'It makes a whole lot of sense,' Herbert told him. 'I knew you'd want the soldiers in place before the bishop arrives tomorrow. But you don't know who may be helping the Brush Vipers, so you couldn't risk sending in a Spanish military aircraft. I had our computer group check flights from Spain to Botswana. Reservations for several Spanish men came up on the hop from Valencia to Madrid and then to Gaborone. The names were aliases, but they used their personal telephone numbers for E-ticket security. That data was in the Pentagon's files from last year's war-sim exercises on the Mediterranean. They don't share tactical information with people they can't find again. The name that stood out was Major Jose Sanjulian. He's an antiterrorist specialist with the Grupo del Cuartel General, Unidad Especial del Despliegue.'
'Now you know everything I did,' Kline remarked. 'In fact, you knew more than I did.'
There was resentment in his voice. Herbert was sorry to hear it. But this was not a profession where friendship could come before national security or the lives of one's cowork«rs. Kline was a professional. He would think about what Herbert had
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done, and he would recover. Especially if he wanted OpCenter to help in the search for Father Bradbury.
'Now that everything is on the table, Mr. Kline, what wo'uld you like from us?' Hood asked.
Kline regarded Herbert. 'Is everything on the table, Bob?'
'You mean, have I done any other snooping?' he asked.
'No,' Kline replied. 'Is there anything else I should know to protect lives in Botswana?'
'Not at the moment,' Herbert said.
Kline did not look as though he believed him. Herbert did not care.
'Edgar, what do you want from us?' Hood asked.
'Broadly, we would like any quiet intelligence assistance you can provide,' Kline told Hood.
'That's a pretty big canvas to work on,' Hood said. 'We have the present activities of the perpetrators and whoever might be backing them, as well as the history of Mr. Seronga and his own associates.'
'It's extremely big and volatile,' Kline agreed. 'We are dealing with what we see as a three-part problem. One is the situation involving Father Bradbury. That's the one we're most concerned with. Getting him back. But his abduction is obviously not an isolated action. Father Bradbury was provoked into asking his missionaries to leave Botswana. That seems to be a very clear prelude to an anti-Catholic movement relating to the activities of this Dhamballa individual.'
'The cult leader,' Hood said.
'Correct,' Kline replied. 'The second part of the problem is, if we cannot quickly secure the safe release of Father Bradbury, we need to know what Dhamballa's plans for him are.'
'I assume there's been no contact between the cult and the Vatican?' Hood said.
'None at all,' Kline told him. 'Dhamballa does not have any kind of office or even a physical church that we are aware of. We don't even know what the man's name was before he founded this cult.'
'What's the third problem, Mr. Kline?' Hood asked.
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'That one is not so much a Vatican issue but a potential problem for Botswana and the rest of the region,' Kline replied. 'That's the problem you pointed out earlier, that of who may be backing Dhamballa. We do not know whether Albert Beaudin is involved in this movement. If he is, it's extremely doubtful he is there for religious enlightenment.'
'He would want to stir things up for his own reasons,' Hood said.
Kline nodded.
'Bob, do we know whether Beaudin has access to the same NATO files we used?' Hood asked.
'He probably does,' Herbert said. 'At the very least, whoever is behind this would probably assume that the bishop will not be unprotected.'
'Mr. Kline, what does the Vatican risk by letting this play out a little longer?' Hood asked.
'A great deal. If this were simply about the return of Father Bradbury, I would agree to let the church go untenanted for a time,' Kline replied. 'But it isn't. It's about the credibility of the Vatican and its commitment to those who have literally put their faith in us, not just in Botswana but around the world. These are volatile, militant times. The Church cannot afford to be as passive as it has been in the past.'
'Flip the question,' Hood said. 'Can Dhamballa afford to let Bishop Max take up where Father Bradbury left off?'
'We don't know,' Kline admitted. 'We're hoping the Vatican's resolve will discourage him from ratcheting this higher.'
'You mean by attacking a bishop,' Hood said.
Kline nodded.
'What if that's what Dhamballa wants?' Herbert asked. 'What if he's looking to prove how bold he is by taking on the Church? How outsiders return to his land without hesitation.'
'Then we will have an extremely grave situation on our hands,' Kline admitted. 'The Church is not willing to give up its missionary activities in Botswana or anywhere else.'
