The Hunt

44

Jaeger and Narov stepped back into the ops room, an uncomfortable silence hanging between them. No one asked how things had gone outside. In a sense, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that time was running out, for all of them.

As quickly as he could, Miles narrated to Narov the history of the calls from Falk Konig. ‘We traced his cell phone to a remote part of the Chinese Himalayas. There is some sensitivity over China, but we’ve managed to secure some high-resolution imagery. We think – we strongly suspect – that this may be Kammler’s new base of operations.’

‘Why there?’ Narov demanded. In an instant, she’d switched back to one hundred per cent focus.

‘It’s got everything. Remote. Inaccessible. Self-contained. But most importantly, it’s got perfect cover. You could raise an army in the place – or build a salvo of IND-tipped missiles – and no one would turn a hair. I’ll email you the images and you’ll see what I mean.’

‘One question,’ Jaeger cut in. ‘Why would Falk Konig make repeated calls on a mobile he’s got to know is red hot? If he is with his father, the world’s most wanted man, what would make him break his silence?’

‘That’s the point,’ Miles replied. ‘We don’t think he’s trying to hide. We think he wants to be found.’

‘You think he is being held against his will?’ Narov queried. ‘His father’s captive?’

‘We suspect as much. He blipped up for one night. We figure something happened that enabled him to make those calls, but just for that brief time window.’

‘The number’s specific to a SIM card that he knows is hot,’ Jaeger ventured. ‘Traceable. He uses it just that one night, when he has the chance. Come morning, he goes silent again.’

‘We figure something like that, yes,’ Miles confirmed. ‘But we can’t be certain. For all we know, he could be reconciled with his father. In league with him. Those calls could easily be some kind of decoy or ambush.’

‘Unlikely,’ Narov remarked. ‘From what I know of Falk. And from what I know of his father.’

Jaeger shot her a look. ‘Expect the unexpected. Day one, lesson one.’

‘I do. But I also trust my instinct,’ Narov countered. ‘Trust me, this is a cry for help.’

‘We’ve triple-checked the location,’ Miles cut in. ‘The only way to be certain this is Kammler’s new base of operations is to deploy you guys. We’d like you to get eyes on as soon as possible. That way, when the decoy is delivered we can be certain it’s in the right place before we trigger the blast.’

‘So when do we deploy?’ Jaeger demanded. ‘And how? It’s a long way from here to Beijing.’

‘As soon as humanly possible. We have very little influence on when that flight leaves Dodge and recommences its journey. Brooks has got a C-5 Galaxy inbound. You RV with it at Afonsos Air Force Base, in Rio, deploying directly from there.’

‘Got it.’ Jaeger glanced briefly at the others. ‘Understood.’

‘One more thing,’ Miles added. ‘You’re going in trans-border to China, which is about as sensitive as it gets. We need a means to deliver you to your end destination that is utterly covert and untraceable. We’re talking China, remember, with their state-of-the-art tracking and surveillance systems. We’re in one hell of a hurry, but don’t go screwing this up China side of the border.’

‘Send us the surveillance photos,’ said Jaeger. ‘We’ll think of something.’

‘You’ll have them,’ Miles confirmed. ‘Finally, a warning. We’ve detected signs that Kammler and his people may know we’re onto them. Narov’s Dubai mission left a signature.’ He paused. ‘Take every possible precaution. Do not underestimate Kammler. His back’s to the wall, which makes him doubly dangerous. Make sure the hunters do not become the hunted.’

As they gathered around Colonel Evandro’s laptop, Jaeger, Narov, Raff and Alonzo scrutinised the satellite photos that Miles had sent through. The thing that struck Jaeger most forcibly was the endless expanse of mountains, snow and ice. But chiefly, snowfields. Vast, rolling, freezing drifts of glittering white.

To trek cross-border through that – it wasn’t possible, not in the time they had available. To parachute or make a helicopter insertion was also a non-starter, for this was the most monitored and watched airspace on earth. Then a thought struck him. It was risky – crazily so – but it might just be doable.

He turned to Raff. ‘Mate, remember that insertion we trialled in Antarctica? Years back. There was a spike in tension between us and the Argentinians. HMG figured it might kick off between our Antarctic survey teams and theirs.’

‘Yeah. Break a leg. I almost bloody did.’

Jaeger gestured at the surveillance photos. ‘Well?’

‘We trialled it. It was a trial. And we knew the depth of the snow, plus its density.’

‘Yeah, but feast your eyes upon those drifts. Brooks is bound to have some boffins who could take a closer look. Give us a steer.’

‘We’d need a discreet base somewhere near the border to do a stop-short,’ Raff mused. ‘We’d have to transfer to a low-key aircraft that can execute that kind of drop with little or no signature.’ He paused. ‘It’s one hell of a challenge, and we don’t have the time to screw up.’

‘Any better suggestions?’

Raff stared at the images for a second. ‘Fuck it. It’s no crazier than your Angeldust sting.’

Jaeger gave a thin smile. ‘Yeah, and beggars can’t be choosers.’