Black Harvest

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

"Tell them about Adam, Nick."

"Who's Adam?" Lamont asked.

He briefed them, leaving out the part about the Pentagon. It was up to Harker to tell Korov or not. Nick had given her the full story earlier.

"You have no idea who Adam is?" Harker said.

"No. Whoever he is, he's got power, he's got money and he's playing his cards very close. The voice was disguised. I think Adam is a man. Just something in the way he spoke. I could have refused to get in the car. Nothing would have happened."

"You sensed no threat?"

"No."

"Do you think he was giving you accurate information about Demeter?"

"Yes."

Korov said, "I will have to pass this to Vysotsky."

"You can call him now, if you like."

"Here? Right now?"

"Yes. I told Yakov I'd let Vysotsky know immediately if we learned what Demeter was."

Korov nodded. "You continue to surprise me. You have the number?"

She picked up her phone, dialed. A short pause while the signal relayed across the world. In Moscow, Vysotsky picked up.

"Da."

"General, this is Director Harker. Major Korov would like to speak with you."

Elizabeth smiled inside. She didn't think Vysotsky would have expected that. She handed the phone to Korov.

"I will speak in Russian."

"Feel free."

Korov began talking. Selena listened. She spoke Russian. If Korov knew it, he didn't care. He paused, listened. He said "Da" several times. Even Nick knew that meant yes. Korov gave the phone back to Harker.

"He wants to speak with you."

Harker put the call on speaker. She'd decided full transparency might build trust. She wanted Korov to see she played it straight.

"Director Harker. We meet, so to speak. What do you intend to do?" Vysotsky's English was accented but quite good.

"Now that we know what and where it is, we are going to destroy Demeter."

"Time is running out." The speaker hissed in the background. "When do you plan this operation?"

"Two nights from now. I need to get the logistics together and the team on site."

"What about Lodge?"

"Our primary concern is Demeter. After we take care of that, then Lodge."

"Major Korov will be part of the strike unit?"

"Definitely. His experience will be valuable. There may be resistance."

"Arkady is used to that." A pause. "Good hunting."

Elizabeth set the phone down.

"Let's talk about the mission. Steph, bring up the objective."

Steph tapped keys at her console. A live satellite picture came up on the big wall screen.

Harker swiveled toward the monitor. "This is Dansinger's compound in Texas. He grows experimental crops in those large buildings."

The live satellite picture was stationary, clear and detailed. A state highway paralleled the complex to the north. A straight, blacktop road ran south for about a quarter of a mile from the highway to the main gate of the compound. The compound itself was several hundred acres in size, rectangular, with the long sides on the east and west. The entrance by the gate was the only way in.

A high fence went completely around the property. Low shrubs and landscaping split the center of the compound east and west. Looking south from the highway, there were ten large buildings to the west, spaced evenly in two rows along the fence.

On the eastern side was an L-shaped building with parking areas. South of the structure, five two-story buildings followed a perfect line. It reminded Nick of a military base. A good sized airstrip ran along the eastern border, with two runways crossing each other in an offset X. It was contained within the fenced perimeter. It featured a windsock, a hanger and a helicopter pad. The pad was empty.

A paved two lane access road connected everything in a neat grid. Two more of the big buildings sat at the far eastern corner of the compound. Beyond them and the fence, the Texas panhandle headed south toward civilization.

"The outside fence is twelve feet high and electrified." Harker traced it with a laser pointer. "Razor wire on top. Floodlights that come on at dusk."

"Typical," Lamont said.

"How's your arm?"

"Better." He held it up, out of the sling. "I can use it. I've been working it."

"Good. Because you're going."

"All right." Lamont grinned. "Back in the saddle."

"There's only the one gate, backed by the guard house. Dansinger owns the land up to the highway and 5000 surrounding acres. Security will have monitors on everything. There are cameras along the outer fence and on the corners and entrances of each building. Those big buildings are where he grows his crops."

"What's that L-shaped one?" Nick said.

"That's admin. Offices. The next two buildings are for equipment, supplies, vehicle storage, that kind of thing. There's a full garage and shop. He's got a fire station with two engines. The security vehicles park there. They use GMC Suburbans, like the Feds."

Nick pointed. "Next to the Suburbans. Get a closer look."

Steph zoomed in with the satellite camera.

"Well, well. Three Humvees, M-240s on top. Early models, looks like. There's no protection for the gunner. How the hell does Dansinger have stuff like that? What's he need them for?"

"Coyotes, maybe," Ronnie said.

"That building next to them could be a barracks. Adam mentioned security."

"How many men, you think?"

Nick thought about it. "Hard to say. Three Humvees, eight SUVs. Probably two men in the guardhouse, two in the patrol vehicles. Probably three shifts. I'd guess around forty. Former military, with those Humvees and guns. Gone over to the Dark Side. That's a lot of firepower to protect a few rows of corn. He's got himself a little army there."

"Mercenaries." Korov's voice was full of contempt.

"Yeah, mercs. Except we don't call them that anymore. Now they're contractors."

"The compound is self sufficient except for power. It comes in from the road." Harker used a laser pointer to indicate an electrical substation where the access drive made a T with the highway.

"He has to keep those buildings cool." Nick studied the image. Propane tanks and gas pumps were visible in the photo.

"Those are backup generators behind that last building, near the propane tanks. Big ones. It would take a few minutes to get them up and running if the power goes down. They're vulnerable from the rear."

Two men came out of the building next to the Humvees. One man carried an assault rifle. They climbed into one of the security vehicles.

"Not much cover," Ronnie rubbed his chin. The land around the compound was featureless.

"Nothing except jack rabbits, weeds and cactus," Harker said. "Steph, show us Texas."

A map of Texas appeared on the wall monitor. Dansinger's compound was northwest of Amarillo, off Highway 87 and a state highway linking two small towns.

"I can get you and your gear to Dyess in Abilene or Sheppard in Wichita Falls. You'll have to drive from there. We can't use helicopters for this."

"Looks like Sheppard and Dyess are about the same distance away." Nick studied the map. "The roads are more direct from Sheppard. 287 to Amarillo, then 87 north. Piece of cake. Get us to Sheppard."