Page 117 of Tom Clancy Line of Sight

Aida slapped the steering wheel, cursing in her native tongue. “That son of a bitch is a liar. Those weren’t Russians, Jack. Don’t you think I would know the difference between Serbs and Russians?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“And why would he think that Emir wanted to kill them?”

“He didn’t say. He was interested in Brkic, too. Said he was an ethnic Chechen.”

“He is. So what? He’s a Bosnian citizen.”

“He knew that you were smuggling medicine from Dubrovnik.”

“Did he say how he knew that?”

“No.”

“Doesn’t that tell you something?”

“No, what?”

“He knew about the medicine, he knew about the Serbs who were trying to rob us, he knew they were killed. But he blames Emir.”

“What are you saying?”

“Kolak is dirty. They’re all dirty. And Kolak is out to get me because of the refugee center. You see, anything that helps Muslims is a threat to Serbs and Croats and thieves like him.”

Jack tried to put the pieces together. They still didn’t quite fit. “There is another possibility.”

Aida was focused on the hairpin curve spooling up the mountain. “What possibility?”

“What if Kolak is right? What if Emir and Brkic are somehow connected?”

“They are connected. They’re family, by marriage. And sometimes Brkic does maintenance work on our vans and helps out with the tours. I told you that already.”

“That’s my point. I think Emir might be using your company behind your back for his own purposes, or to help Brkic do whatever it is he’s into.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, Jack. If they did that, they would be working against me. Don’t you think I’d know what was going on? Kolak is just using you to try and hurt me.”

“Think about it. Emir runs the company day in and day out. He and his drivers travel all over the Balkans and into Europe. It’s a perfect setup to run drugs or guns or, heck, smuggle people if they wanted to.”

“No way. I’d know about it.”

Jack laid a hand on her thigh. “I’m worried about you. There’s something going on, and it might wind up killing you.”

She stole a quick glance at him as she made another sharp turn. “Oh, Jack. What did I tell you? Bosnia is crazy, and it’s hard for outsiders to understand it. Stay away from Kolak.”

“I still think you should come home to Virginia with me tomorrow until we sort it all out.”

“That’s very sweet of you. But my people have been dealing with thieves like Kolak for five hundred years. We’re survivors.”

“I have friends back in Washington. They can do some research on this Kolak guy, and even Emir, if you want.”

“You haven’t talked to them yet about anything, have you?”

“No, not yet.”

“Good, because there are things I would want you to check out for me first. But when you do, please be careful. I don’t want you to hurt the center’s reputation, or mine. The work is too important.”

“I understand. I won’t do anything to compromise you or the center.”