O Canada!
We stand on guard
FOR THEE!
“Yaroslav Bodnar, AKA, Syla, you are under arrest for violations under 18 U.S.C. section 2251, the Sexual Exploitation of Children act, the production of child pornography, 18 U.S.C. section 2251A, the Selling and Buying of Children, and 18 U.S.C. section 2252, activities relating to material involving the sexual exploitation of minors, the possession, distribution, and receipt of child pornography. Further charges are pending. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one . . .”
As the agents pushed him to the floor and the last echoes of the song faded, the maple leaf also faded. Syla cranked his neck to keep his eyes on his monitors. Out of the dissolving center of the flag, the fanged head of a venomous serpent emerged.
Grinning.
Smirking.
Winking.
The agents who cuffed Syla and dragged him from his lair were forced to endure his shrieks of outrage as they echoed far down the stairs and into the night.
“Gaaahhh! Gaaahhhh!”
TUESDAY MORNING, VYPER sauntered through the RCMP’s front entrance doors as usual. She was still sniggering over the traps she’d set for Zakhar and Syla, giggling over the FBI reports she’d perused early this morning after hacking their system—the scintillating descriptions of their arrests and the lovely vast array of charges pending against them.
Well, I provided the American feds with sufficient evidence, didn’t I?
She stepped into the RCMP lobby. That was as far as she got.
Armed RCMP security officers swarmed her from every direction, shouting instructions.
She dropped her backpack and sank to her knees as ordered. An officer pulled her wrists to her back and cuffed them. Then they got her on her feet and marched her into the commissioner’s office.
The commissioner was waiting for them, her outrage splashed in bright spots upon both cheeks. Vyper had not met the woman personally—before today.
She shrugged. Probably not the best first impression.
“Would it surprise you, Miss Benoit, to know that we received credible intel late last night asserting that you, our very own cyber security specialist, were running your own little cyber enterprise from this RCMP facility? And would it surprise you to know that, in fact, we have found evidence to support such an accusation? An accusation of treason?”
Vyper swapped her wad of three chewed sticks of Black Jack from one side of her mouth to the other. “My wallet. Back pock—”
“Don’t you dare talk to me with that foul, disgusting gob in your mouth!” the commissioner shouted.
An officer lifted a wastebasket and held it under Vyper’s mouth. She rolled the sizable wad to the front of her mouth, spit the gum into the basket, and tried again.
“I beg your pardon. My wallet. Back pocket. There’s a phone number.”
They universally ignored her.
“You will be formally charged this morning under section 46 of the Criminal Code, high treason.”
“You’re making a mistake, Commissioner.”
“Get her out of here.”
About the time two officers took hold of Vyper’s arms to “perp walk” her from the commissioner’s office, the commissioner’s secretary opened the office door.
“Excuse me, Commissioner?”
“This is not the time, Ms. Terry.”
Someone behind the secretary edged her out of the way and pushed himself into the room.
The commissioner eyed the man. “And you are?”
“Bernard Dupont, Canadian Security Intelligence Service. My card.”
“We were, of course, about to call and inform your offices of the security breach.”
“Were you? Ah, me. Would that you had called us before you made such a spectacle of Miss Benoit’s arrest.”
The commissioner bristled. “How I run my organization is not your business, Mr. Dupont.”
“I understand, but . . . if I may suggest that you excuse these officers from the room while we talk?”
Something in Dupont’s manner made the commissioner reconsider. “Give us the room. And take that person with you.”
“No. You will uncuff Miss Benoit and leave her with us.”
“No! I must protest—”
Dupont gestured to the officers. “Get out.”
As the commissioner’s office door closed on the officers’ departing backs, Dupont said, “You see, Commissioner, we placed Miss Benoit with you quite intentionally. She is one of ours.”
“What?”
“Our agent. Embedded here. Within the walls of the RCMP. Doing what she does best. We allow her free rein to run her “little enterprises,” and we don’t care a whit if she amasses extra cash or even a fortune on the side, because she has proven herself more than loyal.”
He pointed at Vyper. “Through her machinations and her rightfully earned hacker rep, she provides us access to those entities, both foreign and domestic, who plot against us and our allies.”
The commissioner’s mouth tightened as Dupont continued.
“Cyberattacks? Financial attacks? Terror-directed attacks? Any or all of them? We’re an equal-opportunity Canadian security agency, Commissioner, meaning our only objective is to protect Canada. To ensure that end, we don’t care how the job gets done as long as it gets done. Do you understand me? We. Don’t. Care. We will do whatever we must and use whatever resources come to hand.
“As regards to Miss Benoit? In the ongoing cyberwar, she is our number-one huntress, a force to be reckoned with, utterly deadly to our enemies. Therefore, concerning her? I assure you, we most certainly do care.”
The commissioner’s eyes strayed to her employee. Vyper unwrapped a stick of gum. She fed it slowly—leisurely—into her mouth. Then, just as deliberately, she breathed on her nails and polished them on her shirt.
The commissioner pulled herself up straight. “But . . . but . . . be that as it may, I don’t see how we can, given the circumstances, put her back into her position. So many of our people—”
“My point, precisely. Her cover is well and truly blown, thank you very much. The Prime Minister, I’m sorry to say, will find your actions quite regrettable.”
The commissioner sank into her chair. “I-I’m—”
“Because of the mess you have created, we must now assign Miss Benoit elsewhere. Fortunately, the Americans have requested her services, and as it suits our purposes to remove her from the Canadian spotlight you have so inconsiderately placed her in, we shall grant their request.”
He turned on his heel. “Come along, Thérèse. I hear the American’s have big plans for you.”
Vyper smirked as she rambled along after him.
America? Cool.
And Syla thought he was crashing my career? Ha!
Think again, loser.
The End
What’s Next?
MY DEAR READERS,
Laynie, Quincy Tobin—and perhaps Vyper?—will return in Laynie Portland, Renegade Spy. As you might imagine, her adjustment to her new situation proves difficult.
Although Director Wolfe brings Laynie “in from the cold” to a place of relative safety, she will remain free only if she meets Wolfe’s three conditions. She must accept the new identity he gives her, and she must meet with an agency “shrink” to address the emotional damage caused by her years undercover. This counselor, handpicked by Wolfe, will evaluate Laynie and determine if she is fit to participate in his secret task force. Moreover, Laynie must remain in Wolfe’s witness protection program. The program will hide Laynie from those who are hunting her, but it will also greatly curtail her freedom.
But nothing goes as Laynie hopes. The rules grind and grate on her. They shackle her choices and constrict her movements. She feels controlled and manipulated. Her clashes with bureaucratic culture only serve to tighten the restrictions and send her spiraling downward, out of control.
Meanwhile, in the background, dark forces are
at work, forces that compel Laynie to disobey directives in order to save a life. Rather than proving her value to Wolfe’s satisfaction, Laynie’s risky exploit marks her as a faithless renegade, a rebel whose insubordination may earn her harsh, ruinous consequences.
Laynie must fight to earn her place on the task force—even as unfolding events expose a looming danger. Wolfe’s task force has a leak . . . one that threatens them all.
By the way, if you have not read the full, inspiring tale of the Thoresen family—a story that spans generations and concludes with Kari and Laynie finding each other—you will uncover all the answers to your questions in my series, A Prairie Heritage. Without cost to you, read the first three, full-length books of this series on Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, or Kobo in the single volume, A Prairie Heritage, The Early Years. Interested in my other books? Page ahead to see a complete list of them.
To keep abreast of my publication schedule and receive notice of upcoming releases, I invite you to sign up for my newsletter. I send two to four emails a year, and I promise not to spam you or sell your email addresses.
Thank you. I appreciate your readership and the fellowship we share in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Many hugs,
—Vikki Kestell, Author of Faith-Filled Fiction™
Author’s Notes
The Soviet Union officially dissolved on December 26, 1991. Its former Soviet republics became independent nations, including Russia, which emerged as the Russian Federation.
In 1995, the FSK, Russia’s Federal Counterintelligence Service and heir to the KGB, became the FSB, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, by order of President Boris Yeltsin.
The referenced UNL dormitories, Burr and Fedde Hall, where Max and his friends played paintball, were in use when Laynie visited the agriculture college in Retired Spy. They were demolished in 2017.
Books by Vikki Kestell
Nanostealth
“INVISIBILITY COMES with its own set of problems.” Review: “This is by far the ABSOLUTE BEST reading I’ve completed in years.”
Book 1: Stealthy Steps
Book 2: Stealth Power
Book 3: Stealth Retribution
Book 4: Deep State Stealth, 2019 Selah Award winner
A Prairie Heritage
ONE FAMILY . . . STEEPED in the love and grace of God, indomitable in their faith, tried and tested in the fires of life, passing forward a legacy to change their world. The compelling saga of family, faith, and great courage.
Book 1: A Rose Blooms Twice
Book 2: Wild Heart on the Prairie
Book 3: Joy on This Mountain
Book 4: The Captive Within
Book 5: Stolen
Book 6: Lost Are Found
Book 7: All God’s Promises
Book 8: The Heart of Joy—A Short Story, eBook only
ALSO, A Prairie Heritage: The Early Years. Immerse yourself in the world of the American prairie of the 1800s and witness this family as they demonstrate the courage and overcoming spirit born of faith in God. This collection contains the full editions of Books 1-3: A Rose Blooms Twice, Wild Heart on the Prairie, and Joy on This Mountain.
A Prairie Heritage: The Early Years is the perfect way to introduce your friends to this series!
Girls from the Mountain
IF YOU LOVED MY SERIES, A Prairie Heritage, then you will love the full stories of a select group of women you met first in the little mountain village of Corinth and later at Palmer House in Denver, the mile-high city—hence the series title, Girls from the Mountain.
Tabitha, Tory, and Sarah Redeemed are three such stories—the testimonies of fallen women redeemed by God’s amazing grace, led out of darkness to become lights in this sinful world. Each book can be read as a standalone story. However, having already read A Prairie Heritage may increase your enjoyment.
—Vikki
About the Author
VIKKI KESTELL’S PASSION for people and their stories is evident in her readers’ affection for her characters and unusual plotlines. Two often-repeated sentiments are, “I feel like I know these people,” and “I am right there, in the book, experiencing what her characters experience.”
Vikki holds a PhD in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies. She left a career of twenty-plus years in government, academia, and corporate life to pursue writing full time. “Writing is the best job ever,” she admits, “and the most demanding.”
Also an accomplished speaker and teacher, Vikki and her husband, Conrad Smith, make their home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
To keep abreast of new book releases, sign up for Vikki’s newsletter on her website, connect with her on Facebook, or follow her on BookBub or Goodreads.
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Laynie Portland, Retired Spy Page 40