Gloria continued to watch as the satellite switched oculars. This changeover seemed to take much longer than the last. The delay was not in the mechanical switch itself but in the optics diagnostics the satellite ran each time it changed lenses. It was important to make certain the focus and alignment were correct. Wrong data — off-center imaging, improper focus, a misplaced decimal point in resolution — was as useless as no data.
The image came on-screen in visible light. There was a field of white with the gray ledge slashing diagonally across the screen. Gloria could see a figure standing half beneath it. The figure was not a goat or a Sherpa. It was a woman. Behind her was what looked like the head of another person.
"I think we've got them!" Viens said excitedly.
"Sure looks like it," Gloria agreed as she reached for the phone. "I'll let Bob Herbert know."
Bob Herbert was there before the next image appeared.
The image that clearly showed five people making their way along the narrow ledge.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Ron Friday liked to be prepared.
If he were going into a building he liked to have at least two exit strategies. If he were going into a country he always had his eye on the next place he would go to out of choice or necessity. If he had a mission in mind he always checked on the availability of the equipment, clearances, and allies he might need. For him, there was no such thing as downtime.
After talking with Bob Herbert, Friday realized that it might be necessary for him and Captain Nazir to move into the mountains. He knew that the helicopter was good for travel at heights up to twelve thousand feet and temperatures down to twelve degrees Fahrenheit. They had enough fuel left for a seven-hundred-mile flight. That meant they could go into the mountains about four hundred miles and still get back. Of course, there was also the problem of having to set the chopper down at too high an altitude and having liquid-bearing components freeze. Depending on where they had to fly, it could be a long and unpleasant walk back.
Friday removed the detachable phone and kept it with him. Then he checked the gear they had onboard. There was basic climbing equipment but no cold-weather clothing. That might not be a problem, however. He had gone through Apu Kumar's things. There were some heavy coats. There were hats and gloves so those would not be a problem. His biggest concern was oxygen. If he and Captain Nazir had to do a lot of climbing at higher altitudes exhaustion would be a factor.
Perhaps Striker was bringing some of that gear with them. Friday would not know that or the location of the target area itself until he talked to Bob Herbert or Hank Lewis.
In the meantime, Friday reviewed maps with Captain Nazir to familiarize himself with the region. Apu was with them in the small kitchen area of his farmhouse, adding what first-hand knowledge he had of the region. He used to climb the foothills when he was younger.
Friday plotted a course from the Srinagar bazaar to the explosion in the mountains. He also mapped a route from the farm to the Himalayan blast site. There had been more than enough time for both the cell and the man from this farm to have reached the mountain site before the detonation. The question was where they would move from there. The cell only had to cover roughly twenty miles to go from the mountains to the Pakistani border. But they were a mountainous twenty miles that included both the line of control and the brutal Siachin Glacier. Reaching up to some eighteen thousand feet, the glacier would be difficult to climb under the best of circumstances. Tired and presumably pursued from the ground and possibly the air, the Pakistanis would need a miracle to get across.
The helicopter phone beeped while Friday was looking at topographic charts of the region. Nazir answered. It was Bob Herbert and Hank Lewis. He passed the phone to Friday.
"We've found the cell," Herbert said.
"Where are they?" Friday asked eagerly. He bent over the charts that were spread on the table. "I have seven to ten tactical pilotage charts each of the Muzaffarabad border region, the Srinagar border region, and the area from Srinagar to Kargil."
"They're in the Srinagar border region," Herbert said. "Just outside of Jaudar."
"What are the coordinates?" Friday asked as he went to that set and began flipping through the charts, looking for the village.
"Ron, we want you to go at once to thirty-four degrees, thirty minutes north, seventy-five degrees east," Lewis said.
"That's Jaudar," Friday said, looking at the map. "Is that where the cell is? In the village?"
"No," Lewis said. "That's where you'll rendezvous with Striker."
Friday stood up. "Gentlemen, I have a chopper here. I can be there in under an hour. Striker won't be landing for at least four hours. I might be able to get to the cell by then."
"So would your partner," Lewis reminded him.
"And?" Friday pressed.
"We haven't finished our security check on the Black Cat," Lewis said. "We can't take the risk that he'll turn the Pakistanis over to his people."
"That won't happen," Friday assured the new NSA chief. "I'll make sure of it."
"You can't guarantee that," Lewis said. "We also agree that Mr. Kumar should go with you and we can't be certain of his actions either. Mr. Herbert and I have discussed this and we're in agreement. You will meet Striker in Jaudar. They will have up-to-the-minute coordinates of the cell and the resources to get you and your companions into the mountains. If anything changes, we'll let you know."
"We're wasting time," Friday protested. "I could probably be in and out by the time Striker arrives."
"I admire your enthusiasm," Herbert said. "But the leader of the cell is cagey. They've been moving in shadows and beneath overhangs wherever possible. We don't know for certain what weapons they're carrying. They may have a rocket launcher. If you come after them in an Indian chopper they will probably shoot you down."
"If you tell us where they are we can circle wide and intercept them," Friday pointed out.
"There's also a chance that a Pakistani aircraft might try to slip in and rescue the cell," Herbert said. "We don't want to precipitate a firefight with an Indian aircraft. That could give the Indians even more ammunition to launch a major offensive."
Friday squeezed the phone. He wished he could strangle the deskbound bureaucrat. He did not understand field personnel. None of them did. The best field ops did not like sitting still. And the best of the best were able to improvise their way in and out of most things. Friday could do this. More than that, he wanted it. If he could grab the cell and bring them home he would have a chance to get in with their Pakistani controllers. Having strong ties to New Delhi, Islamabad, and Washington would be invaluable to an operative in this region.
"Are we on the same page?" Herbert asked.
Friday looked down at the map. "Yes," he said. And as he looked he remembered something that Herbert had told him about the explosion. It had occurred at approximately eight thousand feet. That would put the cell on the southwest side of the range. Everything north of that, up through the glacier and the line of control, was at a higher elevation. Friday's grip relaxed. To hell with desk jockeys in general and Bob Herbert in particular.
"We'll brief you again when we have Striker's precise ETA and location," Herbert said. "Do you have any questions?"
"No," Friday replied calmly.
"Is there anything you wanted to add, Hank?" Herbert asked.
Lewis said there was nothing else. The NSA head thanked Friday and the men hung up. Friday returned the phone to its cradle.
"What is it?" Captain Nazir asked.
"What we've been waiting for," Friday said.
"They found the cell?" Nazir asked.