Net Force - Tom Clancy [82]
Dead end, Toni said.
Deader than black plastic in the noonday sun, Jay said. Well keep on it, but whoever this is, he or she, they are real good. They went to a lot of effort for such a small thing.
Seems to be paying off, too, isnt it? Michaels nodded. Im still betting on a she, he said. It didnt feel like a man under that old-lady disguise. Okay, thanks, Jay. Toni?
Were running checks on all known professional assassins. So far, nothing substantial on anybody as good as this one seems to be.
What about insubstantial?
Rumors about this shadowy figure or that. Usual stuff-the Iceman, who can kill you with a hard look. The Specter, who walks through walls. The Selkie, who can change shape. Urban legends. Problem with the really good hired killers is that they keep very low profiles. Pretty much the only time anybody bags one of them is when a client gives them up.
Michaels nodded. He knew this. Hed been thinking about it since Steve Days murder.
Anybody got anything else?
Brent Adams, the FBI head of Organized Crime, said, Something is going on inside the Genaloni organization.
Michaels looked at Adams. Raised his eyebrows.
The OC man said, Our people went back and strained out a years worth of everything with a Genaloni tag. A couple of weeks ago, the FBI regional office in New York City got an inquiry from one of Genalonis lawyers regarding the detention of Luigi Sampson. Sampson is Ray Genalonis enforcer-the head of his legal and illegal security operations.
Yes?
Well, our agents in New York didnt detain Sampson. Genalonis people didnt follow up on it, so nobody thought anything else about it. A mistake of some kind.
Which means ?
Adams shook his head. We dont know. But since then, our wiretaps and surveillance cams havent heard or seen anything of Sampson.
Maybe he went on vacation, Jay said.
Adams shrugged. Maybe. Or maybe he pissed off Ray Genaloni and hes in a field outside Dead Toe, South Dakota, pushing up the daisies.
I dont think they grow daisies up there. Too cold, Jay said.
Youd be surprised, Toni put in.
Michaels said, So, why would Genalonis people be calling the FBI, supposedly looking for Sampson, if they deleted him?
Adams shook his head again. Establish an alibi, maybe. With these guys, you never know what theyre going to do. They make some smart moves now and then; then they turn around and make a stupid one.
Toni said, Maybe this Sampson was responsible for Steve Days death and Genaloni got nervous? Wanted to erase the link?
Adams said, I dont know. Its possible. Ray Genaloni is a careful man. He doesnt step out on the street without having it checked for six blocks in all directions first.
Michaels stared at the table. Something was bothering him, rattling around inside his head. He couldnt quite put his finger on it. Something about all this
He sighed. All right. If youd stay on top of that, Brent? Jay, you run the cane stuff as far as you can, see if you can get anything. And check out those New Orleans links-we cant spend all our efforts on the Day investigation. Anything else?
Nobody had anything they wanted to put on the table.
Okay. Lets get back to it.
Michaels headed toward his office. Things were not looking good for the home team. And the clock was ticking on his job. A few more days and this might be somebody elses worry.
Maybe it was time to get out of government service. Move back to Idaho, get a job programming game computers or something, spend weekends with his daughter. Just walk away from all this.
Yeah, right. Until Steve Days killer was caught, he wasnt going anywhere, even if they put him in charge of counting paper clips in the underground storage bins. Whatever else he might be, Alexander Michaels didnt bail when the going got rough. No way.
26
Saturday, October 2nd, 11:05 p.m. Grozny
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