State Of War. Don Pendleton

and don’t think I don’t know you said something totally suck-ass, either!”

      “Italian? French?” Bolan tried. “Scandinavian?”

      “Oh, and like I know how to pick those out of a dying hit man Euro-trash crowd!” Kaino frowned mightily. “And I know you can, but I’m just Miami-Dade master sergeant who works for a living. I’m not an international man of mystery.”

      “You notice anything interesting, Kaino?”

      “Yeah, these guys aren’t local.” Kaino spit off to one side. “They aren’t even Latino. They’re pros, and I’m definitely thinking we got made coming out of Papi’s Tea Room.”

      CHAPTER FIVE

      FBI Miami Office

      Kaino took in the gleaming, efficient and tasteful Federal Bureau of Investigation surroundings. “Swanky.”

      “Heads up,” Bolan advised. The FBI special agent striding down the hallway toward them wore a very purposeful expression her face. It was a pleasing face to look upon. She was African American, but her face bespoke far more of Africa than America and her skin was very dark. She managed to be petite and leggy at the same time, and the cut of her relaxed hair and her navy pantsuit and the true gray of her blouse and shoes showed her off to maximum effect.

      “Nice,” Kaino opined.

      Bolan agreed wholeheartedly. He put on his most amiable game face and held out his hand. “Special Agent.”

      Despite the special agent’s diminutive stature, she had a grip like a clam. “Sophina Savacool.”

      “Cooper,” Bolan said. “And this is—”

      Special Agent Savacool had a smile that could light up an FBI foyer and did. Though at the moment it was tinged with a little bit of bemusement. “Oh, I assure you, Mr. Cooper, Master Sergeant Gadiel Kaino’s reputation precedes him.”

      Kaino’s massive mitt engulfed the special agent’s. “My pleasure, Agent Savacool. In all my years in law enforcement this is my first visit to the FBI Miami office. Thank you for seeing us.”

      Agent Savacool’s bemusement turned up a charming notch. “Oh, I was the one told to see you, but then again, when legends of Miami law enforcement, and—” Savacool ran her eye up and down Bolan “—a mystery man go on a midnight rampage in the city streets, it’s funny how I end up being the one sent to the meet and greet. At least the call said it was you. Is there a reason I shouldn’t run you both in by the way?”

      Bolan put on his most winning smile. “I mean absolutely no disrespect, Special Agent, but running me in would be...how can I put it? Problematic for you. And Kaino’s with me.”

      “Oh, I got the memo.” Savacool’s bemused smile turned into a genuine smirk. “And I have never seen a government memo shorter, more distinct, much less more anomalous.”

      “Savacool?” Kaino frowned. “Is that like Mandinka or something?”

      “German Dutch,” the agent replied.

      Kaino scowled. “What’s a soul sister like you doing with a name like that?”

      Savacool frowned at Kaino and jerked her head at Bolan. “What’s a pulsating piece of Puerto Rican pulchritude like you doing working for the man?”

      “Well...because...” Kaino grinned. “He’s the man!”

      Savacool stared up at Bolan and her eyes went predatory as she did some math. “Well, bless my soul! El Hombre, in the flesh, and in my foyer. You know, there is a fascinating file I read about a guy with that handle. Seems he’s torn up the streets of our southern neighbor and ripped the cartels a new rectum on more than one occasion.”

      Bolan had dealt with more federal agents than he’d had hot dinners. Far too many when they were exposed to him went straight into bureaucratic bluster mode. Bolan gave Savacool full marks. She was absolutely charming while she was trying to figure him out, and was waiting to have all the facts before she ripped his throat out. “Special Agent Savacool, I—”

      “Call me Sophie—my friends do.” The special agent handed Bolan her business card.

      Bolan grinned. “Sophie? I had to pull a lot of strings to make sure that FBI forensics got the bodies from the shootout last night, and Master Sergeant Kaino lost some genuine cred with his own people for going along with it.”

      Savacool nodded without an ounce of commitment. “I feel you.”

      “I know the circumstances are highly unusual, but I need a complete rundown on the suspects.”

      “They’re like you, mysterious. But follow me.”

      Savacool led them down a series of hallways. Kaino whispered low at Bolan’s side. “What’s pulchritude?”

      “It means the she thinks you’re a fine figure of man, Kaino.”

      Kaino puffed up with pride. “I am that.”

      FBI personnel congregating in the hallways regarded Bolan and Kaino with grave suspicion and barely constrained disapproval. A few shot Savacool sympathetic looks. Word had spread. The woman led Bolan and Kaino into an empty conference room. The soldier and the cop took seats at a long table while Savacool cued up the flat screen on the wall and a laptop. “These are your playmates.” Autopsy photos of ten men in various states of ventilation appeared on the screen. “Your assailants’ fingerprints appear in none of our available databases. All of them were armed with sound-suppressed FN P90 Personal Defensive weapons. One of the weapons had been modified for sharpshooting. Their clothing, NVG and body armor were off the rack and second- or thirdhand. We’re working on it, but the equipment has a very sophisticated level of sterility. I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

      Savacool gave Bolan and Kaino a look. “I don’t suppose either of you have anything that might shed a light on things?”

      “Kaino got a few words out of the sharpshooter just before he expired. He thought he said something in a European language. We’ve ruled out Spanish, and he didn’t think it was Russian, which leads me to exclude any of the Slavic language groups.”

      Kaino nodded. “Yeah, what Cooper said.”

      “That is of interest. We’re checking dental records, but none of them match anything in our databases, either. However the driver of the van was a light-skinned black, and he had two fillings, both resin composites.”

      Kaino gave Bolan a searching look.

      “A lot of the European countries have banned silver amalgam fillings,” Bolan explained. “The United States and Russia haven’t. Silver amalgam is one of the cheapest routes to go with dental fillings, and soldiers don’t usually spend a lot of money on cosmetic surgery or trying to go green. It goes a long way toward your Euro-trash merc theory, which by the way I agree with.”

      Kaino just stared. “Man, who the hell are you?”

      Savacool pointed her finger at Kaino. “I’m glad you asked that question first.”

      “Oh, it isn’t the first time I’ve asked, and I don’t think it’s going to be the last.”

      Bolan stayed on subject. “I gather we have nothing on the van?”

      “Reported stolen two days ago, and the surveillance gear and electronics inside had the model numbers and identifiers scrubbed. The mounting screws and the holes for the equipment are shiny-new. I suspect this entire operation against you was mounted within the last forty-eight hours and was pro all the way. And now that we have established that you’re El Hombre—” Savacool rolled her eyes “—it starts to make one hell of whole lot more sense.”

      “Can you give me anything?”

      “Well, you two seem to have a habit of shooting people in the face, but we ran your