"What the hell's up, Hal? Spit it out."

"Kidnappings. All over Europe."

"Who's been snatched?"

"Well, that's the kooky part."

"Athletes," April said. "Professionals from all different countries. Babette Pavlovski..."

"The gymnast who defected from Czechoslovakia two years ago?" asked Bolan, his voice strong, direct.

"That's the one. She's been touring Europe coach with the American gymnastics team. It's not yet known by the press, but she disappeared one night two weeks ago."

"Retaliation maybe. Those guys don't much care for defectors. Bad public relations".

Brognola negated that. "She's not an isolated case, Stony Man. The Olympic skier Udo Ganz didn't show up last Tuesday at his job with a Munich insurance office. Hasn't been seen since. Mako Samata, a martial arts champion with a chain of studios across France, taught an akido class at his Paris studio two weeks ago, then disappeared without locking up. Clifford Barnes-Fenwick, a top archer from Wales, was supposed to meet last week with his estranged wife to discuss their impending divorce. He never showed up. When she went to his apartment, she found it torn apart."

"Keep spilling," Bolan's voice commanded.

"You're not going to like it," Brognola said.

"We've had two identifications. Witnesses positively identified from photographs a man seen at two of the kidnapping sites. Thomas Morganslicht."

There was three thousand miles of longdistance silence. Then Bolan spoke. Quietly. His mind was already locked onto the problem. "Thomas Morganslicht, number one creep of the Zwilling Horde. The same group coming tonight to buy our army's stolen weapons."

"The same."

"Don't forget his twin sister, Tanya," April cut in. "Zwilling is German for gemini, twins, right? She's as much the leader as he is. And just as deadly. Some say deadlier."