Silent Assassin(2)

Weeks after the crash, when they had been almost lulled into believing that the attack had been an isolated incident, perhaps a lone madman, it happened again. Three bombs in a coordinated attack in a trade fair in Barcelona this time. There was nothing to connect the two events, except the utter silence from the perpetrators. There were those who said they couldn’t possibly be related, that it had to be coincidence. And even Chapman had had his doubts. Until the bombs had gone off in the Port of Oslo.

The process had been constant stress and frustration for them. Their energy and anger had quickly seeped out of them. The strain had ground them all down to a hard kernel, wearing away all courtesies and politeness and leaving behind only a grim determination to see the task through.

And now another one. Christ.

“Tell me we’ve got something on whoever is behind this Paris bombing,” Schroeder demanded of the room. He scanned the people present, and downcast eyes gave him his answer. Schroeder cast a glance, and Chapman followed his eyes, to NSA liaison Dick Browning.

“Chatter’s through the roof, but we’ve still got no credible intel,” he said. “Our agency analysts are just sorting through it all at the moment. Lots of gloating and celebrating, but nothing actionable. I’ll be the first to tell once something of interest comes up.”

“What about forensics?”

“The French are playing this pretty close to the chest for now,” said Browning. “I think we’re going to have to wait—”

“They’re still combing the site,” Chapman cut in. ”But preliminary reports aren’t promising. The Paris bomb squad experts said there was nothing out of the ordinary about the explosives, at least at first glance. The devices were expertly built, no amateur work, but beyond that, nothing much. Absolutely no materials that might turn your head and no signature details.”

Schroeder cursed. “Nothing new then.”

“We should wait for the full reports, but—”

“Right,” said Schroeder. “We’ll manage our expectations on that. George, what’s your take?”

That was George Stanley, the group’s expert consultant on terrorism—the egghead. He was a professor type, balding, with long hair and a tweed jacket with shoulder pads. He spoke softly, at a high register and with a slight stammer that was made worse by the tension of the moment.

“W-well,” said Stanley, with as discouraging a tone as Schroeder had ever heard, “taking into account the p-precise location and nature of the attack—w-well, it fits no discernible pattern. At this juncture, there is nothing to tell us who might have done this.”

Well, there had been claims, of course. After the dead silence following the Barcelona attack, fledgling anti-Western terrorist groups had tripped over one another to claim responsibility. Even a couple of the big ones had gotten in the game. And meanwhile, whoever was really behind this was sitting quietly in the shadows, playing the greatest intelligence community in the world for fools.

“W-what remains is what we already knew,” continued Stanley. “The c-continued anonymity of the perpetrators tells us we’re not dealing with ordinary terrorists. Political terrorism hinges on the doers of the attack—and the m-motives behind it—being well publicized. All this mystery makes no sense at all, in that respect. The persistent silence after today’s attack tells us that this isn’t political, at least not in the ordinary sense. And with the g-goals still so obscure, we’re left knowing—”

“Precisely nothing,” cut in Schroeder. “Great. Anyone got anything else they need to share?” No one moved to speak. “Goddammit,” he said, slamming his fist into the table. “We reconvene in three hours. Find me something. Anything. Just do your goddamned jobs and get us something to go on. Go. Go!”

As they got up to leave, he said, “Buck, stay behind a minute. I gotta talk to you.”

Chapman waited as the others shuffled out. When they were alone, Schroeder sat across from him and looked him straight in the eye. “I’ve got to talk to the Joint Chiefs, and I want your honest opinion. How likely are we to come up with anything actionable on this?”

Chapman frowned. He wasn’t scared of Schroeder, and if he was worth anything, he wouldn’t be the kind of person who would beat around the bush and tell half-truths to cover his own ass. That was the only reason he was sitting in this room. “Not very. Whoever is behind this is as professional as they come. Expert at covering their tracks. We can hope that they’ll make a mistake, but that’s all that is: hope.”