Herbert used the vague electronics intelligence reference because he did not want Lewis to know that he had satellite coverage of the region. The new NSA head might start pushing the NRO for off-the-books satellite time of his own.

"How many men were killed?" Lewis asked.

"About thirteen or fourteen," Herbert replied.

"They were closing in on what appeared to be an outpost about eight thousand feet up in the mountains. The men, the outpost, and the side of the mountain are all gone."

"Were you able to ID the commandos?" Friday asked.

"Were they wearing uniforms?"

"They were SFF," Herbert replied.

"I knew it," Friday said triumphantly.

"What about the cell?"

"We don't know," Herbert admitted.

"We're trying to find out if they got away."

Herbert looked at the computer monitor. Stephen Viens had just finished zooming in slowly on the northern side of the cliff. The resolution was three meters, sufficient to show footprints. The angle of the sun was still low. That would help by casting shadows off the side walls of any prints.

Viens began panning the flattest, widest areas of the slopes.

Those were the sections where people were likely to be walking in the darkness.

"If the cell did get away the SFF is not going to give up," Friday continued.

"There's a possibility the SFF set them up to take the fall for the temple bombings in Srinagar."

"Do you have proof of that?" Herbert asked. He was interested that Friday had come to the same conclusion as he and General Rodgers.

"No," Friday admitted.

"But the Black Cats would normally have handled the investigation and they were cut out of it by the SFF. They also obviously knew about the cell."

"That doesn't mean they were involved in the destruction of the temple,"

Herbert said.

"The Free Kashmir Militia are known terrorists. According to Indian radio they already took credit for the bombing-"

"Whoever made that call may not have known the extent of the attack,"

Friday said.

"That could be," Herbert agreed.

"I'm still not ready to declare them innocent. Maybe someone in the group betrayed them and rigged the extra explosions. But let's assume for the moment you're right, that the SFF organized the bombing to advance an agenda. What is that agenda?"

"My Black Cat partner believes it's a holy war," Friday said.

"Possibly a nuclear holy war."

"A preemptive strike," Hank Lewis said.

Again, Herbert was encouraged by the fact that Ron Friday and the Indian Black Cat officer reached the same conclusions that he and Rodgers had.

It meant there might be some truth to their concerns. But he was also discouraged for the same reason.

"We think the SFF forces used gas against the Pakistani stronghold,"

Herbert said.

"Which would mean they wanted to try and capture them alive."

"A perp walk and confessions," Friday said.