LITMIR.BIZ

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agitator groups. Two were former members of PAAC and supposedly expelled, presumably because they were more radical than the group could tolerate. That alone says something. A couple have rap sheets, but nothing too serious. Some of the records go back quite a ways, and in one case it was a sealed juvenile case.”

      “So in other words, they’re nobody. But someone put guns in their hands and sent them to kill innocent people. And somebody coordinated them and planned the operation for them.”

      “That somebody was likely Kwok or, more probably, the organization that employed him,” Price confirmed. “Kwok Jin. North Korean, formerly with the country’s military. Fled the country and went freelance about ten years ago, in the company of a brother, Sun. Both of them sold the only skills they had on the open market. They’ve been mercenaries for the past decade, most of those ten years in association with one Gareth Twain.”

      “I know that name,” Bolan had said.

      “For good reason,” Price said. “Twain was one of the most murderous terrorists ever to work with the Irish Republican Army. He was so bloodthirsty, in fact, that the IRA expelled him. That was a good fifteen years ago. He’s been an international mercenary ever since, notable for the fact that he has absolutely no loyalties to any entity, governmental or personal. He’ll kill anyone for the right price, and no body count is too high.”

      “Why hasn’t the Farm targeted Twain before?”

      “He’s always stayed one step ahead of us,” Price said. “Always on the move, and always in corners of the world where the most conflict was to be had. He’s a brutal operator, and his organization is extensive, but he’s managed to blend into the background noise of the various wars being waged in the Third World and elsewhere. He really gets around, too. He’s done stints all over Africa and South America. In Gaza, while reportedly working for Hamas and the PLO, his people blew up a freighter bound for Semarang last year. He’s been implicated three times in acts of domestic terrorism in the United States, including an aborted bombing of a federal facility in Virginia, sponsored by a homegrown ‘patriot’ group, and he’s wanted for the murder of an Interpol agent in Paris last year.”

      “That’s quite a résumé.”

      “It’s the Virginia bombing that put him on the Bureau’s radar,” Price reported. “Their Omnivore computer processing programs, which of course Aaron has fully infiltrated, are set to flag any mention of Twain or his known associates in any law-enforcement database, including Interpol and a dozen others. We ran Kwok’s identification and it generated a flag. The Bureau contacted Justice, wanting to know what we knew, and Hal ran some interference for us. He pulled a few strings and called in a few favors. Someone on the Bureau’s end did the same. Ultimately it was decided that an agent be assigned to what Hal is characterizing as a ‘domestic investigation’ on the part of Justice and its assets. Hal, in the spirit of cooperation and goodwill among government agencies, of course agreed.”

      “In other words, they’ll raise a stink if we don’t let them in the door.”

      “Exactly,” Price said. “And as sensitive as this could be, considering Trofimov’s access to the media and the harm being done to the nation’s military interests, our friend in Wonderland has decided it’s best if we go along to get along.”

      “That’s a dangerous game,” Bolan said. “I’m not going to scale back my mission to accommodate the sensibilities of a by-the-book FBI agent.”

      “There’s where we catch a break,” Price had told him. “I’m transmitting the file to you now. Jennifer Delaney, thirty-four. Been with the Bureau for the past ten years. A decorated agent, but also one who’s been disciplined more than once. You can read the details yourself, but I’ll sum it up for you—she has a recurring problem with authority and no compunctions about bending the rules to get things done.”

      “But she’s still with the Bureau, which doesn’t tolerate loose cannons.”

      “True,” Price said. “Which means she’s a very good agent, for all her willingness to be pragmatic in the field.”

      “I can live with that,” Bolan said.

      “We don’t know who talked to whom in the Bureau, but Delaney has a personal stake in Twain and has been pursuing him since the incident in Virginia. Her partner, a Paul Sander, was the lead on the investigation that eventually saw Twain and his outfit popped before they could plant their explosives. A couple of them went down, but Twain and his key people got away. Twain shot both Sander and Delaney in making his escape. Sander died.”

      “So she’s looking for payback,” Bolan said. “Can I trust her?”

      “She wants Twain,” Price said. “Wouldn’t you? But there’s no indication it has interfered with her work. There have been no disciplinary actions in her file since then, either, if it makes a difference to you.”

      “I can understand.” The file was coming through on his phone. The digital photograph of Delaney showed an attractive red-haired woman with high cheekbones and green eyes. She had a small scar on her chin. According to the statistics appended to the file, she was five foot nine, with an athletic build. She’d twice won commendations for bravery in service to the Bureau. Bolan skipped the disciplinary flags; he wasn’t interested in the second-guessing of bureaucrats, who were only too happy to criticize after the fact the split-second, life-and-death decisions men and women of action were forced to make in the field.

      “Delaney is en route and will meet you in—” Price paused to check something “—Kansas City. Jack tells me you’ll reach Eastern Iowa Airport momentarily, and that you plan to hit the facility in Kansas City after that?”

      “That’s the plan,” Bolan said. “It’s the next logical location, geographically, on the priority list. Until something breaks free, I intend to keep the pressure on, keep blitzing Trofimov’s assets until he screams. I can’t verify the timing, though.”

      “It shouldn’t matter,” Price said. “By the time you’re done in Iowa and moving to Kansas Delaney should get there not too much before you do.”

      “We’ll make sure not to miss her. How much can I tell her?”

      “While her interest is primarily Twain, the folks at the Bureau aren’t stupid,” Price said. “Hal chose to share some off-the-record intel with them. She’s going to be at least vaguely aware of the Trofimov connection. Officially, there’s no FBI interest in Trofimov, but unofficially you can bet they’re every bit as concerned about murderous, possibly even seditious actions taken by an American citizen to undermine the United States military. You know how much they have to dance around these days, pretending not to peer too closely into the lives of private citizens. There’s just been too much public outcry over things like the domestic wiretapping program, civil rights violations by Homeland Security, that sort of thing. The Bureau wants to know what Trofimov is up to as badly as we do, but they can’t admit it right now.”

      “Meaning they’ll be happy to take the credit once I’ve found all the loose ends and burned them down,” Bolan said.

      “Possibly,” Price admitted. “Hal will be only too happy to let them, too, given how the Sensitive Operations Group’s cover has to be kept out of the public eye. We can operate, at least partly, under the aegis of FBI ownership of this thing, if it plays out well.”

      “It’s going to get ugly enough behind the scenes, once the body count grows. I assume Hal has worked the phones and okayed my involvement.”

      “As usual,” Price said.

      “All right, then,” Bolan said. “This Delaney can ride along. Make no mistake, though, Barb. I’m not going to let her get in my way. My priority is Trofimov and whatever programs he’s running to kill Americans and interfere with the military.”

      “Understood,” Price said. “I doubt that will be a problem. You have goals in common. The implication here is, of course, that Twain and his people are working with Trofimov,

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