by Tom Grace
The clip ended with the final frame frozen on the screen.
‘Short and sweet,’ Cooper said. ‘Just enough to let us know that they have them.’
‘Actually,’ Nolan said, the tone of his voice revealing his curiosity, ‘I think it might have told us something else.’
‘You spot something, Nolan?’ Mosley asked.
‘Maybe.’
Using his mouse, Nolan enlarged the still image to the screen’s full size. The resolution went from crisp to grainy with the enlargement.
‘There it is,’ he exclaimed.
‘What?’ Cooper asked.
‘Elli’s ring.’
Everyone looked at the older woman’s hands but saw no ring.
‘Elli’s not wearing a ring,’ Grin said.
‘No, she’s not, but Kelsey is. Kelsey doesn’t wear rings. I think the only one she owns is from high school, and she hasn’t worn that since she was eighteen. Look at the ring, it’s a thick gold band. That’s a match for the jeweler’s description of Wolff’s ring. It’s gotta be it.’
‘Gentlemen,’ Mosley said sternly, ‘that piece of information does not leave this room. For those two ladies, it’s a matter of life and death.’
Everyone nodded.
‘We need to respond to this,’ Nolan urged.
‘I’m already working on it,’ Grin announced. ‘I can put together a Trojan horse program that we can imbed in our response. Once they open our message, our Trojan horse will load and contact us over the Net. From there, we can use the Spyder to track ’em down.’
‘That’s not what I had in mind, Grin. They’ll be expecting something like that. Orlov’s feeling secure right now, thinking he’s in control of the situation. We need to shake things up a bit. I say we call him.’
‘Call Orlov?’ Grin said. ‘Nolan, are you nuts?’
Mosley nodded as he thought through Nolan’s suggestion. ‘Actually, it’s not a bad idea. We’ll catch Orlov off guard and can push for terms of our own.’
‘We are going to give him everything he wants – the cipher key, our decoding program, everything – in exchange for Kelsey and Elli.’ A devious smile curled across Nolan’s face.
Mosley caught the glint in Kilkenny’s eye. ‘Nolan, after our little trip to London last year, I know you’re not the type who just rolls over. What are you working on?’
‘A plan, Cal, a plan.’ Nolan turned to Cooper. ‘Do you think that Orlov has any highly placed enemies in the Russian government – people who might enjoy watching him take a fall?’
‘The sense I get from my contact in Moscow is that if Orlov ever made a serious mistake, the wolves would be all over him.’
‘Good, because I think I need to pay a visit to Orlov at his office in Moscow.’
Grin shook his head in disbelief. ‘You’re talking crazy, man.’
‘If we’re going to win this fight with Orlov, we can’t just cut a deal with him. We have to take him out completely. To do that, I have to go there – I’m going to be our Trojan horse.’
Over the next hour Nolan proceeded to outline his plan of attack, refining elements as he brainstormed with Mosley, Cooper, and Grin.
‘We’re in agreement then?’ Nolan asked.
The three other men nodded.
‘Done.’ Nolan then handed Cooper the cordless phone. ‘Bart, it’s time to make some calls.’
Cooper flipped through his legal pad until he found the sheet with the list of phone numbers, and dialed the first one.
‘Electronic surveillance. Gardner speaking.’
‘Gardner, this is Bart Cooper.’ He then recited his Agency identification number. ‘I need a flashback trace on this number for all incoming calls, starting from the second I hang up. I have the owner of the line right here, so I don’t need a warrant.’
Cooper could hear Gardner entering his ID number into a computer, running a check on Cooper’s authority to make a flashback request. Cooper smiled; there were few spooks in Langley who carried more clout than he did.
‘It’s all set, Mr Cooper. The NRO will be monitoring your line as soon as you hang up.’
‘Thanks, Gardner.’
Cooper ended the call and then keyed a long string of numbers into the phone.
Nolan pulled Mosley aside so as not to disturb Cooper. ‘Cal, what exactly is a flashback trace?’
‘It’s like a regular phone trace, but a whole lot faster. It can also run down mobile phones and triangulate their location using cell towers or satellites. With it, we can pinpoint a call anywhere in the world, and since we don’t know where the hostages are, that’s exactly what we need.’
Cooper stood in the center of the room with the phone still pressed against his ear.
‘Orlov rezidence,’ a brusque voice answered on the other end of the line.
‘Dóbry viécher. Vy gavárite paanglíyski?’ Cooper said.
‘Da, I speak English,’ the man replied, his accent thick but understandable.
‘Good. My name is Bart Cooper, and I wish to speak with Victor Orlov.’
‘Mr Orlov does not want to be disturbed. This is a private line. How did you get this number?’
‘That’s not important, but what I have to tell Orlov is. I don’t care if you have to pull him off his mistress, you just get him on the phone now. If he asks, tell him that I have the key to Wolff’s notebooks.’
The man mulled all this over. ‘Hold on, I’ll see if he can take your call.’
‘You do that. I’ll wait.’
A moment passed, with Kilkenny and the others wondering what was happening on the other end of the line.
‘Mr Cooper,’ a man’s voice answered with only a hint of a Russian accent. ‘I am Victor Orlov. Do I know you?’
‘No, you don’t, but I’m very well connected. I’m here with Nolan Kilkenny. We received your message regarding the hostages.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Cut the crap, Orlov. This little game is over, and you’ve won. I’m calling to cut a deal so we can put an end to this. We have the key to Wolff’s codes. Kilkenny has successfully decrypted a couple of pages from the notebooks, so we know the key works. If you want it, now’s the time to talk.’
‘Very well, Mr Cooper, but I like to know who I’m dealing with. Who are you?’
‘Let’s just say that I’m someone with powerful enough friends that I can get your home phone number, and that’s all you need to know about me. My primary interest in this is getting those two women back safe and sound. If you deal straight with me, we won’t have any problems.’
‘Very well,’ Orlov replied, intrigued by Cooper. ‘What do you propose?’
‘First, the video clip you sent is worthless. We need a live phone contact to verify that the hostages are still unharmed.’
‘That can be arranged.’
‘Good, because that’s a deal breaker. I’ll expect the call within ten minutes after we hang up. Here’s the number.’ Cooper read the numbers off his list. ‘Now, I assume that the hostages are still nearby. Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you where they are. You wouldn’t tell me anyway.’
‘That is correct.’
‘As a measure of security for both sides, I propose we break up the exchange. The hostages are to be released at a very public location of your choosing. When you give the word, your people will simply drop them off and drive away. The women will call to tell us they’ve been released.’
‘How do I get the cipher key?’
‘That part is a little trickier. Nolan Kilkenny and I will travel to Moscow, where we will meet with you at your office on Prospekt Mira.’
‘You seem to know a lot about me, Mr Cooper,’ Orlov said warily.
‘Like I said earlier, I’m very well connected. We’ll fly out of the States later this afternoon, which puts us in Moscow tomorrow afternoon. Let’s say the three of us meet at your office around six o’clock. When we arrive at your office, you will tell your people to let the
women go. When the women are free, we will turn over Wolff’s key and Kilkenny’s decoding program.’
‘These terms are unusually generous, Cooper. Why?’
‘Write it off to goodwill. All we care about are the hostages. Kilkenny’s got copies of maybe a dozen pages from Wolff’s notebooks, so the key doesn’t really do his people a lot of good. Like I said earlier, you won. Let’s settle up and call it a day.’
‘Agreed. I look forward to meeting you tomorrow, Mr Cooper.’
‘Likewise.’
Cooper set the phone back in its cradle. ‘I haven’t had to do something like that in a while.’
‘An impressive performance,’ Kilkenny said.
‘Now we just have to wait for the call.’
A moment later the phone rang. Kilkenny quickly snatched it off the table.
‘This is Nolan Kilkenny,’ he answered.
‘Nolan, it’s Kelsey.’
‘How are you and Elli?’ he said loud enough for the others to hear.
‘We’re fine. They haven’t hurt us.’
‘We found Wolff’s key, so they’re just going to hold you both until we can make a trade. It’ll all be over tomorrow, I promise.’
‘I love you, Nolan.’
‘I love you, too, sweetheart.’
The line went dead.
‘They cut her off,’ Kilkenny said as he switched off the phone. ‘She sounded okay, just scared. She said they’re both fine.’
‘They should stay that way until tomorrow,’ Cooper said reassuringly. ‘Now, I have to make my next call.’
Cooper took the phone from Kilkenny and punched in a number.
‘Gardner, it’s Cooper. Did you get a trace on that last call?’
‘Yes, sir. It originated in Arenac County, Michigan, near a town called Standish. I’ve got an address and precise coordinates.’
‘Read them off to me.’
Cooper took notes as Gardner read off the trace results.
‘Gardner, this is a hostage situation with national-security implications. Get in touch with the folks in Research. I want a full package on this property, everything you can get your hands on. And I need it yesterday. I got an E-mail address for you.’
‘I’m ready,’ Gardner replied, his adrenaline up.
Cooper read off Kilkenny’s address carefully. ‘Got that?’
‘I got it, sir. I’ll have something for you in thirty minutes.’
‘Good. Next thing, I need some discreet surveillance of this property. See if you can’t get a little time on one of the satellites to pull some images. Send them to the same address.’
‘Sir, has Kilkenny been cleared for satellite imagery?’
‘Yes, he has, on my authority. If you like, I can have DCI Barnett call you to confirm it.’
‘I can accept your word on it, sir,’ Gardner said meekly.
‘Good.’ Cooper hung up and set the portable phone on the desk.
‘I got the GPS mapping program up,’ Grin announced. ‘I just need the coordinates.’
Cooper read off the precise longitude and latitude figures that Gardner had given him; Grin typed in the coordinates and pressed ENTER. The global positioning satellite program rendered a globe on the screen that began to spin and grow large, as if the viewers were flying toward Earth from space. North America filled the screen, then the mitten shape of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula came into view. Finally, the program zoomed in on the northern shore of Saginaw Bay, where the Rifle River flowed out into the bay.
‘I canoed that river as a Boy Scout,’ Kilkenny said, looking over Grin’s shoulder. ‘Once, we followed the river all the way out to the bay. It’s mostly wetlands and trees in this area, with a few cabins along the shore. A lot of duck hunting up there. I think my friends will be able to handle this.’
52
JULY 30
Moscow, Russia
The phone rang, breaking the silence that filled the room where Orlov was waiting. He answered it quickly, fully aware it was Dmitri Leskov on the other end.
‘The call to Kilkenny is done.’
‘Any problems?’
‘Nyet. We kept it short, not enough time for a phone trace. Newton said nothing other than what we told her to say.’
‘Good. Put Josef in charge of the hostages. With Kilkenny and Cooper coming to Moscow, I want you here handling security. Your tickets are waiting for you at Tri-City Airport. Flight arrangements have been made that should get you here a few hours ahead of our visitors.’
As he wrote down the flight information, a surge of anger flushed Leskov’s skin. Kilkenny’s hands touched nearly everything that had gone wrong with this operation, including the death of his brother Pavel. He toyed with the idea of letting his men rape Kilkenny’s woman just for spite, but such an action didn’t fit in with Victor Orlov’s plans.
‘I’m on my way, sir. Any change to our plans for the hostages?’
‘None.’
‘Do you expect any trouble from Kilkenny or from this Cooper?’
‘No, but I want you here to make certain that things go smoothly. Once I have the ciphers, you can settle things with Kilkenny.’
‘I understand, Victor Ivanovich,’ Leskov replied. ‘Spasiba.’
53
JULY 30
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Kilkenny stood outside the airport hangar and watched the small, military passenger jet taxi off the runway. The pilot deftly brought the aircraft to a stop over the painted markings on the tarmac just a few feet from where he stood. The twin-jet engines mounted on the tail slowly wound down, their high pitch dropping in both tone and volume.
The door of the aircraft shuddered, then slid open. The copilot lowered the built-in stairs and stepped aside to let his passengers disembark. First off was a muscular man of about fifty with dark ebony skin and a close-cropped Afro flecked with gray. He stood a few inches shorter than Kilkenny; the collar of his battle-dress uniform bore the stars of a newly frocked rear admiral. Over his right breast was the gold pistol and trident emblem of Navy SEALs.
Kilkenny greeted Rear Admiral Jack Dawson with a crisp salute.
‘Good to see you, Nolan,’ Dawson said as he returned Kilkenny’s salute. ‘Sorry it’s not under better circumstances.’
‘Thanks for coming, Jack.’
‘Just following orders. After the folks at Langley gave the Secretary of Defense the situation report, he agreed it would be best if we dealt with these Spetsnaz mercenaries.’
Dawson and Kilkenny first met back when the admiral was still a captain, then in charge of the SEALs training facility in Coronado, California, and Kilkenny was a BUD/S trainee. A few months after Kilkenny was assigned to SEAL Team Four in Little Creek, Virginia, Dawson assumed command of the team. The respect and loyalty the two men had for each other led them to become close friends.
‘The stars look good on you,’ Kilkenny said, commenting on Dawson’s recent promotion to flag rank and his new assignment as commander of Navy Special Warfare Group Two.
‘The upgrade has some benefits, but it’s added another layer of bureaucracy between me and my men. At least I’m in a position to do some good for ’em.’
‘The maps and intel are waiting for you back at my place, along with a CIA guy named Cal Mosley. He’s coordinating things on this end. My dad will lead you back there,’ Nolan said, pointing to his father’s truck.
The nine men who followed Dawson off the jet formed a human chain that ran from the plane’s cargo hold into Sean Kilkenny’s Explorer and a pair of rented Ford Expeditions that were parked beside the hangar. They quickly off-loaded the duffels containing their gear and stowed them in the SUVs for the next leg of their journey. Master Chief Max Gates, a balding, barrel-chested NCO with forearms that would make Popeye proud, led the obscene cadence that accompanied their labor. Gates had been Kilkenny’s right hand during his tour with the SEALs.
Kilkenny recognized most of the men. In his past life, he and Gates had led G
ilgallon, Hepburn, Darvas, Rodriguez, and Detmer on missions around the world, and each was like a brother to him. Edwards, the young lieutenant who’d replaced him, Kilkenny knew only by reputation. The two remaining men, Ahsan and Gorski, had worked with Kilkenny’s squad on several occasions – they were the sniper team.
After the squad stowed their gear, the lieutenant led them over to Dawson and Kilkenny.
‘Squad One is ready to move out, sir,’ the young man said with a crisp salute.
‘Well done, Lieutenant,’ Dawson replied as he returned the salute. ‘At ease, men.’
The SEALs relaxed, broke ranks, and encircled Kilkenny and Dawson.
‘Lieutenant Jeremy Edwards,’ Dawson said, ‘I’d like to introduce your predecessor, Nolan Kilkenny.’
‘A pleasure to meet you, sir. Chief Gates and the men speak highly of you.’
‘They’re a good crew,’ Kilkenny replied as he shook Edwards’s hand. ‘You’re a ring-knocker, I see. I’m an Annapolis grad, too. Good luck, Lieutenant.’
‘Thanks.’
‘Men,’ Dawson boomed out so all could hear, ‘a little background on this op. One of the hostages we’re going after is a very close personal friend of Kilkenny’s. Now he may no longer be in uniform, but he’s still one of us. That makes this personal.’
‘Hoo-yah!’ the squad shouted back.
‘Nolan,’ Gates said in a thick Oklahoma drawl, ‘you have my word, we’ll get Kelsey back for you.’
Kilkenny grasped Gates’s hand firmly. ‘I know you will, Max. I know you will.’
‘All right, everybody!’ Dawson shouted, excited at the opportunity to operate at the squad level. ‘Let’s move out.’
Dawson rode with Sean Kilkenny in the Explorer. Behind them, Edwards and Gates piloted the Expeditions. Kilkenny watched as the small convoy rolled onto State Street.
As they disappeared from view, Cooper walked over from his rented Taurus.
‘Bet you wish you were going with them.’
‘You’d win that bet,’ Kilkenny admitted. ‘But this is the way it has to be. Hell, I’ve been off the team for almost two years. That’s an eternity in terms of training. If I went along, I’d just be baggage. The lead belongs to Edwards now, and my old NCO tells me he’s good at it. They’ll get the job done, and that’s exactly what Kelsey and Elli need right now, not me riding in with guns blazing, playing the hero.’
