“This is General Sergei Orlov,” he said to the man.
“Is this Mr. Battat?”
“Yes,” Battat replied groggily.
“Mr. Battat, the woman who rescued you is my subordinate,” Orlov went on.
“She has gone out to try and apprehend the man who attacked you on the beach. You know who I am talking about?”
“Yes,” Battat replied.
“I do.”
“She has no backup, and I’m worried about her and about the mission,” Orlov said.
“Are you well enough to get around the city?” There was a short delay.
Orlov heard grunts and moans.
“I’m on my feet, and I see my clothes hanging behind the door,” Battat replied.
“I’ll take one step at a time. Where did she go?” Orlov told the American he had no idea what Odette’s plan was, or if she even had one.
Orlov added that his team was still trying to get into the hotel computer to find out which rooms were occupied by single males. Battat asked Orlov to call him a taxi, since he did not really speak the language. Orlov said he would do that and thanked him. He gave Battat his telephone number at the Op-Center and then hung up. Orlov sat still.
Save for the faint buzz of the fluorescent light on his desk, his underground office was dead silent. Even space was not this quiet.
There were always creaks as metal warmed and cooled or bumps as loose objects struck equipment. There were sounds of coolant moving through pipes and air rushing through vents. And every now and then there was someone talking in his headphone, either from Earth or somewhere else in the ship. Not here. This was a lonelier-feeling place by far. By now, Odette had probably reached the hotel and gone inside. He could phone her and order her back, but he did not think she would listen. And if she was intent on going through with this, he did not want to rattle her. She needed to know she had his support. Orlov was angry at Odette for having disobeyed orders and lying to him. His anger was tempered by an understanding of what had driven the woman. Her husband had been a loner as well. A loner who had died because of someone else’s carelessness. Still, she would not stand in the way of Orlov’s job. And that job was not just to capture or kill the Harpooner. It was to make certain that Odette did not end up like Viktor.
Baku, Azerbaijan Tuesday, 10:31 a.m.
There was a great deal of traffic, and it took Odette twice as long as she expected to reach the Hyatt Hotel. She parked on a side street less than a block from the employees’ entrance. She did not want to park out front. There was still a sniper out there somewhere, the person who had shot the American diplomat outside the hospital. The killer might be bird-dogging the hotel for the Harpooner. He might have seen her car at the hospital and could recognize it again. It was a sunny morning, and Odette enjoyed the brief walk to the front of the hotel. The air tasted richer and seemed to fill her lungs more than usual. She wondered if Viktor had felt this way while he was in Chechnya. If simple moments had seemed more rewarding when there was a real risk of losing it all.
Odette had been to the rear entrance of the hotel twice before. Once was to help a cook who had burned himself in a skillet fire. Another time was to quiet a man who was complaining about charges on his dinner bill. She knew her way around the back. Unfortunately, she didn’t think she would find the Harpooner here. Odette assumed that when the Harpooner came and went, he used the front entrance. Sneaking out a delivery door or first floor window might call attention to himself.
Smart terrorists hid in plain sight. And smart counter terrorists waited for them rather than charging into their lair, she thought. But Odette had no idea when the Harpooner would be leaving. It could be the middle of the night. It could be early afternoon. It could be three days from now. She could not be here the entire time. She also had no idea whether or not he would be disguised. And for all she knew, he might even hire a prostitute to pose as his daughter, wife, or even his mother. There were some old prostitutes in Baku. Some very young ones, too. Odette had arrested a number of them. There were many possibilities, all of which made it imperative that Odette get to the Harpooner before he left. The question was how to find him. She had no idea what his name was or what name he might be using. Except for the Harpooner, Odette thought. She laughed to herself. Maybe she should run down the halls shouting that name. Watch to see which doors did not open. Anyone who did not need to see what the uproar was about had to be the Harpooner. Odette rounded the corner and walked toward the front of the hotel. There was a kiosk around the corner.
A newspaper extra was already announcing the Iranian buildup in the Caspian Sea. There were aerial reconnaissance photos of Iranian ships setting sail. Baku had always been relatively insulated from military action. This was something new for the nation’s capital. That would help to explain the traffic. Most people lived in the suburbs. Many of them probably came to work, heard the news, and were getting out of town in the event of attack. There was just one person standing beneath the gold and green awning. A doorman in a green blazer and matching cap.
There were no tour buses, though that was not surprising. They usually left by nine a.m. Tourists who had entered the country as part of a group probably could not opt for early departure and had almost certainly gone ahead with their plans. In any case, checkout was not until noon. People who did want to leave were probably on the phones trying to book plane, train, or car reservations-Of course, she thought.
The phone. Orlov had said that the Harpooner made a call using a secure phone. That would mean he probably had not made any calls using the hotel phone. She would look for a single male occupant with no phone charges on his bill. Odette entered the hotel. She looked away from the front desk as she crossed the lobby. She did not want to risk being seen by the manager or any of the clerks who might recognize her. The first thing she did was turn to the right, toward the corridor that led to housekeeping. The long, simple office was located in the back of the hotel. There was a desk with a supervisor in the front of the office.
Behind her was an array of cleaning carts. To her right was a Peg-Board with keys for all the rooms. A row of master keys was located on the bottom. These were given out to the cleaning staff each morning. Two keys remained. Odette asked the elderly clerk if she could have more shampoo. Smiling pleasantly, the clerk rose and went to one of the carts. While the woman’s back was turned, Odette took one of the master keys from the wall. The clerk returned with three small bottles of shampoo. The woman asked if she needed anything else. Odette said that she did not. Thanking her, Odette returned to the lobby and walked to the bank of telephone booths that lined an alcove in the back. As she was walking, her phone beeped. She tucked herself into one of the booths, shut the door, then answered it. Orlov said his team had broken into the hotel computer and they had five possibilities. Odette wrote down the names and room numbers.
“We might be able to narrow it down a little more,” Orlov told her.
“If someone wanted to get out of the country quickly, he would assume a nationality the Azerbaijani would not want around.”
“Iranian,” Odette said.
“No,” Orlov countered.
“Iranians might be detained. Russian is more likely. And there are two Russians at the hotel.” Odette said she might be able to narrow it down even further by checking the room telephone records.
“Good thinking,” Orlov said.
“Hold on while we’re checking. Also, Odette, there’s one thing more.” Odette felt her lower belly tighten. There was something about the general’s voice.
“I spoke with Mr. Battat a few minutes ago,” Orlov said. Odette felt as if she’d run into a thick, low-lying tree branch. Her momentum died and her head began to throb. She did not think she had done wrong, leaving a sick man at home. But she had disobeyed an order and could think of nothing to say in her defense.
“The American is on his way to the hotel,” General Orlov continued evenly.