Payback

113

Even in the CIA’s custom-built Gulfstream V, it took roughly six hours to fly from Lima to Manzanillo, on the western coast of Mexico. Karr spent the whole time sleeping. Lia, sitting next to Adam Winkle, the head of the CIA working group on the warhead, spent the whole time thinking about Dean. The Art Room told her that he’d decided to take a week off. Telach made it sound like he had gone at Rubens’ urging, but it all seemed too out of character for Dean.

Less than eight hours before, NSA analysts had located a cargo container apparently connected with Stephan Babin in a transport yard in Manzanillo’s port. The container and the yard were under surveillance, with two CIA teams hidden nearby and ready to pounce if the truck was moved. A third team, which included U.S. drug enforcement agents and Mexican police, as well two CIA liaisons, was stationed at the entrance to the lot, inspecting every cargo truck that left.

In the meantime, the NSA had been using the shippers’ records to check on the trailers that had left the yard. On paper at least, all of the container trucks checked out. Most belonged to a company that made mining equipment about thirty miles to the north; the company was being inspected by another strike team, this one organized by the FBI.

Winkle checked in with the ground teams as they approached the airport. The cargo container had not been moved or approached overnight. Lia heard the disappointment in his voice — while the teams had been ordered not to move in until bomb experts were nearby, there had also been some hope that Babin or even Túcume would come by to pick up the container.

“It’ll be dawn soon. We’ve got to move in,” said Winkle. “I have two Department of Energy people with me, along with another bomb expert. We’re five minutes from the airport. Helicopters are waiting for us. Go ahead and move in.”

He snapped off the phone and turned to Lia. “We have to find out if it’s real, or if we should look somewhere else.”

“Absolutely,” she told him.