Negative, the angles wrong. But hes going to take off right past us. We are right in the planned position. No security assets are evident at this time.

Damn, observed one of the Operations people. He lifted a handset. This is VARIABLE. RENO reports bird in the nest, time zero-three-one-six Zulu . . . Roger. Will advise. Out. He turned to his companion. The stateside assets are at plus-one hour.

Thatll do just fine, the other man thought.

As Ramirez and Chavez watched through their binoculars, two men finished loading their boxes into the aircraft. It was a Piper Cheyenne, both men determined, a midsize corporate aircraft with reasonably long range, depending on load weights and flight profile, Local shops could fit it with ferry tanks, extending the range designed into the aircraft. The cargo flown into America by drug smugglers had little to do with weight orexcept in the case of marijuanabulk. The limiting factor was money. A single aircraft could carry enough refined cocaine, even at wholesale value, to wipe out the cash holdings of most federal reserve banks.

The pilots boarded the aircraft after shaking hands with the ground crewsthat part seemed to their covert observers just as routine as any aircraft departure. The engines began turning, and their roar swept across the open land toward the light-fighters.

Jesus, Sergeant Vega noted with bemusement. I could smoke the bird right here and now. Damn. His gun was on safe, of course.

Might make our life a little too exciting, Chavez noted. Yeah, that makes sense, Oso. The security guys were all around the airplane. Theyre spreading out now. He grabbed his radio. Captain I see it. Heads up in case we have to move out.

The Piper taxied to the end of the runway, moving like a crippled bird, bouncing and bobbing on the landing-gear shocks. The airstrip was illuminated by a mere handful of small flares, far fewer lights than were normally used to outline a real runway. It struck all who looked as dangerous, and suddenly Chavez realized that if the aircraft crashed on takeoff, some squad members would end up eating the thing. . . .

The aircrafts nose dropped as the pilot pushed the engines to full throttle preparatory to takeoff, then reduced power to make sure the motors wouldnt quit when he did so. Satisfied, they ran up again, and the aircraft slipped its brakes and started moving. Chavez set his binoculars down to watch. Heavily loaded with fuel, it cleared the trees to his right by a mere twenty yards. Whoever the pilot was, he was a daredevil. The term that sprang into the sergeants mind seemed appropriate enough.

Just took off now. Its a Piper Cheyenne, Ramirezs voice read off the tail number. It had American registration. Course about three-three-zero. Which headed for the Yucatan Channel, between Cuba and Mexico. The communicator took the proper notes. What can you tell me about RENO?

I count six people. Four carry rifles, cant tell about the rest. One pickup truck and a shack, like on the satellite overheads. Trucks moving now, and I thinkyeah, theyre putting out the runway lights. Theyre using flares, just putting dirt over on top of them. Stand by, we have a truck heading this way.

Off to Ramirezs left, Vega had his machine gun up on its bipod, the sight tracking the pickup as it moved down the east side of the runway. Every few hundred meters, it stopped, and the passenger jumped out and shoveled dirt on one of the sputtering flares.

Reach out, reach out and touch someone . . . Julio murmured.

Be cool, Oso, Ding cautioned.

No problem. Vegas thumb was on the selector switchstill set on safeand his finger was on the trigger guard, not the trigger itself.

The flares went out one by one. The truck was briefly within one hundred fifty meters of the two soldiers, but never approached them directly. They merely happened to be in a place the truck had to pass by. Vegas gun stayed on the truck until well after it turned away. As he set the buttstock back down on the dirt, he turned to his comrade.

Aw, shit! he whispered in feigned disappointment.

Chavez had to stifle a giggle. Wasnt this odd, he thought. Here they were in enemy territory, loaded for fucking bear, and they were playing a game no different from what children did on Christmas Eve, peeking around corners. The game was serious as hell, they all knew, but the form it took was almost laughable. They also knew that could change in an instant. There wasnt anything funny about training a machine gun on two men in a truck. Was there?

Chavez reactivated his night goggles. At the far end of the runway, people were lighting cigarettes. The faint images on his display flared white with the heat energy. That would kill their night vision, Ding knew. He could tell from the way they moved that they were just bullshitting around now. Their daysnightswork was complete. The truck drove off, leaving two men behind. These, it would seem, were the security troops for this airstrip. Only two, and they smoked at night. Armed or notthey seemed to be carrying AK-47s or a close copy thereofthey were not serious opposition.

What do you suppose theyre smoking? Vega asked.

I didnt think about that, Chavez admitted with a grunt. You dont suppose theyre that dumb, do you?

We aint dealing with soldiers, man. We coulda moved in and snuffed those fuckers no sweat. Maybe ten seconds worth of firefight.

Still gotta be careful, Chavez whispered in reply.

Roge-o, Vega agreed. Thats where you get the edge.

KNIFE, this is Six, Ramirez called on the radio net. Fall back to the rally point.

Move, Ill cover, Chavez told Vega.

Julio stood and shouldered his weapon. There was a slight but annoying tinkle from the metal parts as he did sothe ammo belt, Ding thought. Have to keep that in mind. He waited in place for several minutes before moving out.

The rally point was a particularly tall tree close to the stream. Again, people replenished their canteens at Oliveros persistent urging. It turned out that one man had had his face slashed by a low branch, requiring attention from the medic, but otherwise the squad was fully intact. Theyd camp five hundred meters from the airfield, leaving two men at an observation pointthe one Chavez had staked out for himselfaround the clock. Ding took the first watch, again with Vega, and would be relieved at dawn by Guerra and another man armed with a silenced MP-5. Either a SAW or a soldier armed with a grenade launcher would always be at the OP in case the opposition got rambunctious. If there was to be a firefight, the idea was to end it as quickly as possible. Light-fighters werent especially big on tanks and heavy guns, but American soldiers think in terms of firepower, which, after all, had been largely an American invention in the first place.

It amazed Chavez how easily one could slip into a routine. An hour before dawn, he and Vega surveyed the landing strip from their little knoll. Of the two men in the permanent security team, only one was moving around. The other was sitting with his back against the shack, still smoking something or other. The one up and moving didnt stray far.

Whats happening, Ding? the captain asked.

I heard you coming, sir, Chavez said.

I tripped. Sorry.

Chavez ran down the situation briefly. Ramirez put his binoculars on the enemy to check things for himself.

Supposedly they arent being bothered by the local police and army, the captain observed.

Bought off? Vega asked.

No, just they got discouraged, mainly. So the druggies have settled down to a half-dozen or so regular airfields. Like this one. Were gonna be here awhile. A pause. Anything happens Well call you right off, sir, Vega promised.

See any snakes? Ramirez asked.

No, thank God. The captains teeth flared in the darkness. He clapped Chavez on the shoulder and disappeared back into the bushes.

Whats wrong with snakes? Vega asked.

Captain Winters felt the pangs of disappointment as he watched the Piper touch down. It was two in a row now. The big one from the other night was gone already. Exactly where they flew them off to, he didnt know. Maybe the big boneyard in the desert. One more old piston bird would hardly be noticed. On the other hand, you could sell one of these Pipers easily enough.

The .50-caliber machine gun looked even more impressive at eye level, though with dawn coming up, the spotlights were less overpowering. They didnt use the spy-plane ploy this time. The Marines treated the smugglers just as roughly as before, however, and their actions again had the desired effect. The CIA officer running the operation had formerly been with DEA, and he enjoyed the difference in interrogation methods. Both pilots were Colombians, the aircrafts registration to the contrary. Despite their machismo, it took only one look at Nicodemus. To be brave in the face of a bullet, or even an attack dog, was one thing. To be brave before a living carnosaur was something else entirely. It took less than an hour for them to be processed, then taken off to the tame federal district judge.

How many planes dont make it here? Gunnery Sergeant Black asked as they were driven away.

What dyou mean, Gunny?

I seen the fighter, sir. It figures that he told the dude, Fly this way or else! An we been called here more times n airplanes have showed up, right? What Im saying, sir, is it stands to reason, like, that some folks didnt take the hint, and the boy driving the fighter showed them the or else.

You dont need to know that, Gunny Black, the CIA officer pointed out.

Fair enough. Either way, its cool with me, sir. My first tour in Nam, I seen a squad get wiped because some of em were doped up. I caught a punk selling drugs in my squad, back in7475, and I damned near beat the little fuck to death. Almost got in trouble over it, too.

The CIA officer nodded as though that statement surprised him. It didnt.

Need-to-know, Gunny, he repeated.

Aye aye, sir. Gunnery Sergeant Black assembled his men and walked off toward the waiting helicopter.

That was the problem with black operations, the CIA officer thought as he watched the Marines leave. You want good people, reliable people, smart people, to be part of the op. But the good, reliable, and smart people all had brains and imagination. And it really wasnt all that hard for them to figure things out. After enough of that happened, black operations tended to become gray ones. Like the dawn that had just risen. Except that light wasnt always a good thing, was it?

Admiral Cutter met Directors Moore and Jacobs in the lobby of the office wing, and took them straight to the Oval Office. Agents Connor and DAgostino were on duty in the secretarial office and gave all three the usual once-over out of habit. Unusually, for the White House, they walked straight in to see WRANGLER.

Good afternoon, Mr. President, all three said in turn.

The President rose from his desk and took his place in an antique chair by the fireplace. This was where he usually sat for intimate conversations. The President regretted this. The chair he sat in was nowhere near as comfortable as the custom-designed one behind his desk, and his back was acting up, but even presidents have to play by the rules of others expectations.

I take it that this is to be a progress report. You want to start off, Judge?

SHOWBOAT is fully underway. Weve had a major stroke of luck, in fact. Just as we got a surveillance team in place, they spotted an aircraft taking off. Moore favored everyone with a smile. Everything worked exactly as planned. The two smugglers are in federal custody. That was luck, pure and simple, of course. We cant expect that to happen too often, but we intercepted ninety kilos of cocaine, and thats a fair nights work. All four covert teams are on the ground and in place. None have been spotted.

Hows the satellite working out?

Still getting parts of it calibrated. Thats mainly a computer problem, of course. The thing were planning to use the Rhyolite for will take another week or so. As you know, that element of the plan was set up rather late, and were playing it by ear at the moment. The problem, if I can call it that, is setting up the computer software, and they need another couple of days.

What about The Hill?

This afternoon, Judge Moore answered. I dont expect that to be a problem.

Youve said that before, Cutter pointed out.

Moore turned and examined him with a tired eye. Weve laid quite a bit of groundwork. I dont invoke SAHO very often, and Ive never had any problems from them when I did.

I dont expect any active opposition there, Jim, the President agreed. Ive laid some groundwork, too. Emil, youre quiet this morning.

Weve been over that aspect of the operation, Mr. President. I have no special legal qualms, because there really is no law on this issue. The Constitution grants you plenipotentiary powers to use military force to protect our national security once it is determinedby you, of coursethat our security is, in fact, threatened. The legal precedents go all the way back to the Jefferson presidency. The political issues are something else, but thats not really my department. In any case, the Bureau has broken what appears to be a major money-laundering operation, and were just about ready to move on it.

How major? Admiral Cutter asked, annoying the President, who wanted to ask the same question.

We can identify a total of five hundred eighty-eight million dollars of drug money, spread through twenty-two different banks all the way from Liechtenstein to California, invested in a number of real-estate ventures, all of which are here in the United States. Weve had a team working round the clock all week on this.

How much? the President asked, getting in first this time. He wasnt the only person in the room who wanted that number repeated.

Almost six hundred million, the FBI Director repeated. It was just over that figure two days ago, but a sizable block of funds was transferred on Wednesdayit looks like it was a routine transfer, but we are keeping an eye on the accounts in question.

And what will you be doing?

By this evening well have complete documentation on all the accounts. Starting tomorrow, the legal attachs in all our embassies overseas, and the field divisions covering the domestic banks, will move to freeze the accounts and Will the Swiss and the Europeans cooperate? Cutter interrupted.

Yes, they will. The mystique about numbered accounts is overrated, as President Marcos found out a few years ago. If we can prove that the deposits result from criminal operations, the governments in question will freeze the funds. In Switzerland, for example, the money goes to the statecantongovernment for domestic applications. Aside from the moral issue, its simple self-interest, and we have treaties to cover this. It hardly hurts the Swiss economy, for example, to keep that money in Switzerland, does it? If were successful, as I have every right to expect, the total net loss to the Cartel will be on the order of one billion dollars. That figure is just an estimate on our part which includes loss of equity in the investments and the expected profits from rollover. The five eighty-eight, on the other hand, is a hard number. Were calling this Operation TARPON. Domestically, the law is entirely on our side, and on close inspection, its going to be very hard for anyone to liberate the funds, ever. Overseas the legal issues are more muddied, but I think we can expect fairly good cooperation. The European governments are starting to notice drug problems of their own, and they have a way of handling the legal issues more . . . oh, I guess the word is pragmatically, Jacobs concluded with a smile. I presume youll want the Attorney General to make the announcement.

You could see the sparkle in the Presidents eyes. The press release would be made in the White House Press Room. Hed let the Justice Department handle it, of course, but it would be done in the White House so that journalists could get the right spin. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I have just informed the President that we have made a major break in the continuing war against . . .

How badly will this hurt them? the President asked.

Sir, exactly how much money they have has always been a matter of speculation on our part. Whats really interesting about this whole scheme is that the laundering operation may actually be designed to legitimize the money once it gets into Colombia. Thats hard to read, but it would seem that the Cartel is trying to find a less overtly criminal way in which to infiltrate their own national economy. Since that is not strictly necessary in economic terms, the presumptive goal of the operation would seem to be political. To answer your question, the monetary loss will sting them rather badly, but will not cripple them in any way. The political ramifications, however, may be an extra bonus whose scope we cannot as yet evaluate.

A billion dollars. . . . the President said. That really gives you something to tell the Colombians about, doesnt it?

I do not think theyll be displeased. The political rumblings theyve been getting from the Cartel are very troubling to them.

Not troubling enough to take action, Cutter observed. Jacobs didnt like that at all. Admiral, their Attorney General is a friend of mine. He travels with a security detail thats double the size of the Presidents, and he has to deal with a security threat thatd make most people duck for cover every time a car backfired. Colombia is trying damned hard to run a real democracy in a region where democracies are pretty rarewhich historically happens to be our fault, in case youve forgottenand you expect them to dowhat? Trash what institutions they do have, do what Argentina did? For Christs sake, the Bureau and DEA combined dont have the manpower to go after the drug rings that we already know about, and we have a thousand times their resources. So what the hell do you expect, that theyll go fascist again to hunt down the druggies just because it suits us? We did expect that and we got that, for over a hundred years, and look where its gotten us! This clown is supposed to be an expert on Latin America, Jacobs didnt say out loud. Says who? I bet you couldnt even drive boats worth a damn!

The bottom line, Judge Moore noted, is that Emil doesnt like this whole operation, does he? On the other hand, it did rock Cutter back in his chair. A small man, Jacobs had dignity and moral authority measured in megaton quantities.

Youre trying to tell us something, Emil, the President said lightly. Spit it out.

Terminate this whole operation, the FBI Director said. Stop it before it goes too far. Give me the manpower I need, and I can accomplish more right here at home, entirely within the law, than well ever accomplish with all this covert-operations nonsense. TARPON is the proof of that. Straight police work, and its the biggest success weve ever had.

Which happened only because some Coast Guard skipper got a little off the reservation, Judge Moore noted. If that Coastie hadnt broken the rules himself, your case would have looked like simple piracy and murder. You left that part out, Emil.

Not the first time something like that has happened, and the difference, Arthur, is that that wasnt planned by anyone in Washington.

That captain isnt going to be hurt, is he? the President asked.

No, sir. Thats already been taken care of, Jacobs assured him.

Good. Keep it that way. Emil, I respect your point of view, the President said, but we have to try something different. I cant sell Congress on the funding to double the size of the FBI, or DEA. You know that.

You havent tried, Jacobs wanted to say. Instead he nodded submission.

And I thought we had your agreement on this operation.

You do, Mr. President. How did I ever rope myself into this? Jacobs asked himself. This road, like so many others, was paved with good intentions. What they were doing wasnt quite illegal; in the same sense that skydiving wasnt quite dangerousso long as everything went according to plan.

And when are you heading down to Bogot?

Next week, sir. Ive messengered a letter to the legal attach, and hell deliver it by hand to the AG. Well have good security for the meeting.

Good. I want you to be careful, Emil. I need you. I especially need your advice, the President said kindly. Even if I dont always take it.

The President has to be the worlds champ at setting people down easy, Moore told himself. But part of that was Emil Jacobs. Hed been a team player since he joined the U.S. Attorneys office in Chicago, lo, those thirty years ago.

Anything else?

Ive made Jack Ryan the acting DDI, Moore said. James recommended him, and I think hes ready.

Will he be cleared for SHOWBOAT? Cutter asked immediately.

Hes not that ready, is he, Arthur? the President opined.

No, sir, your orders were to keep this one tight.

Any change with Greer?

It does not look good, Mr. President, Moore replied.

Damned shame. I have to go into Bethesda to have my blood pressure looked at next week. Ill stop in to see him.

That would be very kind of you, sir.