CHAPTER 48
Cotton had always been a planner. There were those who flew by the seat of their pants, making it up as they went. And those who meticulously thought through every detail of an operation before acting.
Pantsers and planners.
Truth be told, he was a little of both, and the older he got, the more of a pantser he’d become. That was probably thanks to his early retirement from the Magellan Billet and the fact that trouble found him at the oddest times with little to no warning and no time to plan.
But here? He had the time.
So use it.
Ivan had told him all about the ongoing operation here in Sweden, spearheaded by Monica Butler-White.
He’d also told him about a physical relationship between that woman and John Westlake, one the SVR had only recently discovered.
But Cassiopeia had reported that Westlake had been beaten, then taken.
Was that for real? Or just part of the show?
What Monica would do next was the question.
Ivan had provided the locations of all the SVR safe houses in Stockholm and its environs.
Assets had been dispatched by Koger, and they were searching.
One of them contained the princess. Finding her remained the top priority, and Cassiopeia was working that angle.
His job?
Deal with Ivan, who was the precise definition of a loose cannon on deck. The Swedes were determined now, more than ever, to make the deal with the Czechs. They’d agreed to wait until morning to make the transfer of the codex, providing a little more time to sort through things.
But there were two problems.
First, Stephanie was flying blind. Sure, she had Koger’s help, but that was all unofficial.
Neither the State Department nor Justice was involved, and no one at the White House had any idea what was happening.
So command decisions were being made here, in a vacuum.
Second was the Codex Gigas or, its more appropriate name given the circumstances, the Devil’s Bible.
The Swedes, the Czechs, and the Russians all wanted it, just for vastly different reasons.
“One thing is clear,” Stephanie said. “We need to control that book. It’s the only way we’re going to be able to ensure things happen.”
“You have a plan?”
“I do. I’ve arranged for you to fly the charter plane south. The Swedes liked the idea of us taking on that task. Keeps them more out of the mix.”
“And Ivan?”
“I never mentioned him to the Swedes. I doubt they would care. But he goes with you. Get him out of here in one piece.”
“You have a plan for that too?”
“Don’t I always. But—”
“You need some deniability.”
“Something like that.”
“And you also think bringing Ivan home and turning him our way will forgive all?”
“Seems like a good bet.”
But he wasn’t so sure.
“Can this be done?” Ivan asked him.
They were back at Cotton’s hotel, safe in his room.
He nodded. “It can. All we have to do is get in the air. Once up we’ll go south, but not to Prague. We’ll divert to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. That’s U.S. soil.”
A secure location.
In southwestern Germany. Headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe and NATO Allied Air Command. Over sixteen thousand military personnel, civilians, and contractors. Plenty of protection for the Devil’s Bible.
And Ivan.
“What happens before we get in the air?” Ivan asked.
“That’s the tricky part.”