Vanner held up one hand and thought for a second.
“Okay,” the intel specialist said, frowning. “You’re on deck for security tonight. You’re supposed to be in there now. So go tell her you have to go for a while, she can sleep there. Tomorrow you take her back to the club, she pays her pimp, then you two go back to your room. Get some rest, don’t just screw all day because you’re on duty tomorrow night, too. We’ll see what we can arrange.”
“Thank you, sir,” Mikhail said, standing up.
“I want to meet her, tomorrow,” Vanner added. “Maybe we can salvage something useful out of this.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now… go!”
“Come,” Mike said at the knock on the door.
“Kildar,” Oleg said, entering the room and coming to attention.
“Sit, Oleg, what’s on your mind?” Mike said, clearing the screen on his computer.
The helicopters had arrived and the Keldara had gotten started on that training. Most of them had never ridden in an airplane before and few had even seen a helicopter. But, as always, they were soaking up the information like so many sponges. And the majority already knew how to fast-rope for that portion of the entry.
Taking off and landing on the freighter, though, was going to be problematic. Mike intended to exercise in the Black Sea before they headed for Albania.
“Kildar, I am not sure how to say this…” Oleg said.
“If it’s about that… Kardane thing…” Mike said.
“No, no!” Oleg replied, waving his hands. “It does, however, touch on the honor of the Keldara.”
“Go ahead,” Mike said, furrowing his brow.
“Before you came, we had problems with the Chechens,” Oleg said, furrowing his own in thought. “They often came wanting us to give up our food, our mules… our women.”
“And you fought them off at least once,” Mike said. “I heard about that.”
“But even then…” Oleg said and paused. “I should not be the one saying this, but the elders don’t have the same…”
“Who was she?” Mike asked softly.
“My sister,” Oleg said. “Elena. She was twelve.”
“Oleg, it’s a big damned world out there…” Mike said, then paused himself. “What are you asking?”
“There is going to be information in Lunari about… much,” Oleg pointed out. “Greznya spoke to me. An Elena, a Georgian girl, was listed on one of the… hard drives you recovered. The one in Romania…”
“Oleg, she might not be in the same building,” Mike said, sighing. “It’s an astronomical unlikelihood that she will be. And, Oleg, you’ve seen the raw intel. That town is one fortress after another. If we can find and extract Elena, without compromising the mission, we will. And if we can’t extract her, but we can find her, I’ll move heaven and earth to get her back. Is she the only one?”
“No,” Oleg admitted. “Catrina Mahona. She was taken… four years ago. And there was no record of her. But, Kildar, both of these women, they are…”
“Dead to the clan,” Mike said, nodding. “I understand. They are soiled, untouchable. I’m talking to a school in Argentina that might take in the girls we’ve recovered, those that don’t have some sort of life to go back to. I may send them some of the girls in the harem, as well. Would that do?”
“Kildar…” Oleg replied, his face working.
“Concentrate on the mission, Oleg,” Mike said, his own face hard. “You’ve communicated your concerns to me. Let me handle it from here. You’ve got enough to worry about.”
“You’re not usually up this late, David,” Senator Traskel said as he was led into the sitting room. The President was leaning back on the couch, his eyes closed, and pinching the bridge of his nose, while his chief of staff poured coffee.
“There were just too many things going on today to break off early,” the president said, yawning. “And another long one tomorrow unless I’m much mistaken. What can I do for you, John?”
“I picked up a rumor that we have an operation going on in Albania,” Senator Traskel said, sitting down and accepting the proffered coffee cup. “I hope that it’s nothing that should have been discussed with my committee beforehand. Albania is a sovereign country, with a growing reputation in the UN…”
“Albania?” the President said, looking over at the chief of staff, quizzically. “You’re talking about a special operations black operation? As far as I know, no American military operation is being planned for Albania. I can’t even imagine why we’d do one. I mean, it’s a land that exports nothing but drugs and beaten-up prostitutes, which is good and sufficient reason for democratization. But it doesn’t actively threaten the U.S., so we’ve more or less left it alone except for encouraging improvement. Through the UN, as a matter of fact.”
“You’re sure about that?” the senator asked. “I heard a fairly credible rumor that a company of American Rangers was going to be flying into a town in Albania to rescue some hostages. I didn’t even know there were any hostages in Albania. If there were, I think the American people would be interested, don’t you? I know that many things must be kept ‘black,’ as the military likes to put it. But some things need the sun shone upon them, don’t you think?”
“I’m sure they do,” the President said, smiling. “But as I said, there is no American military operation going on in Albania. No, wait,” the President said as the senator started to protest. “I might be wrong. There are operations going on all over the world. It is possible that there is a group of terrorists there we’re going after. Albania is primarily Muslim, after all. Let me check.”
The President leaned over and picked up the phone.
“Grace? Could you call OSOL and ask them if we have an operation going on in Albania? Something about a company of Rangers? If so, I want to know, right away, what the nature and purpose of the mission is. Thank you.” He turned back to the senator and shrugged. “As you know, OSOL has its finger on the pulse of every operation, black or white, that is done under any special operations umbrella including the blackest DIA operations. If there’s anything going on, they’ll know it. In the meantime, what do you think of the Astros this year?”
“Your information was wrong,” Traskel snarled into the phone.
“I don’t think so,” the man on the other end said. “A company of Rangers was sent to Eastern Europe. That’s a fact. And another source said that there was a mission planned for Lunari using a company-sized force. There are people that don’t agree with all these military adventures of this idiot in the White House. We talk. You know that.”
“They’re looking for the girl,” the senator said, his face working. “And she’s in Lunari. Get over there. You should have cleaned this up the first time. Clean it up now.”
“Do you have any idea how many women are in Lunari?” the voice choked out.
“They’re going to find her, so can you. And then finish it. No little games, you understand me. Finish her.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Katya,” a female voice whispered in her head. “This is Nadzia, Team Swan. Good morning.”
“Hmmm…” Katya replied as she brushed her teeth again. She’d traded a dollar she’d hidden in one of her pouches for some toothpaste and Lord did she need it. It was almost lunch time. Time to go look up “Tom” again. She had to look halfway decent. A heroine in a movie that’s been roughed up but still looks like a model… She ran her fingers through her hair and tossed it around to get just the right effect. If she only had some cosmetics, she could get it perfect.