Flu

Chapter 113

It's no surprise to Jack that Agapov is en route to the city. It does, however, make his job easier. Between satellite views and traffic cams, he doesn't have to risk getting close enough to the Russian operative to be spotted. If Agapov should pull into a rest area or stop for coffee, Jack can take advantage of the opportunity to grab him. If not, he can track the bear to his den.

Killing the operative would be a lot more straightforward and well deserved, but Jack will follow orders. He usually does, in his fashion. He left his family behind in the Hamptons, but they should be back in Manhattan after the holiday. With any chance, he can steal a look at them now and then. But first, he'll have to capture Agapov.


Maksim has no intention of stopping anywhere on his way back to New York. He needs to work out a fresh scenario for getting to the scientists from the W.H. Harvey. He suspects they are being debriefed by either Coast Guard Intelligence or some other agency. Help arrived way too quickly to what should have been an unforeseeable disaster. Somehow the Coast Guard was tipped off. Maksim can look into that later if his handlers agree, but he has a more pressing job right now.

The rescued researchers will return to their academic home bases sooner or later. For at least two of them, that's Columbia University. Maksim's made a cursory online survey of locations where they'll be vulnerable. He found no shortage of them. He has merely to select his hunting ground and prepare for the arrival of his prey.


From the sprawling lawn of the Castle weekend house, Alexis stares down at the swarm of officials and techs gathering pieces of the W.H. Harvey that wash up on the beach. Each shard is carefully cataloged and protected as C.S.U. would do with evidence at a crime scene, but there seem to be more bureaucrats or at least supervisors involved in this process.

The teen wishes that she could go down and help, out of curiosity but also to speed the evidence collection along. It won't be many days before Holly and Mark will be using the grounds for their wedding. The last thing they'll need is the restrictions and distractions of a government inquiry.

She lifts the communal Castle binoculars to her eyes. Some of the debris appears to have scorch marks. She didn't see any flames as the boat went down. The fragments must have been close to the source of the explosion. Whatever blew up the boat generated a lot of heat. She itches to run infrared spectrophotometry on the blackened materials. Comparing the results to pyrolysis spectra could be very telling. Shoot! She was supposed to give her mind a rest from lab work this weekend. But after having to observe an investigation from afar, being back at C.S.U. can't come too soon.


According to Jack's satellite tracking of Agapov, the operative stopped at a North Central Park hotel. The area has better-rated places to stay. The Kremlin must not have given the spy much of a budget. More to the point, the wi-fi at the downscale facility won't be encrypted. Agapov is unlikely to use it for communication; the Russians would provide him with a secure phone. But Jack can monitor Maksim's Google searches and anything else the assassin considers low-risk enough to do online. The American will skip any porn sites the Russian decides to visit. Maksim seems to have an appetite for them. But Agapov's other web surfing could give Jack some insight. And as long as the hitman is spending time online, he won't be trying to terminate any scientists.


Agapov surveys his temporary quarters. He's within walking distance of Columbia. If he gets around on foot, he doesn't have to worry about surveillance of his car. He's had better accommodations. But he's also had many worse ones. Sleeping on a bed instead of on the ground or in a tree is a lot better than he's been able to do on many of his assignments.

Maksim places his laptop on the small desk and follows the protocols to tie into the hotel's internet connection. The agent searches for maps of the campus of Columbia University. Agapov will hardly be alone in doing that. He suspects that many of the guests are either studying the school's layout or on their way there to check it out for themselves. His explorations will be a tiny drop in a sizable puddle.


Rick wraps his arms around the ever-expanding Kate and rests his chin on the top of her head. "Our quietude around here has been sadly shattered. Mother says she's having trouble finding her center, and Alexis is restless because she'd rather be out on the beach bagging fragments from the explosion. It's a little ahead of schedule, but they'd be more than happy to return to the city. How would you feel about taking off?"

"I've been thinking about it myself," Kate confides, "but I didn't want to ruin anyone's weekend more than an exploding boat already has. And if we leave early, we shouldn't run into as much traffic. But I would like a final swim in the pool. You could join me. We haven't had a chance to play together in the water yet."

"Mother and Alexis can be somewhat of an inhibiting influence," Rick notes.

"Neither one of them is anywhere near the pool right now," Kate points out. "And with the enclosure, it isn't visible from the beach, either."

"Very true," Rick agrees. "Partnering in a few intimate water aerobics before we're shut up in the car would be good for body and spirit."

"We better not be shut up in that car for too long," Kate mutters. "I'll have to pee."

Rick strokes his thumb along the still-sharp line of Kate's cheekbone. "I have every available restroom along the route committed to memory."


Jack's not surprised that Agapov was studying the layout of the Columbia campus. That he's been doing so confirms the agency's theory that the Russians wanted to take out the scientists on the W.H. Harvey. He doesn't doubt that Maksim will be carefully walking the campus to find places where he can get a clean shot and slip away unnoticed. Jack can also do some reconnaissance, to figure out where the Russian will choose to take his shots. Jack's challenge will be capturing Agapov before he can carry out his mission, yet not inflict damage that will keep the C.I.A. from successfully interrogating the hitman. His plan will require some finesse. He'll think about it, but he'll need to know the where before he finalizes his plans for the what.

The vast East Campus building looks like the most likely place for Agapov to set up. It's one of the tallest buildings in the area and contains multiple facilities, including a small hotel. Strange faces wouldn't trigger any mental alarms. Jack decides to get a room there. He can use it as a base of operations and even temporarily stash Agapov inside if necessary. Crossing his fingers that Agapov perceives East Campus the way he does, Jack makes a call to ensure the proper arrangements. One thing about the C.I.A.; they seem to be able to get him a room almost anywhere and anytime. He doesn't want to think too hard about how they do it but appreciates the advantage it will give him over his target.