His jaw tightening. Hood continued reading the transcript as the recording began to play. He listened to the cool, quiet voice of Esteban Ramirez as he spoke about the Catalonian plans for Spain and boasted about the involvement of his group in the murder of Martha Mackall. His group-with the help of Congressional Deputy Isidro Serrador.

"Lord Jesus," Hood said through his teeth. "Bob-is this possible?"

"Not only is it possible," Herbert said, "but it explains Serrador's unwillingness to continue the talks with Darrell and Aideen. That son of a bitch set us up, Paul."

Hood looked at Ann. He'd seen many of her darker moods during their nearly two years together but he'd never seen anything like the way she looked now. The compassion had faded completely from her face. Her lips were pressed tightly together and he could hear her breathing through her nostrils. Her eyes were hard and her cheeks were flushed.

"What do you want to do, Paul?" Herbert asked Hood. "And before you answer, keep in mind that the Spanish courts are not going to throw the book at a leading political figure because of an illegal tape recording made by someone whose hands are probably as dirty if not dirtier than Serrador's. They'll have a long, tough talk with him and investigate the hell out of him. But if he's got friends-and I'm sure he has-they're going to say he was framed. They'll do everything they can to stall the machinery of justice."

"I know," Hood said.

"I know you know," Herbert replied. "But they could let him plea-bargain, just to keep his constituents happy. Or they may let him off. Or they may let him 'escape' the country when no one's looking. What I'm saying is, we may have to take this matter into our own hands. If Serrador turns out to be a terrorist sponsor, we should fight fire with fire."

"I hear you," Hood said. He thought for a moment. "I want the bastard, and if I can't have him legally at least I want him dead-to-rights."

So much for higher morality. Hood told himself. He thought for a moment more. He didn't want Serrador to slip away. Unfortunately, he had only two HUMINT resources on the scene, Darrell and Aideen. And he didn't know if they were up to keeping tabs on him until Striker or some third party group could get in and have a heart-to-heart talk with the bastard. He'd have to talk to Darrell about that. In the meantime, he needed more intelligence.

"Bob," Hood said, "I want you to set up whatever electronic recon you can on the deputy."

"It's already done," Herbert said. "We're getting on top of his office and home phones, fax lines, modem, and mail."

"Good."

"What do you plan on doing with Darrell and Aideen?" Herbert asked.