Cloaked Deception by Timothy Zahn

Author:Timothy Zahn [Zahn, Timothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2024-05-14T00:00:00+00:00

McPherson had spent the entire morning and far too much of the afternoon in Langley watching the various analysts come up with labor-intensive results of exactly zero. Just before three, he managed to sneak back to FBI Headquarters and his own office in hopes of getting a little actual Bureau business done.

He got a whole hour before the nuke once again intruded.

“Director McPherson, this is Minister Rao,” the Indian’s crisp voice came in McPherson’s ear. “I wanted you to know that we’ve made some progress tracking the recent movements of the Rabah Jamila’s Captain Syed.”

“Yes, Minister, I’m listening,” McPherson said, suppressing the impulse to tell him to write it up and email it to him. Rao sounded as tired and edgy as McPherson felt, and there was nothing to be gained by irritating the man. “Shouldn’t you be giving these reports to Mr. Cohn?”

“I’m told Mr. Cohn is taking a nap and cannot be disturbed,” Rao said stiffly, clearly offended that anyone would bother with something as inconsequential as sleep at a time like this. “At any rate, my request more properly falls within your province.”

“Very well,” McPherson said with a silent sigh. “Go ahead.”

“Captain Syed has made several highly interesting ports of call during the past six months,” Rao said, the sound of rustling paper in the background. “Among them were Jaffna in Sri Lanka five months ago, your own San Francisco three and a half months ago—” he paused dramatically “—and Bandar-e Άbbās in Iran, only three weeks ago.”

McPherson felt an unpleasant tingling on the back of his neck. The Chinese CitationJet that provided a decoy for the smugglers’ plane had started its trip in Bandar-e Άbbās.

Current theory at the CIA was that the Chinese plane was merely an innocent bystander. On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t. “Did he meet with anyone there?”

“We’re still seeking those details,” Rao said. “Although it appears likely. Still, there are other possibilities. Can you assemble a report on the distant relatives Syed claims to have visited in the United States? All are designated as resident aliens. I can email you a list.”

“We’ll do what we can,” McPherson said. “But if they’ve behaved themselves, there won’t be much on them. You have my email address?”

“Yes,” Rao said. “I’m sending it now.”

“Good,” McPherson said. This one, at least, he could dump on Homeland Security instead of spending Bureau personnel on it.

“Have your people made any progress on their analysis of the radio transmissions?” Rao continued.

“They finished this morning,” McPherson said. “It does appear that at least one of the hijackers was still aboard the freighter when the Mayday was sent.”

“Are you certain it was one of the hijackers?”

McPherson frowned. “Who else could it have been?”

“Possibly Captain Syed, perhaps using a voice-altering device. From your own report, it’s clear his movements after the hijacking cannot be verified.”

“Yes, we noticed that, too,” McPherson acknowledged reluctantly. Either Rao’s thinking was running remarkably parallel to his and Cohn’s, or else someone in the department was feeding New Delhi data and theories under the table.

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