LITMIR.BIZ

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      “Lots of talk back and forth,” Kurtzman said. “All about logistics. Supply. Locations. This last one will interest Able. You people may recall the late Jack Regan. Arms dealer who was killed a while back. Now we have his successor, a Mexican named Pablo Gutierrez. He’s picked up some of Regan’s old clients. The Echelon listening device picked up some vague chatter with Gutierrez’s name attached to a couple of emails from our Turkish dissidents. Something about a deal with a Russian—Gennadi Antonov. Vague. No specifics, but Antonov is suspected of ties to former Russian military.”

      “Where does he hang out? This Regan clone?” Hermann “Gadgets” Schwarz, Able Team’s electronics expert who had been silent for most of the meeting, asked.

      “Miami.”

      Blancanales scanned the messages on the plasma screen.

      “That damn name again,” he said. “Özgürlük. It’s like a secret handshake for these guys. But unfortunately for them, not too secret.”

      Brognola said, “Okay, people, time to saddle up. Look into it. If it doesn’t pan out, no harm done. But if there’s solid evidence, you know what to do. We don’t dare miss this in case it is real.”

      There was a brief silence as everyone around the conference table had a final run through their files. A few more questions were put forward until they were all satisfied for the moment.

      “Anyone like to hear an idle thought?” McCarter said as everyone started to move.

      Brognola turned his attention to the Phoenix Force leader. McCarter never had idle thoughts.

      “Go ahead, David.”

      “This is just rambling. If Özgürlük does turn out to be really running this threat to blackmail us and it doesn’t work and they set off a nuke close enough to damage the Incirlik base—what about the nukes already stockpiled there?”

      “Ouch,” Hawkins said. “Damn, how would that work? I mean would they go off, as well?”

      Manning said, “If they’re not actually armed, maybe not. But radioactive material could be leaked.”

      “I’ll get my team to look into that,” Kurtzman said.

      Lyons said, “Time to update the President, Hal. He’ll need to take some kind of action over this.”

      “Alerting the base would be in the cards,” McCarter said.

      As the teams filed out, Brognola watched them go, his mind already turning over what McCarter had said. The Briton had been right on the button. If the suggestions about nukes were true, with the bottom line being a detonation, the situation would go quickly from bad to worse. Apart from anything else, a strike against Incirlik would make a hell of a statement. It would hit the U.S. hard, dent its pride and take out a strategic factor in the area. The anti-U.S. brigade would get what it had wanted for a long time and Özgürlük would strengthen its position.

      If a dissident group wanted maximum publicity for their aims, a high-profile strike against a major target would be the way to go. Small incidents were not very productive, but a massive hit would focus attention. It would focus in on U.S. military presence across the globe. And collateral damage didn’t bother the perpetrators any longer—9/11 had set the benchmark.

      “So we have to work out whether this Özgürlük deal is a scare tactic or the real thing,” Encizo said as he exited the room. “We need to understand if these people are just faking or genuinely willing to set off a nuke on an American base in Turkey.”

      “And on U.S. soil,” Lyons said.

      * * *

      BARBARA PRICE, IN HER usual efficient fashion, went about organizing travel arrangements for the teams. Able Team’s was an easy option—simply having one of the on-site vehicles prepared while Lyons and his partners gathered their weapons and IDs. Fixing things for Phoenix Force took the bulk of her work. Via Brognola’s clout with the President, travel for McCarter and company was arranged on an Air Force transport on a regular flight across the Atlantic to the UK, then a switch to a similar flight from Lakenheath across to Incirlik, Turkey. For once, the odds were in her favor and the influence of the Commander in Chief allowed her to complete the arrangements within a short time. She was not made aware of any persuasive arguments the President might have used, and in truth she didn’t care. Price only wanted the end result for her people.

      If fate had decreed a different direction for her, Barbara Price could have made her living as a model, even a movie star. She had the looks: honey-blonde, with an athletic, slim figure and penetrating blue eyes. Behind the glamorous appearance, she had a keen, insightful brain that had led her to a position within the NSA, where she was in charge of analyzing SIGINT and HUMINT data. Her skills with the reclusive signals and human intelligence arm of the NSA had kept Price busy, but not exclusively satisfied.

      As he’d worked at selecting personnel for the newly created Stony Man, Hal Brognola had met the young woman and was so impressed with her intellect that he considered her as a replacement for the deceased April Rose, the Farm’s original mission controller. When Brognola approached her and offered her the job, Price, who was disillusioned with NSA internal political squabbling, was intrigued by his offer. It hadn’t taken her long to realize she was being given the opportunity to join a special department.

      Once on board, Price became aware of the Special Operation Group’s unique setup. It was ultrasecret, manned by the best in every field, from Brognola down to the operatives who ran the day-to-day workings of Stony Man. The secret nature of the unit meant Price’s personal life became almost nonexistent. It didn’t put her off. The people she came to see as her family were enough to satisfy her. The job kept her involved day and night. She built strong relationships with the teams who roved the globe fighting all kinds of threats and menaces. In truth, Price’s life was full. She was committed to it, and committed to having her concerns over Phoenix and Able. She fully understood the situations they found themselves in and had made it her responsibility to ensure they received the best backup she could offer.

      McCarter had assigned Manning and Hawkins to the UK detail, while he, Encizo and James would go on to Turkey to head up that end of the assignment. Manning and Hawkins would join up with the rest of the group if their part of the mission could be completed in time.

      It wasn’t a regular contrivance to split Phoenix Force, but given how the information had come through, a two-pronged investigation would be appropriate for the initial probe.

      As Phoenix Force was being flown in by the USAF, they were able to travel with their weapons. Once they left the Incirlik base, matters might be different and they would have to check with the Turkish Secret Service, with whom they would be working, on the ability to retain their arms.

      Price handed out documentation packs with her usual operational ability.

      “And don’t go spending your pocket money all in one go,” she said lightly. “I expect receipts for everything. They will be checked.”

      It was her usual banter, part joke, part serious because she worried about them once they were in the field and, as professional as she was, Price had more than a passing concern for their safety. It didn’t matter how many times the Stony Man combat teams departed, she experienced the same feelings and would not be settled until they all returned safely from their missions.

      On this mission the results of failure were almost beyond belief. Barbara Price had been with Stony Man long enough to accept the reckless behavior of extremist groups. They took on board what they wanted to express and disregarded the wider impact of the damage they might create. In this case, Özgürlük appeared to be playing an extremely dangerous game. One that involved the possible detonation of a nuclear device on their own soil.

      Would they do it?

      Could they risk affecting a part of Turkey with radioactive poison simply to gain their demands? From past experience, Price knew the answer. The madness of extreme threats had no limits. It had been postulated before. And it would

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