Net Force - Tom Clancy [111]
Alex had a couple of final assignments for his own people.
Jay, run scenarios on what Plekhanov might be after. Tie all the pieces you have together. Is there any way to figure out where hes been, who hes seen, both in VR and RW?
Maybe. Hell have his files locked, but weve got an ID and we might be able to backwalk some of his movement.
Do so, please.
Jay nodded. He left.
Michaels said to Howard, I need you to do something for me. Work up a plan that would involve a sub-rosa extraction of Plekhanov from Chechnya.
Howard stared at him. Sir?
Assume for a second that we cant get the Russian legally extradited. What would it take for a team to go in and get him? Could it be done?
Howard didnt hesitate. Yes, sir, it could be done. How sub-rosa are we talking about?
We wouldnt want our troops marching down the main street in full dress uniform waving the stars n stripes; on the other hand, if something went wrong, we wouldnt leave them hanging. Dog tags under civilian clothes. Some kind of contingency plan if the extraction went sour. This is your area of expertise.
I see. I can work this up, sir, but realistically speaking, what are the odds of getting such a go-ahead?
Id say the chances are slim and snowball, Colonel, but as far as this scenario is concerned, were talking the NRA slogan about guns and self-defense here.
Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it?
Exactly.
Sir. Ill work it up ASAP. Was that a new sense of respect in his voice? Even a little warmth?
Thank you, Colonel.
Michaels went back to his office. Toni walked along with him.
If Genaloni had Steve Day killed, hes beyond our reach now, she said.
Somebody saved the people the cost of a long and expensive trial, yeah. What Im wondering is-who did it? And why?
Toni shrugged. Hes a mobster. They swat each other like people at an outdoor summer barbecue slap mosquitoes.
They got to his office. Toni followed him in.
He frowned. This wasnt a casual, reactive swat. Somebody very professional did this, an expert. Three dead people in a quiet neighborhood and nobody saw anything. They capped Genaloni and his mistress inside the house, came out, dropped the bodyguard in the back, knowing there were four hardwared bodyguards out front. Were not just talking cool, were talking about somebody with supercooled liquid in their veins. Anything I dont have here? He waved at his computer screen.
Our forensic report is still preliminary. All we got is a boot print in the neighbors yard. Hes a little guy, whoever he is.
Michaels raised an eyebrow.
She called up the prelim: See. Print looks like a mans size four or five. Depth in the ground says he weighed maybe one-fifteen, one-twenty. Cat-burglar build.
Michaels shook his head. There was something about this rattling around in his mind I dont like it, he said, its too neat.
Sometimes things just happen, Alex, and they arent directly connected. You cant predict them. Somebody turns up in the right place at the right time, the circumstances are ripe, things just get out of hand.
He looked at her. What was she talking about? It sounded more like an apology than an explanation.
She looked uncomfortable. She said, What Im saying is, somebody had it out for Genaloni. Maybe the timing is a coincidence.
Something occurred to him. He tapped his keyboard, called up a file.
What?
He didnt look up. What size did you say this killers shoe was?
Four or a five. Forensics will know better when they get the cast back to the lab and do a like-surface comparison.
Let me ask you a question. Womens shoes and men shoes, how do they compare size-wise?
Depends on the cut and maker, but usually the womans shoe will be a couple of numbers larger than the same size in a mans. Why do you-? Oh.
Yeah. According to the computer extrapolation on the woman who picked up the dog in New York-and who came back and paid for losing it a few days ago, using a series of couriers like before-that woman wears a six. And weighs between a hundred and fifteen and a hundred and twenty-five pounds.
You think