The Hunters

Papineau stood behind him, peering over his shoulder. ‘Very apt. It even looks like a bug.’

Both of them looked up when the foursome entered. Cobb led the way, followed by Sarah, Jasmine, and McNutt, who joined the others when they came through the freight car.

‘Where’d you find it?’ Cobb asked, noting the six sticky antennae legs and the tiny central hub, no bigger than a Tylenol.

‘In McNutt’s car, inside an outlet plate,’ Garcia said. ‘At first I thought it actually was a daddy long legs, but a daddy long legs doesn’t lie flat like this did.’

Cobb nodded. ‘It’s KGB all right. Or at least ex-KGB.’

‘The KGB was that sophisticated?’ Jasmine asked.

McNutt laughed. ‘Oh, they’ve got a long history with bugs. Once they planted a listening device inside a Great Seal of the United States, which they gave as a gift to the US Ambassador in Moscow. It worked for six years. When we finally discovered it, the KGB had the entire construction crew essentially make the newly built US Embassy in Moscow one gigantic listening device. That lasted for ten years. And when it was finally discovered, there were so many bugs in the place we actually had to tear the whole thing down!’

‘See?’ Garcia interjected, holding up the device. ‘The legs are a mixture of transmitters and microphones. It really is a clever design.’

‘Are they listening now?’ McNutt asked pointedly.

‘Nope. I clipped all the wires and crushed the processors.’

Cobb shook his head sadly. ‘Stupid of me. I should have told you to just find it. We could’ve used it to throw the Black Robes off track.’

McNutt clapped him on the shoulder. ‘The good news is there’s no telling how many others he installed before skulking away.’

‘Good point,’ Cobb said. ‘Hector, take Jasmine and go tell the train workers to look for any more, just to be on the safe side. While you’re out there, check with Dobrev to see if there’s anything more he wants or needs. The sooner we get this show on the road, the better it’ll be.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Garcia said. ‘If they’re out there, I’ll find them.’

‘Not worried at all,’ Cobb smiled.

‘On the road?’ Sarah asked. ‘On the road to where?’

‘We follow the prince’s most likely trail,’ he told her. ‘Anything is better than waiting here for the next Black Robe.’ Cobb turned to the Frenchman. ‘You better get ready, Papi.’

‘Get ready?’ Sarah repeated. ‘What does he have to get ready for?’

‘His speech,’ Cobb said.

Papineau straightened his tie. ‘I am attending the official launch of the Eastern Euro Trans Energy Study at the Leningradsky rail terminal across town.’

McNutt, Sarah, and Jasmine looked at their employer in surprise.

‘What do you mean?’ Sarah demanded.

‘I mean that I will be suffering through many hours of boring speeches from a variety of low-level Russian dignitaries while toasting many glasses of middling vodka. Then I will board a non-luxury train and lead the study toward the Bering Strait — in the opposite direction of you.’

The trio continued to stare at Papineau.

Cobb let them stare for a while. ‘You didn’t think he was coming with us, did you?’

McNutt looked from Cobb to the Frenchman, realized the beauty of the plan, and then grunted in realization. ‘Oh, I get it! You’re the decoy.’

‘Exactly,’ Papineau said. ‘If it hadn’t been for our black-robed friend, you might have gone completely unnoticed. But now I have to do my best to lead the hounds away.’

‘Don’t you need me there as translator?’ Jasmine asked.

Papineau looked at her with mock disdain. ‘Now, you don’t think a man as important as I am has just one interpreter, do you? Besides, I need you to stay here and take care of Andrei.’

Jasmine nodded. ‘It will be my pleasure.’

Cobb glanced at Papineau. ‘Any final words?’

He smiled at Cobb. ‘Hit the road, Jack — but stay in touch.’

37

The public launch of the new American-European survey was going exactly as Papineau expected. Talk, talk, more talk, and then even more talk about nothing that had yet been done. But as he sat on the upraised dais at track number one of the Leningradsky rail terminal, listening to the fifth speech declaring collaboration, dedication, and international cooperation, it gave him time to consider his confrontation with Cobb.

Everything Cobb had questioned about the delivery of the train and the weapons resonated with the Frenchman. Cobb had said nothing wrong or unfair. The main reason Papineau couldn’t reply honestly was because he didn’t know all the answers. He understood that it was the recovery of the letter from the Brighton Beach estate and its delivery that had set things in motion, but he wasn’t aware of the specifics. He knew his colleague had numerous connections in Russia and throughout Eastern Europe, but the speed and ease with which Papineau’s most recent requests had been fulfilled was truly impressive.

Getting one train across the continent’s rail system was remarkable enough, but two? Not to mention the small armory of weapons and other equipment that passed through customs without incident. Getting them out of America was one thing, but getting them into Russia was quite another. And all in exchange for a single letter?

After thinking things through, Papineau came to a disturbing conclusion: what if his associate had cut a side deal with the Black Robes? These men did not seem to be interested in material things. At least, not the kinds of things people traditionally coveted.

What had he promised them to get them involved?

And why hadn’t he told Papineau of their involvement?

On his way to the reception, he had spotted another cloaked figure as he entered the station from Komsomolskaya Square. These men — for he had yet to see a woman in the telltale black outfit — had to be very well connected if they were able to exert their influence while wearing such recognizable vestments.

The Frenchman turned to his right, then glanced back as if he were simply surveying the crowd of low-ranking rail and local dignitaries. In the dark red and yellow light of the terminal, the Black Robe looked like a cockroach on a wedding cake. These men seemed to revel in an attitude that screamed, Here I am, what are you going to do about it?

They had the kind of pervasive access and freedom of movement that no single Russian group possessed — not even the black market. Black marketeers were not monolithic. They were like the old Bolsheviks and Mensheviks of the Revolution, warring factions within the rebellious movement. And they would want a very, very large percentage of any take.

With growing concern that these confederates were in fact his adversaries, Papineau took stock of their actions. So far, it seemed that the Black Robes were pretty intent on keeping track of his team and every member thereof. The attempt to plant a listening device was unexpectedly clumsy. Papineau did not expect their next attempts, if there were any, to be as haphazard or ineffectual. Papineau still hoped that the attack on Sarah had been little more than misguided, overzealous, or panicked thinking on the part of the bug planter. But it raised more uncomfortable questions.

Was that their first-and-only attempt to piggyback on the mission?

Were the Black Robes looking to eliminate his team if they were successful?

Am I sending my team into an inevitable and inescapable trap?

Papineau’s meditation was ended by a gentle poke in the side from a neighboring elbow. The Frenchman jumped slightly and looked over to his new interpreter, a six-foot-four-inch Russian with a dark, bushy beard named Mikhail Ivanov. The translator nodded gently at the podium.

Papineau turned to see the Under Deputy Minister of Transportation smiling, applauding, and looking at him.