KOSOVO

CHAPTER Six

It was 4:35 in the afternoon when the blast ripped through the wall of the inspection facility. By 4:39 the building was completely evacuated and locked down.

At 4:42 Special Agent Alex Ripper picked up his phone and dropped into his chair. Two men were dead, 4 others were on their way to the hospital with unknown injuries, his supervisor told him. Agent Ripper hung up the phone, grabbed his keys, and headed down the hallway to the elevator. An explosion in the inspection bay of the White House mailroom. He felt relieved that it had happened there and not in the White House, then felt guilty thinking of the two men who had died. As the doors opened, he slipped inside and leaned against the back wall. Two men dead. There would definitely be hell to pay.

b c b

Mal pressed the button on his phone, hoping this was the call he'd been waiting for. It was the right call, but the wrong news. The bomb had gone off early, he was told. It never even made it to the White House. The voice on the other end answered his questions nervously. No, he had no idea how it could have been triggered early. Yes, he had followed their plan to the last detail. No, he didn't know if any officials were injured in the blast. Yes, he understood what this meant.

Mal slammed down the phone and jumped out of his chair. Pacing, he ran over the facts in his mind. One, he'd guaranteed the success of the job. Two, he'd been paid handsomely. Three, the money was already gone. He'd have to make another attempt under vastly increased security, or return the money. He went back to his desk and sat down, staring at the phone. Ivan would be expecting a call soon. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine what might have gone wrong.

b c b

"How can that be? Tell it to me again." Ivan was in shock. Nothing could go wrong, he'd been told. Nothing could point to them. Mal sighed and started at the beginning again, explaining the steps he took in making the delivery. He tried to be calm and reassuring, even smiling when he spoke of the explosion in the White House mail facility. Ivan was not amused.

"You must do it again. That is all there is to it. Do it again."

"It's not that simple, Ivan," Mal said to him quietly.

"What, am I now supposed to call the American papers and tell them we are mad at their post office? This was meant to be a message, to their people and to ours. We cannot accept their treatment of us, and blowing up packages says nothing!"

"I know," said Mal, as he heard the click of the receiver in his ear.

Ivan stared at the wall, trying to think of a way to save the situation. As he looked across the room, his eye fell to the cabinet by the window and on it, the two business cards from the American journalists.