"And the Catalonians have always been separatists," Lanning said. "They were a key force in spurring on the Spanish Civil War sixty years ago."

"That's true," Ron Plummer said. "But the Catalonians also have a bunker mentality regarding other races. Genocide is usually the result of an already dominant force looking to turn widespread public anger against a specific target. That's not what we have here."

"I'm inclined to agree with Ron," Hood said. "It probably would have been easier for the Catalonians to exert financial pressure on the nation than to resort to genocide."

"We'll be able to check this out more thoroughly after we find out who else was on the yacht," Herbert said confidently.

Hood nodded and turned back to the computer monitor. "In addition to the Basques, Castilians, and Catalonians, we've got the Andalusians. They comprise roughly twelve percent of the population and they'll side with any group in power because of their financial dependency. The Galicians are roughly eight percent of the population. They're an agricultural people-very Spanish, traditionally independent, and likely to stay out of any fray that might erupt."

"So," Lanning said, "they've got a complex situation over there. And given the volatile history of the interrelations I can understand them wanting to keep the disputes quiet. What I don't understand is something Mr. Herbert said-why this Deputy Serrador wanted to see Martha specifically."

"Deputy Serrador seemed comfortable with her due to her familiarity with Spain and the language," Hood said. "He also liked the fact that she was a woman who belonged to a racial minority. He said he could count on her to be both discreet and sympathetic."

"Sure," Herbert said. "But I've been sitting here thinking that she also happened to be the perfect victim for one of those ethnic groups."

Everyone looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Hood asked.

"To put it bluntly," Herbert said, "the Catalonians are male-supremacists who hate black Africans. It's an animosity that goes back about nine hundred years, to the wars with the Moors of Africa. If someone wanted to get the Catalonians on their side-and who wouldn't want the folks with the money in their camp?-they'd pick a black woman as a victim."

There was silence for a moment.

"That's a bit of a reach, don't you think?" Lanning asked.

"Not really," the intelligence chief replied. "I've seen longer shots pay off. The sad truth is, whenever I go looking for muddy footprints in the gutter of human nature, I'm rarely disappointed."

"What ethnic group does Serrador belong to?" Mike Rodgers asked.

"He's Basque, General," McCaskey's voice came from the speakerphone, "with absolutely no record of antinationalist activity. We checked him out. To the contrary. He's voted against every kind of separatist legislation."

"He could be a mole," Lanning said. "The most damaging Soviet spy we ever had at State was raised in whitebread Darien, Connecticut, and voted for Barry Goldwater."