"The Macedonians will be better off if they can get Mitreski out of there. He's corrupt to the core. He and his cronies have been ripping off the economy for years at the expense of the people. That's what's really behind the protests, that and anger about the Albanian incursions. People don't think the government is doing enough to protect them. Moscow is unhappy with Mitreski but he's better than someone who is genuinely pro-Western."
"Do we have a reading on what will happen if Mitreski is forced out?"
"Not a good one. That's where we come in. Rice wants us on the ground in Macedonia to find out what's going on."
"That's Langley's job. Spook stuff. You know, covert agents and all that. Isn't that what they're supposed to be doing?"
"Normally, yes. But there's a problem at Langley."
"There always is," Lamont said.
"It's the same problem we dealt with on the last mission. There's a leak at CIA, possibly a mole. Any covert operation over there runs an almost certain risk of being exposed in the media. That's the best case scenario. The worst case is that agents would be identified and arrested or killed. At the moment, CIA has been hamstrung for serious intelligence operations. President Rice thinks we are the best alternative."
"Is he going to cover our ass if something goes wrong?"
"You know better than that, Nick. This unit is officially deniable. But you'll have as much backup as I can give you."
"I don't suppose it would do any good for me to say that I think this isn't our job."
"No, it wouldn't."
"What, exactly, is our mission?"
"The opposition groups are roughly united in something called the 11 October movement."
"11 October?"
"October 11th is a national holiday called Revolution Day. The date marks the beginning of active Macedonian resistance against the Nazis by partisans in World War II. I want you and Selena to go over there and find out what's going on. Your cover will be as reporters, part of the international press. I want you to talk to people, find out who they think should take over if Mitreski is kicked out. See if you can get a sense of their feelings toward NATO and the Russians. Try to identify competing factions. Find out what they think should be done about the Albanians."
"I can already tell you that," Lamont said. "If Macedonians are like everybody else in the Balkans, their attitude toward the Albanians is going to be something like kill them all and let God sort it out."
"What about weapons?" Nick asked. Weapons were one of the first things that came to mind when he began thinking about a new mission.
"You won't need them. You're press, remember? Reporters don't carry guns. If you're stopped and questioned and you've got a gun you might be visiting Macedonia for a long time."
"Director…"
"If you get in trouble you'll have to improvise. If things really get bad, take refuge in the embassy. This isn't a combat mission, it's a reconnaissance to gain information."
"I want Ronnie and Lamont with us if you're sending us in naked. More is better if things get rough."
"There's no reason why they should."
"Are you kidding? You're talking about thousands of people who are all pissed off about something. Not all of them are angry about the same thing. Some of them will be supporters of the regime. There are bound to be clashes and we'll be right in the middle of it."
Elizabeth considered. "All right. The whole team goes. But try to stay out of trouble."
Nick reached up and scratched his ear. Ronnie looked at him and sighed.
CHAPTER 5
The airport in Skopje was named after Alexander the Great, one more bone of contention in the ongoing squabbles between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece. The terminal was modern, clean and a long way from Virginia in more ways than one.
They'd flown from Washington to London and from London to Vienna. From Vienna they'd taken a flight on Austrian Airlines that got them to Skopje. Counting layovers, airport transfers and delays they'd been traveling for a full day. Nick consoled himself by thinking that airline seats were a hell of a lot better than riding on webbing in the belly of a C-130 loaded down with a hundred and forty pounds of gear.
They rented a VW Passat from Inter Car Rental. Selena wanted a Mercedes but Nick pointed out that they were supposed to be reporters. A Mercedes was too visible, too luxurious. Most of the rentals were underpowered and small. The VW had enough room and adequate power, if not the several hundred horses Selena would have preferred.
Their hotel was located across from Macedonia Square in the heart of the city, on the bank of a river. The square was the natural rallying point for the protests. At the hotel desk Selena handed over their passports and spoke to the clerk in English. He couldn't find their reservations until she switched to Macedonian and slipped him a fifty dollar bill. Keys to two rooms appeared as if by magic.
Selena was an accomplished linguist, fluent in many languages. Before she joined the Project she'd been a lecturer on the academic circuit and a consultant to NSA. She had a world reputation as an expert in ancient and obscure languages of the Far East.
"I didn't know you spoke Macedonian," Nick said as they headed for the elevator.
"I don't but I can speak Bulgarian. Most people here can speak it. The languages are almost the same. The differences are subtle."
"What was the problem with the clerk?"
"He doesn't like reporters much. There are a lot of them in town to cover the protests and some of them are pretty arrogant. I told him we're working for a Dutch weekly that wants to present a fair account of what's happening here."
"The American passports didn't put him off?"
"No. I told him we're freelance. The U.S. hasn't made as many mistakes here as we have in other places. People are still friendly."
"But not to reporters."
"Not as far as he's concerned."
Their rooms were on the fifth floor in the front of the hotel and provided a bird's eye view of Macedonian Square, reached by a stone bridge spanning the Vardar River. The square was dominated by a colossal brown and white stone column topped with a circular disk and a statue of Alexander the Great on his rearing horse, sword raised high as he rode to conquest.
The column rose from a circular pool marked by statues of four lions at the cardinal points of the compass. Statues of armed soldiers in ancient armor stood guard around the base of the pillar, ready to protect Alexander from anyone who might want to climb to the top and bother him on his horse.
There were a lot of people in the square, surrounding the pool and talking in groups. Tents and makeshift shelters were going up. Microphones and speakers were being set up on a concert stage that bordered one side of the plaza. Armed policemen stood at the edges of the square observing. Nick spotted men in civilian clothes moving through the crowd who had the unmistakable angry look of authority being challenged.
"This has all the makings of trouble," Nick said. "Take a look. Tell me what you see."
Selena scanned the crowd. "A lot of people and more coming. It doesn't look like there's a large police presence."
"Not yet. The big event is scheduled for tomorrow. They'll probably start giving speeches later on this afternoon. If I were planning on breaking up the demonstration, I'd wait until dark before I brought in reinforcements and keep them out of sight until they were needed. I spotted at least five plain clothes agents in that crowd, probably from the Intelligence Agency."
"You seem certain the government is going to interfere," Selena said.
"Count on it. Mitreski isn't about to give up power, no matter how many people tell him he should go."
"Do you think it will turn violent?"
"I'm pretty certain it will. These things follow a pattern. People get worked up by the speakers and then the government steps in. They could just send in the cops. Or they could use provocateurs to start trouble and use that as an excuse to start busting heads."