else.’

‘You spot something, Nolan?’ Mosley asked.

‘Maybe.’

Using his mouse, Nolan enlarged the still image to the screen’s full size. The resolution went from crisp to grainy with the enlargement.

‘There it is,’ he exclaimed.

‘What?’ Cooper asked.

‘Elli’s ring.’

Everyone looked at the older woman’s hands but saw no ring.

‘Elli’s not wearing a ring,’ Grin said.

‘No, she’s not, but Kelsey is. Kelsey doesn’t wear rings. I think the only one she owns is from high school, and she hasn’t worn that since she was eighteen. Look at the ring, it’s a thick gold band. That’s a match for the jeweler’s description of Wolff’s ring. It’s gotta be it.’

‘Gentlemen,’ Mosley said sternly, ‘that piece of information does not leave this room. For those two ladies, it’s a matter of life and death.’

Everyone nodded.

‘We need to respond to this,’ Nolan urged.

‘I’m already working on it,’ Grin announced. ‘I can put together a Trojan horse program that we can imbed in our response. Once they open our message, our Trojan horse will load and contact us over the Net. From there, we can use the Spyder to track ’em down.’

‘That’s not what I had in mind, Grin. They’ll be expecting something like that. Orlov’s feeling secure right now, thinking he’s in control of the situation. We need to shake things up a bit. I say we call him.’

‘Call Orlov?’ Grin said. ‘Nolan, are you nuts?’

Mosley nodded as he thought through Nolan’s suggestion. ‘Actually, it’s not a bad idea. We’ll catch Orlov off guard and can push for terms of our own.’

‘We are going to give him everything he wants – the cipher key, our decoding program, everything – in exchange for Kelsey and Elli.’ A devious smile curled across Nolan’s face.

Mosley caught the glint in Kilkenny’s eye. ‘Nolan, after our little trip to London last year, I know you’re not the type who just rolls over. What are you working on?’

‘A plan, Cal, a plan.’ Nolan turned to Cooper. ‘Do you think that Orlov has any highly placed enemies in the Russian government – people who might enjoy watching him take a fall?’

‘The sense I get from my contact in Moscow is that if Orlov ever made a serious mistake, the wolves would be all over him.’

‘Good, because I think I need to pay a visit to Orlov at his office in Moscow.’

Grin shook his head in disbelief. ‘You’re talking crazy, man.’

‘If we’re going to win this fight with Orlov, we can’t just cut a deal with him. We have to take him out completely. To do that, I have to go there – I’m going to be our Trojan horse.’

Over the next hour Nolan proceeded to outline his plan of attack, refining elements as he brainstormed with Mosley, Cooper, and Grin.

‘We’re in agreement then?’ Nolan asked.

The three other men nodded.

‘Done.’ Nolan then handed Cooper the cordless phone. ‘Bart, it’s time to make some calls.’

Cooper flipped through his legal pad until he found the sheet with the list of phone numbers, and dialed the first one.

‘Electronic surveillance. Gardner speaking.’

‘Gardner, this is Bart Cooper.’ He then recited his Agency identification number. ‘I need a flashback trace on this number for all incoming calls, starting from the second I hang up. I have the owner of the line right here, so I don’t need a warrant.’

Cooper could hear Gardner entering his ID number into a computer, running a check on Cooper’s authority to make a flashback request. Cooper smiled; there were few spooks in Langley who carried more clout than he did.

‘It’s all set, Mr Cooper. The NRO will be monitoring your line as soon as you hang up.’

‘Thanks, Gardner.’

Cooper ended the call and then keyed a long string of numbers into the phone.

Nolan pulled Mosley aside so as not to disturb Cooper. ‘Cal, what exactly is a flashback trace?’

‘It’s like a regular phone trace, but a whole lot faster. It can also run down mobile phones and triangulate their location using cell towers or satellites. With it, we can pinpoint a call anywhere in the world, and since we don’t know where the hostages are, that’s exactly what we need.’

Cooper stood in the center of the room with the phone still pressed against his ear.

‘Orlov rezidence,’ a brusque voice answered on the other end of the line.

‘ Dobry viecher. Vy gavarite paangliyski? ’ Cooper said.

‘ Da, I speak English,’ the man replied, his accent thick but understandable.

‘Good. My name is Bart Cooper, and I wish to speak with Victor Orlov.’

‘Mr Orlov does not want to be disturbed. This is a private line. How did you get this number?’

‘That’s not important, but what I have to tell Orlov is. I don’t care if you have to pull him off his mistress, you just get him on the phone now. If he asks, tell him that I have the key to Wolff’s notebooks.’

The man mulled all this over. ‘Hold on, I’ll see if he can take your call.’

‘You do that. I’ll wait.’

A moment passed, with Kilkenny and the others wondering what was happening on the other end of the line.

‘Mr Cooper,’ a man’s voice answered with only a hint of a Russian accent. ‘I am Victor Orlov. Do I know you?’

‘No, you don’t, but I’m very well connected. I’m here with Nolan Kilkenny. We received your message regarding the hostages.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Cut the crap, Orlov. This little game is over, and you’ve won. I’m calling to cut a deal so we can put an end to this. We have the key to Wolff’s codes. Kilkenny has successfully decrypted a couple of pages from the notebooks, so we know the key works. If you want it, now’s the time to talk.’

‘Very well, Mr Cooper, but I like to know who I’m dealing with. Who are you?’

‘Let’s just say that I’m someone with powerful enough friends that I can get your home phone number, and that’s all you need to know about me. My primary interest in this is getting those two women back safe and sound. If you deal straight with me, we won’t have any problems.’

‘Very well,’ Orlov replied, intrigued by Cooper. ‘What do you propose?’

‘First, the video clip you sent is worthless. We need a live phone contact to verify that the hostages are still unharmed.’

‘That can be arranged.’

‘Good, because that’s a deal breaker. I’ll expect the call within ten minutes after we hang up. Here’s the number.’ Cooper read the numbers off his list. ‘Now, I assume that the hostages are still nearby. Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you where they are. You wouldn’t tell me anyway.’

‘That is correct.’

‘As a measure of security for both sides, I propose we break up the exchange. The hostages are to be released at a very public location of your choosing. When you give the word, your people will simply drop them off and drive away. The women will call to tell us they’ve been released.’

‘How do I get the cipher key?’

‘That part is a little trickier. Nolan Kilkenny and I will travel to Moscow, where we will meet with you at your office on Prospekt Mira.’

‘You seem to know a lot about me, Mr Cooper,’ Orlov said warily.

‘Like I said earlier, I’m very well connected. We’ll fly out of the States later this afternoon, which puts us in Moscow tomorrow afternoon. Let’s say the three of us meet at your office around six o’clock. When we arrive at

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