Rodgers looked at his watch. "It's already four in the afternoon over there. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. They start late and work late over there. No one makes any high-level decisions until after lunch."

Rodgers looked from Coffey to Darrell McCaskey. "Assuming that we get what we want from the Finnish government, is there any way Interpol can help us with intelligence from St. Petersburg?"

"That depends. You mean the Hermitage?"

Rodgers nodded.

"Do I tell them about the English agent who was killed there the other day?"

Rodgers looked at Hood. "DI6 lost a man there trying to eavesdrop on the TV studio."

"Are we asking Interpol to do essentially the same kind of reconnaissance?" Hood asked.

Rodgers nodded again.

"Then tell them about the Englishman," Hood said.

"I'm sure there's a hotdog who'll be willing to take them on."

"What about at the border?" Rodgers asked. "If we have to go by land, is there any way the Finns can sneak our team across?"

"I know someone in the Ministry of Defense," McCaskey said, "and I'll see what I can wangle. Just understand, Mike, there are less than four thousand effectives in the border guard. They don't exactly want to go pissing-off the Russians."

"Understood," the Deputy Director said, then turned to Matt Stoll. The portly computer expert was tapping his steepled fingers together.

"Matt," Rodgers said, "I want you to use your computer contacts to find out if the Russians have been ordering or stockpiling anything out of the ordinary. Or if any of their top tech people have relocated to St. Petersburg in the last year."

"Those guys are pretty tight-lipped," Stoll said. "I mean, it's not like they have a lot of options in private industry if the government stops trusting them. But I'll try."

"Don't try-- do," Rodgers snapped, Almost at once, he looked down and rolled his lips together. "Sorry," he said after a moment. "It's been a long night. Matt, I may have to send my team into Russia, and that won't be a day at the beach. I want them to know everything they can about their target and who they might encounter. Knowing something about the electronics will help a great deal."

"I understand," Stoll said stiffly. "I'll do some hacking, internetting see what I can find."

"Thank you," Rodgers said.

Ann watched as the Deputy Director turned to Liz Gordon. She reacted with surprise when he spoke. Unlike Hood, who put little faith in psychological profiles of foreign leaders, Rodgers trusted their validity.

"Liz," he said, "I want you to put Russian Interior Minister Dogin through the computer. Factor in his loss of the presidency to Zhanin, as well as the influence of General Mikhail Kosigan. Bob has information on the General if you need it."

"His name rings a bell," Martha says. "I'm sure he's in my file."