“Two Stinger missiles and two thirty-three-foot transportable port security boats, each armed with one mounted fifty-caliber machine gun and two M60s.” The man let that information sink in. “Javier Carpio is well known to me by reputation from his work in El Salvador. He was a leader of the resistance against the American-backed government forces. When he placed the order, I assumed, naturally, that they would be delivered there. I was unnerved when he indicated that the delivery was to be here. Had I known that that was the intention, I would never have become involved in the transaction.”

“You’re afraid that they will be used to kill Americans,” Cormack noted.

The man shrugged. “If a school is bombed in a place like El Salvador, or a plane is shot down in Malaysia, there is a momentary outcry, and then people move on with their lives. The governments in those countries do not have the resources to interfere with my business, and the American government does not generally get involved beyond minimal cooperation.” He paused. “But if Americans are killed—particularly on American soil—well, then your government brings its full force to bear. I would not want to be implicated in that.”

“So, what do you want me to do about it?”

“I have heard that you have connections with the federal authorities. You have the information now, and you can pass it on.”

Cormack shook his head. “Why would I want to get involved?” he asked.

“Because, Mr. O’Connell, you are already involved. If those missiles are used against Americans, the authorities are likely to learn of my involvement and come after me. If I am caught, I will, of course, tell them that I gave you this information. It may buy me some leniency. And you will have to answer for not having done anything with this information.”

Cormack didn’t bother thinking the implications through. It was irrelevant. There was no question that he would relay the information to Kit Steele.

“One more thing,” the man said.

“What?”

“Your organization has a leak. There is someone working against you. You need to understand that.”

Cormack frowned. It was a concern that had nagged at him.

The diminutive man nodded and he and his bodyguards walked back to the helicopter and climbed aboard. He was gone as quickly as he had arrived, and Cormack stood in the middle of the clearing, looking out toward the outer harbor, his mind racing. As he looked out, he suddenly noticed that there were more commercial ships in the harbor than he’d ever seen before—far more than was authorized or would be safe. It was as though someone had scheduled all of the traffic for one moment of the day.

And suddenly it all made sense.