Ground ZeroT
he helicopter carrying Director General Manuel Panteros and the junior GRU agent from Havana settled with a thump on the helipad southeast of the main mansion at mid-afternoon. For Panteros it had been a frustrating morning. Right after breakfast he’d gone to the Russian Embassy where he sat in an airless little room like some overworked and underpaid accountant verifying the remainder of his money was there. Then his banker wanted more than they’d agreed upon and he’d been forced to pay it after listening to some not-so-veiled threats. Panteros had plenty of power within the Cuban government, but these damn bankers were another story entirely. And now, the pilots informed him that General Enrique Constanza was on the island and waiting for him at the big house.
“Don’t go an
