The Persona Protocol - By Andy McDermott Page 0,96

the plane.’

‘You’ll have to go outside to launch the UAV,’ Tony reminded him, to the younger man’s dismay.

Bianca was still shocked by the openness with which the Russians had demanded – and received – a bribe. ‘I can’t believe they just shook you down like that.’

‘Standard practice over here,’ he replied. ‘It must be annoying if you’re a tourist, but it makes things a hell of a lot easier if you’re a spy!’ He addressed the others. ‘Okay, let’s set up the op centre.’

The cabin became a whirl of activity as equipment was removed from hidden compartments. Tony, Holly Jo and Kyle assembled their workstations. Baxter and his men meanwhile extracted more deadly hardware: weapons, an assortment of guns from pistols through angular G36 assault rifles painted in mottled grey Arctic camouflage to a hulking Barrett XM500 sniper rifle that looked to Bianca like a refugee from a science fiction movie.

She had equipment of her own, retrieving the medical case while Adam brought out the PERSONA gear. ‘So, what happens now?’ she asked.

‘First we find out where Zykov is,’ Tony told her as he brought his laptop online and checked the latest intelligence updates. ‘Okay,’ he announced, ‘he’s still in flight. ETA, ninety minutes.’

‘What about al-Rais?’ said Baxter.

Holly Jo also had her system up and running. ‘Nobody’s landed here except us. There aren’t any other planes at the airport either, so it doesn’t look as if he’s got anything standing by to take the RTG out.’

‘Perhaps he’s not coming,’ suggested Bianca.

Tony shook his head. ‘The most recent intercepts said Zykov was going to meet him when he arrived.’

‘Maybe al-Rais isn’t coming in by air,’ said Adam quietly as he looked through a window. The airport was on the eastern side of a fjord; across the mile of wind-whipped water was Provideniya itself, apartment blocks painted in shades of blue and yellow and pink standing out against the barren hillside beyond. But his attention was on the waterfront. Several ships were moored at the run-down docks. Most had been laid up there for the winter, blanketed in snow and ice, but a couple stood out as having been in recent use. ‘This is a port, after all.’

‘It’s a hell of a long way to come by sea,’ Baxter said, dubious.

‘He wouldn’t have to come all the way from Pakistan on a ship. We know that he’s managed to travel by air before, despite all the security checks. If he got to Malaysia or the Philippines, a ship could reach here in two weeks.’

‘Still a long time.’

‘The man once spent six months in a cave. A couple of weeks on a ship wouldn’t be much of a hardship for him. Especially not if he thinks he can get his hands on a terror weapon at the end of it.’

Tony joined him, looking out at the town. ‘If he’s planning to move the RTG by sea, that makes things a lot easier for us. With our satellites tracking it, the navy can intercept it anywhere.’

‘I doubt he’d do that, though,’ said Adam. ‘If he’s come in by sea, it’s because he wanted to keep it quiet – but as soon as he gets the RTG, he’ll want to get out of here with it as quickly as possible.’

Tony gave him an admiring look, like a teacher proud of a student’s work. ‘Good thinking. Okay, Holly Jo – new task.’

‘Shipping?’ she said.

‘Yeah. See what we can get on ships coming into the port over the past few days. Kyle, get the UAV in the air and check the docks.’

‘Oh man,’ Kyle complained. ‘You mean I have to go out in the cold?’

‘It builds character,’ Holly Jo told him. ‘Which you need.’

Kyle made a face, then carried the UAV to the front of the cabin. The drone had been partially disassembled for transport. Bianca watched with interest as he attached the shrouded rotors to the main fuselage; this was her first good look at the machine. The entire underside of the body, except for a blister housing the camera lenses, was a smooth carapace inset with a hexagonal pattern. ‘So how does it work?’ she asked. ‘I mean, it’s not huge, but it’s not invisible either. Won’t people see it in the daytime?’

‘Nope,’ said Kyle smugly. ‘It might not be invisible, but it’s the next best thing. See these?’ He tapped one of the hexagons. ‘TCCs.’

‘And those are . . . ?’

‘Tri-polymer chromatic cells! Light-emitting plastic. There’s a little camera aboard that looks up at