They were going to Vienna, just as she was. She'd planned to take a flight to Moscow the next day but seeing Selena changed everything. Valentina slipped behind a large man standing in front of her, concealing herself. She watched Selena and the others as they reached the gate.
An army officer stood by the gate, looking at the passports of passengers boarding the flight. An enlisted man carrying a H&K G3 rifle stood next to him.
The officer looked at Selena's passport.
"American?" He looked at the three men with her. "You are all together?"
His English was good, the accent light. Selena smiled at him.
"Yes."
"What was your business here?"
"We're a documentary news team for public television in America," Selena said. "We came to film the wildlife in Galicica National Park. It is really quite beautiful. We got some wonderful pictures of the lynx."
The officer was unsmiling. "Let me see the rest of your passports."
Shit, Nick thought. His face remained impassive.
They handed over their passports. The officer thumbed through them, looking at the visa stamps.
"The park is on the border," the officer said. "Did you cross into Albania?"
"There was no need for that," Selena said. "Our instructions were very specific. The special is only about Macedonia. As you can see, there are no stamps for Albania."
"Did you see many people in the park? Anyone who seemed out of place?"
"Not at all. That was one of the reasons we chose the winter for this shoot. We wanted to avoid the crowds of tourists. The animals are more relaxed in the winter."
"Did you take film of the demonstrations?"
"We heard there were demonstrations," Selena said. "But we didn't see them. We were busy in the park. We don't do regular news at all."
The officer tapped their passports against the palm of his hand.
"Where is your camera? Your tapes?"
"Checked through into baggage."
Nick could see the man thinking about the problems it would create if he delayed the plane so the camera could be retrieved from the baggage hold. Italy was a friend. These people were flying first class and they were from the press.
The officer handed the passports back to Selena and saluted.
"Have a good flight," he said.
"Thank you," she said.
They walked down the gangway and entered the plane. They found their seats. Nick and Selena were seated together. Lamont was in the row in back of them. Ronnie was across the aisle.
A flight attendant asked if they wanted a drink.
"I'd like a mimosa, please," Selena said.
"Whiskey," Nick said.
He leaned back in the comfortable leather seat.
"I thought he was going to pull us out of line," Nick said. "That was great, the way you made that up about the park. How did you even know about it?"
"There was a brochure in the hotel. The park is famous for its wildlife. It was the first thing that came to mind."
"Well, it worked."
"We're not in the air yet," Selena said.
"I'll feel a lot better when we are."
Fourteen rows behind the curtain separating first class from the rest of the plane, Valentina thought about what she was going to do when they reached Vienna.
Two hours later they were on the ground in Austria. They rented a car with a GPS and drove into the city.
CHAPTER 20
Elizabeth came into her office and turned on the coffee. She went over to her desk and found a dead mouse on her chair.
Another little gift, Elizabeth thought. Sometimes I wish that cat didn't like me so much.
She plucked a tissue from her purse and picked up the mangled corpse by the tail. She dropped it into the wastebasket and sat down. While she waited for the coffee to be ready Elizabeth thought about what the day was likely to bring. It didn't look good.
It hadn't taken long for Mitreski to send troops into Albania. He'd crossed the border at the only two places where his motorized infantry and tanks could roll down improved highways toward the capital of Tirana. On paper, it looked like a classic pincer movement. One thrust had launched from Debar, the second further south near Lake Ohrid. In theory a quick, blitzkrieg-like attack would succeed in threatening the capital and forcing some sort of capitulation. Theory and reality were two different things. The attack was poorly planned and premature. The Macedonian forces were already in trouble, only hours into the war.
Mitreski's troops had succeeded in blowing through the border checkpoints and starting into the country but had met fierce resistance only a few miles inside Albanian territory. Now the advance was completely bogged down. Winter was not cooperating and heavy snow was making things that much more difficult.
Another bloody ground war had begun in the Balkans. Unless stopped soon there was a real risk it would spread to the neighboring countries, Kosovo and Montenegro. Even Greece could get involved. Nobody wanted another Serbian war but Elizabeth feared it was a real possibility. The wounds from twenty years before were still raw. There was a lot of bad blood in the region, waiting to be spilled.
The coffee was ready. Elizabeth got up, fixed a cup and sat back down at her desk. She entered a few strokes on her keyboard and looked at the morning's intelligence assessment on her monitor.
Stephanie came into the room and went over to the sideboard for coffee.
"Sorry I'm late," she said. "There was an accident on the beltway. Traffic was backed up for miles. What's the latest?"
She blew on the hot liquid in her cup and looked at the monitor.
"Macedonia has invaded Albania. There's an emergency meeting of NATO scheduled in Brussels in about an hour."
"Mitreski knows Albania is part of NATO. Does he think they're just going to stand aside?"
"He's probably gambling on a lot of talk before action," Elizabeth said. "If he succeeds in breaking through to the capital it gives him a lot of leverage. It will take days for NATO to do anything and when they do it will probably be ineffective. If I were Mitreski, I'd count on political and bureaucratic infighting to stop any significant forces from being sent against him until it was too late."
"What do you think his chances are?"
"Right now, not so good. He didn't get far into Albania before he was stopped cold. The Albanians are no pushover and fighting is heavy. On top of that the weather is terrible with heavy snow and almost zero visibility. By the time the storm passes the Albanians will have had time to get organized and send reinforcements."
"Does Mitreski have air cover?"
"Neither country has much of an Air Force. They used to have older Russian Migs and some Chinese copies but everything started falling apart back in the 90s. Their planes don't work anymore and both countries have grounded all their fixed wing aircraft. Macedonia has a slight edge in helicopters but that's about it. Airpower isn't going to be a factor. This will be one of those wars where the combatants grind each other into the dirt."
"Did Nick and the others get out okay?" Steph asked.
"They're in Vienna, waiting for instructions. Probably munching on strudel and sipping cappuccino."
"What do you have in mind for them?"
"I'm not sure yet. It depends on how the situation develops. Remember, this is the Balkans we're talking about. Nothing is ever what it appears to be in that region."
"Something is bothering you, Elizabeth. What are you thinking?"
"That Mitreski was awfully quick to move against Albania, too quick. You don't suddenly invade another country without some serious preparation. The logistics alone take a lot of time to get in place."
"It sounds as though you think he's been getting ready for this for a while."