Chapter 65
After spending a minute trying to get Jennifer, I cursed and said, “What the hell is she doing?”
Since our encrypted radio network slaved off the local cell system, I wondered if maybe Veep hadn’t somehow tanked the cellular
towers using the Rock Star Bird. I was hoping that was the case, because the last thing she’d told me on the net was that
they had been compromised by the suspected VBIED.
I was regretting my command to give chase. Since our communication with the aircraft was straight line-of-sight radio, I said,
“Call Veep and see what he has. See if he’s crashed the network.”
Still wearing the headset, Shoshana did so. She listened for a minute, then said, “He says network is running fine. He’s sucking
in and spitting out numbers like before, but he said the target phone has dropped off the net.”
Shit. That wasn’t good. I got back on comms and said, “Koko, Koko, status report, over.”
Nobody answered. Shoshana stood up, then pointed at the television showing a breaking news story. There had been an explosion
in downtown Buenos Aires. I ran over and turned up the volume, but the reporter was speaking Spanish. I asked, “You speak
Spanish?”
Shoshana shook her head, saying, “No, but don’t panic yet. It’s just an early report. You made a correct call. They weren’t
suicide bombers. If it went off, all it means is that they managed to evade surveillance.” She tried to project a confidence
I could tell she didn’t feel.
Finally, my earpiece came alive, “Pike, Pike, this is Koko, over.”
I felt a flood of relief, but still gave her hell. “Where have you been? What’s the status on the vehicle? I’m seeing news
reports about an explosion and Veep says the target phone is dead.”
She said, “Sorry. My phone was knocked out. I had to reboot it. We had a little bit of high adventure here.”
She then proceeded to tell me what happened, and my jaw dropped. When she was done, I said, “Both of you are okay?”
“Yeah, but the rental’s totaled. Sorry. We’re across the street. So far, no police but I can hear the sirens.”
I was torn between giving her high accolades or verbally tearing her apart for the recklessness, but we had no time for that.
Thinking furiously about the problem set, I said, “What was the scope of the damage? How many did they harm?”
“I don’t know about anyone injured from flying debris, but believe it or not, we haven’t seen any signs that anyone was killed.
The VBIED apparently wasn’t packed with explosives. It only had enough to set off the LNG tank, so it wasn’t like something
from Iraq.”
That was good news. I said, “No sign of the Ghost?”
“No. It was just the two who rented the hotel rooms with that burned credit card.”
“Can you get back into the park?”
“Yeah, for the next thirty seconds. Why?”
“Get that cell phone the woman used to detonate the vehicle. It’s our last link to the rest of the crew.”
“Pike, I flattened her with my car, and then she was tossed by the explosion. I have no idea where the phone is and the police
are on the way.”
“What about the other guy that Aaron shot? Can you get his phone?”
“He’s barbecued inside the VBIED.”
“Okay, just try to locate the woman’s phone. If you can’t find it, you can’t find it, but the Ghost’s still out there, and
this might be our last lead.”
She said, “Okay. We’re moving. I’ll call with an update.”
Shoshana was bouncing off the walls wanting to know what had happened. I gave her the CliffsNotes version, and she became angry, saying, “What was Aaron thinking? No terrorist is worth his life.”
I said, “Yeah, well, he may have saved a bunch of folks who would have otherwise died. If they’d have evaded us and simply
parked that car at any crowded intersection it would have been a bloodbath.”
Glowering, she said, “I’ll talk to him when he gets back. That was very risky. It could have been a crowded intersection and him and Jennifer.”
I didn’t envy Aaron, but gave up trying to convince her of the nobility of his act. I said, “Their vehicle is totaled and
about to be examined with a microscope by the police. It’s your cover that’s on the rental agreement. Is there any issue with
that?”
She said, “No. Not at all. We’re on a thin, throwaway cover. Mossad will burn it when we’re done. We just need to leave here
before our names get introduced on a watch list in travel databases.” She returned to the television, saying, “It was worth
it to stop the attack. How long before they get here?”
I said, “They’re not coming back right away. I sent them to see if they could find the cell phone the woman was using.”
She whipped her head back to me and said, “Why? They might get entangled by the police, and we’ve stopped the attack. Are
you that fixated on the Ghost?”
I said, “It is because of the Ghost, but not because I’m fixated on him. There are two other attacks planned, in the United
States and Israel, which shows a deep well of planning and infrastructure. I don’t see a simple car bomb made out of locally
purchased fireworks as the main event down here. According to Jennifer it wasn’t even that big of an explosion, and where
were they intending to use it? How could they have targeted any of the VIPs at the ceremony? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Shoshana may be stubborn as hell and completely sure of herself, but she was also incredibly smart. She took in my words and
said, “So you think this bomb was just to make us let down our guard? A diversion?”
I said, “The only thing I know for sure is that the Ghost is a skilled killer. When I caught him years ago, he was placing shaped charges on the shaft stanchions of the tallest elevator in the world, in Dubai. That was a precise, targeted killing. He doesn’t do mass attacks with homemade car bombs.
If he built a VBIED down here it would be a robo-taxi with facial recognition software. ”
Jennifer came on the net, saying, “Pike, this is Koko. We found the phone, but we had to evacuate. The police showed up and
are rounding up witnesses.”
“Are you clean?”
“Yeah. Someone’s going to give our description, but we’re clean so far.”
“Give me the number before the last one called. The one before initiation.”
She read out a number, and it was new—not one of the ones from the cell phone we obtained in the park. I repeated it to Shoshana,
saying, “Get that to Veep. Tell him to see if he can find it.”
Jennifer said, “Are we coming back to you?”
“Yeah. You want me to send an Uber?”
She chuckled and said, “I’ll make Aaron get it. He’s the reason our ride is totaled.”
I said, “See you soon,” then saw Shoshana stiffen in the seat as she spoke with Creed. She said, “Are you positive?”
Then said, “We have to go. Keep that phone locked.”
She threw off the headset and leapt up, saying, “He found the number. It’s inside the Jewish center right now.”