distance of about nine or ten miles to cross. The two barriers they would face there were the line of control and the Siachin Glacier. But if Indian soldiers have been moved from the LOC to this new forward line, that would leave the border relatively clear.'
'Which makes the glacier the big impediment,' Hood said.
'Right. But that makes stamina instead of greater numbers the big obstacle,' Herbert pointed out.
'Under the circumstances, that's the challenge I'd choose to face.'
'I agree,' Hood said.
'The good news is, Mike is at the foot of the glacier,' Herbert went on.
'If we find a second group of Pakistanis, he has a good shot at intercepting them.'
Hood brought up the map on his computer. He studied it for a moment.
'Who's in touch with Mike?' 'Brett is,' Herbert said.
'Bob, we're going to have to have Mike move out of the valley now,' Hood said.
'Whoa,' Herbert said.
'You want him on the glacier before we know for sure that the Pakistanis are even there?'
'We don't have a choice,' Hood replied.
'We do,' Herbert protested.
'First, we find the cell. Second, if they exist, we see which way they're going. If they're coming toward the valley, and we've sent him up the glacier, we'd be committing him to some pretty unfriendly terrain for nothing.'
'I'm looking at the relief map of the region,' Hood said.
'They have to take the glacier. The valley route adds another twelve miles or so to the trek.'
'Twelve relatively flat, easy miles,' Herbert added.
'Listen to me, Paul. That glacier is over eighteen thousand feet high.'
'I see that.'
'The cell was seven thousand, three hundred feet up in the mountains when Friday caught up with them,' Herbert went on.
'They would have to be out of their minds to go up when they could go down to a valley that's just two thousand feet above sea level.'
'Certainly the Indian army would assume that,' Hood said.
'Maybe,' Herbert said.
'No, they'd have to,' Hood insisted.
'Think about it. If your manpower were depleted at the LOC would you reinforce the valley exit or the glacier? Especially if you thought the cell was moving in another direction altogether?'
'I just think it's premature to send Mike up there,' Herbert said.
'Especially if he just ends up walking back down with the cell. What we need to do is have Viens find the cell and see which way they're going. Then we can decide.'
'If Viens finds them and if there's time to get Mike up there,' Hood said.
'The satellite has a lot of terrain to cover.'
'Then here's an alternate plan,' Herbert said angrily.
'Why don't we just have August hold an AK-47 on the group that's heading his way and make them tell him what their plans are?'
'Would you trust what they tell you?' Hood asked.
That obviously caught Herbert by surprise. He was silent.
'Think about it logically, Bob,' Hood continued.
'If the cell divided they won't want to run into a sizable Indian force. That means taking the glacier route, which is where they would need Mike's help the most. If he doesn't start out now there's a chance he may not catch them.'
'If,' ' Herbert said. '
'Would.'
'May.' There's a lot of conjecture there, Paul. An awful lot.'
'Yeah,' Hood agreed.
'And Barbara Fox just ripped me a new one for letting this mission out of the gate without sufficient intel. Maybe I did. Nuclear war is pretty serious stuff. But right now the goal is very clear. The key person isn't Mike, it's that girl from Kargil. And the mission is to get her safely to Pakistan. If there is a second group of Pakistanis and they go over the glacier, we can't afford to have Mike stuck in the valley or racing to catch them. He's our strongest, maybe our only asset. We need him in play.' 'All right, Paul,' Herbert said.
'It's your call. I'll have Brett relay your orders to Mike.'
