Line of Control - Tom Clancy [51]
Rodgers could not help but wonder if the home phone had somehow signaled the field phone to detonate the secondary blasts. The timing was too uncomfortably close to be coincidence.
And the continuation of the signal at such regular intervals suggested that the terrorists were being tracked.
Hell, it did more than suggest that, Rodgers told himself.
And the more he thought about it, the more he began to realize that they might have a very nasty developing situation on their hands. The Pentagon's elite think tank, with the innocuous name of the Department of Theoretical Effects, called this process "computing with vaporware."
Rodgers had always been good at that, back when the Pentagon still called it "domino thinking."
He had to talk to Herbert about this.
Rodgers called over to Ishi Honda. The communications man was lying on the tarmac with the TAC-SAT beside him.
He came running over with the secure phone. Rodgers thanked him then squatted on the field beside the oblong unit and phoned Bob Herbert. He used the earphones so he could hear over the roar of landing and departing jets.
Herbert picked up at once.
"Bob, it's Mike Rodgers," the general said.
"Glad to hear from you. Are you at Al?" Herbert asked.
"Just landed," Rodgers said.
"Listen, Bob. I've been thinking about this latest data you sent me.
I've got a feeling that the Srinagar bombers have been tagged, maybe by someone on the inside." "I've got that same feeling," Herbert admitted.
"Especially since we've been able to place the calls from field to home before that. They originated at a farm in Kargil. We notified the SFF.
They sent over a local constable to check the place out. The farmer refused to say anything and they could not find his granddaughter. Ron and the SFF guy are going over first thing in the morning, see if they can't get more out of him."
"None of this smells right," Rodgers said.
"No, it doesn't," Herbert said.
"And there's something else. The farmer's daughter and son-in-law were resistance fighters who died fighting the Pakistani invasion."
"So the farmer certainly had a reason to be part of a conspiracy against the Free Kashmir Militia," Rodgers said.
"In theory, yes," Herbert said.
"What we're looking at now is whether there is a conspiracy and whether it could have involved the district police station that was home for the cell phone. Matt Stoll's gotten into their personnel files and my team is looking at the backgrounds of each officer. We want to see if any of them have connections with antiterrorist groups."
"You realize. Bob, that if you find a link between the police and the Pakistani cell, we may have an unprecedented international incident on our hands," Rodgers said.
"I don't follow," Herbert replied.
"Just because they might have known about the attack and decided not to prevent it-"
"I think it may have been more than that." Rodgers said.
"There were three separate attacks. Only one of them conformed to the established m. o. of the Free Kashmir Militia, the bombing of the police station." "Wait a minute," Herbert said.
"That's a big leap. You're saying the police could have planned this action themselves?
That the Indians attacked their own temples-" "To coincide with the FKM attack, yes," Rodgers said.
"But an operation like that would have to involve more than just the police in Kashmir," Herbert pointed out.
"Especially if they're tracking and going to attempt to capture the cell, which is apparently the case."
"I know," Rodgers replied.
"Isn't it possible they do have help? From a group that is a little more involved than usual?" "The SFF," Herbert said.
"Why not? That could be the reason they wanted the bazaar sealed and the Black Cats kept out," Rodgers said.
Herbert thought for a moment.
"It's possible," he agreed.
"But it's also possible we're getting ahead of ourselves."
"Better than being behind," Rodgers pointed out.
"Touche," Herbert said.
"Look. Let's see what Ron Friday and his partner turn up in the morning.
I'll bring Paul up to date and let you