It wasn't the first time he'd thought about getting killed. It wasn't the first time he'd thought about personal survival either. Hell, he had years of practice surviving in situations where others died. Where he could have died. Knowing that survival was the big issue couldn't make any difference.
It couldn't be that simple.
Could it?
CHAPTER 16
"I've pinned down the location of the signal that triggered the satellite," Stephanie said. "You're not going to like what I found."
Elizabeth had made fresh coffee. "It's nice out. Let's have coffee on the patio," she said. The coffee break had become a regular habit, something Elizabeth and Stephanie tried to do every morning about this time.
They sat down at a painted wicker table. The sun felt good on Stephanie's face.
"What did you discover?" Elizabeth asked.
Stephanie said. "The signal that triggered the satellite came from Alaska."
"Alaska? Where in Alaska?"
"The middle of nowhere. The Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge."
"Okay. You have my attention. What is a high frequency radio signal doing coming from a wildlife refuge? What's there that could do something like that?"
"SATWEP."
"The Satellite Weapons Program?"
"That's right. The Army runs it in conjunction with DARPA, the Defense Agency Research Projects Agency," Stephanie said. "The Pentagon does love their acronyms, don't they?"
"But that's the government." There was disbelief in Elizabeth's voice.
"I said you wouldn't like it," Stephanie said.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. The signal definitely came from there. The signature is unmistakable. There's nothing like it anywhere else on the planet."
"Steph, you just said someone used a defense agency installation to attack Russia. If Moscow finds out, it's going to make a lot of trouble. It's an act of war."
"Then this probably isn't something you want to share with Vysotsky," Stephanie said.
Elizabeth snorted and choked on her coffee.
"You shouldn't make me laugh when I'm drinking."
Stephanie said, "I'm glad you think it's funny."
"It's the way you said it." Elizabeth blotted her lips with a napkin. "I don't think you realize how funny you can be sometimes."
Stephanie started to say something then changed her mind. Instead she said, "The main SATWEP facility is located near Anchorage, but there's a classified program that uses the same technology in smaller installations and research facilities. They aren't always manned. The signal came from one of those. I've got the GPS coordinates."
"Where is it?"
"It's remote. The nearest town is just a wide spot at the end of the road called Circle, around fifty miles south of the Arctic circle. They run a big dog sled race out of there every year. Beyond that, it's all wilderness. The only way in is on foot or by air. "
Elizabeth sipped her coffee.
"What do you want to do?" Stephanie asked.
"I'll send the team in. There could be something on site to give us a lead."
Stephanie said, "There's bound to be some kind of security, even if it's an unmanned station."
"We'll treat it as if it were a hostile installation," Elizabeth said.
Stephanie waited.
"Normally I would go to the White House on something like this," Elizabeth said, "but I don't trust Edmonds. I don't want to tip our hand or let anyone know what we're doing. We'll use the Gulfstream to transport the team and supplies to Alaska."
"When do you want them to go?"
"Right away. I don't think we have a lot of time to stop this. Taking Rice down is a bad sign. We need more intelligence and we need it now. We need evidence. Once we have that, I'll decide the next step. Get the team together and we'll plan the mission."
"What about the Russians? Are you going to tell them what we've discovered? "
"Let's see what Nick finds in Alaska before we talk to them," Elizabeth said.
CHAPTER 17
Vysotsky's investigators had uncovered the scorched remains of a device in the ruins of the Central Bank of Novosibirsk, a receiver for the signal that had driven the city mad. There was no way to know who had made it. On the other hand, it hadn't taken long to identify and arrest the person who had placed it. He was a bank teller with financial problems.
Korov had come to interrogate him. The prisoner was being held in a military prison built in the days of the Czar. It wasn't far from the old Lubyanka prison in central Moscow. Like the Lubyanka, it was not a place anyone wanted to find themselves. The massive building was made out of stone. The walls were cold and rough and sweated during the hot days of a Moscow summer. In winter, the cells were freezing.
The prison was run by the GRU, the Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye, Military Intelligence. SVR and GRU had a long standing relationship of mutual cooperation. No one asked any unnecessary questions. No one was very concerned with the welfare of the prisoner. You didn't come to this place because someone was looking out for your welfare.
"This way, Colonel."
Korov's escort was a brutish Senior Sergeant named Grigorev. He smelled of garlic and looked like a man who spent too much time in places with no sunlight. His skin was pale and he needed a shave. His face was dark with shadow, even though it was early in the afternoon.
To reach the cells, everyone went through a passage guarded by iron gates that had served the same purpose before the October revolution. Korov and his escort waited as each one clanked open in turn and closed behind them. They descended worn steps to the lower level. The steps opened onto a hallway lined with dozens of faceless iron doors with numbers.
Grigorev stopped in front of number 17. The door had been painted green, long ago. The paint was chipped and scarred. A narrow slot allowed the passage of food into the cell. A circular viewport covered with a movable shield let the jailer observe the prisoner.
Korov slid the metal covering aside and peered in. There was no window in the stone room. Light came from one dim bulb hung somewhere high above. The floor was of stone. In the far corner of the room a foul hole lined with dried excrement served as a toilet. A thin mattress marred by dark stains was laid on the floor. It was the only thing in the room except for the man lying on it.
The prisoner's hair was matted with blood. His arm rested at an odd angle where it lay across his chest. His mouth was open as his breath rasped in and out. The mouth was bloody. Several teeth were missing. His eyes were blackened, swollen and closed.
"What happened to him?" Korov said.
Grigorev shrugged. "He was unruly. We had to teach him the rules."
"Ah."
Korov concealed his distaste and reminded himself that this prisoner was a traitor.
"Open the door."
Grigorev placed an old fashioned key made of heavy metal into the lock and turned. The door swung open.
"Prisoner! Stand!" Grigorev shouted at the man.
The man's name was Litvenenko. He tried to raise himself on one arm and fell back against the mattress.
Grigorev moved toward him but Korov laid a hand on his arm.
"It's alright. I don't think he can stand up. I'll talk to him there."
"As you wish, Colonel."
Korov stepped into the cell. The prisoner had soiled himself. Korov held his finger under his nose as the stench of the man and the filth hit him.
Korov squatted down beside Litvenenko. "I am Colonel Korov. I am your only hope. Do you understand?"
Litvenenko opened an eye.
"Do you understand?" Korov said again.
"Da. Understand." The voice was hoarse, choked with phlegm.
"Good. I will only ask a question once. If you lie, I'll know it. If you lie, I'll leave you in the care of Sergeant Grigorev. Do you understand?"
Korov saw the fear in the man's eyes. He hated this, but it had to be done. He had to know who had bribed this man. Someone had given him that dev
ice. Someone had told him to place it exactly where it had been placed. Korov needed to know who it was.
"Yes, understand."
"You placed a package in the central bank."
"No, it wasn't me."
"No? Then why are you here?"
"I swear, it wasn't me. I gave the package to Yevchenko."
Korov looked at the Sergeant. "Why wasn't I told about this?"
"I don't know, Colonel. I was only told to bring you to the prisoner."
Korov turned back to Litvenenko. "Who is Yevchenko?"
"The janitor. He cleans up after everyone is gone."
Dimitri Yevchenko was on a list of people still missing after the riots. Korov had an almost photographic memory. He remembered seeing the name. The man was listed as an employee of the bank.
"Why did you have to give it to someone else? Why couldn't you place it yourself?"
"The manager, Kaminsky. He was always the last out. He always made everyone else leave before he locked up. Only Yevchenko could stay."
"Who gave you the package?"
"A man, I don't know, I swear. Just a man. He told me to give it to Yevchenko."
"What did he look like, this man?"
Litvenenko squinted through his swollen eyelids at Korov. "Like you. He looked like you."
"Swine," Grigorev said. "You are talking to an officer." He stepped forward and kicked the man in his ribs. Litvenenko screamed.
Korov raised his hand. "Enough, Sergeant. Wait outside. "
"Sir..."
"Wait outside."
Grigorev moved back to the door, scowling.
Korov said, "What do you mean, he looked like me?"
"Blond, like you, tall. Short hair, like a soldier. He paid me a hundred rubles. I was afraid, I thought maybe he was FSB. He said to give it to the janitor and tell him to leave it in Kaminsky's office after the bank closed. He said it was a surprise for Kaminsky and I shouldn't say anything about it because it would spoil the surprise."
Litvenenko coughed and spit blood onto the floor.
Korov shook his head at the man's stupidity and greed. "You didn't think that was a lot of money to give a package to a janitor?"
"I needed the money. Please, I didn't know. Please..."
He clawed at Arkady's sleeve. Korov pulled his arm back in disgust and stood. He thought about what the prisoner had said. It would be necessary to question him further, but Korov didn't think there was much more to be learned. The man was terrified, as he should be. Arkady had taken part in enough interrogations to know when someone was lying. Litvenenko was guilty of greed and poor judgement, but nothing more. He was an expendable part of someone's plan. Unfortunately for him, his greed would cost him his life. The Russian justice system was not noted for compassion and understanding.
Back outside the prison, Korov took a deep breath of the smog-filled Moscow air. A bus rumbled by, trailing black smoke and diesel fumes. After the stink of the cell it seemed like pure oxygen.
Time to report in. He wondered if his boss was going to share what he'd learned with the Americans.
Korov thought about the Americans, about Nick and Selena and the others. Especially Selena. He'd never met a woman like her. Women in combat roles were nothing new in Russia, but they didn't have Selena's combination of beauty, skills and courage. She even spoke Russian like a native.
Twice, now, he'd seen her in action under fire. Once in America, in Texas. Once here in the Motherland. He wondered if he was going to see her again.
He'd like that.
CHAPTER 18
It had been two days since the firefight in the hospital parking lot. Harker was briefing the team in the ops center below Harker's office.
"You're sending us to Alaska?" Nick said.
"As soon as we plan out the mission," Harker said. "Lamont stays here. He's still on meds and recovering from his wound."
"Director..." Lamont said.
"You're not going."
Lamont settled back in his chair. He looked unhappy.
"What's our objective?" Nick asked.
"Are you familiar with SATWEP?"
"Isn't that the Army's secret satellite program? The one no one wants to talk about?"
"That's the one. The signal that triggered the riots in Novosibirsk came from a substation that's part of the program."
"Isn't the installation on an Army base near Fairbanks?" Ronnie said.
"The main facility is. The signal came from farther north, near the Arctic Circle."
"How certain are you that it came from there, Director?" Nick said.
"Completely certain."
"What are we looking for?"
"Anything that can help us figure out what's going on or who is behind it."
"That's pretty vague. Do we at least know where to look?" Nick asked.
"I can show you," Stephanie said.
Stephanie's laptop was linked into the Crays in the other room. She entered a series of keystrokes, humming to herself as her fingers danced across the keyboard. The Ops Center had a large wall monitor identical to the one in Elizabeth's office. The picture that appeared on screen was a satellite shot over the Alaskan wilderness. Steph zoomed in on a white dot in the middle of a forest. The dot became two low buildings, set next to each other and connected by a short passage. Nearby, rows of tall antenna towers were laid out in a grid.
There was no road to the site. The land around the facility consisted of old growth forest that had been cleared back about a hundred feet. There was a helipad and hangar.
"Way out in the boonies," Ronnie said.
"Out of sight, out of mind," Nick said. "I wonder what they're doing out there?"
"Probably playing talk radio for the grizzly bears," Lamont said.
"I don't think they'd do that," Ronnie said. "You don't want to piss off grizzly bears."
Harker rolled her eyes. "Steph, show the nearest town."
"That would be Circle. It's not just the nearest town, it's the only town." She brought it up on the monitor.
They studied the picture. A wide river snaked past a cluster of low buildings laid out on the river bank. West of the town was a single, straight airstrip. There were no planes or hangars, only a cracked strip of pavement. A narrow access road ran like a tee from the center of the strip to a cleared area that was probably a parking lot and then to the town. A highway entered the picture from the lower left corner and ended at the town. A single main street ran through the settlement.
From miles above the Earth's surface, Circle looked like a one horse town without the horse.
"Is that the Yukon River?" Ronnie asked.
"It is." Stephanie adjusted the picture. "The highway you see is Route 6, if you can call it a highway. Circle is literally the end of the road in Alaska."
"How many people live up there?" Selena asked.
"Around 80, year round. More in the summer, when they get a few tourists."
"Not much going on," Lamont said.
"The nearest big city is Fairbanks," Stephanie said. "It's about a hundred and fifty miles from Circle."
"We can fly to Fairbanks and drive to Circle from there," Nick said.
"That might not be so easy, " Ronnie said. "I've been to Fairbanks. That road going North is unpaved gravel and in rough shape. No one will risk renting a car to go to Circle. We'd have to hire someone to drive us."
"There's that airstrip. We could hire a plane in Fairbanks to take us to Circle and hike in from there," Nick said, "but it's days on foot over rough country to the objective."
"There's a helipad right on site," Selena said. "Why not use that?"
Ronnie shook his head. "If anyone's there, we'd be sitting ducks coming in."
"A chopper is a good idea, though. We could land somewhere nearby and hike the rest," Nick said. "Call for extraction when we're done and have the chopper pick us up."
"I can't requisition a helicopter without someone asking why," Elizabeth said.
"I know
a guy who lives in Fairbanks," Ronnie said. "He flew choppers in RECON. Now he's got a charter service that takes hunters into the backcountry. We can trust him."
Elizabeth nodded. "Good, Ronnie. We'll use him."
"I'll call and have him meet us at the airport."
Elizabeth looked at Nick. "You have to be careful, Nick. Get in and get out. Don't get caught and please, don't blow anything up."
"Mm," Nick said.
CHAPTER 19
It was after midnight when Ronnie, Nick and Selena landed at the private terminal in Fairbanks. Ronnie's friend was waiting for them. Sam Newhouse was a wiry, short man who looked like he'd been carved out of beef jerky.
"Hey, Gunny. Long time. How they hanging?"
The two men hugged and clapped each other on the back.
"Sam, these are my friends. This is Nick and this is Selena."
"Pleasure," Newhouse said. They shook hands. He looked at Nick. "Afghanistan, right? Recon? I remember you from Bagram. I was flying the bird that pulled you out. You were hit pretty bad. Glad you made it."
He's in the market, ramshackle bins and ragged cloth walls. Clouds of flies swarm around the butcher’s stall. He hears a baby cry. The street is deserted.
The rooftops erupt with men firing AK-47s. The market stalls shatter in a firestorm of splinters and plaster and rock exploding from the sides of the buildings.
A child runs toward him, screaming about Allah. Nick hesitates, a second too long. The boy cocks his arm back and throws a grenade as Nick shoots him.
The child's head dissolves in a red fountain of blood and bone. The grenade drifts through the air in slow motion...everything goes white...
"Nick?" It was Selena. Newhouse was looking at him. Nick realized he'd been gone for a moment.
"Sorry, yeah, that's right. Bagram. You have a good memory. I never got a chance to thank you."
"No thanks needed. Follow me," Newhouse said.
He led them outside to the parking lot and a red Toyota Highlander spattered with mud. They stowed the bags with their gear and weapons and got in. Newhouse pulled out of the lot. Ronnie sat next to him in front.
The Ajax Protocol (The Project) Page 6
