Kansas City, Missouri On what level of hell do we find these people? thought Kipper.
The satellite link was not the best, and at times the woman on the screen disappeared behind a blizzard of electronic snow. When the reception was good, however, there could be no mistaking the murderous look in her eyes. It was, thought the president, something akin to true madness, but a cold and watchful madness.
'I'm sorry, Mister President,' the woman shouted over the noise of the big military aircraft, 'but my mission parameters are slightly different from that. I am not equipped for the sort of task you want me to undertake, nor do I have any of the overwatch or support I would need. I am on my own, sir, and hostile rendition is not my mission specialty.'
She's an assassin, Kip thought. She's going into New York to kill this guy, and she has no interest in anything else. He did his best to keep his reactions under control so that Ms. Monroe could not see him shaking his head in dismay. She bounced and shook on screen as the laptop into which she was talking was affected by turbulence. He wondered why they bothered with the encrypted video link. It seemed to make things just that much harder. He knew that Jed could feel him tensing up as the exchange went on and tried to wave off his chief of staff without the gesture being picked up by the little camera at his end of the exchange. The woman-the agent, he reminded himself-seemed to have little trouble maintaining her self-possession. But then, he thought, she probably wouldn't be very good at her job if she lost her cool at the first provocation or frustration.
'Agent Monroe,' he said trying to find the reasonable tone of voice he used when he was looking to avoid a fight with Barb. 'I can understand this is difficult for you. They told me what happened to your family and that this Baumer guy, this emir or whatever he's calling himself now, was behind it…'
Although that does raise the question of what the hell you're even doing working this case, he thought but did not say.
'And we are indebted to you for tracing him so quickly to New York. But we need him alive if at all possible. I know it won't be easy. But they tell me you are very good at what you do…'
'What I do, Mister President, is kill people. On orders from a duly constituted authority. I am the people's executioner, sir, not their fucking dogcatcher.'
The madness, or maybe it was just the anger, in her eyes finally flared, and Kipper was able at last to see the human being to whom he was speaking to rather than a flat, affectless functionary who seemed more than happy to hide behind the bursts of static that frequently interfered with their connection.
'… orry, Mr. President,' she said as she emerged from a cloud of white noise. 'I apologize for my outburst. But my point remains. New York is a combat zone, and Bilal Baumer is deeply entrenched there. He will be surrounded by his people, all of whom are tooled up for major combat operations. I cannot just walk in and put a bag on him. I can, however, decapitate his command and control network.'
'You mean kill him,' Jed Culver said, taking the opportunity to speak at last. The secure communications room was small, not much more than an annex to the main area where the military had set up all its electronic gear and from which they were able to monitor the battle in New York in real time. Jed was forced to lean across as he spoke.
'I mean kill him and everyone around him, including his first rank of commanders,' the Echelon agent replied. Again, Kip had to stop himself from shaking his head. She was an unremarkable-looking woman, quite pretty but not at all as physically imposing as he would have expected. From what he could see of her on the little screen, she did not look much bigger through the shoulders than his wife, and once when she brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes, he could see that her hands, although strong-looking and possibly a little scarred across the knuckles, were not as big as his own. He could not help but wonder what life paths had led her to be in a C-130, flying through the night toward the slaughterhouse of Manhattan. She seemed no more concerned by what she was heading into than Barb did when heading off to Pike Place Market. Less so, probably.
Kipper was about to speak when Jed cut in over the top of him again.
'Of course, the president could order you to secure Mister Baumer,' he said.
The woman appeared to smile behind the wash of static that briefly obscured her. 'Yes, Mister Culver, he could. And I would die trying. But then you would have nothing. At least my way you have a chance to disrupt their command of the battle, and that can only mean fewer American casualties.' She appeared to be looking directly at Kip as she said that.
'How long before you go in?' the president asked in a resigned tone.
She didn't need to check. 'I have forty-three minutes until I jump,' she said.
'And how can you possibly locate him?' Kipper asked.
'It won't be easy, sir, but the army and air force have sent through their latest intelligence, which will be a big help. And they have some good scans of midtown. Thermal imaging. There's a pretty little heat bloom coming out of the old Plaza Hotel and some foot traffic in the area that seems to indicate it's some sort of staging post. I'll start there. It's right in the middle of their turf and very close to my insertion point.'
'But how are you going to-' Kipper started to ask before Jed laid a hand on his forearm and squeezed gently, shaking his head. 'Sorry, natural curiosity. I don't need to know.'
Kipper was sweating under the armpits and wondering what sort of leadership model he must be presenting to this strange homicidal female. He knew that many in the military were uncomfortable serving under a president who'd never served a day in uniform and was famously reluctant to commit to military action. But at least they took their uniforms off at the end of the day. This woman, this killer… he knew from his briefing notes that she had a family and that they were largely the reason for her involvement in all this. But nothing about her demeanor suggested a nurturing or loving side. She didn't have a uniform to take off. She was a killer down to her core.
'Okay, look,' he said. 'I've made it something of a virtue in this job not to question the judgment of people in the field. I didn't like it when politicians used to do it to me, and I don't intend to start doing it to anybody else. Agent Monroe, you know best how to do your job, so I will leave you to do it. It will be difficult enough as it is. I acknowledge your point that taking out Baumer's leadership group should go a long way toward reducing our casualties. But do bear in mind that it would be of enormous value to us if we could talk to this character, whether he's their emir or sheikh or whatever he's calling himself or whether he's just middle management. Because if he is, snuffing him out might well end this fight, but there will be another one in the future. You mark my words.'
The woman disappeared again inside a brief wash of static and white noise. When she reemerged, she was nodding. '… do what I can, sir.'
'We are all doing what we can, Agent Monroe,' Kip said. 'I thank you for your efforts. I know they have taken you away from your family at a difficult time, and I know what you're doing is very dangerous.'
She looked as though she was about to say something, but the screen went black and a single electronic tone replaced the audio feed.
'Looks like we lost her,' Jed said.
Kipper leaned back from the screen over which he'd been hunched without realizing it. He let go a long, ragged breath.
'Jesus, Jed, where the fuck did she come from? And what the hell is she doing chasing after this guy when she has a personal involvement?'
The White House chief of staff pushed his chair back from the table. He seemed entirely nonplussed by the exchange with Agent Monroe. 'She's here because she has a personal investment, Mister President. Agent Monroe is not supposed to be out in the field anymore.'
Kip stood just as Colonel Ralls opened the door to their small, enclosed hot box and relayed the apologies of the tech guys for losing the link. He waved away any concerns. Broken communications links were an unfortunate reality nowadays.
'You have an update from Governors Island on the supply situation, sir,' Ralls said.
'Thanks, Mike. Just give us a moment, would you?'
His military aide backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. Kip wished he'd left it open. Even the brief draft of slightly less stale air from the big combat information center outside had been refreshing.
'You were impressed with Agent Monroe, Jed,' Kipper said. 'I suppose she appeals to your Machiavellian side. And before you answer, just know that I am deeply unhappy to find out we ever had assassins on our payroll, let alone that we are still employing them.'
Culver broke the seal on a new bottle of water and sipped before he replied, 'Well, technically, she works for the Brits now. Her file has her on attachment to them as a consultant since 2003. She transferred from U.S. line
