“Have you gotten any hits for officers who might have been involved in unconventional weapons? Chemical, biological. Research or Intel or defense?”
“Yes. Hold on… I did pull up a guy who worked in the Army Chemical Corps, in their intelligence division. Colonel Charles Granger.”
“He’s alive?”
“According to my records. Born in August 1950.”
“He was stationed in Berlin?”
“That’s what you asked for. Berlin Brigade. Seventy-Sixth Chemical Detachment, 1981 to 1990. He retired in ’94, but no duty station listed after 1990. But that’s not uncommon for Intel guys.”
“Last known address?”
“No address listed, but he fit your profile, so I searched his name, he’s serving on the board of some biotech company in Berlin.”
Brodie and Taylor exchanged a look. Brodie asked, “What is the name of the company?”
“Titan Genetics.”
Holy shit.
Colonel Charles Granger of the United States Army Chemical Corps, Intelligence Division. Could he be Odin? Seemed like a good candidate. The kind of guy who would be tapped into the stream of Intel coming from assets within the Stasi, especially as it related to the Stasi and the East German Army’s strategic posture, unconventional-weapons capabilities, and any planned enemy offensive operations—like Day X. Or Black Harvest.
Barese continued, “I have twelve other names so far that fit your profile, though no one else with a chem or bio background. I can e-mail everything over.”
Brodie asked, “Are any of these other officers you’ve found living in Germany currently?”
“Not as far as I can tell. I’ll keep looking, and I’ll send what I have so far.”
“Thank you, Claudia. This is a big help.”
“Happy to hear.”
Brodie hung up. He and Taylor stood in silence a moment.
Taylor said, “Colonel Charles Granger.”
“It fits. He fits.” He added, “Anna’s father reached out to Odin directly, in March of 1989. The final months of the Cold War. Day X and Black Harvest were acts of desperation driven by hard-liners and crazies who saw their whole world coming apart, and Albrecht was desperate to warn someone.”
Taylor thought about that. “According to the Stasi report, Manfred Albrecht had ‘unique access’ across divisions. Maybe he knew the fate of the last three guys who did what he was preparing to do. So he had to choose very carefully which American military officer he was going to approach. He needed someone high-ranking—an officer with an intelligence background who was specifically charged with collecting information about unconventional threats like Black Harvest. And that logic led Anna’s father to Colonel Charles Granger—who was the wrong man to contact.”
And then thirty years later, Harry Vance got too close to finding Odin, and paid the same price as Manfred Albrecht. As did Albrecht’s daughter, Anna.
The Cold War had ended, but Odin’s war had not. And now this man who had named himself after the god of battle and death was taking new victims, and Brodie was certain there were many more victims to come if he wasn’t found. Soon.
CHAPTER 46
They rounded a corner and found themselves on a larger road. Brodie said, “Pull up the address for Titan Genetics.”
Taylor looked on her phone. “It’s about a ten-minute drive from here.” After a moment she added, “Their website lists their board of directors and has a short bio on Granger.” She read, “?‘Charles Granger is a retired United States Army Colonel who served his country in West Berlin throughout the final decade of the Cold War. As an intelligence agent specializing in chemical, biological, and radiological defense, he played a critical role in maintaining the peaceful coexistence of a divided Germany. Following his years of military service, he utilized his broad technical and strategic knowledge as a consultant for the burgeoning biotech industry. Colonel Granger now contributes his considerable expertise as a senior director for Titan Genetics.’?”
Brodie asked, “Is there a photo of Granger?”
Taylor shook her head.
“What does Titan Genetics actually do?”
“Let me see… Mostly research and development on genetically modified agriculture.”
