“Yes, but he is planning on meeting the woman in Kandahar.”
“Tonight? At the benefit?” Linko turned on the bed and reached for his pants. He had stripped them off when he’d lain down on the bed. When an agent had nothing to do in the field, he was expected to rest so he would be ready to perform at a moment’s notice.
“No. In the morning.”
“Where?”
“A rendezvous point was not mentioned.”
“Keep me informed.” Linko mentally debated on whether to leave for Kandahar tonight or first thing in the morning. He decided to travel in the morning. Tonight he would sleep. Tomorrow might involve more waiting all day for the correct moment to strike. It would be best if he were rested.
If the objective had simply been to kill Lourds, that could have been more easily arranged. The woman could have simply been collateral damage.
But Linko needed the scrolls for the mission to be successful.
The good thing was that, since President Nevsky himself wanted them, Linko would get all the manpower on the task that he needed. He could run assets instead of breaking down doors himself. As long as he brought in the scrolls in the end.
“I will call you the minute I know anything.”
Linko closed his phone and lay back down on the bed. He checked to make certain his pistol was tucked under his pillow, then put the phone on his chest again.
He had wanted to put a SIGINT team on Anna Cherkshan as well, but he’d been afraid that too many people in FSB were loyal to her father, the general. That kind of operation would have been extremely risky because it would have drawn attention from too many people. Someone might have ratted Linko out, and then there would have been a lot of explaining to do to the general. From what he knew of General Cherkshan, the man was utterly vicious when dealing with his enemies.
Ultimately, Nevsky would have called the shots, but Linko knew that the general was immersed in the Ukraine takeover. If General Cherkshan were to get sidetracked now, the fallout would be catastrophic to Linko’s career if Nevsky chose to blame him. An agent in the field could be much more easily replaced than a general with Cherkshan’s connections. Linko wasn’t certain if the president knew that the general’s daughter was directly involved with Lourds, and at this point he was loathe to let anyone know.
It was an interesting problem, but Linko didn’t let it interfere with his sleep. He closed his eyes and was out.
25
Lourds climbed out of the compact SUV Layla had arranged for him when he’d left the small bed and breakfast where he and Anna had spent the night. His back and knees ached from the exertion of the day before and from the cramped position they’d been in during the past five and a half hours of driving.
Anna got out on the other side of the vehicle and looked around. They’d parked just outside of Kandahar at a roadside market that sold food and clothing.
The small, wooden building looked lonely and forgotten beside the highway. Inside, a man stood behind a short counter and peered out through the window. He was probably hoping for some kind of business, or at least a chance to practice his English on tourists.
Lourds checked his watch again. It was 2:43 p.m. He glanced back at the highway as a black sedan pulled off the road, paused for a moment as if checking directions, then turned and came back up the highway.
Anna shaded her eyes with a hand. “That’s not your lady friend, is it?”
“No, it isn’t.” Lourds reached for the door and yanked it open. “Get in.” He slid behind the steering wheel as the black sedan raced toward them.
In the black sedan, Linko cursed his luck. The phone communications between Lourds and Layla Teneen had mentioned a designated mile marker. This wasn’t it. The professor had stopped more than a mile too early. In fact, if the American hadn’t gotten out of his car, Linko would have missed him entirely. Possibly the SUV’s GPS tracking device was off.
Earlier, the colonel had tried to locate the American as he cruised along the highway, but there had been too many suspect vehicles, and he’d never spotted the man. He had alternately sped up and slowed down, trying to estimate when Lourds had departed Herat and how fast he would go. That had proven impossible.
All Linko had to go on was the mile marker and the time of the meeting. He’d arrived early and taken to traveling the last mile or so over and over in an effort to make the connection.
To make matters worse, the ANA had patrols out on the highway that had made zooming around any particular stretch of road very risky. Linko was pretty certain his papers would still hold up even after all the excitement at the dig site, but Anna Cherkshan’s stories in The Moscow Times concerning the attack on the dig site had mentioned his cover name. The fact that the stories had been picked up by several news agencies had been even worse luck.
But now he had his quarry. Linko reached under his jacket and freed his pistol. He glanced at the three men with him, all mercenary muscle for hire that the FSB had contracted out for him.
“Are you ready?”
They all confirmed their readiness and brandished weapons in their hands. He wished now that he had gotten another car team, but he was convinced that he had more than enough men to take care of a single college professor.
One of the men in the back suddenly squawked in alarm. “Look out!”
Glancing to his left, Linko saw a Jeep with a large push bar welded onto the front closing fast. He cut the wheel hard, trying to dodge the military vehicle.
Tensely, Layla Teneen sat in the rear seat of the sedan where Captain Fitrat had put her. He was still with her as her personal bodyguard because she’d asked him to stay. He’d agreed to the assignment, and the details had been worked out.
Fitrat spoke quickly into the mic affixed to his sun visor giving orders to his men in the two Jeeps that rode before and after their sedan.
Layla’s heart was in her stomach. She’d seen Lourds briefly when he’d been standing outside the rented SUV and had tried to call him when she saw the sedan turn around and speed back in his direction.
The black sedan bore down on the small SUV, and Layla wished she had gotten a larger car for Lourds. The one he was in now looked like it was a tin can about to be crushed. “Captain Fitrat, you must—”
Before she could finish, one of the Jeeps rammed the black sedan and knocked it off track, shoving the vehicle back until it banged against the corner of the small store at the side of the road.
Fitrat spoke calmly from the front passenger seat. “Call Professor Lourds. Tell him to head into Kandahar. Tell him not to stop until he gets there. We will be right behind him.”
Layla took out her phone and dialed. Pick up, Thomas. Pick up, pick up…
Lourds pulled back onto the highway and stared at the Jeep and the sedan. He’d been stunned by both events and was now moving on autopilot.
“Who were they?” Anna craned over the seat, looking through the back windshield.
“I would venture to say they’re either with Yakov or some other group coming after the scrolls.” Lourds had been thankful that Anna had held back that part of the story concerning Boris’s death. The last thing they needed was a lot of treasure hunters hot on their heels as well.