Turbulence (Stone Barrington #46)(51)
“Ah, Garmin,” he said.
“The G-5000,” Jenny replied.
“Is it much different from the G-3000? That’s what I’ve got in my CJ3-Plus.”
“If you’re accustomed to that, you’ll learn the G-5000 in no time,” she said. “The other big difference is, we’ve got auto-throttles. We set our speeds, and the autopilot holds them. If we’re approaching an airport, it slows us to the correct speed and keeps adjusting, all the way to the runway.”
Stone lusted for auto-throttles, but they were unavailable for his airplane. “That’s a big labor saver,” he said. “I envy you.”
“How long will you be in Key West?” Peg asked.
“I’m not sure, a few days.”
“That’s okay with us,” she said. “A few days in Key West are always welcome.”
“Where are you staying?”
“With friends.”
“Well, should you need it, I have a guest room for you.”
“We’ll be fine. Do you have any interest in getting type-rated for this airplane?”
“I wouldn’t mind at all.”
“If you like, we can do some airwork with you; we’re both instructors, and you could build a few hours.”
“Good idea,” Stone said, then returned to his seat.
* * *
—
KEY WEST APPEARED as one of several blips on the sea, and soon they were touching down on runway 9 and taxiing to the ramp.
His car was pulled up to the airplane and linemen loaded their luggage. Stone pointed out his hangar to Jenny. “We’re housed over there.”
Jenny handed him a card. “Both our numbers are here, if you want to go flying.”
“I’ll call you,” he said.
* * *
—
STONE GOT EVERYBODY into the car, and they left the airport. Shortly, they pulled into Stone’s driveway, and George came out and dealt with their luggage. “Oh, there’s a visitor waiting for you inside.”
“I’ll bet it’s Joe Box,” Kelly said. “Didn’t he say he has a place here?”
“He does, and if he’s here, I’ll throw him out in short order.”
They went into the house, and the Bacchettis went off to their room. Stone and Kelly went into the living room and found Lance Cabot sitting on the sofa. “Good afternoon,” he said. “I’ve been expecting you.”
Anna greeted them with glasses of iced tea, and they sat down.
“What brings you to Key West, Lance?” Stone asked, feeling that it couldn’t be good.
“Well, first of all, I’ve brought you each a new iPhone,” Lance said, handing them two boxes. “I think it’s better if you use them for a while, rather than your own.”
“I didn’t know you ran an iPhone delivery service, Lance,” Stone said.
“Actually, that’s not the only reason I’m here.”
Stone had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the reason. “What’s up?”
“Our friend Owaki was spotted by one of our operatives last night getting off a G-650 at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow. It’s the only airport in Moscow where aircraft can be met on the ramp by cars, so it’s popular with business aircraft. Owaki was met by a Maybach limousine, which is the standard for the Kremlin crowd, the old Zils having gone out of fashion. Less than an hour later another of our people saw the same Maybach arrive at the Kremlin gates.”
“That’s pretty fancy visitor accommodation, isn’t it?”
“The only visitors who stay there are those personal guests of President Petrov.”
“So,” Kelly said, “that confirms Stone’s theory about Owaki working for or with a Russian conspiracy.”
“He wasn’t there to sell Petrov tanks,” Lance said, “so you could be right. This has to do with why I brought the phones.”
Stone waited for an explanation, but Kelly immediately understood.
“You think that Owaki has Russian intelligence cooperation?”
“The car in which he was driven from the airport is in the service of the SVR,” Lance said. “Stone, the SVR is the successor to the old First Chief Directorate of the KGB; it deals with civilian intelligence affairs abroad. Its involvement with Owaki suggests that he is a full-blown intelligence asset, if not an actual agent, of the SVR.”
“And what does that mean for us?” Stone asked.
“It means that Owaki very likely has the protection of the SVR, even when traveling abroad. We think this is a new thing; we’ve never made Owaki in Moscow before, certainly not at the Kremlin. It means he’s Petrov’s man.” Lance took a sip of his iced tea. “This is not good for you two. It means you will likely be surveillance targets.”
“Even in Key West?”
“If they learn you are here, yes. Who knows where you are?”
“Joan Robertson. Fred, my driver. The Bacchettis, who are with us. Mike Freeman, in whose airplane we are flying. and our two pilots.”
“That’s it? And you’re not flying your own airplane?”
“That’s it, and nope.”
“Well, that’s good news; you may have lost any surveillance.”