The Russian Deception (12 page)

"You know what he did, who he worked for?"

"Your CIA, yes I know."

"Your mother was called back to Moscow when they discovered she was pregnant with you. Our father was sent home by the Chief of Station in Berlin and reprimanded. He didn't have a choice, just like your mother didn't."

"He could have done something. He never did. Nothing to find out what happened to her or to me."

Selena heard anger and hurt in Valentina's voice.

"I don't know that and neither do you," Selena said. "I don't think there was much he could've done. We'll never know. Your protector murdered him and my mother and my brother."

Valentina got up and began to pace around the trailer, careful not to step in the spreading pool of blood under the body of the big man.

"These things..." Valentina made a vague gesture with her hand. "These things, they are in the nature of our work, no? I have not yet decided what to do about General Vysotsky. He took the place of a father for me. He was better than nothing. I owe him something for that."

"Our father was a wonderful man," Selena said. "It was hard for me when he was away. He was away most of the time. Langley was always sending him off somewhere where dependents would have been a burden."

"We are similar in this way," Valentina said. "My mother was mostly gone when I was a child. Tell me more about him."

For the next half hour Selena talked with Valentina about what it had been like growing up in California before their father had been killed. Sometimes Valentina would ask a question but mostly she listened. After a while Selena stopped.

"My hands are numb," she said. "Please, can you at least free them? I can't do much tied to this chair."

"I will do this for you. But do not try anything foolish, sister. I don't want to hurt you."

The plastic ties binding Selena's wrists were pulled tight into the flesh. The hands were dead white. They wouldn't be of use for a while and by that time Valentina would be gone. She went over to the desk and rummaged through it for something to cut the ties. She found a scissors and cut through the plastic.

Selena brought her arms around front and began rubbing her hands against her legs trying to bring back the circulation.

"Who sent these men after you?" Valentina asked.

"I don't know. I heard them talking about how whoever hired them wanted a tape of me being murdered. They talked about how they'd get a bonus for making it especially painful."

"Someone doesn't like you very much."

Selena made a snorting sound. "I think that's obvious."

"Whoever it is will try again."

"Like you said, these things are part of what we do."

"I'm leaving now."

"How about untying me?"

"No, but I will call your new husband and let him know where you are."

"Do you know anything about the bomb that went off at my wedding?"

"There was a bomb? I didn't know that. Perhaps the same person who had these men bring you here."

Selena looked at this woman, the daughter of her father and a Russian spy, a skilled assassin. Her sister. She hadn't even known Valentina existed until a few months ago. It had been strange to see her standing there, stranger yet that they should meet for the first time like this, in a room stained with the blood of men who had been sent to kill her.

"Will I see you again?" Selena asked.

"Who knows?" Valentina paused. "I hope we never have to work against each other. When I learned about our father and about you I was very angry at you for having all the things that had been kept from me. But we are family. I couldn't keep the anger burning. I have no desire to hurt you but our countries are enemies, no? If I was assigned against you I would follow orders. You understand?"

Selena felt sudden sadness listening to her.

"I understand. I also hope we never confront each other."

"Good." Valentina went to the door and paused. "Goodbye, sister."

The door closed behind her.

CHAPTER 26

"Where did Selena get to? She should have been back by now."

Nick sat with Lamont and Ronnie in the Café Sacher Wein, the hotel's version of a Viennese coffeehouse. Red plush wallpaper, round marble top tables and red plush chairs gave it an old world feel, heightened by the smell of coffee and the sound of steam from the espresso machine. A waitress dressed in a white apron, white cap and a black skirted outfit that would have been familiar to patrons from an earlier time wheeled a pastry cart toward them.

"Nein, bitte."
Nick waved her away.

"That chocolate cake sure looks good," Lamont said.

"That cake built this hotel," Ronnie said. "Sacher was a cook for an Austrian prince."

"A chef, not a cook," Nick said. "Forget the cake. Something's wrong. I can feel it."

His phone rang. The number was blocked. He looked at his friends and raised an eyebrow. No one had that number except Harker and the team.

"Yes."

"Your wife is about twenty minutes from you. She is unharmed but I am sure very uncomfortable. Here is where you will find her."

A woman's voice he didn't recognize. The caller spoke with a barely detectable Russian accent. "Who is this?"

"Selena will tell you. Listen carefully. I say this only once. You must hurry in case she is discovered. That would complicate things. You will see why when you get there."

Nick listened to directions to the southwest of the city.

"Goodbye."

"Wait," Nick said. The caller broke the connection.

"Who was it?" Ronnie asked.

"I don't know, a woman. She gave me directions to where Selena is. She said I should hurry. Let's go."

They got their car out of the parking garage. Ronnie turned on the GPS and entered the information Nick gave him. Twenty-five minutes after the call they were pulling up beside the office trailer.

There was a blood trail at the foot of the steps and drag marks in the gravel. Ronnie followed the tracks around the side of the trailer.

"Dead man back here," he said.

Nick went up the steps two at a time and opened the door. Selena looked up at him.

"Nick. God, I'm glad you're here. Get me out of this chair."

He went over to her, stepping over one of the bodies.

"Place looks like a slaughterhouse," Lamont said.

Ronnie wrinkled his nose at the stench. "Stinks like one."

Nick worked on untying the ropes binding Selena to the chair.

"What happened?"

"Valentina was here."

"Your sister? She did this?"

Nick finished untying her legs and Selena stood up. She took Nick's arm to steady herself.

"These men grabbed me and knocked me out with chloroform. When I woke up I was in this chair. Nick, they were going to kill me and take pictures while they did it. That horrible man was going to use that chainsaw to cut me apart."

She gestured at the mutilated body lying on the floor with the chainsaw buried in what was left of its face.

Nick put his arms around her and hugged her. For a moment she rested against him.

"Then Valentina came through the door," Selena said. "She killed these three. It was quite a display. There was another man outside but I don't know what happened to him."

Nick let her go. "We found his body outside."

"If she hadn't shown up, I'd be dead. She said she was going to call you and tell you where I was."

"She did. Otherwise we wouldn't have a clue," Nick said.

Selena headed for the bathroom at the end of the trailer. Lamont and Ronnie were staring down at the body of the big man.

"That chainsaw made a hell of a mess," Lamont said.

Ronnie looked at the scar where the saw had bitten into the floor. "Looks like the saw hit the floor and it kicked back at him. That's a logging saw with a lot of power. Heavy. It must have a three foot bar on it. Mean, if you lose control."

"Yeah, well he sure lost it. Might have improved his looks some."

Nick looked over at them.

"Check his pockets, him and his buddies. Maybe we can find out who sent them."

Selena came out of the toilet and walked over to Nick.

"I asked Valentina if she knew who set off the bomb at our wedding. She didn't know but she thought it might be the same person who sent these people after me."

"You believe her?"

"Yes. She had no reason to lie to me. If she'd wanted to hurt me she had an opportunity to do it."

"What was she doing here?"

"She saw me in the airport at Skopje and followed us. I think she may have been the one who killed Todorovski. What else would she be doing in Macedonia?"

"Makes sense," Nick said. "We know she's an SVR assassin."

"If she killed him it means the Russians are behind what's happening in the Balkans."

"Moscow must have decided Todorovski was too much of a threat to Mitreski's regime. I know they want to keep him in power but I don't know why they'd want to start a war with Albania."

"You think that's Moscow's plan? Mitreski could be trying to divert all that revolutionary energy."

"I don't think Mitreski does anything unless Moscow tells him to do it."

Ronnie and Lamont came over. Ronnie held up passports and wallets.

"Lots of information to go through," he said. "The guy with the haircut is German, at least that's what his passport says."

"We'll look at it later. Make sure you wipe down anything you touched. The cops will be crawling all over this when they find it."

Selena looked at the saw and shivered. "Get me out of here," she said.

CHAPTER 27

Elizabeth had begun her morning by talking with Nick. She'd heard the story of Selena's abduction and rescue by her Russian half-sister.

On her desk was a small gray box with a single amber light. The box was connected to an encrypted private line that went straight to the White House. The light began flashing, signaling a call.

"Harker."

"Please hold for the president."

Here we go,
Elizabeth thought.
Has to be about the Balkans.

NATO high command in Brussels had sent the lead elements of a peacekeeping force to Albania. Protesters were already out in large numbers in the European capitals of the alliance, demanding that their soldiers be kept at home. An advance unit composed of French and Dutch troops had landed at Tirana International Airport, ferried on American C-130 transports.

In Brussels the member states bickered and disagreed about who was going to send what. There were arguments about the rules of engagement. Logistics involving cooperation between the members of the alliance were confused, a problem that years of temporary fixes had failed to correct. It had been decided to strip the new rapid deployment force stationed in Poland for equipment and personnel to deal with the immediate crisis in Albania, leaving little support for whatever might happen in the Ukraine.

NATO had long ago passed the expiration date for accomplishing its original mission, stopping Stalin's tanks and providing a bulwark for Western Europe against potential Soviet aggression. No one in the West was much interested in spending the money and committing the personnel needed in the 21st century. The rhetoric was impressive but the alliance wasn't ready for a big war.

Elizabeth thought the idea of a rapid deployment force to stop the Russians in the Ukraine was a joke, a political stunt meant to appease public opinion. It would take a lot more than five thousand troops and a few tanks to oppose any serious effort by the Russians to invade.

President Rice came on the line.

"Good morning, Director."

"Good morning, Mister President."

Elizabeth pictured the president sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office. President Rice was a decorated combat Marine who had served as a young lieutenant during the Vietnam War. Elizabeth had seen presidents come and go and considered Rice the best of the lot. Unlike most of Washington's politicians and unlike most presidents, Rice had held onto a battered integrity. Elizabeth admired him for that. His Marine background made him a good commander-in-chief. Once he had the information he required, he was unafraid to make unpopular decisions. Elizabeth wasn't looking forward to the change when someone new took his place after the next election.

"I'm calling about the situation in Albania," Rice said. "It has the potential to get out of hand and I want your thoughts about it. Your team was recently in Macedonia."

"Yes, sir. They got out just before Mitreski shut everything down. They are currently in Vienna. I have new information about what happened in Macedonia."

"Go on."

"An agent known to be a professional assassin for SVR was in Skopje at the time of Todorovski's murder. I believe Moscow ordered the assassination. It appears that Orlov will do anything to keep Mitreski in power, including provoking war."

"That's confirmation for what I already suspected. Your analysis agrees with what Langley says. DCI Hood thinks the Russians are manipulating events."

"Mitreski is a puppet," Elizabeth said. "He would never risk such an adventure without Russian backing. He's dependent on them for his military equipment and supplies. The invasion is a classic ploy, based on the lie that Albanian nationalists are behind the murder. The Macedonians may dislike Mitreski's government but they are patriots before anything else. A large part of the population is Orthodox Catholic while Albania is mostly Muslim. Macedonians don't like Albanians. A threat to the country takes precedence and Mitreski has provided that. He's stirring up all the old religious hatreds."

"Some of my advisors don't agree with this interpretation of events."

"That's as may be, Mister President, but there's no question that a Russian assassin was present in Skopje on the day Todorovski was killed."

"You are convinced Moscow is behind it."

Rice's voice was resigned. The last thing the president needed was a looming confrontation with the Russian bear.

"Yes, sir, I am. However, something more dangerous may be developing. I was preparing a brief for you when you called."

"More dangerous than another war in the Balkans? It took years to settle the last one."

"Sir, something's happening in Russia and it gives me a bad feeling. Moscow is moving a large number of first-line combat troops and equipment along the Ukrainian border. Moscow is passing it off as a military exercise but it looks to me as if Orlov is getting ready to invade."

"I'm aware of those movements but no one has suggested that Orlov seriously intends to invade."

The Pentagon is going to hear about this,
Elizabeth thought. "Yes, sir."

There was a brief pause at the other end. Rice continued.

"A full-scale invasion of Ukraine is a lot different than supporting one of his corrupt puppets in some military adventure."

Elizabeth knew Rice was disturbed by what she'd told him. There were many voices speaking in the president's ear but Elizabeth was one of the few he paid attention to. She'd been right too many times in the past for him to dismiss her concern as alarmist.

"I've been studying Orlov," Elizabeth said. "He's a gambler, a savvy one. He managed to survive the collapse of the Soviet Union and the KGB and come out smelling like a rose. He's not afraid to use any means at all to get what he wants. You only have to look at the death of President Gorovsky to see Orlov's hand at work."

"You don't think he had a heart attack." It wasn't a question. His voice was flat.

"No, sir. It wouldn't be the first time a Russian leader who stood in someone's way was said  to die of natural causes. Gorovsky was showing signs of backing down in the Ukraine. Orlov is a nationalist and a hawk."

"If he goes into the Ukraine, he risks a direct confrontation with us. That's a dangerous scenario. It could lead to nuclear war."

"Only if we back Kiev up."

"You don't think Orlov believes we would?"

"I think it's a good possibility he doesn't. Excuse me for reminding you, Mister President, but your ability to commit our military in any significant way is severely limited by the current makeup of Congress."

Elizabeth didn't need to remind Rice that he was nearing the end of his second term. As a lame duck, he had little support for making controversial decisions. A new insertion of troops into a foreign land few Americans cared about fell into that category. Support in Congress was by no means certain, even within his own party.

"You have an uncomfortable way of going to the heart of the problem, Elizabeth."

"I believe Orlov may be gambling on a lack of will on our part to confront him if he moves into Ukraine. I don't think there's any question that the Europeans have no guts for a direct confrontation with Russia. Ukraine isn't part of NATO and they're under no obligation to respond. The Europeans won't do anything unless we provide the major support. Everything that's happened in the Middle East during the last several years proves that air strikes alone wouldn't be enough. If we become involved it means boots on the ground."

"The country is tired of sending our men off to die," Rice said.

"I'm sure Orlov is counting on that."

"The general opinion I've been hearing about those movements in Russia is that Orlov is making a show. No one I've talked with thinks it's a serious threat. Everyone is focused on the Balkan situation."

At that moment that Elizabeth realized what Orlov was doing.

"Maskirovka,"
she said.

"What?" Rice sounded annoyed.

"Maskirovka. It's Russian for deception. It's a classic Russian technique, they've been using it in politics and foreign policy for centuries. Think of a magician using sleight-of-hand to get you looking at one thing so that he can do something else. I think Orlov may be using the Balkans to draw attention while he gets ready to invade the Ukraine. By supporting Mitreski he forces NATO to get involved. They've already gutted their rapid deployment force in Poland to respond in the Balkans. It confuses everything."

"That is devious, Elizabeth."

"Orlov is a devious man, Mister President. It's brilliant, actually. He weakens NATO by forcing the alliance to commit militarily in the Balkans and gets the activists working in the European states to protest any involvement of their nation's soldiers. He stirs up anti-American sentiment. Meanwhile he talks about a military exercise to explain the troop movements and it fits because there have been several in the last two years. People are used to them. Everyone is focused on Albania and worried about another religious war in the Balkans."

"So while we're looking the other way he invades the Ukraine?"

"Yes, sir. If I'm right, he'll cross the border soon."

"If you're right," Rice said. "Director, I need to have a better sense of the mood over there. Will the Ukrainians fight? Or will they ply the bear with honey?"

"I can't tell you that, sir. The government will call for resistance but I don't know what the populace will do. There are a lot of old hard-line communists in the region who believe in structure and order. They still have influence and there's a large Russian population. Many of them will support an invasion and volunteer to fight with the Russians."

"That could be a critical factor."

"Yes, sir."

Elizabeth heard someone say something in the background.

"I'm going to cut this conversation short," Rice said. "You've persuaded me that we may be facing a serious threat. Well done in Macedonia."

"Thank you, sir."

"Keep your team ready. I may need them."

"Understood, sir."

"Very well. Keep me informed." Rice ended the call.

Elizabeth let out a long breath and flexed her fingers.

Her thoughts turned to the earlier conversation with Nick. Elizabeth couldn't imagine who would send people after Selena and want her slaughtered on camera. Images of Selena being cut up by a chainsaw made her shudder. Whoever had sent those men wanted something more than to disrupt the Project. Someone was driven by hatred. Someone wanted revenge.

She wondered who it was. Until Rice came up with a different assignment, she had a new priority.

Find and eliminate the threat.