Critical Effect

“Aaron, are you still on?” Brognola asked.

“You bet, and I’m looking it up now,” Kurtzman replied.

“Go ahead, David,” Price urged the Phoenix Force leader.

“There were eight men in the squad behind to see who came to find the plane. They were apparently expecting military or police agencies, but when the leader of the squad saw us he panicked. From what we can gather, they thought we were competitors instead of a legitimate agency. That’s when this brilliant lieutenant of theirs gave the order to open up on us.”

“Big mistake,” Lyons cut in.

“You said it, mate,” McCarter replied.

“What’s your current status?” Brognola asked.

“We’re holed up in Rodenbach. Our ammunition and weapons situation is fine. I’ve got the team cleaning up now, but we could use some food and duds that are a wee bit less, say…conspicuous.”

“I’ll make it happen,” Price assured him, and she immediately excused herself from the room.

“Barb’s going to see you get everything you need,” Brognola said. “What about the leadership of this Germanic Freedom Railroad? Did he give any names?”

“He claims he doesn’t know any, and Calvin’s said he thinks the bloke’s telling the truth about that.”

“You concur?” Lyons asked.

“I’d say so,” McCarter replied quickly. “I trust his judgment, and it doesn’t seem like the guy would benefit from telling us lies at this point. I figure with at least the name of this group you can get more information.”

“What do you guess is their main angle?” Brognola asked.

“Supposedly they’re smugglers for VIPs in the terrorist network. Mostly, they handle al Qaeda and other affiliates with strong ties throughout most of the ECU.”

“Well, it’s no secret Germany’s always been somewhat of a terrorist sanctuary,” Brognola said.

“Right.”

“That would also fit the guys we tangled with,” Lyons added. He quickly brought McCarter up to speed on Able Team’s activities.

“Does anybody have a plausible theory on what this all means?” McCarter asked.

“I’m wary about speculating on this thing,” Brognola said. “The situation has obviously grown more complex. And you guys need hard intelligence. Facts. It’s up to us to get them to you in the best and most efficient way possible. I don’t want either of your teams acting on conjecture. Give us a little time to put together some reasonable data and we’ll get back to you within…I don’t know. Aaron?”

“Two hours should be more than enough time,” Kurtzman said. “We’ll definitely have something solid by then.”

“Fine,” Brognola said. “In the meantime, both of you sit tight and try not to get your asses shot off until I can get back to you.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice, Hal,” McCarter replied.

“Ditto,” Lyons said.

Brognola sat back with a deep sigh once his men disconnected. The information about the Germanic Freedom Railroad had proved interesting. The big Fed searched his memory and couldn’t recall hearing of them before now. Apparently they had been operating in relative secrecy. Had he been a betting man, Brognola would have let it all ride on the odds Choldwig Burke was the number one guy in the GFR.

The man from Justice got to his feet and headed for the Annex. He didn’t plan to breathe down Kurtzman’s neck—or maybe he would and just wouldn’t make it seem like that—but he wanted to be involved with the process.

He reached the Computer Center and found Kurtzman hunkered in his chair and focused on a wide, flat-panel computer screen.

“What do you know?”

Kurtzman looked at Brognola with a cocksure grin. “You mean, since ten minutes ago? What makes you think I’d have something that fast?”

Brognola grinned as he dropped into a nearby chair. “Come on, Aaron. We’re talking about you here.”

“Yes, we are, aren’t we?” he replied, his normally booming voice rising in tone. Somehow the higher pitch sounded funny on him. Kurtzman made a production of looking at his nails, exhaling on them and then rubbing them against his shirt. “But as it just so happens, I do have something for you.”

“Shoot,” Brognola said, settling back in his chair.

“The GFR apparently has a reputation in certain circles. We haven’t picked up on it until now because they’ve made a point of never referring to the organization by name.”

“Any idea on the hierarchy?”

“Pretty much what you’d expect from your run-of-the-mill smuggling operation,” Kurtzman replied. “It’s been proposed by the international law enforcement community that the secret of their ability to remain virtually nonexistent is because they operate in teams of no more than three to four on any given job. Additionally, they deal strictly in cash and all up front.”

“Makes for a good way to keep your clients silent,” Brognola said.

“Sure. Collect the entire advance and your customers will do just about anything to make sure they get their money’s worth.”

“What else?”

“Well, I’m just spit-balling here, but it seems a little interesting that a group like this would risk blowing it for these LAMPs. The technology hasn’t been completely researched and is relatively untested in any kind of legitimate trials. They haven’t even been retrofitted with delivery systems. And insofar as I can tell, the GFR’s never been into actual commission of terrorist acts. It seems they’ve stuck to smuggling, hiding and criminal acts that meet those ends.”

Brognola nodded. “I agree. They make their money by optimal discretion, not drawing any attention to themselves. Why risk that on a major operation like bringing down a military plane so close to their home turf and stealing untried technology?”

“Maybe it’s a special job,” Kurtzman proposed. “Maybe, just maybe, the hostiles Able Team encountered are part of the deal, and that’s why they grabbed Delmico.”

“It fits. The GFR gets approached about this job. It’s so big, bigger than anything they’ve ever done before, they spend nearly a year planning it. Then they make their play, but things don’t go quite right.”

“Then their clients get nervous when Phoenix Force shows up at the plane, and Able Team lands in St. Louis and starts asking a whole lot of uncomfortable questions.”

“So they decide to take over the operation before it gets out of control,” Brognola finished. “It all seems plausible.”

“Well, as it stands now, that’s about the extent of our facts. Other than the fact it’s become plainly obvious these are some tough customers we’re up against.”

“A band of overachievers,” Brognola mused. “Marvelous.”

“Where do you want to go from here?”

“Keep plugging away at it, Aaron. We’ll need a bit more to give Phoenix Force and Able Team something to act on.”

“Oh, you’ll get it,” Kurtzman said as Brognola rose. “Or your money back.”

Brognola chuckled. “Aren’t you the same Aaron Kurtzman who’s always complaining I don’t pay you enough?”