"It's very simple," Ramirez said to Jean-Paul Moreau. After the phone
call, he had sent Mannheim to the Bates Motel and returned to Launch.
Let Washington stew awhile. They were probably now trying to figure out
how to get their antiterrorist units into Greece. Their nightmare
logistics would be fun to watch. "We have to find them. And get him.
Alive if possible, but we can't be fussy. The time to do it will be
just after midnight, when we're finished here."
Moreau disagreed. "I'd say the sooner the better. The longer they're
free, the more problems they can cause." Crossing Ramirez was not
something to be done lightly, but he felt strongly that the operation
was not going as smoothly as it should have. It was time for a little
damage control.
"Well, he's probably back on the mountain," Ramirez said calmly. "If
you want to, then go on up and get him. Take the RPG-7; it's light. But
be careful you don't damage anything."
He was right about the weight. At slightly over ten kilos, the RPG-7
was one of the best bangs-for-the-ounce around. It
was a guerrilla special, a Soviet-designed 40mm launcher that loosed a
rocket with an oversize hollow-charge rocket-warhead 85mm in diameter.
Fired from the shoulder, it was deadly against lightly armored vehicles
and structures. Used on personnel, it was lethal. They had brought
along a Pakistani clone of the latest Soviet model, a two-piece version
that was easy to move about, yet assembled quickly.
"But remember," Ramirez went on, "so far all we have to show for trying
to take out this nuisance is a wrecked helo. Don't botch it again."
"That was because you left the work to German amateurs," Moreau
remarked dryly. "This time I'll take care of it myself. Personally."
"I'm counting on that," Ramirez said, his eyes expressionless behind
his gray shades.