see what happened next.'
'Which was?' Rodgers asked.
'There were two deacons waiting for the bishop. They ran onto the field to try to stop the killer. One of the deacons had a gun.'
'Was he one of the Spanish representatives?' Rodgers asked.
'No,' she replied. 'Both deacons were black men.'
Rodgers had seen the file on the Grupo del Cuartel General, Unidad Especial del Despliegue. None of the soldiers was black.
'I'm almost certain one of them was the man whose photograph was in the file,' Maria added.
Apart from Dhamballa, the only black man pictured in the file was Leon Seronga. 'Did you get a picture of him?' Rodgers asked.
'Yes, but it's not a very good one,' she replied. 'He was facing away from me most of the time.'
'What happened to the deacons?' Rodgers asked.
'The gunman fired at one of them,' Maria went on. 'The deacon was not hit, but he pretended to be.'
'Are you sure?' Rodgers asked.
'Very,' Maria said. 'The two men said they were going to the hospital and left in a taxi. I am following them now.'
'What did the Spanish do?' Rodgers asked.
'They stayed at the field,' she said. 'I think they believed that the two men were deacons.'
r
236
OP-CENTER
'Were there any police officers at the airport?' Rodgers asked.
'Not that I saw,' she replied.
Rodgers brought up his computer file on the Maun airfield. He looked at the map of the surrounding area. The nearest police station was back in the city itself. That meant it would be at least a half hour before authorities could get to the airfield. Anyone who had been involved in this by accident or design would have plenty of time to get away. And several routes to do it.
'What road are you on?' Rodgers asked.
Rodgers heard Maria ask the driver. 'He says we're on the Nata Road,' she told him.
'The police will be coming along the Central Highway,' he said. 'Our deacons obviously know that.'
'I'm sure they do,' she said. 'On the other hand, they may not be headed toward Maun.'
'True,' Rodgers said. He should have thought of that. He glanced at the computer clock. 'Your associates from Washington should be reaching Maun in about three hours. Can you keep the taxicab?'
'I've hired a driver for the day,' she said. 'He's a good man.'
'All right,' Rodgers said. 'I'll make sure the others hook up with you along the way. Try to check in every half hour. And Maria?'
'Yes?'
'Be careful,' Rodgers said. 'And thank you.'
Maria thanked Rodgers for giving her this opportunity. Then she hung up. The general did not bother to replace the receiver. He hit Paul Hood's extension. He felt as if Maria had lit the afterburners. He collected his thoughts as Bugs Benet put the call through.
An American clergyman had been killed. Edgar Kline and the president would have to be informed. So would Aideen Marley and David Battat. Then Op-Center would have to do two things more. They would have to find out who wanted this situation to spin out of control.
And then prevent that from happening.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Maun, Botswana Friday, 3:44 P.M.
Upon getting into the taxi, Leon Seronga told the driver to head out along the Nata Road. Seronga told him they would be taking the highway toward the town of Orapa. The driver pulled away from the curb. As he drove, he used his cell phone to call his dispatcher in Maun.
Seronga was oblivious to the driver's conversation. The airconditioning grumbled loudly beneath the dashboard. The muffler hacked under the car. Seronga heard none of that either. His senses had shut down to everything but lingering shock over the assassination. It held him like nothing he had ever experienced. He had seen men killed before, but he had never been caught by surprise like this. And he had never been faced with a greater crisis.
Someone obviously wanted to frame Dhamballa, possibly draw him out to defend himself, Seronga thought. Until this moment, he had not realized how truly vulnerable Dhamballa was. Not necessarily to physical attack but to being undermined. His ministry could end before it had truly begun.
In time, support for the Vodun leader would have grown exponentially. That was when Dhamballa intended to take a very strong public stand on the question of outsiders influencing or controlling Botswanan religion, culture, and industry. But that would not happen for many months. At the moment, Dhamballa was not yet well enough
