Extinction Crisis

“I think he could be used as a local resource,” Lyons said. “I’ll stop by and rap my knuckles on his dome for a few answers every so often.”

Kurtzman nodded. “I was thinking the same thing, except I’m talking about aiding anyone on the terrorist watch lists.”

“Those things work?” Lyons asked.

“Not for Homeland Security, but those of us here with brains can determine the corn from the shit,” Kurtzman replied.

Lyons smiled. “Spoken like a true cop.”

Kurtzman winked. “Farm out.”

O NE OF THE ADVANTAGES that Phoenix Force had over the Directorate of Security and their investigation was that they didn’t have to worry about coordinating multiple raids after assembling a half-dozen teams in and around Paris. The Directorate needed to pull off each raid at the same time, in case the conspirators were in communication with each other, and more than one enemy site was actually part of the guilty party. The agency also needed to assemble warrants, scope out approaches and gather much more intelligence before they could make the first move. That all also depended on putting aside the bureaucratic differences that put the brakes on their moves.

McCarter looked at the latest data gathered from the French by the computer hackers at Stony Man Farm, and applied his years of counterterrorism investigation and operation to narrowing down Phoenix Force’s target as Manning drove them through the streets of Paris.

“I think that we’re looking at the neo-Nazi cell just off of the Seine,” McCarter said.

“What makes you think that?” Manning asked.

“The warrants are moving especially slow on them,” McCarter said. “Considering that we’re dealing with expert computer hackers, as well as the robots, I’m betting that the conspirators are looking to keep their asses covered until their patsies can get out of the way.”

“Or be gotten out of the way,” Hawkins mentioned. “The bad guys in Inshas and Washington were both sacrificial lambs, and they didn’t seem to care about the robots, either.”

“So even if we hit the little Hitler lovers, they might already be corpses,” Manning grumbled.

McCarter’s brow furrowed. “I like our chances.”

“What?” Manning asked.

“The conspiracy seems to be cleaning up its backtrail with almost paranoid efficiency,” McCarter replied. “But they left the lead to the neo-Nazis hanging out there.”

Manning nodded. “I see.”

“I don’t,” Hawkins replied.

“The conspirators want to take the piss out of us. In two places, they’ve had Stony Man teams on their asses,” McCarter said. “They noticed Able shadowing their deliverymen in Washington, D.C. They caught Rafe and Cal in Egypt. They’re dangling bait for us here in Paris to see if they can catch a nibble.”

Hawkins grimaced. “So they’re aware of Stony Man.”

“They’re aware of a particularly efficient agency on their tails. They don’t know the details, but the specifics of who we are doesn’t matter to them,” McCarter told him. “What matters is that someone has managed to cut through the red tape and bureaucratic bullshit to know that there is a conspiracy out there messing with nuclear power plants across three continents.”

“And we’re looking at a trap for us,” Hawkins sighed.

“The neo-Nazis are in all likelihood dead,” McCarter said. “But there will be an elimination team on hand, waiting for us to make our move. Once we do, they drop the hammer.”

“An ambush won’t work too well if we’re aware of it,” Manning said.

“The enemy might be anticipating that, as well,” McCarter said. “Depending on who they hired to hit us, it could be a feint, or it could be a hard-kill force.”

“A test for us,” Manning said. “Or a distraction.”

Hawkins took a deep breath. “Either way, we’re going to have our work cut out for us, or is this mental chess game hinging on making us look less capable than we are?”

“Screw that,” McCarter snapped. “If we’re going to encounter some drama, we’re going to bring our A game every time. Whoever they send after us, we treat them as professionals and we don’t let up on them. Taking it easy on any asshole we meet is a fast ticket to an unmarked grave.”

Hawkins nodded. “For a moment, I was wondering if you were a Cockney brawler or Sherlock Holmes.”

“There’s times for being smart, and there’s times for being the deadliest bastard on the sidewalk,” McCarter said. “The time for being smart is done now. Let’s be bloody and deadly.”

C ALVIN J AMES POKED A pencil at the burned shell segment remaining from the snake-shaped robot that had been such a menace to him and his allies earlier. He glanced at his Phoenix Force partner and friend Rafael Encizo, who merely shrugged as he sat at the table. James was a scientist, but his fields of expertise were anatomy and pharmacology, not electronics or robotics. Encizo had more experience with robots, but only through his work with them during oceanic salvage expeditions. The fields of underwater archaeology and marine biology were rife with the use of subaquatic remote devices that could transmit images of the ocean floor or sea life, or had manipulator claws that enabled the recovery of living specimens or lost artifacts.

Still, there was a difference between the camera bots and recovery drones that Encizo worked with and manipulated on his salvage expeditions, and the compact, nearly organic device that lay before him.

Colonel Assid gave James a clap on the shoulder. “Nothing?”

“Just a pile of shot-up and charred metal that doesn’t leave much in the way of forensics,” James said. “The only things we know for sure is that they have enough redundant systems to survive a hundred rounds of rifle fire and still continue shooting and moving for the bulk of that barrage.”

“Farrow had better luck going over the dead men,” Encizo admitted. “Thanks for letting him stand in on their autopsy.”

Assid nodded. “It’s always good to have an extra set of eyes present. What about the digital images you transmitted back to your agency?”

“They’re still running checks on the few markings we discovered on the wreckage,” James said sullenly. “But the components are common devices with preformed metallic shells. Trying to pinpoint their source of manufacture is like trying to find a particular grain of sand in the desert.”

Assid nodded. “We’re assembling a squad to pay a visit to the rest of the corpses’ cell members. I thought you two might want to stretch your legs and give your eyes a rest.”

Encizo smirked. “I’m all for that. Anything’s better than being kept out of my element.”

“Where did the cell originate?” James asked.

“They’re operating off of a fishing trawler,” Assid said. “Part of the reason why I’m hoping the two of you would help out. Normally, the unit would look for assistance from the Egyptian marines or navy, but right now, we’re trying to keep everything in-house.”

“Because of the drone we spotted?” Encizo asked.

“I remember the troubles we had with Egyptian military tanks and Predator UAVs falling into the hands of radical Palestinian and Syrian forces a while back,” Assid mentioned. “I don’t want to risk a leak of our raid getting back to whoever is running this show.”

James nodded. “According to what the home team told us, the conspirators seem to be on the ball. Any investigation pointing in their direction gets flagged and bogged down with paperwork.”

“So they do have monitors internationally, as well as moles?” Assid asked. “How big is this conspiracy?”

“Probably small,” Encizo said. “Whoever the leaks are, they’re probably just garden-variety bureaucrats with open palms and the willingness to look the other way or misplace paperwork.”

“A couple of smart people with a good bank account can do as much as a worldwide organization,” James said. “We work on brains and connections ourselves, so we can see where holes can be exploited in any security system.”

“A bribe or two in the Egyptian government, and they have the drop on us if we go outside the family,” Assid mused. “That explains why they’re working with the Muslim Brotherhood.”

“The local muscle they’ve hired don’t know what’s really going on, likely,” Encizo offered. “But the conspirators have given them the promise of their goals of confusion and government disarray.”

“That’s worked well enough,” Assid said. “Despite the fact that the Brotherhood didn’t get the robots anywhere near Inshas, the press caught word of an attempted attack. People are nervous, and they’re calling for an end to Egypt’s development of nuclear energy.”