'There are a lot of avalanches in that part of the world. They could have triggered the explosion prematurely.'
'I didn't think of that,' Viens admitted.
Herbert forced himself to focus on the present, not the past.
Op-Center's intelligence chief reloaded the pictures the satellite had sent moments before the blast. He asked the computer to enhance the images of the soldiers one at a time.
'It looked to me like the climbers tossed gas inside,' Herbert said.
'They obviously believed that someone might be waiting for them.'
'They were right,' Viens said.
'The question is how many people were in there?' Herbert said.
'Were the people who used that cave expecting the climbers? Or were they caught by surprise and decided they did not want to be captured alive?'
An image of the first soldier filled Herbert's monitor.
There was a clear shot of the man's right arm. On top, just below the shoulder of the white camouflage snowsuit, was a circular red patch with a solid black insignia. The silhouette showed a horse running along the tail of a comet. That was the insignia of the Special Frontier Force.
'Well, one thing's dead for sure,' Viens said.
'What's that?' Herbert asked.
'Matt Stoll just phoned to say he's not picking up the cell phone signal anymore,' Viens told Herbert.
'He wanted to see if we'd lost it too. I just checked. We have.'
Herbert was still looking at the monitor. He saved the magnified image of the shoulder patch.
'I wonder if the cell led the commandos there to throw them off the trail,' he said.
'Possibly,' Viens said.
'Do we have any idea which way the Indian commandos would have come?'
'From the south,' Herbert replied.
'How long would it take you to start searching through the mountains north of the site?'
'It will take about a half hour to move the satellite,' Viens said.
'First, though, I want to make sure we're not wasting our time. If anyone left the cave they would have had to go up before they could go down again. I want to get the Omni Com in for a closer look.'
'Footprints in the snow?' Herbert said as the secure phone on his wheelchair beeped.
'Exactly,' Viens replied.
'Go for it. I'll wait,' Herbert told him as he backed away from the desk so he could reach the phone. He snapped up the receiver.
'Herbert.' 'Bob, it's Hank Lewis,' said the caller.
'I've got Ron Friday on the line. He says it's important. I'd like to conference him in.' 'Go ahead,' Herbert said. He had been wondering what Friday would find at the farmhouse. He was hoping it did not confirm their fears of police or government involvement in the Srinagar market attack. The implications were too grim to contemplate.
'Go ahead, Ron,' Lewis said.
'I have Director of Intelligence Bob Herbert on the line with us.'
'Good,' Friday said.
'Mr. Herbert, I'm at the Kumar farmhouse in Kargil with my Black Cat liaison. I need to know what other intel you have on the farmer and his granddaughter.'
'What have you found out there?' Herbert asked.
'What?' Friday said.
'What did you find at the farm?' Herbert asked.
'What is this, 'I show you mine and you show me yours?' ' Friday angrily demanded.
'No,' Herbert said.
'It's a field report. Tell me what you've got.'
'I've got my ass on the front frigging line and you're sitting on your ass safe in Washington!' Friday said.
'I need information!'
'I'm on my ass because my legs don't work anymore,' Herbert responded calmly.
'I lost them because too many people trusted the wrong people. Mr. Friday, I've got an entire team headed toward your position and they may be at considerable risk. You're a piece in my puzzle, a field op for me. You tell me what you have and then I'll tell you what you need to know.' Friday said nothing. Herbert hoped he was considering exactly how to word his apology.
After a few moments Friday broke the silence.
