'What would you do?' Hood asked. 'It's your operation.'
'I'd tell them to do whatever is necessary to survive and exit,' Rodgers replied. 'I certainly wouldn't leave them defenseless.'
'I agree,' Hood said. 'Aideen won't use violence unless it's absolutely necessary. And if that becomes necessary, the U.S. will have to deal with whatever happens.'
'We all agree,' Herbert said. ' 'Out of chaos does come order.' '
'Or worse chaos,' Rodgers said. 'That's something metzsche and I never agreed on.'
Herbert's mouth twisted, and he pondered that as Darrell McCaskey joined them.
'What's new on the Japanese front?' Hood asked him.
'Something that may or may not have any bearing on what's going on in Botswana,' McCaskey said.
McCaskey appeared to have regained some of the old Gman steel. Rodgers was glad to see it.
'A group of Japanese tourists was stopped at customs in Gaborone three days ago,' McCaskey said. 'They were bringing all kinds of electronics into the country. The Botswanans let them in. According to the hotel records, two of the tourists never checked in. I tried to run them down but could not find them. However, two Japanese tourists did show up, renting a
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car in Maun. There was no record of those two having entered the country.'
'You think they're the same people?' Hood asked.
'The timing works if they took the afternoon bus from Gaborone to Maun,' McCaskey said.
McCaskey fell silent as Rodgers's phone beeped. The general answered immediately.
'Yes?' Rodgers said.
'It's Aideen,' said the caller. 'Two Spanish soldiers tried to rescue someone they thought was Father Bradbury. They were killed.'
'Oh Jesus,' Rodgers said.
The other men looked at him.
'The Vodunists lost two men,' Aideen added. 'The priest is still with Dhamballa.'
'When did this happen?' Rodgers asked.
He noticed a crack in McCaskey's tough expression. Rodgers felt bad for him, but he could explain that nothing had happened to his wife. Not yet.
'The attack came at about eleven-thirty, local time,' Aideen replied.
'After we called Kline,' Rodgers said.
'That's right,' Aideen said. 'Seronga had left the priest and several men behind as decoys. The Spaniards went for it. I have serial numbers for the weapons they were carrying as proof.'
Aideen gave Rodgers the serial numbers. He wrote them down. Rodgers immediately recognized the PK prefix as belonging to the Star pistols carried by the Spanish military. He confirmed to Aideen that, apparently, they had gone in. Rodgers covered the mouthpiece. He asked Hood to get Edgar Kline on the line.
'What is it?' Herbert pressed.
Hood held up a finger as Aideen continued.
'The Vodunists will allow the Botswana military or the VSO to talk to Father Bradbury, to prove that they have him,' Aideen went on. 'We are very much trying to find.^ nonviolent way out of this.'
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'Do you need to be involved in that?' Rodgers asked.
'I don't think Seronga can do it alone,' Aideen said. 'If the Botswana military shows up, my sense is that they'll shoot first and justify it later. But if they know that Father Bradbury is here and we are here-'
'Understood. How much time do you need?' Rodgers asked.
'About two hours,' Aideen replied.
'I'll try to get that for you,' Rodgers assured her.
'We should be linking up with Dhamballa in less than an hour,' Aideen said. 'Father Bradbury will arrive shortly after that. We will call you on this phone. You'll have to put him through to the authorities, convince them that he is well. If we can delay the attack, we can also prove that the Brush Vipers had nothing to do with the death of Bishop Max.'
'I like it,' Rodgers said. 'What we don't know is whether that will satisfy Gaborone's needs.'
'I'm hoping we can also get the Brush Vipers to disband,' Aideen said. 'I spoke with Seronga. I think they've had enough.'
'All right,' Rodgers said. 'We'll work it on this end. Meanwhile, is everyone all right?'
'So far,' she replied.
