W Griffin - Hunters

"Bertrand," Castillo furnished, as he glanced at Yung. "Dave, you haven't said a word. Does that mean you think we're just pissing into the wind and you're too polite to say so?"

"Just before he changed sides, Kennedy was working on something with a Houston connection," Yung said. "I've been trying to remember what It was."

"Wouldn't there be a record of some sort? An interim report of some kind?" Delchamps asked.

"Kennedy took everything he had with him," Doherty said, bitterly. "I'm sure your friend Pevsner read it before it was destroyed. Why don't you ask him?"

"What were you looking for, Dave?" Castillo pursued. "Was there an oil-for-food scam connection?"

"Not as such," Yung said. "We were looking for unusual transfers-wire transfers-of large amounts of money. Money laundering, in other words. There's two facets of that-more than two, actually. One is income tax evasion. When we came across something suspicious-something, for example, that looked like someone was concealing income or assets-we turned it over to the IRS and let them deal with it. When the source of the money was suspicious-as if it might be drug money, for example, or in the case of politicians, purchasing agents, etcetera that looked like it might be bribes-we worked on that ourselves. The way we were working, I looked for anomalies, and when I found something suspicious Howard looked into it."

"And you remember something about Houston?" Castillo asked.

"Only just that," Yung said. "I've been trying hard to remember the specifics."

"Keep trying, Dave," Castillo said and turned to the others. "Where were we?"

"At the point where you decided to repatriate Lorimer," Miller said.

"Right," Delchamps said. "Meanwhile, the bad guys found out where Lorimer slash Bertrand was. How?"

"Well, at first they didn't know where he was," Castillo said. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken the risk of kidnaping Mr. Masterson to find out. That was an act of desperation."

"So somebody had to tell them," Delchamps said. "Who knew?"

"Castillo's pal, the Russian mafioso, Pevsner," Doherty said.

"I don't think so," Castillo said.

"Why do you keep defending that slimeball, Castillo?" Doherty snapped.

"If he knew where Lorimer was and had told the Ninjas," Castillo said, "he wouldn't have let me use his helicopter. He didn't want me whacked."

"Because he likes you, right?" Doherty asked.

"Because that would kill the deal he has about keeping the FBI and the CIA off his case."

"Another possibility is that it was just a coincidence that everybody descended on Never-Never Land at the same time," Delchamps said. "How the Ninjas found out where he was doesn't really matter. They did and staged that operation to take him out."

"That's one hell of a coincidence, wouldn't you say?" Doherty challenged.

"However it happened," Delchamps said, "the Ninjas went to the hacienda and were more than a little surprised to find Ace and Company already there."

"Why do you think they were surprised?" Doherty asked.

"Otherwise, the score of that ball game would not have been six to one," Delchamps said. "They probably thought they'd come on a bunch of local bandits knocking off a hacienda. Not in their league. Not a problem. Just whack everybody, leave the bodies where they fell, and take off. Surprise, surprise, it's the U.S. Cavalry."

"Yeah," Castillo said, thoughtfully.

"So what happened when there was no phone call to the embassy of the Russian Federation saying, 'Mission accomplished'?" Delchamps said. "'What happened? Who whacked our guys? Does it matter? Lorimer's dead. Next step, take out Kocian.'"

"After first finding out just how much he knows," Castillo said.

"Which would also apply to Special Agent Yung," Doherty said.

"Yeah, it would," Delchamps agreed. "Which means, as soon as they can find him, they're going to have another try at Kocian. I really want to talk to him, Ace, before that happens. We might not be so lucky again."

"Pevsner is probably on their hit list," Castillo said.

"Pevsner probably wrote their hit list," Doherty said.

"What do you want to do, Ace?" Delchamps asked.

"You never got around to telling us where you think the Kenyon Oil Refining and Brokerage Company fits into this, Edgar."

"Oh, yeah. Well, this may really be off the wall, but it's also possible. The Russians know about Kenyon's involvement with the oil-for-food scam. Maybe they were in it with him, I don't know, but it doesn't matter. The oil-for-food scam is over. So nobody needs Kenyon anymore."

He paused, visibly organizing his thoughts.

"You have to think of Putin as being KGB and with a sense of humor,"

Delchamps then went on, "or maybe he just has evil intentions. Anyway, he's got Kenyon on a hook. 'Do what I say or the FBI will find out what a naughty boy you have been.' Kenyon has all this money in the Caymans. 'How do I find out how deeply the hook is in him?' What is laughingly known as the intelligence community knows all about these lunatics in Philadelphia. They're being watched. 'The Americans swallowed the hidden nuclear suitcase bombs nonsense hook, line, and sinker once. Let's see if we can get them to swallow it again. So what I will do is tell the dummy in Midland to send the lunatics two million dollars to buy some tunnels to protect themselves from the nuclear blast in Philadelphia. Since they are being watched, this will come to the attention of the intelligence community. Net result: the American intelligence community runs around like chickens with their heads cut off looking for nuclear suitcases which have never left the warehouse in Siberia. Ha-ha!'"

He paused, let that sink in, then went on. "Probable benefit two: Putin knows about the forty-six million Kenyon has in the Cayman bank. Putin's pal, the famous Colonel Pyotr Sunev, now back at work after a teaching sabbatical at Grinnell University, can find many uses for forty-six mil. Or maybe Putin and Sunev will just split it between them.

"Kenyon probably would not be very anxious to hand it over. But that reluctance was before he sent the two million to the lunatics. Now Putin has him for not only illegally profiting from the oil-for-food scandal-and hiding the money-but also for sending two million to lunatics in Philadelphia known to have terrorist ties. Getting the picture, Ace?"

"I'm thinking about it," Castillo said. "It sounds off the wall, but…"

"Kenyon either gives them the money or goes to jail," Miller said. "To whom could he complain he was robbed?"

"Right," Delchamps said. "So what do you think, Ace?"

"I think we should go have a talk with Kenyon in Midland. Maybe we can get him to tell us who got him to send the money to Philadelphia."

"Maybe?" Miller said.

"What makes you think he'll tell you anything at all?" Doherty asked. "All you've got is a wild theory."

"Jesus, I just remembered Jake went home," Castillo said.

Miller immediately took his meaning.

"Charley, you steer and I'll work the radios," he said.

Castillo looked at him for a long moment before replying.

"You're sure?"

Miller nodded.

"Okay, get on the horn and have them roll the Gulfstream out of the hangar," Castillo said.

"You're going to Texas right now?" Doherty asked.

"We're going to Texas and then Buenos Aires," Castillo said. "Why don't you get on the horn to your wife and have her pack a bag and your passport?"

"Nothing was said about me going out of the country on a lunatic mission like this," Doherty said.

"I hope that was an observation rather than an indication you're going to be difficult," Castillo said.

"I'd like to go," Yung said.

"I wouldn't think of leaving home without you, David," Castillo said. He looked at Doherty. "I can make you go, Inspector, and you know it. But I don't want you along if you're going to be a pain in the ass. Your call."