Executive orders - Tom Clancy [444]
Tag numbers for the cars had been transmitted even before O'Day had done his shooting, and already agents were at the car-rental agencies, checking the computerized records.
At Giant Steps, the adult survivors were being interviewed. They mainly confirmed O'Day's reportage. Some of the details were askew, but that was not unexpected. None of the young women recognized the language the terrorists had spoken. The children were subjected to far gentler interrogations, in every case sitting on a parent's lap. Two of the parents were from the Middle East, and it was thought that perhaps the children knew something of foreign languages, but that proved to be a false hope. The weapons had all been collected, and their serial numbers checked with a computerized database. The date of manufacture was easily established, and the makers' records checked to see which distributor had purchased them, and from there which store had sold them. That trail proved cold indeed. The weapons were old ones, a fact belied by their new condition, which was established by visual inspection of the barrel and bolt mechanisms. They hardly had any wear at all. That tidbit of information went up the line even before they had a purchaser's name.
DAMN, I WISH Bill was here, Murray said aloud, for the first time in his career feeling inadequate to a task. His division chiefs were arrayed around his conference table. From the first it was certain that this investigation would be a joint venture between the Criminal and Foreign Counter-intelligence divisions, aided, as always, by Laboratory. Things were moving so rapidly that there wasn't yet a Secret Service official to join them. Thoughts?
Dan, whoever bought these guns has been in-country a long time, FCI said.
Sleeper. Murray nodded agreement.
Pat didn't recognize their language. He would probably have recognized a European one. Has to be the Middle East, Criminal said. This wasn't exactly Nobel-class work, but even the FBI had to follow form in what it did. Well, Western Europe, anyway. I suppose we have to consider the Balkan countries. There was reluctant agreement around the table.
How old are those guns again? the Director asked.
Eleven years. Long before the ban was passed, Criminal answered for FCI. They may have been totally unused until today, virgins, Dan.
Somebody's set up a network that we didn't know about. Somebody real patient. Whoever the purchaser turns out to be, I think we'll find that it's a nicely faked ID, and he's already flown the coop. It's a classic intelligence job, Dan, FCI went on, saying what everybody was thinking. We're talking pros here.
That's a little speculative, the Director objected.
When's the last time I was wrong, Danny? the assistant director asked.
Not lately. Keep going.
Maybe the Lab guys can develop some good forensic stuff-he nodded to the assistant director for the Laboratory Division-but even then, what we're going to end up with won't be good enough to take into a court, unless we get real lucky and bag either the purchaser, or the other people who had to be involved in this mission.
Flight records and passports, Criminal said. Two weeks back for starters. Look for repeaters. Somebody reconned the objective. Must have been since Ryan became President. That's a start. Sure, he didn't go on, only about ten million records to check. But that was what cops did.
Christ, I hope you're wrong on the sleeper, Murray said, after a further moment's reflection.
So do I, Dan, FCI replied. But I'm