Death Minus Zero. Don Pendleton
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a match for Doug is proving difficult. Sorry if I sound cold-blooded. It always comes out that way no matter how it’s phrased.”
“We know what you mean, Colonel,” Valens said. “Since Zero came online we’ve become a close family. There’s no other way to put it. Our lives are so intertwined now. There’s more than a working relationship that exists.”
“A good combination,” Corrigan said.
“And part of that is lost now that Kaplan’s been kidnapped,” Valens said. “We have to get him back. No question about it.”
“Saul Kaplan is the life-force behind Zero. He’s constantly adding to and fine-tuning things,” Corrigan said. “The man never stops. Just when you think he’s added all he can, he comes up with a new theory. A fresh attachment. If I come across as sounding selfish, I still have to say we’ll be taking a step back if we lose him.”
“Then we had better make sure we don’t,” McCarter said. “It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll find him.”
“Agent Valens.” McCarter turned to her. “How about you run us out to take a look at the site?” He had sensed the slight tension in Corrigan’s presence and decided it might be easier on them all if they got Valens off base, even if it was only for a little while.
“Any problem, Colonel?” Valens said.
Corrigan shook his head. “If you think it might help.”
“We have nothing to lose,” James pointed out. “And we need to start somewhere.”
“We’ll do it this way,” McCarter advised. “Constantine and Rankin, you stay here and liaise with Brandon. Go through anything you can see. That okay with you, Agent Valens?”
“Fine. Larry, you can use my office.”
“If that’s what you want,” Brandon said.
Valens smiled. “That’s what I want. Okay? Good. Shall we do this, gentlemen?” She led the way to the motor pool.
* * *
VALENS WAS DRIVING the black SUV. It was a large-edition model, with enough room to accommodate them all. McCarter was in the passenger seat beside Valens. She glanced at him.
“Nicely handled, getting us out of there,” she said. “Thanks for that.”
“We appear to be a pain in the arse as far as the colonel is concerned,” the Briton said lightly. “I guess he’s got enough to be worried about without a bunch of cowboys invading his range.”
“I think he sees us as raining on his parade,” Manning said.
Valens said, “He’s touchy because his command lost Kaplan. Can’t expect anything else.” She gave a weak smile. “I know how he’s feeling.”
“Right now soothing his tender bloody brow isn’t my concern,” McCarter said.
“Well, look at it from his viewpoint,” Valens said. “This whole setup is his responsibility. His top man has gone missing. He isn’t going to take that lightly. Not Colonel Corrigan.”
“I’ll lie awake tonight thinking about that,” James said dryly.
“What’s your gut telling you about all this, Agent Valens?” Manning asked.
“Hey, let go of the ‘Agent’ angle. It’s Claire—or Valens, if you do feel official.”
“So what does your gut tell you, Claire?”
“Off the wall? My money is on a feeling I have that the Chinese are involved. Tying it in with the information we received from Jui Kai, it’s all starting to fit.”
“That’s pretty direct,” Manning said. “I’m guessing you don’t have any concrete proof?”
“General Tung Shan was the man in charge of the original Zero strike. He ran the operation and when it fell apart he was dismissed. From gathered intelligence at the time, it meant he would most likely have been executed and replaced. Failure in the People’s Republic is not something to be dealt with lightly.”
“I’m seeing something coming here,” James said.
“Kai has sent us updated data,” Valens said.
“How up-to-date is ‘updated’?” McCarter asked.
“Last contact we had was a day ago. Kai has been concentrating on our identified player.”
“Colonel Xia Chan,” McCarter said.
Valens nodded. “Really been doing your homework.”
“We like to keep up,” Manning replied.
“Kai has confirmed Chan as the man promoted to engage in the task of bringing a major military prize into Chinese hands. Chan is a rising star. Real go-getter. Zero would be the project to push him up the ladder.”
“After all this time?” McCarter said. “I can see where your line of thinking goes—”
“The Chinese went after Zero before because they saw it as a threat, especially in the Pacific Rim,” Valens said, cutting him off. “They have allies in that theater. Removing Zero would have maintained the statusquo. When we canceled their attempt, China lost face. That would have hurt. They withdrew active interest at the time, but I don’t believe for one second they forgot about Zero.”
“Put it on the back burner,” Manning suggested. “Went into slumber mode.”
“Exactly. The old Sleeping Dragon scenario,” Valens said. “Something China is very good at. Patience in all things. The long game. Gathering data. Waiting for the next opportunity.”
“You make them sound a little paranoid,” James said.
“Read up on it,” Valens said. “The debate is still going on but there’s a consensus that wars could be waged from space in the not-too-distant future. If that’s so, the nation with the technology is going to be able to call the shots.”
“As with Zero,” James said. “It gives us the advantage at the moment.”
“Which is why the Chinese may still have an interest. And with Kaplan’s sudden disappearance, it starts to make sense.”
“Are they thinking if they have Kaplan they can make him work for them?” Manning said.
“They won’t have taken him just so he can visit the Peking Opera,” McCarter returned.
“They may have Kaplan,” James challenged, “but it’s a long leap from that to having a platform of their own.”
“Maybe the idea is to coerce Kaplan into providing them with the information that might allow them to break into the system and gain control,” Manning said.
“No argument from me,” Valens said. “It would certainly be a faster way to get what they want. But just the thought of it happening is enough to make me nervous.”
“Next question...” McCarter said, moving on. “I can’t see the kidnappers staying in this country. They’ll want to get him clear of the US. That could be happening right now. If they get Kaplan out of the country, they have a whole world to hide him in. And we have a larger playing field to search.”
“The minute we realized he was missing there was a clampdown on exit points. Sea. Air,” Valens said. “And I know what you are going to say. There are no guarantees we’ll pick them up. If they work at it they’ll find a way to get him out of America. Let’s not forget private airstrips and failing to declare exactly who is on board and where a particular aircraft might be going.”
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