Tom Clancy's op-centre_ mirror image - Tom Clancy [52]
Quirk removed his headset as Herbert arrived. The three other people in the room continued working at their monitors, which were trained on Moscow and St. Petersburg.
"Bob," Quirk said, "we've intercepted transmissions indicating that equipment is being collected at air bases from Ryazan to Vladivostok for shipment to Belgorod."
"Belgorod?" Herbert said. "That's where the Russians have been holding maneuvers. What kind of equipment are they sending over?"
Quirk turned his blue eyes toward the screen. "You name it. Automated communications trucks, vehicle-mounted radio relay stations, a helicopter-mounted retransmission station, Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants trucks and trailers, along with full maintenance companies and field kitchen trucks."
"They're setting up a communications and supply route," Herbert said. "Could be a drill of some kind."
"I've never seen one this sudden."
"What do you mean?" Herbert asked.
"Well," Quirk said, "this is clearly an engagement build-up, but before the Russians engage there's always a great deal of communication about the expected time of the encounter and the anticipated size of enemy forces. We'll pick up their calculations on speed-of-movement scales, and there'll be conversations between frontline forces and headquarters about tactics-- envelopment, turning movement, combined, that sort of thing."
"But you didn't get any of that," Herbert said.
"Zero. This is as sudden as anything I've ever seen."
"Yet when everything's in place," Herbert said, "they'll be ready for something big like a move into the Ukraine."
"Correct."
"Yet the Ukrainians are doing nothing," Herbert said.
"They may not know anything's up," Quirk said.
"Or they may not he taking it seriously," Herbert said. "NRO photos show that they've got reconnaissance personnel close to the border-- but not deep reconnaissance companies. Obviously, they don't expect to have to operate from behind enemy lines." Herbert drummed his leather armrests. "How soon before the Russians are ready to move?"
"They'll be in position by tonight," Quirk said. "By aircraft, it's just a short hop to Belgorod."
"And there's no chance that these are bogeys?" Herbert asked.
Quirk shook his head. "These communications are real, all right. The Russians use a combination of Latin and Cyrillic characters when they want to confuse us. The letters shared by the alphabets are supposed to throw us off because it's tough to know which alphabet they mean." He patted the computer. "But Uther manages to sniff them out."
Herbert squeezed Quirk's shoulder. "Good work. Let me know if you pick up anything else."
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Monday, 9:30 P.M., St. Petersburg
"Sir," said red-cheeked Yuri Marev, "the radio room says they've received a coded communication via Pacific Fleet headquarters in Vladivostok. It's from the plane you've had me follow on the Hawk satellite."
General Orlov stopped his slow pacing behind the computer bank and walked to the young man, who was seated at the far left of the bank.
"Are you certain?" Orlov asked.
"There's no doubt, sir. It's the Gulfstream."
Orlov glanced at the clock on the computer screen. The plane wasn't due to land for another half hour, and he knew that region well: if anything, at this time of year the winds would work against them and the plane would be late.
"Tell Zilash I'm coming," Orlov said, walking quickly to the door that opened into the corridor. He entered that day's code on the keypad beside a door across the hall, then went into the cramped, smoke-filled radio room which was located next to Glinka's security operations