Page 66 of Tom Clancy Line of Sight
Lieutenant Colonel Maksimovic, the commander of the Serbian 63rd Parachute Battalion, picked up his comms. “Well done, Captain. Congratulate your boys for me. We’ll muster in fifteen minutes for a debrief, and prep the exercise again.”
“Yes, sir!”
The tall Serbian colonel was genuinely pleased. The exercise couldn’t have gone any better. That was fortunate, given the two Russian officers standing next to him watching the live video feeds.
Colonel Smolov, HoRF—Hero of the Russian Federation—commanded the Russian 45th Guards VDV (Airborne) Detached Spetsnaz Brigade. A distinguished combat veteran, Smolov was also in charge of the Slavic Sword and Shield training exercise today.
As part of the Special Brigade of the Serbian Army, the 63rd was one of the elite Serbian Spetsnaz units, a mirror image of the Russian 45th Guards. Not only was the Russian commander a personal hero of the Serbian colonel, but the Serbian’s future military career depended upon today’s evaluation by Smolov.
The man standing next to him was equally intimidating to the tough Serbian parachutist. Colonel Denisov was a lean, bespectacled GRU staff officer rumored to have spearheaded the deployment of a malware Android app used by Polish tank officers for fire control. Thanks to Denisov’s operation, the Russians were now tracking the exact whereabouts of all 247 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks in the Polish arsenal.
Denisov was also known to be one of the principal architects of the New Generation warfare strategy, and a personal favorite of the Russian president. The GRU was by far the largest and most effective Russian intelligence service in both field agents and combat operatives, dwarfing the more famous FSB and SVR agencies, with which they competed for resources and political favor.
Colonel Maksimovic wasn’t sure why a man of Denisov’sstature had been invited at the last minute to observe this relatively minor exercise. It only added to the Serbian’s anxiety.
“Your men are well trained in CQC,” Denisov said. “You should be pleased.”
“Colonel Smolov deserves most of the credit, sir,” the Serbian replied. “It’s his training regimen we follow.”
“Nonsense. These are your men and they obey your orders,” Smolov insisted.
“Thank you, sir. They’re good men. It’s an honor to lead them.”
Today’s exercise was intended to take down an “unnamed parliamentary building,” but everybody in the observation post knew exactly what that meant. The practice facility had been reengineered to fit exact blueprints of the actual target building just across the border.
Denisov turned to the Serbian commander, the disastrous report from Croatia and the empty cargo ship still on his mind.
“How soon could you mobilize the rest of your battalion, Colonel?”
The tall Serbian grinned. “Twenty-four hours, maximum, sir.”
Smolov frowned, curious. No such mobilization had been scheduled. “An impromptu training exercise for the Serbians, Colonel?”
Denisov smiled. “What else would it be?”
SARAJEVO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Jack hardly noticed the stink of the garbage chute outside his door as he entered his apartment. He kicked off his shoes in the foyer and fell onto the living room couch with a yawn and asigh. It wasn’t as if he’d been humping a fifty-pound ruck up the side of Mount Rainier or doing wind sprints at the beach on Coronado Island. But a long day of cab rides, failed phone calls, and often tense, suspicious encounters left him emotionally spent. He’d run through the entire second list of twenty-three names that Gavin had sent him. Three were no longer in country, and the two he left messages for hadn’t called him back yet, nor did he expect them to.
Now what?
He could give overworked Gavin another call and ask him to generate yet another list, but he doubted the IT whiz had any more Aida cards up his digital sleeve. Besides, Gavin had actual work to do as the man in charge of all things computer-related for both Hendley Associates and The Campus.
His other option was to cancel his flight back home and keep hunting for other clues in the public record, or just keep his fingers crossed and hope the émigrés came back home or the ones he left messages for would call back.
The only problem with that was the text Gerry had sent an hour ago.Glad you’re coming home tomorrow. A lot going on. Need you back ASAP.
So with his two lists exhausted, no prospects for a third, and his boss breathing down his neck, it was clear to Jack it was time to get packed and head for the airport tomorrow.
He’d tried, hadn’t he?
Sure, his mother would be deeply disappointed—not that she’d ever say anything. In fact, she’d tell him how grateful she was that he’d tried his best.
And failed.
Theand failedwas the snarling demon inside Jack’s head. He couldn’t stand the thought of failing at anything.
What would cut him the deepest was the hidden disappointment his mother would undoubtedly feel when he told her the bad news that he couldn’t find little Aida. His mother never asked him to do anything for her. She was the most self-reliant person he’d ever known. As a physician, she was always doing something for others, sometimes risking her health and even her life to save peoples’ eyesight. The idea of letting her down was almost too much to bear.
