north by the time Laney and Jake stepped onto the dock and headed for their car.
The 182 was fueled and ready as they’d left it the previous afternoon. Clouds filled most of the sky, but Jake knew the rain wouldn’t actually move in until this evening, at which time he and Laney would be back, and even the East Wind would be nearing the marina when the first drops started to fall. This morning there was a brisk breeze coming off the ocean as the wind drove the coming storm their way. Nonetheless, Laney’s takeoff was precise and professional. The flying the day before had sharpened his skills. They followed the directions of the Norfolk tower until they were released to head out over the ocean, and then turned eastward.
The tracker indicated the East Wind continued to head east and slightly north. There was little of interest in that part of the ocean, suggesting they had a rendezvous waiting. They kept the plane well away from the track the yacht was following. They didn’t want to be spotted, even in the distance. So long as they were making way, there would be nothing to see.
More than two hours later, Jake announced, “They stopped moving.”
Laney adjusted their heading so they would be able to pass by at distance and see what was out there. Using binoculars, Jake could spot the large freighter that the East Wind had stopped near. They noted the latitude and longitude from their tracker. The Coast Guard would be able to identify the larger ship from the position. All shipping traffic approaching this close to the United States was monitored, and there was no other ship nearby.
“Can you make out a name?” Laney asked.
“It’s the Svyataya Anna,” Jake replied, although at this distance he couldn’t read the markings on the vessel.
“Russian,” Laney said, not entirely surprised. “What is their role in this?”
“They’re behind it,” Jake replied. “They apparently aren’t happy with some of the pressure the United States has been exerting of late, and decided that the trouble they could cause us, especially if someone else could take the blame, would be a good thing. They made some kind of deal with one of our Mid-Eastern enemies. They supply the agent, and the others see it distributed and released. Verennikov is their directing agent.”
“Hopefully we make an issue of this when it’s over,” Laney said.
“Unfortunately, we know, but we had little proof. Varennikov got away, so while something might have been done through diplomatic channels, it wasn’t ever made public.”
“We can’t let that happen,” Laney objected.
“I’m hoping we can lay our hands on Varennikov when this is over this time around. Perhaps we can make at least that much of a change.”
Having learned what they were after, Laney turned the plane toward shore. Jake called in to the Air Traffic Control, alerting the coastal defense that they were an American aircraft and were penetrating the Air Defense Intercept Zone [ADIZ]. They had filed a flight plan that indicated they would be passing out through it and returning, but he didn’t want to panic anyone by violating the zone without following the proper protocols.
They landed without incident, called Carlson and told her what they had learned, and then headed back toward Washington. Fenner and the local team would watch the East Wind. There were other matters that Jake and Laney would need to attend to.
Chapter 37
“Varennikov,” Carlson said when the three of them were gathered the next morning. Her comment didn’t reflect surprise at the man’s name. The man’s involvement had been passed to her on the call the night before, and she’d had the night to think about it and what action might be appropriate.
“The name of the ship is the Svyataya Anna, as you indicated,” she informed them. “There was plenty of time to verify that. Obviously the Russians are involved in this matter, which makes it a far bigger issue. A group of terrorists is one thing, but the involvement of Russia is technically an act of war.”
“It might be, but we don’t really have proof,” Laney pointed out. “Jake and I saw a yacht from a considerable distance. Without the tracker we wouldn’t be able to say that it was the East Wind that met up with the Svyataya Anna. There is only our word for what happened. We also have no evidence at this point that anything was transferred to the yacht.”
“We could always raid the East Wind,” Carlson suggested.
“That would alert the