'We're up to seventeen percent this year with a projection of twenty percent next year,' Gable informed him.
'We're getting much better prices from Baku than we are from the Middle East. That was guaranteed by the trade agreement we signed with Baku in March 1993. And they've been very good about upholding their end of the agreement.'
'Shit,' the president said.
'What about the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States?' he asked.
'Where will they stand if two of their members go to war?'
'I took the liberty of having my staff put in calls to all of our ambassadors before I came over here,' the vice president said.
'We're in the process of ascertaining exactly where everyone stands. But a preliminary guess is that it will pretty much be split. Five or six of the poorer, smaller republics will side with Azerbaijan in the hopes of forming a new union with a share of the oil money. The other half will go with Russia for pretty much the same reason.'
'So we risk a wider war as well,' the president said.
'But this is more than just the possibility of us losing oil and watching a war erupt,' Fenwick pointed out.
'It's Iran and the Russian black market getting their hands on petrodollars that scares me.' The president shook his head.
'I'm going to have to bring the joint chiefs in on this.' The vice president nodded.
'We're going to have to move quickly. It's midmorning in the region. Things are going to happen very quickly. If they get ahead of us--'
'I know,' the president said. He was suddenly energized, ready to deal with the situation. He looked at his watch and then at Gable.
'Red, would you notify the joint chiefs to be here at three? Also, get the press secretary out of bed. I want him here as well.' He looked at the vice president.
'We'll need to alert the thirty-ninth Wing at Incirlik and the naval resources in the region.'
'That would be the Constellation in the North Arabian Sea and the Ronald Reagan in the Persian Gulf, sir,' Fenwick said.
'I'll put them on alert,' the vice president said. He excused himself and went to the president's private study. It was a small room that adjoined the Oval Office on the western side. That was also where the president's private lavatory and dining parlor were located.
'We'll also have to brief NATO command,' the president told Gable.
'I don't want them holding us up if we decide to act. And we're going to need a complete chemical and biological workup of the Azerbaijani military. See how far they'll go if we don't join in.'
'I already have that, sir,' Fenwick said.
'They've got deep reserves of anthrax as well as methyl cyanide and acetonitrile on the chemical side. All have surface-to surface missile delivery systems. Most of the reserves are stored in or near the NK. We're watching to see if any of them are moved.' The president nodded as his intercom beeped. It was his deputy executive secretary Charlotte Parker.
'Mr. President,' said Parker, 'Paul Hood would like to see you. He says it's very important.' Fenwick did not appear to react. He turned to Gable and began talking softly as he pointed to data on his notepad. Are they talking about the Caspian or about Hood?
the president wondered. Lawrence thought for a moment. If Hood were the one who had lost his way-either intentionally or because of external pressures-this would be the time and the place to find out.
'Tell him to come in,' said the president.
Saint Petersburg, Russia Tuesday, 9:56 am.
'We have the Harpooner's location!' Korsov shouted. Orlov looked up as Korsov rushed into his office. The young intelligence officer was followed by Boris Grosky, who looked less glum than Orlov had ever seen him. He did not look happy, but he did not look miserable. Korsov was holding several papers in his hands.
'Where is he?' Orlov asked. Korsov slapped a computer printout on Orlov's desk. There was a map and an arrow pointing to a building. Another arrow pointed to a street several blocks away.
'The signal originated at a hotel in Baku,' Korsov said.
'From there it went to Suleyman Ragimov Kuchasi. It's an avenue that runs parallel to Bakihanov Kuchasi, the location of the hotel.'
'Was he calling someone with a cell phone?' Orlov asked.
'We don't believe so,' Grosky said.
'We've been monitoring police broadcasts from the area to find out more about the oil rig explosion. While we were listening, we heard about a van explosion on Suleyman Ragimov. The blast is being investigated now.'
'It doesn't sound like a coincidence,' Korsov added.
'No, it doesn't,' Orlov agreed.
'Let's assume the Harpooner was behind that,' Korsov said.
'He might want to see it from his hotel room--'
'That might not be necessary, as long as he could hear it,' Orlov said.
