of the United States. The frustration is compounded by the fact it took them a year to seriously take the photos he had transmitted of nuclear missiles from the Soviet Union before sending a U-2 flight over the island to verify their existence. Now he is selected to deliver a map to Lee Harvey Oswald that will mislead American forces in the coming invasion of Cuba. Che takes Julio Antonio to the Tropicana, where he meets three of Che's "Amazons," dancers who are also trained assassins in his service. There he meets not only Che's KGB handler from the Soviet Union, but shortly after the Russian leave he watches as Che meets with a delegation from the Chinese Communist Party. Even though Che is an agent for the KGB, it is clear that he is playing both sides of the communist fence, and to send Guevara a message that he's being watched, the entire Chinese delegation are assassinated as they leave by the Russians. The map turns out to be another test of Julio Antonio's loyalty, as the man he meets is yet another double of Lee Harvey Oswald. He is arrested by Piñeiro's agents, and brought before a meeting with Che, Fidel, Piñeiro, and one of the other Commanders, in which he not only explains his reasons for not delivering the map, but returns it and shows Che and Fidel exactly what the head of the G-2 has really been doing to him. He begins a relationship with his associate, Chandee, and goes on a "vacation" to better know the leader of the "Amazons," Tanya and her niece, Che's illegitimate daughter, better.