A lot. Ali Nassar is a busy man. There are a ton of transactions going on with that account. Money comes in, money goes out. Geneva, Nassau, Tehran, Paris, Washington. A lot of it is anonymous, impossible to trace. Well, not impossible, but it would take more time than we have.

Anything interesting that we can see?

Theres this. Over the past six months, Nassar has paid more than eight million dollars to something called the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, which is a company owned and operated by the Chinese government. They build military-grade robotic drones, pretty high-end stuff. The drones can carry air-to-surface missiles and bomb payloads, do surveillance, satellite data links, you name it. And China sells them dirt cheap, to people who probably shouldnt have them. North Korea comes to mind. African dictators. Non-state actors. Their CH-3A drone is similar in mission capability to our MQ-9 Reaper, but has a price tag under a million dollars. You see the picture?

Luke saw. Could you put a dirty bomb on board one of those things, and say… crash it into something?

Swann pursed his lips. Maybe. But keep in mind it would be hard to fly a large payload drone in an area like Manhattan, with so many tall buildings around. These arent backyard hobbyist drones. Theyre big. Were talking about eight to ten meter wingspans, depending on the aircraft. These drones need room to maneuver. They take off, fly, and land like airplanes. They have three-mile ceilings, but if you flew one that high, air traffic control would pick it up on radar in a minute.

Luke tapped the hard drive with Nassars computer files on it. See if hes got anything on it in here.

Before or after I do the phone?

Phone first, but move quickly.

Swann sighed. No one at this job has ever told me to move slowly. Relax, Swann. Take your time and do a thorough job. Those are words I never hear.

If you want to hear those magic words, I think you better go work in the private sector.

Swann made a face. What? And make five times the salary? I wont hear of it.

Luke? Trudy said.

He turned to her. Her eyes were wide. She held a cell phone out to him.

Its Don, she said. For you.

Chapter 18

Luke held the phone to his ear and walked out into the hall. The buzz of conversation echoed to him from the main control room. He didnt want to take this call. Part of the reason was he didnt want to go home, not now, not after everything that had happened this morning, not when so much was at stake. But there was more to it than that, a lot more.