“Hey, I don’t mind this assignment at all!” Baldwin protested with a chuckle. “It may be hard duty, but someone has to do it.”
Anneli had been charmed by the suave General Ravensdale and was between the general and Sir Jeff at the table. She followed the banter, but did not understand some of the English old-chap and military idioms. She liked strong men.
“Is it something that we should discuss in private, then?” the general asked, glancing at Anneli.
Swanson rubbed his hands together, shook his head. “Not at all. She is part of it, so she might as well hear it now. Jeff is cleared for everything, so I can read in all of you at the same time.” For the next few minutes, he sketched the idea for the job that lay ahead, in very broad terms. The others listened without interruption. In retaliation for the Russian strike against the Finnish missile battery, Kyle had been tasked to raid an isolated Russian fire base in Kaliningrad and take out a senior military officer. The place bore the awkward code name of Rooster Cap Nowak.
Ravensdale kept his face rigid throughout the briefing, but was about to explode inside. “I had not been informed of any of this, Kyle. NATO has not been informed.” The voice remained soft, but was suddenly icy, and the jaw was clenched. “I find that to be most disturbing.”
Swanson calmly picked up a fork and speared a tiny tomato. “It was decided at the very highest levels, General Ravensdale. My assignment arrived about two hours ago, and I was instructed to inform you verbally. So far, the only people who know about it beyond the six of us in this cabin are the president of the United States, your prime minister in the UK, a handpicked few of their closest aides, my direct boss in the CIA, his target-choosing team, and the head of MI6 in London. The circle could not be tighter.”
Ravensdale eased a bit. “Very top secret. I certainly understand that, but the need for such an extreme measure escapes me. I trust every member of my staff implicitly.”
Swanson responded, “Of course you do. But a mole exists somewhere in our huge allied intelligence-gathering world. That disturbs me. I want this kept as tight as possible, since four of us at this table are going to be on the ground.”
Jeff spoke almost with a laugh. “It is too tight, Kyle! Hopelessly so! Many others will have to be involved. The logistics requirements alone will be horrendous. This cannot remain a close secret for very long.”
“You are absolutely right, so we do it with the highest possible need-to-know priority and hold all instructions until the last moment. Then we push everything through as fast as possible. Secrecy and speed are our best weapons and greatest protection.”
Ravensdale could accept that. “Very well. This is going to be dangerous. I certainly authorize that our SAS lads go with you, but why take Ms. Kallasti?”
Kyle looked over at her and recognized the excitement growing on her face. “She speaks about nine hundred languages and we need a linguist. Also, I think she will want to come anyway. She has a dog in the fight.”
Anneli spoke fast, the words gushing from her. “I will go. Of course I will! Are we telling Calico in advance this time?”
Kyle scowled. “She also will be informed when appropriate.” He was going to have to give Anneli a serious lecture on security. The people in this cabin could be trusted, but she had to understand that she must never mention CIA operatives in the open, even by code names. Ever.
Ravensdale apparently had taken no notice. He had a sip of wine, and said, “So this border firebase sits close to the point where the Kaliningrad-Polish-Lithuanian borders intersect, Kyle? I must say that it sounds quite dicey. How are you going to get in?”
“Good question,” echoed Sergeant Baldwin.
“I have no idea. As I say, I just received the orders and have been reading the briefing papers. We’ll figure out something. At worst, we could do a HALO.”
Baldwin laughed. “Anneli, HALO means a high-altitude, low-opening parachute jump from an airplane from about twenty thousand feet, into the middle of the night. We free fall forever before opening the canopy.”
She paled at the thought.
“Here is a better question,” said Jeff. “How are you going to get out?”
“Dunno. A big lake separates it from Lithuania, but there are plenty of roads heading toward Poland, and the Poles are always willing to twist the Russians’ tail. I don’t have an egress plan right now.” He sat back and opened his hands. “In fact, at this point, I do not even know if this thing is doable at all. I have to give the boss my final decision after finishing the planning. I will not lead a suicide mission.”
“When do you plan to hit this strange little place?” General Ravenscroft showed his skepticism. “Granted, Kaliningrad is surrounded by NATO territory, but it will be difficult to reach.”
Kyle returned the steady gaze. “I’m sorry, General, but I don’t know that, either. The shop back at Langley is going to send some maps and overhead satellite surveillance. Obviously, there are going to be a lot of moving parts. It will take some time to assemble everything. The logistics, as Jeff says, are horrendous.”
“And do you have the name of the target? Any history on him?”
“No, General. It does not matter. Whichever senior officer is walking around when we get there.”
“There are a lot of gaps, Kyle. Having so many unknown factors makes me uncomfortable.”
Corporal Perry finished his bottle of beer. “Oh, hell’s bells, sir. It will be a walk in the park, hey, mates? I like it.”
Run with it. A life in the Marine Corps had taught Swanson the importance of keeping control, pushing the momentum envelope, but making decisions based on fact. The longer it took, the more people would become involved. The more people, the more risk. He fell silent while eating a dinner of fresh seafood and vegetables, for his brain was busy processing what was to come. Only one ear was tuned to snippets of conversation that might require a reply.
General Ravensdale made his polite excuses and left right after the meal. Splendid dinner and all that. Delighted to see you all. Have to be back at work first thing in the morning. Good hunting and don’t hesitate to call if I can do anything. His ride back to shore was provided by the Excalibur Enterprises helicopter.
As soon as the bird whirred into the darkening sky, the Vagabond leapt forward at full speed and made a sharp course change. Kyle went belowdecks and brought the briefing materials as the others gathered in a conference room that almost floated in security. Once the door bolt was sealed, no sound escaped and the comfortable cabin was immune to electronic spying. He spread on the table the paper squares that had been transmitted and they taped them together to form a single map of the region. An electronic image of the area was projected on the wall screen. The men liked hard maps when the going got hairy and the electronics might blip and start giving directions to the nearest McDonald’s.
“Here’s what we are going to do,” he started.
“I thought you didn’t have a plan.” The corporal coughed.
“That was bullshit for anybody hanging around the dining area,” Kyle said as he stabbed his finger onto a neat layout of buildings. “I got it all. Our target will be at this fire base, this Rooster Cap Nowak, just inside the very tip of Kaliningrad. It’s about two miles from the Lithuanian border and about the same from Poland.” His finger moved east to the border area with Lithuania, which was dominated by a large body of water. “There is a low-lying beach area just on the edge of this big lake; you can see it here. I’ll blow it up on the screen.”
Swanson worked the computer keyboard and the screen narrowed to a satellite view of the lake, and magnified it to show a strip of cleared land that jutted from a thick forest. He flicked on a red pointer and put the laser dot on the beach. “Apparently, soldiers at the camp use this little place to go swimming and relax. Nobody should be there when we arrive in the dark, and besides, the weather and the water are still too cold in April. We insert and extract right there by helo.”