Patriot games - Tom Clancy [107]
"That's right. Join us."
"I'm Bill Shaw, FBI." The visitor came all the way in and held up his ID card. About Robby's height, he was a slender man in his mid-forties with eyes so deep set that they almost gave him the look of a raccoon, the kind of eyes that got that way from sixteen-hour days. A sharp dresser, he looked like a very serious man. "Dan Murray asked me to come over to see you."
Ryan rose to take his hand. "This is Lieutenant Commander Jackson."
"Howdy." Robby shook his hand, too.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Not at all-we're both finished teaching for the day. Grab a chair. What can I do for you?"
Shaw looked at Jackson but didn't say anything.
"Well, if you guys have to talk, I can mosey on over to the O-Club-"
"Relax, Rob. Mr. Shaw, you're among friends. Can I offer you anything?"
"No, thank you." The FBI agent pulled the straight-back chair from next to the door. "I work in the counterterrorism unit at FBI headquarters. Dan asked me to-well, you know that the ULA rescued their man Miller from police custody."
Now Ryan was completely serious. "Yeah-I caught that on TV. Any idea where they took him to?"
Shaw shook his head. "They just disappeared."
"Quite an operation," Robby noted. "They escaped to seaward, right? Some ship pick them up maybe?" This drew a sharp look. "You notice my uniform, Mr. Shaw? I earn my living out there on the water."
"We're not sure, but that is a possibility."
"Whose ships were out there?" Jackson persisted. This wasn't a law-enforcement problem to Robby. It was a naval matter.
"That's being looked at."
Jackson and Ryan traded a look. Robby fished out one of his cigars and lit it.
"I got a call last week from Dan. He's a little-I wish to emphasize this, only a little-concerned that the ULA might well, they don't have much of a reason to like you, Doctor Ryan."
"Dan said that none of these groups has ever operated over here," Ryan said cautiously.
"That's entirely correct." Shaw nodded. "It's never happened. I imagine Dan explained why this is true. The Provisional IRA continues to get money from over here, I am sorry to say, not much, but some. They still get some weapons. There is even reason to believe that they have some surface-to-air missiles-"
"What the hell!" Jackson 's head snapped around.
"There have been several thefts of Redeye missiles-the man-portable one the Army's phasing out now. They were stolen from a couple of National Guard armories. This isn't new. The RUC has captured M-60 machine guns that got over to Ulster the same way. These weapons were either stolen or bought from some supply sergeants who forgot who they were working for. We've convicted several of them in the past year, and the Army's setting up a new system to keep track of things. Only one missile has turned up. They-the PIRA-tried to shoot down a British Army helicopter a few months back. It never made the papers over here, mainly because they missed, and the Brits were able to hush it up.
"Anyway," Shaw went on, "if they were to conduct actual terrorist operations over here, the money and the weapons would probably dry up quite a bit. The PIRA knows that, and it stands to reason that the ULA does, too."
"Okay," Jack said. "They've never operated over here. But Murray asked you to come here and warn me. How come?"
"There isn't any reason. If this had come from anyone except Dan, I wouldn't even be here, but Dan's a very experienced agent, and he's a little bit concerned that maybe you should be made aware of his-it's not even enough to be a suspicion. Doctor Ryan. Call it insurance, like checking the tires on your car before a long drive."
"Then what the hell are you telling me?" Ryan said testily.
"The ULA has dropped out of sight-that's not saying much, of course. I guess it's the way they dropped out of sight. They pulled a pretty bold operation, and"- he snapped his fingers-"disappeared back under their rock."
"Intel," Jack muttered.
"What's that?" Shaw asked.
"It happened again. The thing