Amir looked up at him, obviously interested in dealing a blow against the Americans.
Severov continued, “We’re going to need communications disrupted, and I think the best way to do that is to have you take out the cell phone towers about twenty miles from here on the main road. They are unguarded, and all you would need to do is cut a few wires.” He didn’t want the job to sound too difficult or dangerous. He was sure that, like most of the Islamic zealots, Amir would be happy to send someone else to their death but would be more cautious with his own life. His main reason for coming up with a crazy fake plan was to buy time as they walked closer and closer to the Russian soldiers.
Amir said, “I haven’t heard anything about this before now.”
“That must mean that they have a plan to take care of it. The other thing we could really use is your help as liaison with some of our Muslim soldiers. We tried to recruit evenly throughout Russia and the republics, and as a result we have a number of Muslim conscripts. It would help to have a man like you that understands what we’re trying to accomplish talk to them.”
Now Amir was clearly confused. “You mean after they cross the border? When Russia has taken Estonia?”
Now they were at the vehicle, and the three soldiers had snapped to attention. One was a driver, and the other two held Vityaz-SN submachine guns on straps across their chests. Severov felt this was a good position and knew the soldiers would follow his lead. He stopped and turned to face Amir.
“No, I mean that you need to come with me now to help in our camp before the operation begins. I was told you would do whatever I need you to, and this is currently my most pressing need. Please get in the vehicle.”
Amir just stood there, stunned. Finally he was able to say, “You mean you are kidnapping me and taking me inside of Russia? I was never told to leave Europe.”
“I was never told I’d have such a sniveling swine as a guide.”
Amir turned, ready to sprint back toward the bridge.
Severov said to the two armed men in Russian, “Don’t let that little ass leave. Throw him in the transport.”
Amir struggled until one of the men struck him in the head with the butt of his small machine gun. Severov concealed a smile. He couldn’t resist turning to look back toward the bridge and see Fannie’s beautiful face. She knew exactly what was happening and why he was doing it.
Severov hoped she knew enough to get clear of the border and head back toward Poland as quickly as possible. A shooting war was about to start.
24
Derek Walsh watched the Russian as he paused near a parked BMW. There was no one else on the street near them, and if they were up to something criminal, now was the time to do it. The only thing that made Walsh wonder if this was some sort of criminal transaction was the young woman who was standing near the skinny tattooed man the Russian was talking to. She looked like she was totally out of place. She had no interest in what was going on. It made Walsh hesitate. He didn’t want to put anyone else in danger unnecessarily.
But his whole life was unraveling, and this guy was the key to it. He had held him and Alena at gunpoint. Walsh could tell the cops everything that had happened. All he needed was an excuse to use his pistol as he approached the man. He knew he could put a couple of rounds into him before the man pulled his own gun, which Walsh was sure he had on him.
He stepped around the corner and onto the sidewalk. Now if the Russian looked up he’d see Walsh. He started to walk forward, knowing that he would have to take action as soon as he was noticed.
Joseph Katazin kept Lenny Tallett’s attention as he made a show of fishing for the key, then slowly inserting it in the door of his BMW. Right now his big choice was whether to use the pistol and drive away or open the door, act like he was reaching for a pack of money, but instead grab his knife and run it up into Tallett’s throat. His only concern there was that the girl would be alert enough to run immediately. Then he’d have one more loose end. But it would be quieter to use the knife.
He opened the door and said to both of them, “Come closer, I got something you’ll like in here.”
That got the bored girl interested in leaning into the car, and Tallett just wanted his money. He moved closer to the car as well.
Katazin’s heart rate increased as he decided to use the knife. He made one quick sweep with his eyes from one end of the street to the other. He noticed a man on the corner and paused. That wasn’t what made him hesitate. It was the police cruiser pulling up slowly and stopping on the curb just behind the man.
Katazin said out loud, “Damn it.”
Tallett looked up and saw the cops. He muttered, “Be cool, be cool.”
Katazin was annoyed at the obvious instruction but realized the skinny street rat knew more about dealing with local cops than he did. He needed another plan and needed it quickly, so he slipped into the driver’s seat of the car and said, “Meet me at South Ferry in two hours. I’ll be on the dock. I’ll have all of your cash then. It’s not safe to give it to you now.” He saw the barest of nods from Tallett, then pulled the door shut, started the car, and calmly pulled away from the curb, turning down an alley before he had to pass the police car.
Walsh heard the vehicle before he saw the reflection of the NYPD cruiser in the window of the shop he was in front of. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself, so he kept walking toward the white BMW as he casually removed the baseball cap so anyone looking at him would think he was an older, balding man. Now that he had a gray stubble growing on his chin, the aging effect was more pronounced.
Almost immediately the Russian slipped into the car and pulled away from the curb, coming straight toward Walsh. At this point he didn’t care if the man saw him or not. All he really needed was the license plate. It would almost be worth the risk to tell the cops to stop the car, but he doubted they would act fast enough or believe him, and then he’d be in custody with nothing.
After a few more steps the car came toward him, and he could hear the engine was badly out of tune. He barely noticed the young couple as they walked away from him on the opposite sidewalk. All he could think of was getting the license plate.
The BMW came closer, but from behind him he heard, “Excuse me, sir.” It was the cop. Walsh didn’t want to take his eyes off the BMW, but he didn’t want to raise the cop’s suspicions, either.
He slowly turned and noticed the BMW make a hard right down an alley. The opportunity was lost, and now he faced two of New York’s finest. They weren’t dressed in regular patrol clothes but appeared to be some kind of tactical team. They might have been dressed like that just because of the recent civil unrest, but Walsh was uneasy about it. The black fatigue pants and long-sleeve turtleneck T-shirts with NYPD logos made them look like combat troops.
Both of the cops were younger than Walsh and very fit. The officer addressing him was a black man with a shaved head. The driver, standing by the cruiser, had the pale, freckled face of a third-generation Irish cop. Squared away in tactically prepared positions, they appeared highly professional.
This could be trouble. He had to think fast.
Fannie Legat had an idea what was about to happen to Amir, but she was still shocked when she saw him turn to run back toward the bridge and one of the Russian soldiers struck him in the head with the butt of his machine gun. Then Anton Severov turned and raised his hands as he shrugged his shoulders with that goofy smile of his. He was protecting her the best way he knew how. In truth, it probably saved her the trouble of shooting the little Iranian before he could say anything to their superiors. Now she could blame the Russians, and there was really nothing her group could do about it. For the most part it seemed like they didn’t trust Amir anyway because he was an Iranian. But the Iranians had wormed their way into a number of groups, either through financing or people with the right education, and none of them were particularly well liked in the radical circles. That might change once they got nuclear weapons, but for now they seemed to be more of a nuisance than anything else. Their efforts to control ISIS in Iraq had infuriated many, even though ISIS had made its own enemies within the radical world. Now, at least officially, Iran was at war with ISIS.