Marx put down the paper and shrugged.
“Very interesting, no doubt. But what is it?”
“This is the transcript of a conversation we intercepted a couple of months ago.”
“Who are Bhut 1 and Bhut 2? The first man sounded like he must be an American, with the talk about the ‘New World’ and the ‘buddy’ stuff.”
“Very clever, that. It was meant to throw off anyone who was listening. But in fact, we believe that Mr. Bhut 1 is the gentleman I was describing before, ‘the professor.’ We have lost this link, I am afraid. He never used this cellular number again. But the person of immediate interest, for your purposes, is Bhut 2.”
“And who might Mr. Bhut 2 be? I take it from the transcript that he is in Brussels.”
“We believe that he is a Belgian national named Joseph Sabah. He is an employee of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, also known as SWIFT, which you will recall plays a rather important part in the scheme of your adversaries. I suspect that he is what might be called the ‘inside man.’”
“Have you done anything with this intelligence, General Malik?”
“Not until now.”
She looked at the paper again, more intently now. She wanted to understand every word.
“Why did they talk about ‘perihelion’ and ‘aphelion’ at the beginning, and ‘perigee’ and ‘apogee’ at the end? Is that a code?”
“A recognition code, I would say. It’s science talk. My smart major tells me that these words are used by physics students studying celestial mechanics. The first pair of words refers to orbits around the sun, the second to orbits around the earth. Or perhaps it’s the other way around. They must have common academic interests, although we haven’t been able to find the link.”
“And what about your crypt ‘bhut.’ What does that mean?”
“Ah, madam, it means ‘ghost’ in Urdu. That is our problem. We are dealing with Ghost 1 and Ghost 2. But perhaps you will do better in finding them than we have.”
Marx studied the paper, as if she might read a deeper meaning between the lines. It was just a wisp of information, a few brief seconds of intercepted conversation, but it suggested the outlines of a meticulous structure of intelligence. How had such a powerful network been created out of such meager raw material?
“This man is very clever, this professor of yours, whoever he is. We’ve had thousands of people working for nearly ten years to develop money traces and link analysis, and your guy puts it together in his garage.”
“He is not ‘our guy,’ madam. You must put aside this CIA fantasy. It is a delusion.”
“Who is he? That’s what I’m asking. How can anybody be that smart?”
“Ah, now you are truly asking me a riddle. How high is the sky? How deep is the well? We cannot say.”
“But he must have learned all this from somewhere. People can’t do this sort of thing on their own. It’s not possible. They need help from an intelligence service.”
“I must protest. If the implication is that we taught him, you are wrong. Dead wrong, if you will forgive that phrase under the circumstances.”
“Then who taught him? Where did he learn how to use these techniques? These are things we thought only the CIA knew how to do.”
The general cocked his head sideways and gave her a look that was knowing, scolding, taunting.
“Well, then, madam, perhaps you have your answer. Perhaps this is the echo of the master’s voice.”
“Oh, don’t be silly,” she said. “Why are Pakistanis addicted to anti-American conspiracies?”
General Malik could only laugh. “Why indeed?” he said. “It must be part of our backwardness. Yes, I am sure of it.”
Marx looked at the intercept transcript one more time. “Do you have the coordinates of Ghost 2?” she asked.
“Of course.”
He reached into the jacket of his uniform once again and handed her another piece of paper. On it was written the name, phone number and address of Joseph Sabah in Brussels.
“Well, that at least gives me an itinerary. They say that Brussels is lovely this time of year.”
“Are you quite sure it’s wise for you to travel there? Perhaps Mr. Hoffman could send someone else.”
“Perhaps, but I’m greedy. I want all the fun for myself. Plus, I’m stubborn. And how dangerous can it be, really? Nothing ever happens in Brussels.”
“Do not joke, madam. They know that you are here. I told you that when we began talking. We monitored a circuit last night in which they discussed your arrival at the airport. They do not yet seem to know where you are staying, but they will. And if they have seen you come, they will see you go.”
“Not if you stop them, General. You can turn off their eyes and ears. You can distract them. The ISI owns Pakistan. That’s what everyone says.”
“I wish it were that simple. Truly I do. But it is not. To know what they are saying inside the tent, you must have someone of your own inside the tent. And we have done that, I am not embarrassed to say so. But that gets complicated, doesn’t it?”
“Playing both sides? Yes, it certainly does. Maybe you should stop.”
He smiled in that courtly way that said yes but meant no.
“I am playing your side, madam. I hope I have made that abundantly clear, to you and to Mr. Hoffman. I do not think it is wise for you to travel to Belgium. I think you should go home. But that is not my decision.”
“No, it’s not. No disagreement there.”
“To assist you, madam, and to demonstrate my good faith, I have one last gift. I obtained this from someone ‘inside the tent,’ as it were. I am sorry that I cannot give it to you, but I am prepared to let you take a look.”
General Malik shouted for his orderly, who was out back behind the kitchen. The young man appeared in an instant, thinking they might want some more tea, but the general ordered him to go get his briefcase from the car. He returned a moment later with the leather case. The general turned the dial of the combination lock and popped the top. He removed a sheaf of pages bound with a metal clasp and handed it to Marx.
“We obtained this from a confidential source. I cannot say more about the document, I am sorry. And I cannot let you keep it. You should start by looking at the heading.”
At the top of the first page were the words “ALPHABET CAPITAL,” and below that a subhead that read, “FBS Correspondent Accounts.” There were nearly a dozen pages, dense with listings.
Marx tried not to show any emotion as she turned the pages. Through its account at Federation des Banques Suisses, Alphabet Capital had done business with banks in London, Paris, Milan, Moscow, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Dubai, New York, Los Angeles and a dozen other money centers. At the top of the list was a Bank of America branch in Studio City, California. The four banks referenced in the file on the flash drive were all on the list.
“May I take notes?” asked Marx.
“No,” answered the general. “But my dear madam, the point is that there is no need for you to take notes. This information is available to you and your colleagues already. Unless I am mistaken, it is in fact your information.”
“How did you get this?”
“I cannot say. But I hope you can see now why I am advising you to be very careful. To some very dangerous people, you are an open book.”
General Malik sent her back to the Marriott in a different vehicle, a Mitsubishi van with civilian plates. She sat in the backseat with a scarf wrapped tight around her head. The general’s staff had found a flight leaving for Dubai just after midnight. He suggested that she take it and said it would be safer if one of his people made the reservation. She agreed.
The ISI chief sent a bodyguard with her, as well. He sat in the front seat next to the driver, cradling an automatic rifle across his lap. He didn’t speak as they drove north from Shakarparian Park; he studied the terrain ahead, his eyes moving back and forth with the constant, synchronous oscillation of a searchlight beam. Marx asked his name; he answered that he was called Sergeant Asif.