Silent Thunder

'I won't dignify that with a response.'

'I wouldn't, either. Those are people you don't want to cross. If they somehow got the impression you're less than discreet…'

'Are you threatening me? Because if you are…?' Niler raised the remote.

'Enough of that. Trigger the explosive, and I'll kill you before the smoke clears.'

'That won't help her.'

'Nor you, and I won't be any closer to finding Pavski. We all lose. Instead, why don't we pursue an option in which we all win?'

Niler was silent, studying her. 'What do you have in mind?'

'Help us find Pavski. Tell us what you know about his plans, his contact information, anything you have. As I said, we'll make it worth your while.'

Niler smiled. 'I imagine there must be a lot of people who would like to find Pavski.'

'Almost as many people who would like to find me.'

Niler gestured to Hannah. 'Does she know who you are?'

'She has her own reasons for wanting Pavski. He used your bomb as a weapon against us. He lured us to it. I don't believe that was your intent.'

'It wasn't. I told you, I'm not a terrorist.'

'Will you help us?'

Niler stared at them.

'The necklace, Niler.'

He didn't move for a full minute, then finally walked across the room and unfastened the necklace from around Hannah's neck.

She rubbed her throat as if a crushing weight had been lifted from it. Only then did she realize how much she'd been trembling. Jesus, she'd been scared.

'Well?' Kirov asked.

Niler disengaged the necklace's small radio receiver and placed it inside a cigar box behind the bar. He smiled. 'There's a possibility I may have good news for you.'

WASHINGTON, D.C.

1:10 A.M.

Bradworth rolled over in bed and grabbed the cell phone from his night table. 'Bradworth.'

'It's Fahey. I realize it's late there, but I knew you'd want to hear this.'

'What have you got?'

'We just finished the DNA work on that skeleton. It's definitely Ivanov.'

'Christ, I was afraid of that.'

'Your buddy Kirov is an imposter. Dimitri Ivanov hasn't walked the earth in over five years.'

If Bradworth hadn't been fully awake before, he was now. 'You're absolutely positive?'

'They matched it with DNA they took from Ivanov's uncle. The certainty level is something like six billion to one. I'd go to Vegas with odds a lot worse than that.'

'How are the Russians reacting?'

'They're understandably curious about who Kirov really is. I'm sure you'll be hearing about it from your Russian contacts.'

'No doubt. Damn.'

'You've been working with Kirov for years. You don't have any idea who you've been dealing with?'

'I'm working with the analysts on a list of possibilities.'

'No idea, huh?'

'Good-bye, Fahey.' Bradworth cut the connection. Snide son of a bitch.

Better get used to it, he thought. The guys at the Agency were going to have a field day with this one. The director had already ordered a review of all operations in which Kirov had been involved, and with this final piece of evidence, the scrutiny would only intensify.

This was how careers were destroyed, Bradworth realized. Kirov was his responsibility, and he was going to catch hell all the way up the chain of command. Though at the moment that didn't matter as much as he thought it would.

What mattered was Hannah Bryson. She was still out there with this Kirov or whoever the hell he was, and it might just cost her life.

Talk to us, Niler,' Hannah said.

Hannah, Kirov, and Niler sat on the beach a few yards from the TNT Bar, facing the waves as they crashed ashore.

Niler sipped a mai tai from a tall sports bottle. 'You sure I can't make either of you something?'

'We're fine.' Hannah repeated through set teeth, 'Talk, Niler.'

'Relax, relax. I've been working all day, and I need to unwind.'

'Sorry, but it's hard to unwind when I've just had a bomb strapped to my throat.'

'A tall coco loco would fix you right up.'

'Niler,' Kirov said.

'Okay, okay. I should be seeing Pavski soon.'

'Where?' Kirov asked.

'At a location to be determined. He's hired me to create another explosive device. I'll see him when he takes delivery of it. I'm supposed to finish it no later than this weekend, but he said he could meet me earlier if I finished it before then.'

'What's the purpose of this device?'

'Actually, it's several devices. It's to provide protection for a fifty-square-yard area on the ocean floor. It's supposed to be rated at fifteen hundred feet.'

Hannah and Kirov shared a glance. 'Do you think he's found it?' she asked.

'No, but he's obviously making plans to protect it if he finds the location before we do.'

'Hey.' Niler's eyes were glittering with curiosity. 'What are we talking about here?'

Hannah turned back. 'Pavski didn't tell you?'

'No. I don't want to know what most of my clients are involved with, but it must be something special if Pavski and you guys are involved.' Niler grimaced. 'Shit. I don't think I've been charging enough.'

'Probably not,' Kirov said. 'But if you work with us, perhaps we can make it up to you.'

'I'm not saying I will or won't, but there's something I need to find out from you.'

'By all means.'

Niler paused to put his thoughts into words. For the first time, Hannah noticed the slightest trace of a Russian accent in his speech. 'For years, I've heard rumors about what happened to the crew of the Silent Thunder. Pavski's name comes up in most of the stories.'

'And?'

'I knew men on that sub,' Niler continued soberly. 'I suppose a good many Russian sailors had a friend or a relative on the Thunder. But you of all people would know what really happened.'

'Oh, I do,' Kirov said.

'If half of what I've heard is true, then I would have no problem giving you Pavski. So that's the first condition of our deal: I want to know the truth about what happened.'

'Fair enough.' Kirov leaned back in the sand, gazing out at the surf. 'We were carrying bacteriological weapons on the Silent Thunder. We didn't like it, but we had our orders. And then we got the order to…'

Dane Niler was finishing a telephone conversation when Hannah and Kirov came into the bar the next afternoon. He cut the connection and smiled. 'Hi. Fix you a drink?'

'No, thanks,' Hannah said. 'Have you spoken to Pavski yet?'