Splinter Cell

business.

These four men were the brains behind the Shop.

In Zurich business meetings always began on time. Zdrok noted that he still had two minutes. He sat at the table, took the bagel out of the bag, and placed it in front of him. The other men watched without saying a word. They had already finished their breakfasts.

Zdrok took a bite, savored the flavors that bombarded his taste buds, and then washed it down with a sip of hot coffee.

At ten o’clock sharp he said, “Good morning.”

The others mumbled a greeting in return.

“Gentlemen,” Zdrok said, “our first order of business is the shipment that was lost in Iraq. What the hell happened?” He looked at Antipov and raised his eyebrows.

Antipov cleared his throat and said, “The Iraqi police stopped the transport and confiscated everything. Stingers and all. It was extremely lucky on their part, most unfortunate on ours.”

“Where did it happen?”

“The town of Arbil. It was on the way to Mosul, where our customer would have then distributed the goods as usual.”

“Have we heard from the customer?” Zdrok asked.

Herzog answered, “Yes, and he is very upset. He’s asking for a refund.”

Zdrok rolled his eyes. “Is he mad? He knew the terms. The shipment is under our protection up to a point, but once it’s in the customer’s territory and in his hands, then it’s his responsibility.”

“I told him that,” Herzog said. “He isn’t happy.”

Zdrok looked at General Prokofiev and asked, “What do you plan to do about this?”

Prokofiev shrugged. “An offer for a replacement shipment has been made. We can get the arms together in a few days. Because he and his organization have been good customers, I said he could pay upon receipt. He’ll have to pay twice, but at least he’ll get the goods.”

“Did he take the offer?”

“Yes.”

Zdrok looked at Herzog. “Make sure you follow up about the payment as soon as the shipment is in his hands.”

Herzog nodded and made a note in a pad he had in front of him. “The customer did say that he’s going to attempt to retrieve the shipment. His people know where the police are keeping it.”

Zdrok said, “Well, that’s their business. If they want to try it, they’re certainly welcome to do so. Next item. Operation Sweep.”

Antipov cleared his throat again and said, “The information on the man known as Rick Benton proved to be reliable, as you are aware. The intelligence we received may prove fruitful in unmasking more American agents. We have several names. Now all we have to do is match each name with the correct person. It shouldn’t take too long. We have operatives working on this as we speak.”

Zdrok nodded in approval. “That is good news. The Americans have been hovering much too closely to our organization. We must continue to weed out and eliminate their agents. The one that hit us in Macau damaged our Far East operations a great deal. It will take months, maybe years, to reestablish our business in that region. I especially want that man.”

“Vlad and Yuri are on it,” Antipov said. “We’ll get him and the others, but keep in mind that it’s not easy. These agents are called ‘Splinter Cells’ because they work alone and undercover. Their own government pretends they don’t exist. We’ve taken out two of them so far. We’re nearing confirmation on the identity of another one in Israel, and we’re getting close to one in America.”

Zdrok cracked his knuckles and nodded. “Vlad and Yuri. They’re careful, right? They leave no trace?”

“None. They are as professional as they come. They were my most trusted executioners in the KGB,” Antipov replied.

“What did they learn in Belgium?”

“Not only did they eliminate Benton but also a Belgian intelligence officer that Benton was working with. These men knew far too much about what we’ve been distributing to our number-one customer. Hopefully the material we took from Benton’s hotel room will be one-of-a-kind documents. I’ve taken the precaution to destroy all of it. This should slow down our enemies. In addition, much of our new information about Third Echelon came from Benton’s personal computer, which we have also destroyed.”

Zdrok waved his hand slightly. “Fine. I leave you in charge of it. Proceed as you see fit. But I want results by the end of the week. If they discover who we are or where we are, it’s not going to be pretty. The sooner we get rid of these American bloodhounds, the better off we’ll be.”

With that, Zdrok took another bite of his bagel and the meeting was over.

12

The lovemaking was as good as it had been in Illinois. As they lay entwined in the narrow twin bed in Eli’s small studio apartment, Sarah was convinced more than ever that he was “the one.”

She knew she had better get up and phone Rivka. She was supposed to have been back by ten o’clock at the latest. Now it was nearly noon. They had slept in, waking only to make love. How many times had they done it since coming back to his place the night before? Four times? Five? Sarah smiled inwardly and sighed.

“You okay?” Eli asked.

“I sure am,” she said, snuggling closer to him.

“I heard you sigh.”

“It was a sigh of contentment.”

“Oh, I see.” He kissed her. “I am glad you’re content.”

“How about you? Are you content?”

“You better believe it.”

She yawned and squeezed his lean torso. “I could stay here forever.”

“Me, too,” he said. “But I’m getting hungry. How about you?”

“Who needs food when you can have sex?” she said as she placed her hand on his crotch.

“Hey, hey, what are you, a junkie?” He laughed but didn’t bother to move her hand.

“With you, yes!”

Eli sat up. “Okay, then I think it’s time you go cold turkey for a little while. I’m really hungry. I’m not kidding.”

Sarah loved his Israeli accent. There was something about a foreign accent that turned her on. “Shall I make you breakfast?” she asked.

“No, no, I’ll make you breakfast. Or lunch, I think. My God, look at the time.”

“Oh, boy, Rivka’s gonna be pissed at me. I can’t imagine what her parents will think.”

Eli waved her comment away and said, “Don’t worry. Rivka spent the night with Noel. I bet they slept late, too.”

“Still, it’s scandalous behavior, don’t you think?”

“You’re a big girl. You’re an adult, right?”

“I’m twenty. I can’t drink in America yet.”

“Yeah, but you’re legally an adult. That’s what counts.” He slipped out of bed and walked across the room to the bathroom. She enjoyed watching his backside.

“Anyone ever tell you that you’ve got a cute tush?” she called out as he closed the door. He didn’t answer. Sarah sighed again and finally swung her legs out from under the covers and sat upright. Naked, she went to the kitchen area and looked in the cabinet to see what was there. Typical bachelor apartment, she thought. Nothing but junk food and sugary cereal.

“Eli, do you have coffee?” she called, but the shower started and he couldn’t hear her.

She opened another cupboard and found some instant coffee. “Yuck,” she said. She shrugged and took it,