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Chapters (49)
  1. Title Page
  2. Acknowledgements
  3. ONE - THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW SEPTEMBER 24, 1999
  4. TWO - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA OCTOBER 6, 1999
  5. THREE - CAUCASUS REGION NEAR THE CASPIAN SEA, RUSSIA, OCTOBER 10, 1999
  6. FOUR - THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON, D.C. OCTOBER 26, 1999
  7. FIVE - KALININGRAD, RUSSIA OCTOBER 26, 1999
  8. SIX - KHABAROVSK TERRITORY NEAR THE RUSSIA-CHINA BORDER OCTOBER 27, 1999
  9. SEVEN - KALININGRAD, RUSSIA NOVEMBER 2, 1999
  10. EIGHT - WASHINGTON, D.C. NOVEMBER 5, 1999
  11. NINE - KALININGRAD REGION NOVEMBER 16, 1999
  12. TEN - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK NOVEMBER 28, 1999
  13. ELEVEN - NEW YORK CITY DECEMBER 23, 1999
  14. TWELVE - NEW YORK CITY DECEMBER 28, 1999
  15. THIRTEEN - VARIOUS LOCALES DECEMBER 31, 1999
  16. FOURTEEN - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA DECEMBER 31, 1999
  17. FIFTEEN - NEW YORK CITY DECEMBER 31, 1999
  18. SIXTEEN - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA DECEMBER 31, 1999
  19. SEVENTEEN - NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 1, 2000
  20. EIGHTEEN - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 1, 2000
  21. NINETEEN - NEW YORK CITY AND SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA JANUARY 1, 2000
  22. TWENTY - WASHINGTON, D.C. JANUARY 2, 2000 FROM THE
  23. TWENTY-ONE - NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 3, 2000 CALVARY CEMETERY, QUEENS
  24. TWENTY-TWO - MOSCOW JANUARY 6, 2000
  25. TWENTY-THREE - WASHINGTON, D.C. JANUARY 6, 2000
  26. TWENTY-FOUR - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA JANUARY 7, 2000
  27. TWENTY-FIVE - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA AND NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 8, 2000
  28. TWENTY-SIX - NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 16, 2000
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 16, 2000
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 16, 2000
  31. TWENTY-NINE - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 16, 2000
  32. THIRTY - NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 20, 2000
  33. THIRTY-ONE - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 26, 2000
  34. THIRTY-TWO - WASHINGTON, D.C. JANUARY 26, 2000
  35. THIRTY-THREE - WASHINGTON, D.C. JANUARY 28, 2000
  36. THIRTY-FOUR - NEW YORK CITY JANUARY 29, 2000
  37. THIRTY-FIVE - KALININGRAD, RUSSIA JANUARY 30, 2000
  38. THIRTY-SIX - THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW FEBRUARY 1, 2000
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN - ANKARA, TURKEY FEBRUARY 7, 2000
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT - CAPPADOCIA, SOUTHEASTERN TURKEY FEBRUARY 9, 2000
  41. THIRTY-NINE - KALININGRAD REGION FEBRUARY 9, 2000
  42. FORTY - KALININGRAD REGION FEBRUARY 10, 2000
  43. FORTY-ONE - NEW YORK CITY FEBRUARY 9, 2000
  44. FORTY-TWO - KALININGRAD REGION FEBRUARY 10
  45. FORTY-THREE - SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA FEBRUARY 10, 2000
  46. FORTY-FOUR - MOSCOW FEBRUARY 11, 2000
  47. FORTY-FIVE - MOSCOW FEBRUARY 12, 2000
  48. FORTY-SIX - DAGOMYS BLACK SEA COAST, RUSSIA FEBRUARY 12, 2000
  49. FORTY-SEVEN - NEW YORK CITY KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FEBRUARY 17, 2000

And say he was getting carried away with his suspicions? Admittedly, he’d been on edge for the past couple of weeks. Say he was getting carried away, and he hadn’t been used as a pawn in some treacherous game, and the failure of the bomb to detonate was strictly an accident. Would the fact that it had nothing to do with Gilea’s planning make the position he was in right now any better? It didn’t have to be that he’d been double-crossed. Things went wrong, and people went down as a consequence. What had been worrying him was the possibility that analysis of the explosives would lead to a connection between the distributor and his import company. He was no expert when it came to the science, but he knew that might be done with certain kinds of testing. The authorities would want badly to make an arrest. How might the evidence be stacking up against him? He wasn’t sure yet, couldn’t be sure. But he wasn’t going to just stand around and wait for a gigantic fist to come crashing through his wall.

The wind thumped against his window, pelted it with sharp crystals of snow. The sound was loud enough to give Nick a start. Frowning, he cast off his thoughts with a visible shake of his head and returned to his desk.

He had done all that he could—for now, at any rate. He had his own men out, trying to discover what the Feds had learned—and throwing up smoke screens wherever they could. And if that wasn’t enough ... well, he had his insurance, his films of Gilea fondling the plastique. He was sure he’d be able to cut a deal if he had to.

He picked up the phone again, called downstairs, told his men to get his car warmed up. He wanted to forget his concerns for a while, wanted to sink himself deep into Marissa, wanted to relax.

Otherwise he might go crazy thinking about what might lie ahead.

TWENTY-EIGHT - BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 16, 2000

TWENTY-EIGHT

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK JANUARY 16, 2000

“THERE’S NICKY AND HIS ZOO CREW,” BARNHART said.

Nimec sat beside him in the front passenger seat of the station wagon, looking out the windshield in silence.

“Like clockwork,” Noriko said from the vehicle’s rear section.

Nimec gave her a small nod but remained silent. They were in a parking space a half block down from the Platinum Club. Their engine and headlights were off. There was no heat issuing from the vents. A film of snow had formed on the glass, making it difficult to see through, but for the past few minutes they had refrained from clearing it with even intermittent swishes of the wipers.

They were being careful to do nothing that might draw attention.