The sum of all fears - Tom Clancy [104]
"Perhaps," Ghosn said tiredly. Stress was so much more tiring than actual labor, though the American seemed to handle both quite well. Two hours later, they were back in the Bekaa Valley. The bomb - Ghosn didn't know what else to call it - was dropped unceremoniously in front of his workshop, and the party of five went to feast on fresh lamb. To Ghosn's surprise, the American had never had lamb before, and so was properly introduced to the traditional Arab delicacy.
"Got something interesting, Bill," Murray announced, as he came into the Director's office.
"What's that, Danny?" Shaw looked up from his appointments schedule.
"A cop got himself killed over in Athens, and they think it was an American who did it." Murray filled Shaw in on the technical details.
"Broke his neck barehanded?" Bill asked.
"That's right. The cop was a skinny little guy," Murray said, "but "
"Jesus. Okay, let's see." Murray handed the photo over. "We know this guy, Dan? It's not the best picture in the world."
"Al Denton thinks it might be Marvin Russell. He's playing computer games on the original slide. There were no prints or other forensic stuff. The car was registered to a third party who disappeared, probably never existed in the first place. The driver of the other vehicle is an unknown. Anyway, it fits Russell's description, short and powerful, and the cheekbones and coloration make him look like an Indian. Clothing is definitely American. So's the suitcase."
"So you think he skipped the country after we got his brother smart move," Shaw judged. "He was supposed to be the bright one, wasn't he?"
"Smart enough to get teamed up with an Arab."
"Think so?" Shaw examined the other face. "Could be Greek, or anything Mediterranean. Skin's a little fair for an Arab, but it's a pretty ordinary face, and you said it's an unknown. Gut call, Dan?"
"Yep." Murray nodded. "I checked the file. A confidential informant told us a few years ago that Marvin made a trip east a few years back and made contacts with the PFLP. Athens is a convenient place to renew the association. Neutral ground."
"Also a good place to make connections for a drug deal," Shaw suggested. "What current info do we have on Brother Marvin?"
"Not much. Our best CI out there is back in the joint - had a brawl with a couple of reservation cops and came off second-best."
Shaw grunted. The problem with Confidential Informants, of course, was that most of them were criminals who did illegal things and regularly ended up in jail. That both established their bonafides and made them temporarily useless. Such were the rules of the game. "Okay," the FBI Director said. "You want to do something. What is it?"
"With a little nudge, we can spring the CI on good-time rules and get him back into the Warrior Society. If this is a terrorist connection, we'd better start running some leads down. Ditto if it's for drugs. Interpol has already come up blank on the driver. No record of his face for either terrorist or drug connections. The Greeks have come to a blank wall. Information on the car didn't lead them anywhere. They have a dead sergeant, and all they got to go on is two faces with no names attached. Sending the photo to us was their last shot. They figured him for an American "
"Hotel?" the Director asked, ever the investigator.
"Yeah, they identified that - that is, they know it's one of two places side by side. There were ten people with American passports who checked out that day, but they're both little places with lots of in-and-out, and they came up with nothing useful for identification purposes. The hotel staff is forgetful. That kind of a place. Who's to say that our friend even stayed there? The Greeks want us to do follow-up on the names from the hotel register," Murray concluded.
Bill Shaw handed the photo back. "That's simple enough. Run with it."
"Already being done."
"Assuming we know that these two had anything to do with the killing. Well, you gotta go with your best