Biowar

73

Rubens stared at the grid position screen, which showed Lia moving out of the hotel.

“Are we sure of Yacoub Bahir Ben Rahimat’s loyalties?” Rubens asked Telach.

“The only way we can be sure is to ask Mossad.”

Rubens did not want to risk the loss of one of his people. And there were definitely points to be gained in telling a fellow intelligence agency that one of its foreign agents was more foreign than it believed. But inadvertently tipping the Israelis off to the bacteria would have untold consequences. He couldn’t do so without Hadash‘s — and the President’s — direct authorization, and probably consulting with State as well.

If he were Secretary of State, what would his call be?

“Keep a close eye on the situation,” he told Telach. “I’ll talk to the Israelis.”

“Boss?”

Rubens turned and looked up toward Chafetz.

“Yes, Sandy?”

“What are we doing with Tommy? I have him on the helicopter, but you said to wait for your approval. Can he go over the border or not?”

Rubens looked at Telach. “The doctors cleared him?”

“They say he’s no longer contagious. It’s also a pretty good bet that the people up in that village were already exposed, and have some sort of immunity. He wanted to be part of the team going north, but I told him he needed your okay.”

Rubens turned back to look at the map indicating where Lia was being taken. He found following two halves of the operation invigorating — switching from one segment to the other kept his mind fluid.

He’d have to talk to Mossad and make sure about Yacoub Bahir Ben Rahimat. Which meant talking to Hadash. Which would also give him an opportunity to sound Hadash out about Marshall and asking directly about the Secretary of State matter. Hadash was sure to have a considerably more developed perspective than Brown had had — and be much more willing to discuss it. The National Security Advisor might use fewer words and yet prove twice as revealing.

What if he found that Marshall had succeeded in buying off Hadash himself? A Hadash veto — that would truly stop him.

Good God—Hadash?

The operation to gather the drug had to proceed one way or another. Karr was their best bet at getting the antidote. The villagers would trust him.

“Have Tommy go ahead,” Rubens told Telach. Then he pointed to the map. “Help Mr. Dean trail Lia, but please put a collar on him. You’ll do well to remind him of the line between personal initiative and running amok. It looks from your screen that he’s tearing through the hotel. That won’t make his cover story any more believable.”