"I don't think Mitreski does anything unless Moscow tells him to do it."
Ronnie and Lamont came over. Ronnie held up passports and wallets.
"Lots of information to go through," he said. "The guy with the haircut is German, at least that's what his passport says."
"We'll look at it later. Make sure you wipe down anything you touched. The cops will be crawling all over this when they find it."
Selena looked at the saw and shivered. "Get me out of here," she said.
CHAPTER 27
Elizabeth had begun her morning by talking with Nick. She'd heard the story of Selena's abduction and rescue by her Russian half-sister.
On her desk was a small gray box with a single amber light. The box was connected to an encrypted private line that went straight to the White House. The light began flashing, signaling a call.
"Harker."
"Please hold for the president."
Here we go, Elizabeth thought. Has to be about the Balkans.
NATO high command in Brussels had sent the lead elements of a peacekeeping force to Albania. Protesters were already out in large numbers in the European capitals of the alliance, demanding that their soldiers be kept at home. An advance unit composed of French and Dutch troops had landed at Tirana International Airport, ferried on American C-130 transports.
In Brussels the member states bickered and disagreed about who was going to send what. There were arguments about the rules of engagement. Logistics involving cooperation between the members of the alliance were confused, a problem that years of temporary fixes had failed to correct. It had been decided to strip the new rapid deployment force stationed in Poland for equipment and personnel to deal with the immediate crisis in Albania, leaving little support for whatever might happen in the Ukraine.
NATO had long ago passed the expiration date for accomplishing its original mission, stopping Stalin's tanks and providing a bulwark for Western Europe against potential Soviet aggression. No one in the West was much interested in spending the money and committing the personnel needed in the 21st century. The rhetoric was impressive but the alliance wasn't ready for a big war.
Elizabeth thought the idea of a rapid deployment force to stop the Russians in the Ukraine was a joke, a political stunt meant to appease public opinion. It would take a lot more than five thousand troops and a few tanks to oppose any serious effort by the Russians to invade.
President Rice came on the line.
"Good morning, Director."
"Good morning, Mister President."
Elizabeth pictured the president sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office. President Rice was a decorated combat Marine who had served as a young lieutenant during the Vietnam War. Elizabeth had seen presidents come and go and considered Rice the best of the lot. Unlike most of Washington's politicians and unlike most presidents, Rice had held onto a battered integrity. Elizabeth admired him for that. His Marine background made him a good commander-in-chief. Once he had the information he required, he was unafraid to make unpopular decisions. Elizabeth wasn't looking forward to the change when someone new took his place after the next election.
"I'm calling about the situation in Albania," Rice said. "It has the potential to get out of hand and I want your thoughts about it. Your team was recently in Macedonia."
"Yes, sir. They got out just before Mitreski shut everything down. They are currently in Vienna. I have new information about what happened in Macedonia."
"Go on."
"An agent known to be a professional assassin for SVR was in Skopje at the time of Todorovski's murder. I believe Moscow ordered the assassination. It appears that Orlov will do anything to keep Mitreski in power, including provoking war."
"That's confirmation for what I already suspected. Your analysis agrees with what Langley says. DCI Hood thinks the Russians are manipulating events."
"Mitreski is a puppet," Elizabeth said. "He would never risk such an adventure without Russian backing. He's dependent on them for his military equipment and supplies. The invasion is a classic ploy, based on the lie that Albanian nationalists are behind the murder. The Macedonians may dislike Mitreski's government but they are patriots before anything else. A large part of the population is Orthodox Catholic while Albania is mostly Muslim. Macedonians don't like Albanians. A threat to the country takes precedence and Mitreski has provided that. He's stirring up all the old religious hatreds."
"Some of my advisors don't agree with this interpretation of events."
"That's as may be, Mister President, but there's no question that a Russian assassin was present in Skopje on the day Todorovski was killed."
"You are convinced Moscow is behind it."
Rice's voice was resigned. The last thing the president needed was a looming confrontation with the Russian bear.
"Yes, sir, I am. However, something more dangerous may be developing. I was preparing a brief for you when you called."
"More dangerous than another war in the Balkans? It took years to settle the last one."
"Sir, something's happening in Russia and it gives me a bad feeling. Moscow is moving a large number of first-line combat troops and equipment along the Ukrainian border. Moscow is passing it off as a military exercise but it looks to me as if Orlov is getting ready to invade."
"I'm aware of those movements but no one has suggested that Orlov seriously intends to invade."
The Pentagon is going to hear about this, Elizabeth thought. "Yes, sir."
There was a brief pause at the other end. Rice continued.
"A full-scale invasion of Ukraine is a lot different than supporting one of his corrupt puppets in some military adventure."
Elizabeth knew Rice was disturbed by what she'd told him. There were many voices speaking in the president's ear but Elizabeth was one of the few he paid attention to. She'd been right too many times in the past for him to dismiss her concern as alarmist.
"I've been studying Orlov," Elizabeth said. "He's a gambler, a savvy one. He managed to survive the collapse of the Soviet Union and the KGB and come out smelling like a rose. He's not afraid to use any means at all to get what he wants. You only have to look at the death of President Gorovsky to see Orlov's hand at work."
"You don't think he had a heart attack." It wasn't a question. His voice was flat.
"No, sir. It wouldn't be the first time a Russian leader who stood in someone's way was said to die of natural causes. Gorovsky was showing signs of backing down in the Ukraine. Orlov is a nationalist and a hawk."
"If he goes into the Ukraine, he risks a direct confrontation with us. That's a dangerous scenario. It could lead to nuclear war."
"Only if we back Kiev up."
"You don't think Orlov believes we would?"
"I think it's a good possibility he doesn't. Excuse me for reminding you, Mister President, but your ability to commit our military in any significant way is severely limited by the current makeup of Congress."
Elizabeth didn't need to remind Rice that he was nearing the end of his second term. As a lame duck, he had little support for making controversial decisions. A new insertion of troops into a foreign land few Americans cared about fell into that category. Support in Congress was by no means certain, even within his own party.
"You have an uncomfortable way of going to the heart of the problem, Elizabeth."
"I believe Orlov may be gambling on a lack of will on our part to confront him if he moves into Ukraine. I don't think there's any question that the Europeans have no guts for a direct confrontation with Russia. Ukraine isn't part of NATO and they're under no obligation to respond. The Europeans won't do anything unless we provide the major support. Everything that's happened in the Middle East during the last several years proves that air strikes alone wouldn't be enough. If we become involved it means boots on the ground."