Raven Strike

“I have to get back to the office,” she said, pushing away.

“I’m glad you’re back!” he said as she went off.

The sentiment was sincere, but so were the curses under his breath as he wheeled around and headed for his van.

Chapter 30

Duka

There were no parallel roads to the highway leading out of town, and the hills would make it hard to flank the house quickly. Da

There was gunfire from the lower house as they passed, but neither of the trucks was struck. Two troopers jumped from the back as they passed, securing the road in case the men there decided to interfere. The rest of the team sped on to the target.

By now Da

No one fired as they pulled up and surrounded the place. They blew out the front door and went in with flash-bangs and guns ready.

Li Han was lying exactly in the middle of the floor, dead. The flight computer and missing circuitry for the Raven was nowhere to be found.

“Looks like somebody did your work for you,” Da

Blowback

Chapter 1

Room 4, CIA Campus

Brea

“I never asked MY-PID to analyze whether Li Han was dead or not,” Da

“Would it have changed anything, Da

“I don’t know,” he said.

They hadn’t seen him killed, and the slow loss of temperature over time was hard to detect through the thick thatch of the roof. But Brea

“That may be one area to improve MY-PID’s programming,” she said. “Having some sort of prompt if a subject is dead or wounded.”

“Yeah.”

“How bad is the damage to the aircraft?” Brea

“The backup Osprey just refueled in Ethiopia and is en route,” said Da

“Good,” said Brea

Da

The real problem was finding Raven’s guidance system. While they had to recheck all the places they had raided and get the Russian, Da

“If it is in the Brothers camp, can you get in there and search?”

“I need to study the place,” said Da

They spent a few minutes discussing logistical matters, Brea

“All right. Get some sleep,” she told him when they were ready to sign off.

“When I get a chance,” said Da

“I felt I had to inform the President,” Reid told Brea

“I know.”

“The rumors may have come from her staff, but more likely they came from the Agency.”

“Why would Edmund leak it?”

“I doubt it was him. Not everyone in the organization appreciates his leadership.” Reid paused. Anyone in a position of authority anywhere in government had many enemies. “He hasn’t been particularly forthcoming with me.”

Reid reiterated what Rubeo had told him, and what he had heard about the software. But the lack of information from Edmund was frustrating; he simply didn’t know how dangerous Raven was.

“In theory,” he told Brea

Brea

“Did you tell Da

“I haven’t shared Dr. Rubeo’s assessment, no. There’s no need, operationally. Clearly, he knows it’s not just a board of transistors, based on our concern. I don’t know how much the CIA officer on the ground has told him. Or what she even knows, for that matter.”

“Could she be in the dark as well?” Brea

“Hard to say.”

“Why in God’s name—”

“They probably felt that, because it was Africa, there was no risk. That would be a common perception.”

“Misperception,” said Brea

“Yes.”

The Agency was famous for such misperceptions, thought Reid—always underestimating the enemy. That was the cause of most intelligence failures, wasn’t it? Lack of imagination, lack of crediting the enemy with as much if not more foresight than you had? That was the story of Pearl Harbor, of the Russian H-bomb, of 9/11—of failure after failure, and not just by the U.S.

“The political controversy adds another dimension,” continued Reid. “They have even more incentive to clam up. I wouldn’t be surprised if they thought we leaked it.”

Brea

“It’s going to cause trouble with your husband,” added Reid. “I’m sorry for that.”

“We’ll deal with it.” Brea

“I think we should both make the call.”

Chapter 2

Duka

In the end, it was momentum rather than logic or threats that got the women moving—Nuri and Boston pulled each to their feet and nudged them in the right direction, simply refusing to take no or inaction as an answer. They shuffled rather than walked, but it was progress nonetheless. Nuri took the infant from Bloom, hunching his body over it to keep it warm. It was sleeping, its thumb in its mouth.