As she made the final turn on the path, the parking lot came into view. She saw a half dozen people standing in a rough circle, an impromptu meeting of some kind. She recognized Conza and Colonel Carter. The rest were Turkish military personnel, the most senior of which she had been introduced to earlier—Colonel Demir was the commander of the on-scene Turkish contingent. As she approached, Demir was engaged in an animated phone conversation, while the others looked on expectantly.
Katie sided up to Conza. “Hey, JC. Did I miss something?”
He replied in a low voice, “A small hitch in our joint investigation. The Turks are technically running this show, so Colonel Carter shared his suspicions with them about the possibility of sabotage. Demir is in a lather about it, says he wants to get proof ASAP.”
“What kind of proof?”
“Not sure. Carter tried to explain that if it was the kind of attack we suspect, spoofing, it could be pretty technical and might take time to verify. He told Demir we’ve got people working on it, but that didn’t seem to convince him. Demir has been making phone calls and everybody’s waiting to see what comes of it.”
“Okay.”
“What about you?” he asked. “Any fresh intel from our side?”
“Nothing of note. I talked to Bubba, and he confirmed that Kyle’s group is on the job.”
“What exactly is your brother doing over there at the DIA?”
“I don’t know specifics. All I could get out of him was that it’s some kind of experimental AI project tailored for operational intelligence use.” She regarded the other Turks in the crowd and saw that two were wearing flight suits. “Who are those guys?” she asked.
“Helicopter crew that brought the colonel in. There’s a T-70 parked on a road two hills over.”
“What’s a T-70?”
“Basically the same as our Black Hawk—the Turks build them here on license, add a few bells and whistles of their own.”
“I’ve been hearing choppers all day.”
“Yeah, people and equipment coming in, the first bits of wreckage going out.”
Colonel Demir ended his call and pocketed his phone. He announced in solid English, “Headquarters agrees with my assessment. We must do everything possible to investigate this sabotage theory.”
“By what means?” Colonel Carter inquired.
“The local police will begin a search for witnesses. It is possible someone in the area might have seen a suspicious vehicle. Footage from surveillance cameras along nearby roads will also be checked, as well as those from the harbor.”
Katie shrugged, looked at Conza, and whispered, “Not the worst idea I’ve heard today.”
“I’d agree,” he replied in a similar tone.
Switching to Turkish, Demir had a brief back-and-forth with the helicopter crew next to him, then announced, “I am going to send out the helicopter in my command to aid in the search. It will depart immediately.”
Carter asked, “What exactly will they be looking for?”
“If there were terrorists in the area, they will surely have departed. Most escapes would be to the east, so we will focus in that direction. The Ministry of the Interior monitors roads and rail stations, and we will use air and ground assets to investigate activity deemed to be suspicious.”
“We could also be looking for a ship,” Carter said.
“Yes, that will be taken into account. Other helicopters will bedeployed to search the coastline, and the Coast Guard will also begin a response.” Demir then added, “If you wish, Colonel, one of your people can join my helicopter crew.”
One of the helicopter pilots said in excellent English, “An extra set of eyes is always helpful.”
Katie saw Carter weigh the idea. It was a gesture of goodwill from an allied service—the kind of gesture that wasn’t easily ignored. He shot a glance toward Katie and Conza, as if looking for help.
Like the Navy SEAL he had been, and would always be, Conza took one step forward. “Sign me up.”
Katie opened her mouth to argue, more out of reflex than protest. No words came.
She didn’t like the idea for a number of reasons. She thought Conza would be more useful here, and anyway, the whole concept smacked of being a wild-goose chase. But she knew Conza too well to make those arguments. He was a born-and-bred operator, hardwired to get in the field and be proactive. The kind of guy who didn’t drive through life in the right-hand lane. Jumping into a helicopter to hunt down an enemy? There would be no stopping him. And who knew, maybe they would actually get a lead.
