'What time?'
'Oh, he can make it well before light. If he finds an exposed ridge, he won't have much snow accumulation, given a fair amount of wind. If he gets a tailwind, it could actually help him, though we don't have the wind tendency dope in yet. He'd almost certainly make it before light. He could set himself up without much difficulty.
I don't know where--' 'He'll be to the east,' Swagger said.
'He'll want the sun behind him. He won't want any chance of the light hitting his lens and reflecting down into the target area.'
'How soon can Idaho State Police or park rangers make it in?' asked Bonson, who was running this show with glaring ferocity. He was apparently something of a legend in these precincts, Bob could tell, all the others deferred to him and at the same time were subtly eager for his attention and his approval. Bob had seen it in staff briefings a thousand times.
'Probably not till midmorning. They can't helicopter in, they can't navigate with snow mobiles or tracked vehicles at night.'
'Can't they walk in?' said Bonson.
'I mean, if Solaratov can walk, why can't they?'
'Well, sir,' said the analyst, 'don't forget they have a civil emergency on their hands. They're going to have people stuck along highways in snowdrifts for fifty miles each way, they're going to have accidents, frostbite, wires down, messed-up communications, hypothermia, the whole shebang of a public safety emergency. Sir, you could call the governor and get him to divert some people, that might work. But I don't know how it would play in--' 'It doesn't matter,' said Bob.
'If he runs into cops or rangers, he'll just kill them too and go on about his business.
It's not a problem for him. These guys have no idea what they're up against. He can take them out, take out my wife, then escape and evade for weeks until pickup.
That's how good he is. That's what his whole life has been about.'
'Sir, with all due respect,' said the young analyst, 'I'd like to make a point which I'd be more comfortable making in private. But I have to make it here and now, so I hope Sergeant Swagger will understand that it's not about personalities, it's about responsibilities.'
'Go ahead,' said Swagger.
'Speak freely. Say what has to be said.'
'Well, sir,' said the young analyst, 'I have to think that it might be wise to concede the Russian his mission.
We ought to be thinking about contingency plans for taking him down on the out route. He's an incredible asset.
The information he has! Our first priority ought to be to take him alive and absorb the casualties--' 'No!' boomed Bonson, like Odin throwing thunderbolts.
'Sergeant Swagger's wife is obviously in possession of valuable knowledge. You'd let that go? They think she's important enough to run this high-risk, maximum-effort mission, and you're going to let them get her? And you're saying to Sergeant Swagger here, we're just going to let your wife die? It's more important that we get some information on old ops? We'll just let him do his little thing, then we'll pick him up in the afternoon?'
'Sir, I'm trying to be realistic. I'm sorry, Sergeant Swagger. I get paid to call them as I see them.'
'I understand,' said Bob.
'It ain't a problem.'
'How fast could we get FBI HRT in there, or Idaho State Police SWAT?' asked Bonson again.
'It's a no-go for stopping the shot,' said the analyst.
'It just can't happen. We can't get people in there fast enough. Man, this guy's really caught some breaks!'
Bonson turned to him.
'I am not willing to concede him his mission. I absolutely am not. Will one of you bright young geniuses solve this problem? That also is what you're paid for.'
'I'm just thinking out loud, but you could target the sniper's likely location with cruise missiles,' someone said.
'They're very accurate. You'd have a pretty good chance of--' 'No, no,' someone else said, 'the cruises are low altitude slow-movers, with not a lot of wing to give them much maneuverability. They'd never get through the inclement weather. Plus, they have to read land forms to navigate and we don't have time to program them. Finally, the nearest cruises are on a nuclear missile frigate in San Diego. There's no mission sustain ability in the time frame.'
'Could we smart bomb?'
'The infrared could see through the clouds, but the land forms in the mountains are so goddamned confusing that I don't see how he could pinpoint the target area.'
'No, but that's promising,' said Bonson.
'All right, Wigler, I want you to run a feasibility study, and I mean instantaneously.'
Wigler nodded, grabbed his coffee and raced out.
It was quiet. Bob looked at his watch. Midnight. Solaratov was well on his way. Six, maybe seven hours till daylight out there. He'd take his shot, Julie would join Donny and Trig and Peter Farris, and whatever secret she
