Death Minus Zero

CHAPTER THREE

Hal Brognola, head of the covert operations based at Stony Man Farm, walked beside the President of the United States. They were at Camp David, where the President was taking a brief respite from the demands of the job. But even while he tried to wind down, he still maintained a hands-on attitude. The Commander in Chief never truly stepped away from his responsibilities, which was why he had requested Brognola’s presence to discuss a matter that was on his mind.

The tranquil atmosphere of the presidential retreat surrounded the pair as they strolled through the grounds. Unobtrusive Secret Service men followed them at a discreet distance. Brognola and the President were wearing thick topcoats against the chill of the wintery weather. The odd snowflake drifted between them. There was a promise of more in the air.

“You’ve probably worked out why I asked you to join me, Hal.”

“Kaplan going missing? We already got the word from Doug Buchanan. He picked up on Kaplan’s tracker going off-line and the failure of the device fitted to the Air Force vehicle. Agent Valens briefed us, as well. So we know about Kaplan going missing, which brings Zero into the picture.”

“Am I ever going to catch you Stony Man people out?” the President said.

“I hope not. If you ever do, Mr. President, that will be the day I resign.”

“Don’t even think about it, Hal.” The President paused to stare around him at the tranquil scene. “I sit in my office at the White House, door closed, hoping to catch a minute. Never works. But coming here is a different ball game. Just walking through these trees, surrounded by silence...it gives me space to sort out what’s buzzing around in my head.”

“And right now that’s Saul Kaplan,” Brognola concluded.

“We have to find him, Hal. Get him back alive and well.” The President hesitated before he said, “The bottom line would be to say if he can’t be retrieved then his life might have to be forfeit. I hate having to even think about that, Hal, but the knowledge Kaplan has must not be allowed to remain in enemy hands.”

“I understand that, Mr. President. Stony Man is already on this,” Brognola said.

He knew that even as he was speaking to the President the cyber team at the Farm was working flat-out as it searched for information on the whereabouts of Zero’s creator and guiding light. Stony Man had been involved with the Zero Project from its early days, with Mack Bolan stepping up to investigate when Doug Buchanan had gone AWOL. The resolution of that incident had been getting Buchanan back into the program and finally installed on Zero. If there was anything to find, where Kaplan was concerned, Aaron Kurtzman’s team would unearth it. They had the best equipment available, along with the ability to hack into databases and systems that were supposed to be hacker-resistant. The state-of-the-art technology was only as good as the people using it, and the Stony Man cyber team had no equals. If it was out there, Kurtzman’s team would find it, interpret it and strip out the data they needed.

“Zero has become a valuable listening post for us,” the President said. “I don’t have to tell you how valuable. When we complete the development of the laser-particle beam weapons systems, Zero is going to become even better than it already is.”

“Are we still having operational problems with the laser-particle beam systems?”

“Zero has conventional missiles and Slingshot capability,” the President said. “The added refinement of the other weapons is proving to be difficult. Development is ongoing. We will get there, Hal, but right now those weapons are still in the theoretical stage. There are complex problems we are still trying to overcome. Major Buchanan is working with Zero Command in the development alongside Kaplan, which is another reason why we mustn’t allow a foreign power to have their chance to get that kind of information out of him.”

“I can understand that, sir. Even without them, Zero is still a hell of an achievement. No other country has anything to match it.”

“Not at this moment in time. Which is exactly why somewhere like China would like to get their hands on it. Hal, we cannot allow this to happen. Zero is our high card. It gives us one hell of an advantage in the defense game. I won’t let it be taken from us. We fight this, Hal, with everything we have. Stony Man. Your teams. I’ll give you whatever you need in backup all the way down the line. No question here. We keep Zero because if someone like China gets its hands on it, we’ll all be in trouble. My God, Hal, can you imagine what would happen if we lost Zero to Beijing?”

“Unfortunately, I can, sir. Which makes this latest move against Saul Kaplan something we need to fully address. Stony Man will put everything we have on this.”

“I don’t care what toes you step on or who you upset. If there are territorial borders you need to cross, I’ll stand by you.”

The President’s mood and his willingness to stand by his people made Brognola aware of the implications if Zero was compromised.

“What about...?” the President started to ask.

He was asking about Mack Bolan.

The Executioner.

“The guy is off somewhere on a mission he initiated himself. He’s gone black. We’ve had no contact with him for over a week. We have no idea where he is right now. And we don’t have the luxury of waiting for him to make contact.”

“I only mentioned him because he was so deeply involved the first time around. No slight on the other teams, Hal, since I know they’ll offer us the best way out of this.”

“You can depend on that, sir. This will be our priority from right now.”

“Keep me informed, Hal. I want to be kept apprised every step of the way,” the President said. “Which brings me to ask, do you need anything?” The Man paused. “Hal, anything.”

Brognola’s phone began to ring. When he took it out, he saw that the screen was showing a call from Stony Man.

“Like I said, Mr. President, we’re on this as of right now. Excuse me, sir, I need to take this.”

The President watched as Brognola took the call. The expression on the big Fed’s face told America’s leader he wasn’t being delivered good news.

“I need to get back to Stony Man, Mr. President. This is hotting up already.”

“Then get out of here, Hal, and good luck.”

Minutes later Brognola was leaving Camp David. Jack Grimaldi, who had been entertained by Camp staff while their bosses liaised, powered the chopper into the bright, cold sky. Stony Man’s ace pilot set course for the Farm.

CHAPTER FOUR

Stony Man Farm

David McCarter followed his team into the War Room and took his seat next to Barbara Price. The Phoenix Force commander was clutching a chilled bottle of Classic Coke; he still refused to drink the other flavors currently available, claiming they were technically not the real thing. The Briton stuck to his preferences and would not consider changing; that applied to the Player’s cigarettes he occasionally enjoyed and his beloved 9 mm Browning Hi-Power pistol.

He glanced at the manila folder Price, the Farm’s mission controller, had placed in front of him. He idly scrolled through the pages without comment as the War Room filled up with the Able Team and Hal Brognola, who had arrived at the Farm only minutes ago. Aaron Kurtzman, clutching a steaming mug of his deadly coffee brew, rolled up to the table in his wheelchair.

Five men comprised Phoenix Force, all experienced warriors who carried a long list of credentials that enabled them to face any odds put in their way. McCarter, who had inherited the mantle of leader from the late Yakov Katzenelenbogen, led his team by example.

With a legendary background that included the SAS, McCarter was an accomplished combat veteran and a noted brawler. He could handle aircraft as well as wheeled vehicles and was proficient with most any kind of weapon he could get his hands on. The man had an infectious sense of humor that often got him looked at sideways, but there was not a better man to have at your side in a firefight. He had a reputation for taking chances and ignoring the rules, but McCarter had long ago decided that in the middle of an armed conflict, where the saving of his skin and that of his partners was involved, anything went. He was ultimately proved right.

Some would label him reckless, but the Briton saw breaking the rules mattered if it led to ultimate victory. His manner got him into trouble on more than one occasion, but that did not worry him in the slightest. McCarter had a tough hide, and verbal barbs bounced off him, though after becoming leader of Phoenix Force he had made an effort to temper his impetuous nature.

His team trusted his instincts, and it was a given they would follow him to the gates of Hell to face the Devil if asked. The connection was often close to the truth. The violent savages they had to face were often close to being the mortal equivalent of Satan. McCarter was more than satisfied with the people who backed him.

Calvin James, a tall, lean black man, was the team’s resident medic. James was good-looking, wore a thin moustache and had an easy way with the ladies. As well as being handy when it came to saving lives, James was also a ferocious fighter. Coming from the south side of Chicago had given James a taste of the tough life. He had enlisted in the US Navy at seventeen, and his natural skills and dedication had brought him to the attention of the SEALs. After his service, he had become a cop in San Francisco and it was while on SWAT duty that he had been approached and recruited into Phoenix Force. He might have been a little unsure at the outset, but he now admitted it was the best thing he had ever done.

An expert demolitions man and sniper, Canadian Gary Manning had been a time-served RCMP operative and had spent time with GSG-9, which had given him detailed insight in global terrorist organizations—something he still kept up to date on. He had been a security consultant for an American company and had come to the notice of Brognola’s Special Operations Group. Manning, a powerfully built man with superb reflexes and a no-nonsense attitude, took to the closeness of Phoenix Force quickly. He was a fast thinker and maintained a tolerant attitude toward McCarter’s brashness, even though they engaged in deliberate banter at times. Over the years both men had come to respect each other.

To Rafael Encizo, a Cuban, Phoenix Force had become his family after losing most of his natural one. His experiences back in his home country, including his incarceration in a Cuban political prison from which he eventually escaped, had left Encizo with little to fall back on and a problem with trust. That was before he became a member of the team and found lasting friendship with his adopted country, having taken on citizenship, and with the men of Phoenix Force. The powerfully built commando had excellent reflexes and was a noted martial arts expert.

For Thomas Jackson Hawkins, Phoenix Force had turned out to be the best move of his life. The youngest member of the group, T.J. was also its newest recruit. Born in Georgia, he was raised in the Lone Star State and staunchly considered himself as Texan as the Alamo. After graduating high school, Hawkins joined the Army. After successfully completing Basic, he volunteered for Airborne and was later trained by the Rangers and detailed to the 75th Ranger Regiment. Years later, he moved on to Delta Force.

Following the divisive resolution of Operation Restore Hope, where Hawkins and twelve others of his Delta Force unit successfully secured a Somali village from a small-time warlord, he resigned his commission. News of his actions during that assignment had reached the ears of Hal Brognola, and he offered Hawkins a position with the SOG. “Hawk” to his friends, his genius with electronic communications and airborne ops made him a vital member of the SOG team.

The talents and skills each man brought to the table made Phoenix Force a formidable combination. Their successful missions were mute testimony to their dedication. They went into each new situation with one single purpose—to give their best under extreme circumstances and to never back down from any challenge. Putting their lives on the line did nothing to deter Phoenix Force in any instance. They saw that situations often developed because no other agency would step in, and with the anonymity of Stony Man and the ultimate backing of the President, Phoenix Force stepped into the breach and did what they could to redress the balances. Their reward was the satisfaction of a task brought to a successful conclusion with, hopefully, the closure they desired.

Phoenix Force’s five were complemented by Able Team, who dealt mainly with domestic threats, though they occasionally took on assignments abroad. Three men from widely divergent backgrounds had blended together to form a resilient and tough team that worked on the same premise as Phoenix Force.

Carl “Ironman” Lyons was a blond ex-cop who led the trio. He was one of the hardest men around, his bull-at-a-gate attitude often resulting in utter carnage. He did not like badmen and treated them all with equal contempt. His credo could be summed up as “kill them all and let God sort them out.”

During Mack Bolan’s early career, Lyons had been one of the cops assigned to hunt him down, and though their paths had crossed, seemingly on opposite sides, the berserker that was Lyons came to not only understand the Executioner but also to change sides and back him. That backing went as far as Lyons’s becoming a member of the SOG and ultimately the head honcho of Able Team.

Lyons was fully competent with any and all kinds of weapons. He kept himself geared up to understand the latest developments and spent many hours at the Stony Man shooting range, familiarizing himself with the latest weaponry under the tutelage of John “Cowboy” Kissinger, the resident armorer. Kissinger had the skills and the expertise to advise on any kind of ordnance and would give his time willingly, because he understood what the combat teams had to face out in the field. Spending time with Kissinger and increasing his skill with weapons was one of the ways Lyons relaxed.

Lyons’s partners, also survivors of Bolan’s original war, were Hermann “Gadgets” Schwarz and Rosario “Politician” Blancanales. Each had particular skills and each was equally proficient when it came to out-and-out combat. While Blancanales had the gift of persuasion, Schwarz was the man for inventiveness with gadgets of every kind. He loved nothing better than working with electronic components, always searching for adaptations and improvements of existing hardware.

Blancanales and Schwarz also had an insatiable appetite for constantly ribbing their sometimes touchy leader. It had become an integral function of their makeup. It was part devilment and part need to release tension in stressful situations. That aside, they understood Lyons and were able to put up with his often curt responses to their verbal pronouncements. They were both older than Lyons, but they had no problem keeping in step with the former LAPD detective.

Also at the table was Hal Brognola, the Stony Man chief, his Justice Department role giving him cover for his covert running of the SOG, something he achieved with a skill even he often couldn’t understand. As far as he was concerned, it was his job and he did it the best way he knew how.

And then there was Barbara Price, the mission controller. Her wide-ranging responsibilities included mission briefings such as this one; she also had the day-to-day logistical matters to handle, and in the opinion of the Stony Man teams there was no one better. The honey-blonde, strikingly attractive former NSA agent, who felt at home in blue jeans, simple shirts and Western boots, had a magic touch when it came to organizing missions, whether she was simply buying air tickets or engaging in more involved dealings with the US Air Force when unnoticed insertions into risky areas were called for. She made sure the teams had what they wanted, where they wanted and when. If it was humanly possible Barbara Price would go that one step beyond to make sure her guys were delivered safely and, if needed, picked up under the same auspices. When they were in the field, she worried about them constantly and was always there at the end of a phone call with much-needed backup. Given the opportunity, she would have armed herself and gone to their aid if they asked.

Across from Price sat Aaron “the Bear” Kurtzman, the ruling hand of the cyber team. Confined to a wheelchair after a bullet severed his spine during an abortive attack on the Stony Man facility years back, Kurtzman was the driving force behind the team that provided logistical information for the Farm’s teams. His skills behind a keyboard, allied with those of his cyber people, meant that no digital stone was ever left unturned.

Kurtzman and his team—Akira Tokaido, Huntington Wethers and Carmen Delahunt—openly stole, siphoned and worked magic to obtain their data. Brognola had one rule: do what you have to, just don’t get caught, and don’t tell me, if you can get away with it—the last always accompanied by a knowing smile. Kurtzman’s cyber team did just that and stayed well out of reach of every agency in the country and abroad.

The Computer Room that was Kurtzman’s lair was equipped with high-power computers and lightning-fast internet connections. The walls were filled with large plasma monitor screens, and the cyber crew used their wireless appliances to push data back and forth with ease as they probed and dug for the information they needed. They had a direct connection with Zero and could deliver and exchange information with Doug Buchanan whenever needed.

The President’s covert group, from the combat teams to the on-the-job blacksuits and maintenance personnel, worked in obscurity. They asked for and received no recognition or praise. When it came to job satisfaction, Hal Brognola and his clandestine outfit found it in bringing a mission home to success.

Once everyone was settled, Brognola nodded at Kurtzman and the Stony Man cyber chief used a touch pad to power up one of the large plasma screens fixed to the wall.

“No need to ask if you are all familiar with Saul Kaplan,” Brognola began as the Zero creator’s photo appeared on the wall screen.

“The man behind the Zero Project,” Rafael Encizo attested. “Smart guy. Nice guy, as well. You don’t often get that combination.”

“I am sitting across from you,” McCarter quipped, grinning at his own wit.

Brognola interjected, “Kaplan’s missing. All the signs point to an abduction. When the Air Force car he was traveling in was found, the driver was dead—shot in the back of the head—and Kaplan was gone.”

“Any suspects?” Manning said.

“If I compiled a list we’d be here all day,” Brognola said. “Zero, as much as we want to keep it low-key, has created interested parties.”

“There haven’t been any demands,” Price noted. “Nada, from anyone.”

“I don’t anticipate that happening,” Brognola said. “Saul Kaplan is not known outside his working environment except by a select few, so I don’t believe he’s been taken by someone liable to want to ransom him. This isn’t about someone who wants a shedload of cash for the return of Saul Kaplan.”

“On the other hand, a foreign power might want him for a particular purpose,” Price said.

“Like coercing him to spill what he knows about Zero?” Hawkins asked. “I mean that’s his thing. Having knowledge about the setup.”

“That’s how we see it,” Brognola said. “And our chief suspect—coming from Agent Claire Valens—is the same one who was involved last time.”

“China,” McCarter said. “Well, we all know they were the main perps last time around. They attacked the Zero base and burned it to the ground. Doug Buchanan escaped by a fluke before they found him. And we all know how it went from there.”

“You figure they’re still in the game?” Blancanales queried.

“They have a degree of knowledge about Zero,” Encizo said. “And they still have alliances in the Pacific Rim. As long as the US has presence and influence in that area, there are going to be interested parties who want an advantage over us.”

“According to long-term analysis,” Brognola said, “the overall consensus points to China and the Pacific Rim nations. Anything that would give them a hold over the US, force us to withdraw, weaken our defenses, is going to be looked at. China, with control of Zero, would dominate the area. Hell, they would be able to threaten half the world.”

He slid a printed sheet from his file and placed it on the table. “This is the current text from a US asset in China. Been in place a couple of years. Her name is Jui Kai. She’s been able to send back a number of reports on sensitive ops being worked by the Chinese under this guy.” An image came up on the wall screen. “This is Colonel Xia Chan. Chinese military, in charge of a special projects division. And recent data points to him having been appointed as top man in a group looking at Zero.”

Kurtzman said, “We’re still building identification data. More we get, the more we will release to you. This has all come to us out of the blue.”

The image of a woman next appeared on the screen. It showed an attractive and seemingly wise individual and the text next to the image simply added to her qualifications.

“Jui Kai. US covert agent,” Kurtzman told them. “Long-term undercover in China. As Hal said, she has been in the country a couple of years using a well-established cover role. She has got herself close to Chan.”

“Hope she’s as sharp as she looks,” McCarter said. “Not an assignment I’d fancy.”

“Not you,” James said. “Let’s face it, David, you just don’t have the legs for one of those Chinese slit-sided dresses.”

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”

Price held up a hand. “Not something I’d like to imagine.”

Carl Lyons flicked the data sheet. “It says here Kai has worked herself onto the flight team providing trips for important Chinese officials.”

“It seems she caught the roving eye of our Colonel Chan, who has a thing for young women, and was assigned to his flight roster once she established a relationship with him. Whenever Chan takes a trip, Kai is on his flight. It seems he insists she is assigned. His influence is strong enough to get him what he wants. Kai’s feedback tells us Chan is highly thought of by the Chinese top brass.”

“How did she manage to work that position?” Blancanales said.

Price cleared her throat. “I believe that’s something we don’t need to go into too deeply.”

Blancanales glanced across at her. “Really?”