"How does an ETA of 0200 hours sound to you?" Dimitri Spiros was using an unsecured radio, but he had no choice. "That'll give us about twenty-nine hours. Enough time to get everything together."
"I'll have the welcome mat out." Vance's radio voice was interrupted periodically with static. The man sounded stressed out, but Spiros had already interrogated him about the overall situation.
"Our plan right now is to come in by seaplane, set down two klicks to the north, and stage the actual insertion using Zodiacs. Pierre wants to get everything together here in Athens by 1600 hours tomorrow. That's firm. We'll have a briefing and then-you know the rest."
"Try not to overfly this place. It's pretty small and there are lots of islands down in this part of the world."
"Michael, I'm Greek, for godsake." He bristled. "We'll make it, seas permitting. And the weather looks like a go for now."
"All right, here's the drill. Right now there are friendlies in Command and down at Launch. You have the plans for that, right?"
"Right. And how about the Bates Motel?"
"The living quarters? At the moment I think they've got some friendlies in there, too, but it's currently cut off from the rest of the facility, no communications of any kind, and it's not heavily guarded. We can worry about it last. The heavy hitters and the hardware will be at the two other places."
"What else do you know?" Spiros pressed.
"It gets even better. These guys have got at least one nuclear device. All signs are they have plans-probably to use the Cyclops system for delivery."
"I don't like the sound of that," Spiros said. "Who's leading it?"
"This is the very best part. I think it might be Ramirez."
"Sabri? The Hyena?"
"Could be."
He snorted in disbelief. "No way. The Kommissar has had him dead for three years."
"The Hyena has many lives. I actually got a look at him. Plastic surgery, maybe, but I've got a feeling it's none other than." There was a pause as Vance seemed to be checking something. "You know, we probably should cut this short. These guys have long ears. But just a word of warning: don't underestimate what he's capable of. I saw him shoot a staffer here in cold blood, just to get everybody's attention. When the time comes, things are going to get rough."
"That's how we're used to playing. Until somebody shows us a better way."
"Well, there's a good chance they're planning to arm at least one of the vehicles. After that it's anybody's guess."
"Nuclear blackmail?"
"Could be. Anyway, the fun part is, I got hold of the triggering mechanisms. For about five minutes."
"And then you politely gave them back?"
"It's a long story."
"Aren't they all," Spiros said. Then, "Well, do us all a favor, stay alive till we can make the insertion."
"That's an idea I could get with."
"By the way, do you have anything on their schedule? When does the balloon go up?"
"I don't know. You might hear something at your end. Ramirez has got to be talking to somebody by now. Demands, the usual. We need to find out what he wants. Maybe it'll all be over by the time you get here."
"Don't count on it. These things take a while. In the meantime, I'll get Pierre to have Hans chat up the Kommissar. If Germany's intel computer files have anything, he can probably pull it out quick enough."
"I do have another information source." Vance paused. "A new partner. And she's tough."
"She? What the hell are you talking about? Michael, this is not really the time for such things."
"I should get to fraternize with the hostages. One of the perks. Otherwise what do I get out of this job? She also happens to be the one who runs this place. She gave Ramirez the slip." A laugh sounded over the line, mixed with the static. "Incidentally, she doesn't think too much of your security job."
"Very funny." Spiros's gruff voice suggested he didn't mean it. "But maybe you should send her back inside. Might actually be safer there."
"Highly doubtful."
"All right. What about Bates?"
"The word is he's still okay. But they know who he is and I expect they'll put on the pressure when the time comes. There's an old professor here, too, the guy who dreamed this whole thing up, and they've got him. Name's Mannheim. First name Isaac. Why don't you find out anything you can about him. I had him here with me, but when I went down to reconnoiter, he disappeared. My guess is he wandered off and got himself taken."
"Sounds like you're on the case. Let's synchronize and talk again tomorrow at 0800 hours, local."
"Okay. We're counting on you. Don't mind telling you I'm scared. We're outgunned and Ramirez has started killing people."
"Michael, we're working as fast as we can. Just be by a radio tomorrow." Dimitri Spiros switched off the microphone and lapsed into troubled thought.