Page 108 of Close Pursuit

Ian nodded, watching him intently. Alex saw where Katie got her smarts from. It was a family trait.

He continued, “I did a little research on what Shishani could do there to turn a profit. Like you, I saw no evidence of drug production or arms trade through the valley. Ever heard of samarium?”

Mike frowned. “Sounds like something from my chemistry class.”

“Correct. It’s a rare earth element. It’s used in control rods for nuclear reactors. It’s also used in lasers and as a hardening agent in missile casings. It’s highly heat resistant. It’s always found in conjunction with other minerals. The ore has to be melted down and the samarium separated from the nuisance minerals it’s found with. That smelting process stinks to high heaven.”

“Let me guess,” Ian commented. “There’s samarium in the Karshan Valley.”

“Give the man a gold star.”

“Was Shishani getting this stuff for the Chechens?”

Alex shook his head. “The guy hates the current regime. Unless you saw heavy transport trucks or cargo planes coming into the Karshan Valley routinely, we’re looking at a local buyer.”

“Holy shit” Ian burst out. “Iran’s a stone’s throw from the Karshan valley and they’d have all kinds of military uses for it. Do you think this Shishani guy was getting samarium from the locals and selling it to the Iranians?”

“Did you ever see locals hauling baskets down out of the hills? They’d be heavy. Carrying rocks. Maybe an occasional truck coming and going like it picked up a heavy cargo and hauled it out?”

Mike nodded once, very slowly. Alex understood. The guy couldn’t say anything to him, but if Alex guessed correctly, he could nod.

“If the locals were smelting it in those ovens in the middle of their village, they would ingest a crap-ton of the fumes,” Alex pointed out.

He didn’t like having to reveal the next bit to an employee of the U.S. government, but he needed this man’s help. Ian had been on the ground in Zaghastan formonthsmore than him and Katie. He was the single most likely person to know who they’d pissed off in Zaghastan, and who might have kidnapped Katie.

“And?” Ian prompted warily.

“Katie and I saw the rebels who attacked the village that last night. We both thought they moved like soldiers. Spec Ops types. Those weren’t locals at all. I’m hoping you saw them, too.”

Ian nodded firmly.

Jesus H. Christ. It was one thing to suspect sinister layers to an event. It was another to have it confirmed for him. Alex’s pulse sped up. He only hoped he wasn’t on the right track all the way to the horrible, logical conclusion.

“Go on,” Ian urged.

“For argument’s sake, let’s assume Charlie gave Katie the complete list of visitors to the valley and didn’t omit any of his own people. Your name was the only obviously American one on the list, from which I’m going to assume you were working solo out there.”

Ian nodded infinitesimally.

Alex finished heavily, “Which means that Spec Ops squad wasn’t American.”

Ian nodded more obviously.

“That team, posing as rebels, slaughtered everyone in Karshan village that night. They’re probably the same team that took out Ghun village in the next valley over.”

“Logical,” Ian commented cautiously.

“The team we saw had attack drones. RPG’s. A helicopter. That was no Chechen mob job. That was a full-blown, state-sponsored military attack.”

Ian’s eyes opened wide as he saw where Alex was going.

“Yeah,” Alex muttered. “The Russians.”

“Why?” Ian breathed. “This samarium stuff?”

“There’s plenty of it in the Caucasus Mountains. They don’t need it.”

“Then what are we looking at—" Ian started. He broke off as the hallway door opened. Alex spun, his hands going up defensively.

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