"There was an attack last night, General Palcikas," Voshchanka explained. "A Lithuanian deserter from a Commonwealth unit stationed in Vilnius was being pursued by a patrol helicopter when suddenly the helicopter pilot reported that he was under attack by an unknown aircraft. Seconds later he was shot down by a heat-seeking missile of Western design. The Lithuanian traitor has vanished. We are investigating."

Palcikas' eyes flared at "Lithuanian traitor," which pleased Voshchanka. Palcikas said, "I sympathize with the loss of your flyers and your aircraft, General Voshchanka, but look at what your men are doing to this farmer's land-you are causing thousands of liths' worth of damage. The forests you've decimated can't be replaced for decades. And you're in violation of the treaty of security and cooperation by bringing your troops here. You will assemble them and move out immediately."

"We were . . . concerned about destruction of evidence, General," Voshchanka said lamely, not acknowledging Palcikas' orders. "Having untrained, undisciplined farm boys roving around where they are not supposed to will hinder our investigation."

"My men or these farmers could not possibly destroy more evidence than your men have done so far," Palcikas said.

Voshchanka knew that was true. He had obtained all the evidence he needed after the first few minutes on the crash scene. "I'll issue orders to my men to be more careful, and I will personally see to it that these farmers are reimbursed for the damage."

"Very well, General," Palcikas acknowledged. He stepped toward a plywood table covered with white canvas, where several pieces of a missile were being reassembled. The lower section of a one-and-a-half-meter-long missile, blackened and twisted, rested on the cloth, with several guidance fins still intact. "I see you've already collected quite a bit of evidence,"

he said. "A Stinger missile?"

"Very observant, General," said Voshchanka.

"Distinctive shape of the tail fins, distinctive blast pattern of the warhead section-I saw many like it in Afghanistan after they shot down our attack helicopters." He took a closer look, then added, "These tail fins are Somewhat larger, however, and there appears to be an attachment point for an extra set of fins in the forward section, in addition to the normal Set of retractable nose fins. An AIM-92C air-launched Stinger missile, Perhaps?"

"Excellent," Voshchanka said. "And the origin of the missile?"

"Difficult to say, General Voshchanka. Many countries now fly the AIM-92C," Palcikas said.

"We can narrow it down to six or seven European countries outside NATO. And they are readily available on the black market, I should think. They are license-built in Belgium, and their plant security is reputed to be poor."

"I see that we can do away with our investigation team, General Palcikas," Voshchanka said facetiously. "You've done all the detective work for us."

"Good," Palcikas said evenly. "Now you can get off this farmer's property and remove all these vehicles to Byelorussia."

"The proper name of our country is Belarus, "Voshchanka said. "The distinction is important to us."