Stabenow, Dana - Blindfold Game (v1 Page 4

  “Not his real name?

  Hugh didnt dignify that question with an answer. “Over the past five years Peter has used the cash flow generated from selling Russian arms in bulk quantities to expand his inventory, which now includes weapons and materiel from every nation that manufactures them, including our own. This of course has led to a certain amount of, well, friction with our security services.

  The director gave his rich chuckle. “I would certainly hope so.

  “Bob Dunno met him at an embassy party they both attended in Moscow.

  “What was the party for?

  Hugh was thrown off his stride. “I, uh, dont know, sir.

  The director gave a reproving shake of his head. “You know how I savor the details, Hugh.

  “Yes, sir. Recovering his momentum, Hugh continued his briefing. “Peter has a well-developed sense of self-preservation for an international arms dealer. This occasionally leads him to sell us the odd tidbit of information. He deduced, and rightly, that wed be more inclined to look away from his activities if he cooperated with us now and then.

  “And hes hoping well take out his competition with the information he gives us, the director said.

  Hugh smiled because it was expected of him. “And leave him in place, yes, sir. At any rate, Peter contacted Bob on October sixth and passed on the news that two young Asian men who fit the description of the two men Arlene followed had come to Odessa and placed an order. Hugh passed the director a sheet of paper.

  The director read down the list. “Whats cesium?

  “Cesium-137 is one of twenty radioactive isotopes artificially derived from the naturally occurring element cesium. At the directors request, Hugh spelled it. “It is used in radiology for medical and industrial purposes.

  “Like X rays?

  “It is used in radiotherapy machines, sir, for the treatment of cancer.

  The director meditated on this for a moment. “My aunt had breast cancer. She had surgery, followed by chemotherapy, followed by radiation therapy. That what were talking about here?

  “Yes, sir.

  “It actually burned her skin, the director said. “She looked like a molting lizard for a while there.

  “Yes, sir.

  “Whats it look like? This cesium-137?

  “Not much different from talcum powder.

  “Does it glow in the dark?

  “A luminescent blue, sir, Hugh said.

  The director looked up. The question had been asked in a jocular tone and Hughs answer had been dead serious. “I see. And Peters report of this purchase of this substance upsets you why?

  “Cesium-137 is one of many substances that would be most effective in the manufacture of a dirty bomb.

  The director sat back. “What kind of damage are we talking about here?

  “Use enough TNT to explode a couple of ounces of cesium, sir, and the fallout would spread a minimum of sixty square blocks. In a city of any size, Los Angeles, say, or New York, or Washington, D.C., such an event could render hundreds of buildings uninhabitable and put hundreds of thousands of people in the hospital with radiation sickness. It would take years and very probably billions of dollars to clean up the mess. The medical and emergency infrastructure of the nation would be overwhelmed. There would be a severe impact on essential services.

  “I imagine someone has done some sort of test scenario.

  “Unnecessary, even if true, sir.

  “What do you mean?

  “In 1987 in Brazil a private medical clinic went belly up and the three doctors who owned it walked away, leaving the building to deteriorate and eventually be looted. It was a cancer clinic. It had a radiotherapy machine which contained a lead canister containing approximately fourteen hundred curies of cesium-137.

  The director gave him a long, level look.

  Hugh elaborated. “Enough that when the looters opened the canister adults and children both could rub the powder on their bodies so that they would, as you say, glow in the dark.

  “Why on earth would they do that?

  “They thought it was pretty. Later, the powder transferred from their hands to their food, which was of course toxic when ingested. It was a week before a health care worker whod had some training diagnosed what four people had already died from and what two hundred forty-four people had been contaminated with on a first-contact basis. The authorities ran a Geiger counter over the people they considered the most likely to have been contaminated, but unfortunately they didnt take the procedure seriously enough to put their techs into protective gear. They didnt decontaminate the ambulances used to carry the victims. Homes, businesses, soil Hugh shook his head. “Goiania has a population of seven hundred thousand. They ran the Geiger counters over thirty-four thousand people, about all they could fit into the soccer stadium, but well. Its got a half-life of thirty years.

  “The people who died. What did they die from, exactly?

  “Radiation destroys human cells, most rapidly those of the skin, hair, gastrointestinal tract, and bone marrow. They died of pneumonia, blood poisoning, and hemorrhaging.

  Hugh used the following silence to tidy up his paperwork.

  “A nasty kind of talcum powder, the director said finally.

  “Yes, sir.

  “Is Peter willing and able to give us any further information?

  Hugh hesitated. “I dont know, sir.

  The director raised an eyebrow.

  “This was the last time we heard from him. His office blew up later that same evening.

  “Our Korean friends?

  “We dont know. It seems likely. They had motive, in wanting to hide their business with him. They certainly had means if they are the people behind the Pattaya bombing. And they had opportunity, being the only business meeting Peter had that day, according to the security guard at the entrance.

  “Is Peter dead?

  “We dont know, sir. His body wasnt found, but then there wasnt a lot left from which to make an identification. The explosion took place after midnight when the building was closed, so he could well have left for the evening. On the other hand, I dont think Peter keeps bankers hours. Hugh raised his shoulders. “If hes alive, he hasnt surfaced. Bob Dunno talked to the girlfriend, who knows less than nothing, naturally. Hugh was sure there was plenty Bob wasnt telling him about the girlfriend but he refrained from saying so. “I have instructed informants to keep watch in all the likely places. He could be dead, or he could be anywhere.

  “Switzerland? the director said.

  “More likely Nassau, or Brazil, or Seattle.

  The director was startled. “Seattle?

  “He hasnt broken any American laws, at least not yet, and he has a distant relative in the Russian emigre population there.

  “Mmmm. The director meditated upon the photographs. “These two young men appear to have no appreciable money problems.

  “Peter was given a phone number in Switzerland. An electronic transfer. Ive got a source ferreting around, but you know the Swiss.

  There was a brief silence. The director stirred. “Odessa, he said ruminatively. “Odessa. So thats where we put Bob Dunno out to pasture.

  Hugh said stiffly, “Hardly out to pasture, sir. At last count there are over fifty sites in what was the Soviet Union housing enough weapons-grade fissile materials to make as many as seventy thousand nuclear bombs, most of it unsecured. I believe Bob was stationed in Odessa because of his knowledge of Soviet weaponry and his contacts there. Not to mention his fluency in Russian.

  “Hugh, my boy, everyone who reads the front page of the Washington Post knows all about how familiar Bob Dunno is with his contacts. The director leaned forward. “Do you think its true? Was he really sleeping with the premiers daughter?

  Doggedly, Hugh kept to the point. “When Harte lost the two men in London, she returned to Pattaya Beach and made further inquiries. During the course of those inquiries she found three witnesses who saw two young Asian men fitting the descriptions of the two
men she saw meeting with Fang and Noortman. These witnesses noticed these young men in particular because, unlike everyone else in the area immediately following the blast, they were so calm of manner. One of the witnesses said they seemed almost to be observing.

  The director shrugged. “Not conclusive in and of itself.

  “But interesting nonetheless, sir. Hugh put the file back together. “I think these two men should be red-flagged, sir. I think we ought to have mug shots from the pictures that Harte brought us and circulate them to all desks and field agents in the Far East, and possibly the entire network. Further, I think we should alert the FBI and the other agencies, including the Coast Guard.

  “The Coast Guard? The director chuckled.

  “I would point out, sir, Hugh said, and this time he was unable to keep the edge from his voice, “that these two men were observed in the company of the Chinese pirate, Fang, and his longtime confederate, the Singaporean Noortman. Fang and Noortman we know to be responsible for the high seas piracy of as many as twenty-three freighters, at least a dozen of which held cargoes owned all or in part by American corporations. If Fang and Noortman are involved in whatever these two men are planning, it only makes sense that the planned attack is coming by sea. The Coast Guard will have to be involved, and sooner rather than later.

  The director raised a quizzical eyebrow. “You havent been talking this over with that wife of yours, have you, Hugh, my boy?

  Hugh set his teeth. “No, sir.

  “I should hope not. There is no point in starting a panic with what is at this point pure speculation. The director settled back into the couch.

  “Do you have any independent confirmation of weapons sales such as you have described? Any satellite confirmation of weapons movement? The larger item certainly would be noticed, I would think.

  “Admittedly, sir, our evidence to date is circumstantial, but if our agent is right and these two men are responsible for the Pattaya Beach bombing, the construction and detonation of that bomb implies a high level of experience, expertise, and commitment. Not to mention imagination. To my knowledge the Pattaya Beach bombing is the first terrorist attack employing a soccer ball.

  The director inclined his head. “Point taken.

  “It follows that they will be planning their next operation, and that it will include a similarly imaginative plan. The involvement of Fang and Noortman indicates that the attack will come from the sea. Their purchases from Peter Wolf suggest that

  The director picked up one of the photographs. “Didnt I read somewhere in that file you gave me a while back that Noortmans a fag?

  Hugh blinked. “Sir?

  “Stands to reason Fang is, too, otherwise why they been together for What was it you said? Nine years? Ten years? The director tossed the picture back on the coffee table. “Im glad you brought this to my attention, Hugh. I can see where there is cause for some concern. Lets alert the Far East staff to keep a watching brief for our four Asian friends, try to keep track of their actions.

  “Yes, sir, Hugh said, “our staff and

  “Lets not rile up the other agencies just yet.

  “Sir

  The director got to his feet. “I sure appreciate you coming in, Hugh, my boy. Keep up the good work.

  And Hugh found himself on the other side of the directors door, his hand shook, his back patted, the recipient of a genial invitation for a game of tennis, which he did not play.

  He steamed past the directors assistant without saying goodbye, which didnt matter because the head of the Middle Eastern desk was chatting her up in preparation for entry into the inner sanctum, a sheaf of reports in the crook of one elbow that undoubtedly included several items that would jack up the Homeland Security threat advisory to orange. “Harvey, Hugh said tightly.

  Harvey Moskowitz, taking in the situation at a glance, said, not without sympathy, “Hey, Hugh. He stood up. “Talk to you for a minute?

  “The directors waiting for you, Mr. Moskowitz, the secretary said disapprovingly.

  Moskowitz bestowed a ravishing smile upon her, beneath which she wilted visibly. “Tell him Ill be right in, will you, Georgia?

  The secretary murmured a dazed acquiescence as Moskowitz took Hugh by the elbow and steered him into the hall.

  “Not for attribution, Hugh, I dont have any hard evidence, but a couple of my people have been hearing rumors about a large sale of some radioactive material.

  Hughs head came up. “I got the same rumor. Through Odessa?

  “My guy says Tiraspol.

  Hugh closed his eyes to locate Tiraspol on an internal map. He opened his eyes again and Harvey said, “What?

  “Come with me, Hugh said. Harvey followed Hugh down the hall to a conference room with a bookshelf full of reference texts and pulled down an atlas. He flipped rapidly through the pages. “Here.

  Harvey followed Hughs finger. “Tiraspol, Moldova. So? Oh. I see. Right on the border.

  “Not ninety miles from Odessa, Hugh said.

  “Crap, Harvey said, inelegantly but accurately.

  “Yeah.

  “Is your info linked to al-Qaida? Harvey said.

  “God damn it, Harvey, Hugh said with enough anger to cause the other mans eyes to widen. “Does nothing other than al-Qaida register on anyones radar around here?

  “Come on, Hugh. They found documents describing research into the construction of CBRN weapons in a house in Kabul, Afghanistan, and in the al-Qaida caves. Its not like they dont know how to make a chemical weapon, or a biological one, or a radioactive one, or even a nuclear one.

  Hugh couldnt deny it.

  “The nuclear one is the most expensive, so the thinking is theyll probably go with one of the other three, Harvey said. “Again, I ask the question. Is your info linked to al-Qaida?

  Hugh hesitated, and shook his head. “No. I think it might be connected to the same people who did the Pattaya Beach bombing.

  Harvey relaxed a little. “And that was what, your standard black market plastic explosive and a timer packed inside awhat was it?

  “Soccer ball.

  “Right. Right. Harvey nodded. “Points for originality. You wouldnt look twice at someone sauntering down the street with a soccer ball tucked under one arm, unless you were in the U.S. And filled with nails and bolts. Instant shrapnel. Nasty. He meditated for a moment. “You got a real thing going on here, Hugh?

  Hughs jaw tightened, and he had to work at it not to glance over his shoulder toward the directors office. “Nothing with enough evidence to warrant action.

  “Ah, Harvey said. “Well, if I hear anything else.

  “Yeah. Harvey?

  “Yeah?

  “Where did the rumor originate?

  “My guy heard about it in Hong Kong. Big operation, well funded, is what he heard.

  Fang and Noortman operated out of Hong Kong. “Okay. Thanks again, Harvey.

  Hugh strode down the hallway with a scowl so severe that the mail boy took an unintended detour through Records and got thoroughly lost in the wilds of the Castro files.

  Marie looked up. “So, it went well.

  He blew by her into his own office and tossed the envelope containing the Odessa report, Arlenes report, and the photographs on the desk. It skidded across the surface until it hit his in basket, which was filled with six other reports of potential threats in the Far East, none of which were being taken anywhere near as seriously as Hugh knew they should be.

  Hughs problem was that the Far East just wasnt fashionable. No one seemed to take North Korea seriously, or not as seriously as they did Pickacountry, Middle East. Indonesia, maybe a little more so because of its large Muslim population, but there the terrorists were mostly blowing up Australians, and theyd taken as big a hit from the Christmas tsunami as everyone else so they werent exactly at the top of their form. In Pattaya Beach, the casualties had been so evenly divided between East and West that the bulls-eye effect hadnt really registered with any one nation. India and Pakistan were s
itting down like the lion with the lamb and actually talking to one another for the first time since World War II, in fact all the Indian Ocean nations were, another effect of the tsunami.

  No, his nations security and defense forces were focusing almost exclusively on the Middle East, and the hell of it was he couldnt say they were wrong. But, like Arlene Harte, he was uneasy. If she was right about the two Koreans setting the bomb in Pattaya Beach, they hadnt taken credit for it. Why not? By definition a terrorists mission was to draw attention to his cause. Why, then, would these two men just walk away without so much as a phone call claiming credit for so many deaths, so much destruction, for the successful terrorizing of a heretofore peaceful resort, dedicated to the innocent pleasures of the leisure classes of many nations?

  The only rational answer Hugh could find to that question was that these particular terrorists were practicing, warming up for the big event. He thought of the photographs taken at the scene of the bombing, of the lists of the dead, of the descriptions of the wounds of those who had survived. He thought of the soccer ball, which, from what the investigators could discover, had been drop-kicked onto the dance floor with some brand-new timing device they were still piecing together. The prospect of what the people who had thought up the soccer ball were dreaming up next gave him nightmares.

  He hoped the director was right and that there was no need to panic. He hoped it, but he didnt believe it.

  He rubbed his eyes and the first thing he focused on when he dropped his hands was the soapstone bear, a smooth, greenish brown image of a sitting bear playing with his own toes. He and Sara had gone out to the Alaska Native hospital in Anchorage that year, looking for gifts for their mothers. An old Yupik man was there with a cardboard box full of soapstone carvings. Hugh had fallen in love with this one on sight, and Sara had bought it for him behind his back and had given it to him that Christmas. It had sat on whatever desk was his from Harvard to Langley and all points in between.