Warning Order

by Jamie Fredric

  Inside the meeting room long tables with white tablecloths formed a U around the perimeter. The meeting participants mingled just inside the entryway, except for Steiner and Moshenko. Steiner wove his way in and out of the small groups, making his way toward a large, rectangular table placed at the very back of the room. Moshenko looked beyond Steiner, seeing silver coffee and tea pots, clear pitchers of water, and bottles of vodka. White coffee cups and saucers were stacked at one end, with tall, crystal goblets and shot glasses at the other. It was only in such gatherings of the powerful that brought out fresh fruit. Grigori noticed a large orange, and as he past, started to reach for it but then decided against the temptation.

  Steiner walked back and forth in front of the table as if trying to decide what he wanted to drink. As he reached for a shot glass, he felt someone brush against his arm.

  "Herr Steiner," Moshenko said, leaning closer to the German.

  Steiner froze in disbelief then he backed away from the stranger, a stranger who somehow knew his true identity. For what seemed like an eternity, the two stared at each another until Moshenko said in a low voice, and in German, "I believe you have something that belongs to us, Herr Steiner."

  Steiner instinctively started to reach for the pistol behind his back. Moshenko opened his coat then tucked the edge of his jacket behind the holster, exposing the Makarov. "Not an intelligent choice, Comrade."

  Steiner merely glanced at the weapon, his face remaining unchanged. For him the word fear didn’t exist, he only showed total arrogance and contempt. Suddenly, his eyes darted toward Moshenko's right shoulder.

  Moshenko looked at him quizzically, then turned his head ever so slightly, as his hand felt for his pistol. His peripheral vision picked up someone stepping closer to them.

  "Colonel Moshenko," a soft voice said.

  Moshenko looked at a tall, young woman, wearing the Russian winter uniform of a jacket and slacks, both dull green in color with red epaulettes. Her light brown hair was pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her cap was tucked under her arm.

  Moshenko wasn't taking any chances with Steiner. He moved toward the German, grabbing hold of his arm with bone-crushing strength. Steiner winced, but quickly regained control of himself.

  "And you are?" Moshenko asked of the woman.

  "Lieutenant Natasha Ostrova," she replied, coming to attention momentarily, showing her respect to the KGB officer.

  Moshenko rolled the name around in his mind. Is it possible? he thought in surprise. Then he remembered Grant's request. He said one word to her: "Black?"

  She hesitated briefly then nodded her confirmation. Here, standing before them, was Natasha Ostrova, aka Greta Verner. She shifted her eyes to the East German. "Herr Steiner knows me personally, don't you, Klaus?"

  Several Russian officers started making their way toward them. "I think we should find a place to talk. Come with me," Moshenko said, then as he squeezed Steiner’s arm, he added, "I don't have to remind you that you are not among friends. No one can, or will help you, for that matter. Now, let's go."

  As they were leaving the room, Natasha gave one last glance around, her eyes making contact briefly with a silver-haired man of medium height, standing behind the head table. He and the two men he was with were dressed in plain, dark suits. He continued his conversation and occasionally sipped his vodka. Until Natasha disappeared behind the door, his dark, solemn eyes never left her, except for a quick glance at the two men leaving with her--one he knew to be Colonel Grigori Moshenko, KGB.

  Passing several small groups still lingering along the balcony, Moshenko stayed just off Steiner's left side, Natasha to his right. They descended the staircase, and once on the first floor, Moshenko pushed Steiner through one of the archways then followed the passageway toward the rear wall. Natasha took the lead. She stepped close to the wall under the stairs where the light had diminished somewhat. After checking that no one was watching, she pressed a narrow, half inch wide button concealed beneath the molding. As the panel swung inward, a musty dampness escaped into the air.

  Moshenko gave Steiner a rough shove, then immediately drew his Makarov. The East German nearly lost his balance, falling against the passage wall. Immediately, Natasha closed the panel then followed the two men further into the secret passageway, checking her watch as she did so.

  Outside the building, Alexei Stoyakova waited for Major Boris Zuyeva to open the door for him then they proceeded into the lobby. He paused by the stairs, looking up toward the balcony. The last few stragglers were entering the meeting hall. Keeping his eyes focused overhead, he removed his leather gloves, put them in his coat pocket then removed his coat, handing it to Zuyeva. He put one foot on the bottom step, taking another look outside. "It appears all the participants are inside, Major." Zuyeva nodded, and followed Stoyakova to the conference.

  In a Passageway beneath the Kremlin

  Overhead, single fluorescent lights, spaced thirty feet apart on the concave ceiling, illuminated the narrow passageway. Natasha stepped closer to Moshenko as he stopped near a small alcove that housed electrical boxes. She removed a Makarov from her side holster.

  Moshenko grabbed Steiner's shoulder and spun him around, slamming him face first against the wall. After a quick pat-down, he pulled the Walther from Steiner's back waistband, then slipped it into his own pocket before jerking Steiner back around. He shoved the East German against the wall, pressing a forearm across the man's throat. Reaching inside Steiner's jacket, he felt the case, withdrew it then stepped back before opening it. His eyes settled on two glass vials surrounded by cotton, each filled with a clear liquid. The hard case snapped shut inside Moshenko's broad hand. "You'll no longer have any use for these," he said, holding the case in front of Steiner's face a moment before sliding it into his own jacket pocket.

  Steiner fixed an angry stare on Natasha. "You bitch! I should have taken care of you myself."

  "We have to go," Moshenko said, while motioning with his free hand, indicating straight ahead.

  The sound of their footsteps reverberated in the tunnel as they started down a steep incline. It was one more level that had been built below the earth as an extra measurement of safety.

  Steiner seemed more interested in Natasha than the drug or his own fate, and he asked over his shoulder, "And what about your bastard kids?"

  "My children are probably safe by now."

  Moshenko wondered if he should tell her that her children were safe and with Lampson? She was an intelligent Russian officer and would more than likely make the connection between him and the Americans. He decided to keep the information from her.

  Another passageway, feeding in from the Palace of Congresses, joined up with theirs from the left. They kept walking. Moshenko pictured the grounds above, tracking their route. They should be under St. Vladimir Hall. The building was one quarter of the way to Spasskaya Tower.

  "And what about Brennar?" Steiner said, as he turned his head slightly, trying to see the woman he knew as Greta. "Don't you know he's a goddamn American?"

  "Yes, I know," she answered quietly.

  "And you have two bastard children fathered by an American spy!" He laughed a low guttural laugh that was short lived. He'd barely spit the words out, when Natasha swung her arm, delivering a blow to the side of his head with her pistol. He stumbled then fell to his knees.

  She stood over him while he wiped blood from a cut near his temple. Her words and behavior reflected a person who’d been consumed by hate. "You're the bastard, Klaus! They're not Eric's children! They're yours! Unless you've forgotten, and I doubt you have, you raped me!" Steiner slowly regained his footing, staggered then steadied himself against the wall.

  For a split second, Moshenko's eyes went from Natasha to Steiner, as he remembered Grant suggesting such a possibility, that the children weren't Lampson's. Suddenly, he heard a faint sound but he wasn’t able to distinguish where it was coming from.

  She noticed him watching and she took a step ba
ck, reached into her pocket and pulled out a small radio. Moshenko's eyebrows lifted in surprise, immediately recognizing the voice of Mikhail Antolov, Director of the KGB.

  Antolov repeated, "Come in, N1."

  Natasha brought the transmitter toward her mouth, keeping her eyes on Moshenko. "N1."

  "Report."

  "Goods and courier in hand without incident." She switched off the radio then handed it to Moshenko.

  He slipped the radio into his pocket as he asked, "What is happening, Lieutenant Ostrova?"

  She turned her head slowly, settling her cold, blue eyes on Steiner. "Comrade Antolov will soon have Minister Stoyakova under arrest, and I have him," she said while gesturing with her pistol toward the East German. She held the Makarov steady, aimed at Steiner's heaving chest.

  Moshenko worried. Antolov knew that he part of this game. He motioned forward with his firearm. "We must go." He shoved Steiner ahead of them. "How did all this happen?" he asked Natasha.

  For the time being, Natasha didn’t concern herself where Moshenko was leading them and she continued her story. "I had been selected personally by Comrade Antolov to go to East Berlin and monitor the scientists and their progress on the virus and drug. I gave Comrades Antolov and Stoyakova monthly reports on the progress of the experiments. It was when Comrade Stoyakova requested an additional one million roubles to expand the project that Comrade Antolov became suspicious of him.

  "Not long afterward, Herr Steiner and his organization came into the picture. Klaus still didn't have any of the scientists helping him yet, and he knew I had access to their documentation. Several times he approached me, always with a threat, trying to obtain information. Then, one night, he followed me and tried again. When I refused, he..." Moshenko lightly touched her arm, while Steiner listened and waited for the right opportunity to try and escape. Natasha’s voice faltered momentarily. "I let Eric believe he was the children's father. He loved them and he was able to provide for them."

  Moshenko started walking faster, shoving Steiner ahead of him. "And what of Stoyakova?"

  "I intercepted one of the films Professor Heisen was sending to him just a few weeks ago and forwarded a copy to Comrade Antolov."

  "Was Heisen threatened by Stoyakova?"

  "His twenty-year old son was taken. He's being held at Lubyanka under an assumed name."

  Moshenko shook his head. "This game we play," he said softly. She looked at her watch again, and he asked curiously, "What is supposed to be happening, Lieutenant Ostrova?"

  "Comrade Stoyakova has assumed that Klaus has contaminated the water supply system and the refreshments in the meeting hall. He was to make a speech to the meeting participants that unless they take an immediate vote putting him in power, he will withhold the antidote for the drug."

  "Antidote?" Steiner laughed over his shoulder. "There isn't any antidote."

  "Of course, there isn't, Klaus," she replied condescendingly. "But they don't know that, do they?"

  Moshenko again poked Steiner in the back with the Makarov. This time Steiner swung around, but Moshenko jumped aside, catching the East German with a fist on the side of his neck. Steiner went down. Moshenko grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, jerking him to his feet. "That's not wise." He shoved him ahead.

  Natasha continued as if nothing had happened. "Comrade Antolov made the decision to entrap the minister and would do it by allowing him to proceed with his plan. I was instructed to follow Klaus and see to it that he was stopped." Somehow she anticipated Moshenko's question and responded, "I persuaded Comrade Antolov to allow me to do this. He knows what Klaus did to me. He knows about the children." She gave a hesitant smile to Moshenko, trying to understand how he became involved. "But you, Colonel, why are you here? How did you...?" Her hand holding the gun dropped by her side, her pace slowed as she stared at Moshenko's back as he proceeded ahead. "You...you're working with the two Americans!"

  "Someday we may discuss the matter," he answered, while he kept walking. Then, suddenly he reversed his previous decision. "But what I will tell you, Lieutenant Ostrova, is that you do not have to worry about your children."

  She caught her breath and rushed up to him again, but immediately she realized he would tell her nothing further. The heaviness that had weighed upon her heart vanished. She felt the kind of relief only a mother could know. She refocused on the East German with renewed vengeance. She had the upper hand now and persisted in her attempt to destroy the arrogance and viciousness she loathed. "Klaus, you have been nothing more than a pawn. Shall I tell you what the Americans did to your lab, to all your hopes and dreams? In fact, there is very little left of the entire building." She didn't wait for a response and goaded him further. "Or would you prefer instead to know what I did to Karl or what happened to Victor and your precious brother?"

  A low growl rose deep from within Steiner. Moshenko's reaction was a split second too late, as the East German dove at Natasha, shoving her gun hand up. A single bullet fired, ricocheting off the concrete walls, the sound traveling through the tunnel. Moshenko took aim but couldn't get a clear shot off, as Steiner and Natasha fell to the floor then rolled as one down the incline.

  Natasha's back hit the wall, knocking the wind out of her. Steiner wrestled the gun from her hand then raised up and fired at Moshenko who dove into an alcove, ducking underneath water shutoff valves. Moshenko could only watch as his transceiver flew out of his pocket and skidded somewhere into the darkened alcove.

  Steiner grabbed Natasha by the arm and yanked her to her feet, then immediately grabbed a handful of her long hair that had fallen loose from the bun.

  Moshenko leaned toward the edge of the wall. Another bullet whizzed by his head. Steiner pushed Natasha, making her run in front of him while he kept a death grip on her hair.

  Moshenko rolled into the passageway. Laying on his stomach, he took aim and fired but the bullet careened off the concrete floor next to Steiner's heels. The Russian jumped to his feet and started running. His mind raced. The only way for him to go is the door where Grant is, the Presidium tunnel, or the passage used by maintenance. That passageway ran parallel to the Kremlin wall, just inside the grounds. The distance to Grant was at least fifty yards. Moshenko didn't know how soundproof the tunnel walls and door were. Did Grant hear the shots?

  Steiner and Natasha were still in sight. Up ahead was a slight curve to the left, just before the Presidium passageway. He lost sight of them as they made that curve. He pulled up slightly, no longer hearing their running feet. Hugging the wall, he cautiously walked around the curve, the gun grasped in his right hand.

  Steiner was plastered against the opposite wall just past the Presidium passage. He was using Natasha to shield his body. He pulled her hair, roughly jerking her head back. Thoughts whirled through his mind. How many rounds were left in his weapon? There could be three...or none. He had no idea where he was but had to assume the tunnel was an escape route and probably exited beyond the Kremlin walls. He shot a glance up the Presidium passage, quickly determining from its angle that it led where he didn't want to go. Why was the Russian taking me this way? Could someone else be waiting? He had to keep Natasha alive, at least until he found a way out.

  Beyond the wall, Grant and Adler were growing anxious. Adler stood under the street grate. Large snowflakes fell between the bars, settling on his upturned face. He wiped the melting snow from his cheeks then pulled his watch cap down over his ears. A howling wind rushed across the grate. A strong gust swirled a layer of snow from the street, thrusting it down into the tunnel. Adler jumped back, then he quickly went back to where Grant was pacing.

  Adler clapped his gloved hands together. "Jesus! It's a helluva good thing the colonel got us these jackets, otherwise we'd be frozen like popsicles! But if this show doesn't get on the road pretty soon, nobody's gonna find us till the spring thaw anyway!"

  Grant walked past him. "Something's wrong, Joe. It shouldn't be taking..."

  The sound of gunfire interrupted
his words. They grabbed their weapons from their waistbands. Grant took up a position to the right of the door, Adler to the left. They had no choice but to wait because gaining entry to the tunnel from their side was impossible. The door was locked from the other side.

  Steiner pressed the Makarov against Natasha's temple. She tried jerking away, but he pulled her hair, nearly snapping her neck. A weak cry caught in her throat. Steiner shouted to Moshenko, "You know what will happen if you make a move closer to us! Tell me how to get out of here, and I'll release her once I'm outside!"

  Moshenko said under his breath, “I am sure you will.” He continued aiming his gun directly at the two. He had to count on Grant and Adler. His voiced thundered in the enclosed space. "There's a door straight ahead. On the other side is a tunnel that will lead you to the street above, next to St. Basil's Cathedral." If Steiner ignored him and decided to take the maintenance tunnel, they'd have to go like hell to catch him on the other side.

  Slowly, Steiner started sliding his back along the wall, ensuring Natasha shielded him. Moshenko stayed back, but kept the same distance, putting himself in a very vulnerable position. Why hasn't he fired? Moshenko thought back and started counting the number of shots Steiner fired. Three. But how many does he have left?

  In the blink of an eye, Steiner fired at the Russian. An explosive pain went through Moshenko's left shoulder. His knees started to buckle.

  Natasha screamed, "Colonel!"

  That was all the time Steiner needed. He spun Natasha around and started running at breakneck speed through the tunnel. Within seconds he saw the steel door. He started running faster.

  Moshenko felt warm blood running down his arm. He quickly assessed the damage and determined the bone wasn't broken. He looked down the passageway, no longer able to see Steiner and Natasha. Slipping his left hand gingerly into his jacket pocket to help support his arm, he started forward again.