by Alex Lukeman
"What is the status of morale among the ground forces?"
"Morale is high. The troops have been paid and rations have been increased."
"The new tanks?"
"Thirty-two of the T-14 Armatas are in position for Bright Sword. They were moved at night and heavily camouflaged with our new stealth technology. I do not believe they have been detected."
"Your commanders?"
"Ready, Mister President."
Orlov turned to Admiral Akulov.
"The fleet?"
"Ready to sail on your order, Mister President."
Orlov nodded. He'd expected no other answer.
"Colonel General Brezhnev?"
"The Air Force stands ready to serve the Rodina," Brezhnev said.
"Very good. Gentlemen, we are at the dawn of a new era. As soon as NATO has committed forces to Albania we will begin the next phase of Operation Bright Sword. Are there any comments?" He looked around the table.
"No? Then we will adjourn. General Vysotsky, please remain."
As the others filed out Alexei remained seated. Orlov waited until they were gone.
"What have you discovered about Vishinski?"
"It is possible that he has been taking bribes. I regret to say that Director Vishinski is having an affair with his aide," Vysotsky said, "a Major Andrei Kirov."
Orlov pursed his lips in distaste. "You are certain."
"Yes, Mister President. There are pictures."
"Arrest him. Arrest them both."
"Sir."
"Well done, Vysotsky. You are promoted to Director, effective now. Your first duty is to make sure Vishinski and his aide disappear with no fuss."
"Understood, Mister President."
"These are new times, General. I have chosen you to play an important part. Do not fail me."
And if I did it would be like old times, Vysotsky thought, a bullet in the back of the head.
"I will not fail, Mister President."
Orlov gave him a calculated look. "Make sure that you don't."
CHAPTER 23
Valentina watched Selena and the others enter the Sacher Hotel. The flight to Vienna had been short, only an hour and a half. Following Selena's taxi had taken another twenty minutes. Now that she knew where they were staying she could decide what she wanted to do.
Spotting Selena in the Skopje airport was an unexpected opportunity. Valentina hadn't yet decided how to exploit it. She'd called Vysotsky from the taxi and told him she needed a few days downtime in Vienna. He'd given permission, happy with her work in Macedonia. If he'd known she was watching Selena he would never have agreed. But then Vysotsky had no idea Valentina even knew about her. That was a confrontation for another time.
The discovery that she had a sister had rocked Valentina's world. The fact that her sister was an American spy only complicated things. It created difficulties but it didn't change the reality that Selena was family. By the same token, Valentina was the only family Selena had. Blood overrode all other considerations.
Valentina couldn't remember a time when she hadn't longed for the comfort of family. Her instructors had done their best to eliminate thoughts of personal relationships and friendships from the perfect instrument of the state they were molding. They had no idea that they hadn't succeeded. They congratulated themselves as Valentina overcame each of the numerous obstacles placed before her. Holding on to her unspoken longing for something that could pass for family was a way to rebel against the endless barrage they aimed against her, even though she knew her desire could never be fulfilled.
Then she'd learned about Selena.
Valentina had sought out more information about her. The files of SVR revealed the details of Selena's life. Standing outside the Sacher Hotel, Valentina felt the twinges of resentment. When her sister was being showered with luxury and the love of a real family, Valentina was living as a ward of the Russian state in a rundown barracks. When Selena was traveling Europe as a girl with her rich uncle, Valentina had been learning how to strip a Kalashnikov and reassemble it in the dark. When Selena had been competing in martial arts competitions for trophies, Valentina had been learning the brutal reality of Systema Spetsnaz, hand-to-hand combat as taught to Russian Special Forces. No trophies were given in her classes, only bruises and injuries and constant physical training. Her natural athletic ability had helped her become adept in the killing art. She had finally earned the admiration of her instructors.
In Systema Valentina learned the secrets of the body's vulnerability. The discipline had first appeared in the 10th century as a method of unarmed self-defense developed by the Cossacks. Modern Systema had been refined into a sophisticated and deadly discipline rivaled only by the Israeli commando art of Krav Maga.
Selena was a master of martial arts in her own right, a practitioner of esoteric Korean styles at a high level.
It would be challenging to fight her, Valentina thought, to see who could gain the upper hand.
One of them wouldn't walk away, but that was a battle Valentina did not wish to have. She had no desire to injure Selena, although she had to admit it would be good to make her suffer a little, to pay for all those years when Valentina had been alone.
It had started snowing. With a start Valentina realized she'd had been standing long enough for snow to accumulate on her coat. She stomped her feet and brushed off what she could. Then she walked to the hotel and into the lobby. Selena and the others were nowhere in sight.
At the desk she took a room for three nights. She assumed Selena knew about her. Even if Selena knew what she looked like, Valentina wasn't concerned about being recognized. Her instructors had been skilled at teaching her the art of disguise. What she could do in minutes in a restaurant toilet to change her appearance was effective. What she could do in the privacy of a hotel room was nothing short of amazing. By the time she was done she could sit down next to Selena in a restaurant and her sister would never know she was there.
As she rode up to her room in the elevator, Valentina smiled to herself. The evening would be interesting.
CHAPTER 24
"Look at this, Steph."
A live satellite feed over Western Russia and the border with Eastern Europe filled Elizabeth's wall monitor. Stephanie pulled up a chair beside her. On screen, long lines of covered trucks clogged Russia's major highways.
"Those are heavy troop movements," Stephanie said.
"They've been conducting a major military exercise in the Western region for the past two weeks but it's supposed to be winding down. At least that's what the latest press release from the Kremlin says."
"Somehow that doesn't impress me," Steph said.
"So young and so cynical," Elizabeth said. "You don't believe them?"
"Why should I believe the Russians?"
"They've moved some of their troops back from the border with Ukraine."
"Not all of them. Look at all those tanks and troops holding about ten miles from the border. I wonder where those other troops are going? It looks like several divisions, with logistical support."
"There's a heavy concentration heading toward Belarus, along the northern border of Ukraine. Lots of tanks. I don't like the look of that. How many men do the Russians have west of the Urals?"
"Hang on," Stephanie said. She entered a command on her laptop and scanned the information on the screen.
"That's the Western Military District," she said. "They've got the 1st tank army and the 6th and 20th armies. Those are mostly motorized rifle divisions. There are about one hundred thousand men in the district with full logistical support. About twenty-five thousand of them are Spetsnaz, Special Forces. That's not counting reserves. They're second-tier troops but if you count them in you can add another hundred thousand at least."
"Something doesn't feel right about this," Elizabeth said. "He's got troops deploying all along the northern border of Ukraine. Orlov has to know it's provocative."
"That's probably his intention."
<
br /> "Provocation?"
"It wouldn't be the first time."
"If all he's doing is rattling sabers he's burning up a lot of rubles and resources to do it."
Elizabeth looked at the screen. Russia's modern highways were concentrated west of the Urals in a complex web with Moscow at the center. The satellite feed showed heavy military traffic moving through and around and out of the city. From the high perspective of the satellite camera, it looked as though someone had kicked over an anthill.
Elizabeth reached for her coffee cup and found it empty.
"Why don't you give Lucas a call and see what he thinks about this?"
Stephanie looked unhappy. "It might be better if you did that."
Elizabeth caught a tense undertone in Stephanie's voice.
"Is something the matter between the two of you?"
"It's just that lately we haven't been talking much without arguing."
"Come on, Steph, tell me what's going on."
"He wants to have another baby."
"And you don't?"
"I don't know. Not after what happened last time."
"But that's not going to happen again."
"You don't know that." Stephanie's voice was flat.
"Oh, Steph. This isn't like you."
"You weren't the one in that car. You weren't the one who lost a baby. So don't tell me that it isn't like me to feel the way I feel."
Stephanie got up and walked out of the room.
Elizabeth watched her go. This is turning into one of those days, she thought.
CHAPTER 25
Valentina sat in the lobby of the Sacher Hotel pretending to read a magazine and watching the elevator, waiting for Selena to make an appearance. Late morning sunlight streamed through the windows. The snow had stopped but the sky was dark and heavy with the promise of more to come, the kind of day that made you think of hot chocolate, the smell of freshly baked pastries and the warmth of a café. There was something about Vienna that made you think like that.
The night before she'd taken a table not far from where Selena and her companions were eating dinner. They hadn't noticed her. She hadn't expected that they would. This was as close as she'd ever gotten to her half-sister. She wanted to talk to Selena. She wanted to ask her about their father. But she couldn't very well just walk up to her. Valentina hadn't yet figured out what she was going to do. Meanwhile it was enough to be nearby.
The elevator doors opened and Selena came out. She was alone. Valentina watched her walk out the entrance, then got up and followed her.
The Sacher Hotel was located in the heart of Vienna, near many of the exclusive shops the city had to offer. Selena waved off offers of a cab and began walking. Valentina followed a half block behind. She watched to see if her sister would use basic tradecraft and check to see if she was being tailed. After ten minutes there was no sign that Selena was thinking about anything except what she might see in the shop windows. She could have been using the windows to check behind her but that was an inefficient precaution against someone with Valentina's skills. It confirmed what Valentina already suspected. Selena was accomplished in many ways but she didn't have the kind of training Valentina took for granted.
Selena halted to look at a display in a window. A dark blue Mercedes van pulled up and stopped by the curb near her. Two men jumped from the van and grabbed her while one held something over her face. Selena struggled and went limp.
Chloroform, or something like it, Valentina thought. Shit.
The men threw Selena into the van and got in after her. The van pulled away into traffic. The kidnapping had taken less than half a minute. Pedestrians on the sidewalk stood in numb confusion watching the van speed away. Valentina stepped out into the street and waved down a taxi.
"You see that van going down the block? The blue Mercedes?" She addressed the cab driver in German.
"Yes."
"Follow it. Don't get too close. A hundred dollars American if you don't lose it."
"Lady, I don't do nothing illegal."
"Two hundred. All you have to do is keep it in sight."
The driver pulled out after the van and activated his meter. "Give me the money."
Valentina took two $100 bills out of her purse. She gave him one and held up the other.
"One now. One when we get where we're going."
The driver shrugged and pocketed the bill. Ahead of them the blue van drove at a steady pace through the city. The taxi followed about a block behind. The van was keeping to the speed limit, careful to avoid attention.
Valentina was unarmed. She avoided taking weapons when she had to fly anywhere. There was usually something that could be improvised if the need arose.
Who are they? she thought. That took planning, grabbing her like that in broad daylight and then just driving away. Somebody knows what they're doing.
She debated calling the hotel and alerting Selena's companions but thought better of it. For one thing, she didn't know where the van was going. Wherever they were taking Selena, it would take too much time for her team to get to her. Somehow Valentina didn't think Selena had a lot of time.
They had driven out of the more prosperous parts of the city into an industrial area.
"Where are we?" Valentina said.
"Liesing district."
They passed by a huge open market off the highway. Ahead lay a complex of refineries and enormous round storage tanks. The van with Selena turned off onto a service road leading into a maze of tanks and towers and chimneys. The landscape was like something conceived for a science fiction movie, all convoluted pipes and steel and flames from the top of tall chimneys. The air smelled of sulfur and something unpleasant. The refinery was an alien environment, hostile to humans.
The area seemed deserted.
"Where is everyone?"
"It's Sunday," the driver said. "Maybe in church."
There was no traffic. The van and the taxi were the only vehicles.
"Slow down. Don't let them see you."
The taxi fell back. The van turned and disappeared behind one of the huge storage tanks.
"Stop there by that tank," Valentina said. "Don't make the turn. I want to look and see where they went."
"Another hundred," the driver said.
Valentina thought of teaching him a lesson about greed. There might be time for that later but for now she needed him.
"All right. But that's all. You'll get the money when we go back."
The driver stopped the car. Valentina got out and eased her way around the tank until she could see what lay beyond. The blue van was parked by a large office trailer mounted on a permanent foundation. Blinds were drawn on the windows. She went back to the cab.
"Wait here," she told the driver. "I may be a few minutes."
She held up the money to make her point. The driver took out a cigarette and lit it.
Valentina made a crouching run to the side of the trailer. There had to be at least three men inside with Selena, the two who had grabbed her and the driver of the van. A short flight of steps led up to the door. She went up the steps, silent as a shadow. She placed her ear against the door and heard voices.
"She's waking up."
The voice was wet, unpleasant. In her mind's eye, Valentina thought of a frog.
"Good. Make sure those zip ties are tight. We need her awake. Is the camera ready?"
The second voice spoke with authority. Boss man.
"Just give me a minute."
The third voice had a whiny quality to it, almost adolescent sounding.
"Whoever uses this office is in for a big surprise when they come back to work," Frog Voice said. He chuckled, a nasty, gargled sound with no humor in it.
"Camera's ready," the whiny man said.
The sound of a chainsaw starting up came from within the trailer. It ran for a moment and stopped.
"All set," Frog Voice said.
"Better break out the raincoats," Boss Man said. "I don't want
her mess all over me."
"They're in the van." Whiny voice again.
"Go get them. Move. We haven't got all day."
They're going to kill her, Valentina thought, and take pictures of it.
For Valentina, the decision was easy. If she didn't intervene, she would never find out what her father had really been like. She'd never get a chance to talk with Selena. Her training took over.
Valentina flattened herself against the side of the trailer and waited. The door opened. The man coming out didn't see Valentina behind it. He flipped it shut behind him without looking around and started down the stairs. Adrenaline flooded through her. Valentina launched herself from the top step and struck him from behind, reaching up with both hands and twisting his head as her body slammed into him. There was a loud crack as his neck broke. She fell to the ground on top of him. His body cushioned her fall. A foul smell enveloped her as the dead man's bowels let go.
The noise had been minimal. There was no sign anyone in the trailer had heard.
One down. Two to go.
She pictured the way the trailer probably looked inside. There would be one large room with a desk or two. Maybe a cubicle. A bathroom on one end. Another room for storage and files at the other end. Selena and her captors would be in the main room, right beyond the unlocked door.
The adrenaline sharpened all her senses. She took three deep breaths. She reached for the door handle, pulled the door open and took in the scene.
Selena was sitting in a wooden chair, straps binding her in place. There was a rag stuffed in her mouth. Her violet eyes widened as she saw Valentina come through the doorway. Three men stood nearby, one of them holding a large, orange chainsaw.
Three, not two.
The three men looked at her, frozen in place by her sudden appearance. Valentina went for the nearest one. She launched a high kick that struck him on the throat and crushed his larynx. He collapsed to the floor clutching his neck and gagging as he tried to breathe, his face turning red and purple.
She followed through with an elbow strike on the man standing behind him. Her elbow had all the force and momentum of her weight and movement behind it. The blow landed between his shoulder and his neck. His collarbone broke with a wet snapping sound. As he bent forward she spun and struck the back of his neck with the hardened edge of her palm, a killing blow.