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F E B R UA R Y 2 014
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S E V E N G R A M S OF L E A D
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Prologue
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KEITH THOMSON
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KEITH THOMSON
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KEITH THOMSON
homicide investigation into a wild-goose chase. Toward the same end, on his way out, he drew a small
envelope from his pouch and littered the floor with
its contents, hairs and bits of skin belonging to other
men, including two convicted felons. Over his neoprene gloves, he pulled on a latex pair whose fingertips
would replicate a third felons prints. He touched the
footboard and nightstand, then climbed out the window, slid down the rope, and dislodged the grapnel.
Before returning to his sub, he planted a biodegradable battery-powered directional pin microphone
in the grass.
Thus, the following morning, in a motel room 200
miles north, he overheard one of Sokolovs people
knock on the bedroom door. No response, of course.
An FBI crime scene team arrived soon after,
quickly concluding that an assassin had sprayed a
sedative to subdue the burly scientist prior to shooting him.
Couldnt have been scripted any better, Canning
thought.
Later in the day, RealStory broke the news of the
Wisconsin murder story as well as the news that the
Wisconsin murder story isnt just any murder story.
Russ Thornton, the sites authoritative blogger on current events, also wrote:
The lead bullet is odd. Outmoded as well as environmentally unfriendly, lead bullets havent been
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KEITH THOMSON
of the bloggers sources, the FBI was likening the Sokolov murder to the 2006 neutralization of Alexander Litvinenko, another Russian migr.
Perfect, Canning thought.
From a computer in his New York apartment,
Thornton managed to provide an inside view of
the law enforcement and intelligence communities
sharper than most insiders. Cannings own sources
concurred with Thorntons account of the Bureaus
misdirection. And the director of DARPA, whose
postFlight 89 accident conversation in the Oval Office Canning had listened to, was none the wiser.
Unfortunately, there was more to Thorntons
post. As Canning read on, his satisfaction turned to
concern.
Its also worth considering that the seven-gram bullet was a red herring. Murderers usually arent big
on leaving clues to their identities. It might be worth
taking a look at American operators with service
time in Russia or other means of acquiring this bit of
Soviet-era arcana.
Canning had indeed learned of Uncle Joes remedy while serving in Moscow.
The blogger was a loose end.
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KEITH THOMSON
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KEITH THOMSON
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KEITH THOMSON
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KEITH THOMSON
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KEITH THOMSON
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KEITH THOMSON
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about what had become of his former rugby teammates. He used to play in the United Nations recreational rugby league, primarily to develop sources;
she enjoyed the games. The lavender scent of her hair
vaulted him back to those days, which he now viewed
through a golden filter.
He felt a twinge of disappointment when the
Staten Island terminal came into view. An announcement instructed all passengers to prepare to disembark. The man in the Yankees jacket was among the
first off, greeted by a Hispanic woman of about thirty
carrying an excited little boy who wore a Yankees cap.
Peretti turned to Thornton, her cheeks reddening.
My imagination got the better of me, I guess.
Better than the alternative, he said.
He steered her into the Au Bon Pain, deserted but
for a pair of hollow-eyed young women behind the
counter.
While Peretti was looking up at the menu board,
a thickset man emerged from the mens room. He
wore a black woolen overcoat, blocky glasses, and a
tight orange ski cap. From inside the coat, he drew
a sleek Ruger, pointed it at her, and pressed the trigger. The silenced barrel coughed twice. A plastic seat
back flew end over end, cracking the glass fronting
the caf. Peretti dropped as though the floor tiles had
been whisked from beneath her feet.
Thornton threw himself over her, to protect her
from another shot. She lay facedown, her brown
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KEITH THOMSON
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