Red Rabbit - Tom Clancy [294]
"And what of the Pope?"
"As I said the other day, we have a team in Rome right now to look into the matter," Kingshot answered. "Not much we can say—in fact, not much we can really do, but we are taking action based on your information, Oleg."
"That is good," the defector thought out loud, hoping it hadn't all been for nothing. He'd not really looked forward to exposing Soviet agents throughout the West. He'd do that, to safeguard his own position in his new home, of course, and for the money he'd get for turning traitor to his Motherland, but his highest concern was in saving that one life.
* * *
TUESDAY MORNING, Ryan slept later than usual, arising just after eight, figuring he'd need to bankroll his rest for the following day. He'd sure as hell need it then.
Sharp and the rest of the team were already up.
"Anything new?" Jack asked, coming into the dining room.
"We have the radios," Sharp reported. There was, indeed, one at every place at the table. "They're excellent—the very same sort your Secret Service use—same manufacturer, Motorola. Brand new, and they are encrypted. Lapel microphones and earpieces."
Ryan looked at his. The earpiece was clear plastic, curled up like a phone cord, and nearly invisible. That was good news. "Batteries?"
"Brand new, and two sets of replacements for each. Good to know that Her Majesty is well looked after."
"Okay, so nobody can listen in, and we can swap information," Ryan said. It was one more piece of good news set against a big black pile of the bad sort. "What's the plan for the day?"
"Back to the piazza, do some more looking, and hope we see our friend Strokov."
"And if we do?" Ryan asked.
"We follow him back to his accommodations and try to see if there's a way to speak with the chap this evening."
"If we get that far, just talk to him?"
"What do you suppose, Sir John?" Sharp replied with a cold look.
You really willing to go that far, Mr. Sharp? Jack didn't ask. Well, the bastard was a multiple murderer, and as civilized as the Brits were, under all the good manners and world-class hospitality, they knew how to do business, and while Jack wasn't entirely sure that he'd be able to go all the way, these guys probably didn't have his inhibitions. Ryan figured he could live with that, as long as he wasn't the trigger man himself. Besides, they'd probably give him a chance to change countries first. Better a talking defector than a silent corpse.
"Would that give anything away?"
Sharp shook his head. "No. He's the chappie who killed Georgiy Markov, remember? We can always say it is a case of visiting Her Majesty's justice on someone who needed to learn about it."
"We don't approve of murder at home, Jack," John Sparrow advised. "It would indeed be a pleasure to have him answer for that."
"Okay." Ryan could live with that, too. He was certain his dad would approve.
Oh, yeah.
* * *
THE REST OF the day, they all played tourist and tested their radios. It turned out that the radios worked both inside and outside the basilica, and, better yet, inside to outside the immense stone structure. Each man would use his own name as an identifier. It made more sense than setting up numbers or code names that they'd all have to remember—one more confusing factor that they wouldn't need if the shit hit the fan. All the while, they looked around for the face of Boris Strokov, hoping for a miracle, and reminding themselves that miracles