Nina heard a Russian voice coming from the back.
“And there’s no one there now, right?”
She knew it was the Rick based on what Mike had told her. His use of Russian phraseology was excellent. She interpreted for the others with her English response. “That’s right; there’s no one there now. I stopped by there on my way to the cabin this morning to make sure no vagabonds had moved in during the night.”
“Is that what took you so long to get to the cabin this morning?” interjected Mike.
She was a bit surprised by his question.
“I didn’t know that I was on the clock, but, yes, that and the extra time it took me to find the turnoff lane to the cabin. That’s my story. What’s yours?” she asked, turning her head to look at him. “Why did I have to delay my trip for twenty-four hours?”
Ask a question, get a question, Shocklee thought, while considering a response to what he thought to be a challenge of some sort to his authority.
“When we approached the cabin on Sunday, we discovered that it was occupied with soldiers from the 6th Army. Knowing that you were scheduled to arrive on Monday morning, we couldn’t afford, for the sake of your security, to let you get on the road with us not knowing when they were going to leave.”
“That’s why you were put on hold for twenty-four hours,” interjected Rick, this time speaking in English.
Mike mentally frowned at the interruption. There could only be one leader of the group, and Rick was asking way too many questions or butting in when he should be keeping quiet.
“This is Tuesday, Nina, and we’ve lost a full day,” continued Mike. “We’re on a tight schedule with very little spare time. Another delay could jeopardize the entire operation. I hope you can appreciate my concerns about time.”
“Well, I’m thankful that you guys have my security in mind,” she said. “I appreciate it and your concerns about time. The warehouse in Kirovskiy District is about seven kilometers from the institute. We think it best to launch from there instead of the, oh, how do you say in English, dom na ferme?”
“Farmhouse,” stated Rick.
“Yes, we launch from the warehouse instead of the farmhouse. You OK with that?”
“Yes, of course, that’s a good plan—one that I had anticipated.”
They were all silent for the next hour, having passed through some of the small villages that Nina spoke of. A little later, after passing through the small town of Seltso, Nina gave them another update.
“We’re about eight kilometers from our destination and should be…” The sudden noise of a siren caught her attention.
“It’s a police car,” she said, while looking at the outside mirror. “Everyone just sit tight. I’ll take care of the situation, I don’t think we should be stopped.”
But that wasn’t the case. The police car was right behind them with lights flashing. Nina pulled over to the side of the road and stopped, as did the police car. She watched in the mirror as the officer got out. She reached down and picked up her purse, took out her wallet, and removed her RT News photo ID. She rolled the window down, placed the ID in her left hand and was prepared to hand it to the officer. With her right hand, she removed the Makarov from her coat pocket and held it across her lap and up close to the door where it couldn’t be seen from the outside. The officer walked up and looked in at Nina.
“Afternoon officer. Is there something wrong?” she asked, handing him her RT News ID.
He looked at it and then studied Nina’s face. He recognized her name. He handed the ID back to her.
“Good afternoon, Miss Lubikov,” he said, looking over at the man slumped down in the passenger seat with a camera in his lap. “A vehicle fitting this description was reported stolen about two weeks ago and—”
“Seriously, officer,” Nina interrupted, “do you think RT News would have me and my crew out on the road in a stolen vehicle?”
“I don’t know, Miss Lubikov. Hold on just a moment, please.” He walked to the front of the van and looked down at the license plate and then through the windshield. He had a good view of the occupants. He saw the black man yawn and wondered where he was from.
An African immigrant, he surmised. There are plenty of them who have immigrated from Angola working in Saint Petersburg.
The officer turned and walked back around the van in the direction of his car. He reached in and retrieved a clipboard. He walked back to the driver’s side of the van. The officer removed a piece of paper from the clipboard and handed it to Nina. She took it and looked at a blank citation form.
“Would you please autograph it for my son, Miss Lubikov? He watches your show. He thinks you are the greatest thing. He’s studying English at the local college. Would you mind, please? He’d really appreciate it, especially being able to show it to his friends at school.”
“Sure,” she replied, resting the pistol in the side pocket of the door. “I don’t get many requests for autographs,” she said while scribbling her name on the back of the form. She handed it back to the officer. He looked at her signature and smiled.
“Thank you. Have a good day and stay within the speed limit; you were driving a little fast when you passed through Seltso.”
“I’ll be mindful of that. Thank you, Officer.”
He turned and walked away, heading back to his car as Nina rolled up the window. She put the van into gear and pulled back onto the road. As they drove away, Nina watched the officer get back into his car through her rearview mirror. He turned it around and drove back toward Seltso. She reached for the pistol and put it back in her coat pocket.
“Nice job,” Rick said. “Just to satisfy my curiosity, was this van stolen?”
She looked at him in the mirror and then back at the road. Mike turned to look at Rick. He didn’t say anything, but Rick knew his look was intended to convey a message.
“Yes, and the plates too, but from another van fitting the description of this one. That’s what I was told. There are lots of vehicles like this one in the city, and so many are stolen that the police don’t spend any time looking for them. I’m surprised that officer pulled us over for that reason.”
“More likely it was because you were speeding” interjected Mike. “I’m assuming that you store the van at the warehouse when it’s not needed.”
“Yes, that’s right. In fact, I drove my car there early this morning and switched vehicles to come and pick you guys up.”
Mike reflected on their conversation. He suddenly realized that the pistol she had pulled out and aimed at the policeman had also been pointing at him when he walked into the cabin to meet her.
“I saw you pull out the pistol. Were you really going to shoot him?”
“Yes, if I had to. I figured you guys would be quick to assess the situation and do what needed to be done by putting him inside the van and ditching him and the car someplace later on. Are there more questions that I can answer?” Nina said.
“No, not just now,” Mike replied.
She thought about asking him why he didn’t change places with Rick as he said he was going to, but she didn’t. He was the team leader and there was no benefit to be gained by her embarrassing him in front of the others.
Thirty minutes later, Mike watched as Nina turned off the main road onto a dirt road heading in the direction of a clustered tree line. She drove ahead, passing through trees situated on both sides of the road and then out into an open field. He could see the farmhouse and a barn a half mile or so from the tree line.
“Checkpoint Delta,” he said softly.
There appeared to be about three acres of cleared land that could be used for farming. A few minutes later, Nina stopped the van in front of the farmhouse.
“This is it,” she said. “Home for the next couple of days.”
“Check it out, Rick,” ordered Shocklee.
The rear door of the van flew open and the SEALs piled out. Rick motioned for two men to check out the barn. He and BRAVO/4 headed
toward the house.
“What’s the matter? You don’t trust me?” Nina asked, looking at Mike.
“It’s not about trust, Nina, it’s about verification. Standard security protocol.”
“OK, I get it. Even though I’m trusted, the house has been unprotected for a few hours. That means that someone could have come here after I did this morning. And I did check out the barn, just in case you are wondering.”
Mike laughed. He saw the “all clear” sign. “Let’s go,” he said.
They got out and walked over to Rick. Mike spoke to him nonchalantly.
“Whoever is your racecar driver, have him put the van in the barn. He might as well get used to driving it.”
“Copy that.” Rick motioned to LIMA/8, who came forward. “Put the van in the barn and check it out while you’re at it.”
“So what’s he got to learn about driving an automatic?” Nina asked.
Mike laughed. “Never mind, come on. Let’s go in.”
They spent the next hour sitting around a large table. Nina answered more questions and told them of the plan that had been developed by Allison and the station, and then removed two flip-top phones from her coat pocket. She handed one to Mike.
“Commo for the op,” she said, flipping open the top to the one she held. “You’ll find four quick-dial names under the favorites menu. One of our men will be on the street near the institute when we go there to take Mr. Mauldin.”
“Don’t use his name,” interjected Shocklee.
“Yes, of course,” she replied and then continued. “Our man will be available to run blocking interference if we get into trouble while there, or when we are leaving. He’s listed as HELP and will be driving a tow truck. If we get separated, or you need to call me in an emergency while I’m gone tonight—I need to be back in the city for other business—I’m listed as LOCAL. Allison is listed as CONTACT, and she has advised me to tell you that no one should call unless it really is an emergency. You are listed as TL for team leader. Any questions?”
“Yes,” he replied. “We need to see the warehouse and to be able to make a trial run from there tomorrow. What would be the best time to leave from here?”
“Considering the traffic and the fact that “the target” will not be taken out for his walk until mid-afternoon, I suggest we leave here around eleven.”
Ron spoke up.
“I want to evaluate and drive, two, maybe three, different avenues to get out of the city. Can we do that tomorrow as well?”
“Sure. I’ll come back out tomorrow around nine, and we can do all the tour driving you want.”
“This brings up another point,” stated Mike. “Assuming a clean take, and that we have time, do we drop you off someplace or take you back to the warehouse?”
“Neither. Regardless of what we run into or don’t run into after getting him, I am to stay with you guys all the way back to the cabin. That means when we leave here on Friday, we leave clean and drive to the warehouse early to stage for the op. When we get there, and when you tell me it’s time to go, I will call HELP and give him a signal that we are ready to roll. He will drive by the institute to check things out. He will call back to let me know if the area is clear, that nothing suspicious is going on around the institute.”
“Good. We’ve got tomorrow and Thursday to rehearse this thing, folks, so if anybody has a question, toss it out now. Otherwise, we let Nina get on with her other business.”
Silence prevailed. Finally, Nina looked at Ron.
“Since you are going to be our driver, would you mind getting the van for me, Ron—a little more familiarization might be useful,” she said with a smile.
Ron looked at Mike, who nodded in the affirmative.
You’d think this was her op the way she’s acting, Mike thought.
“Sure thing,” Ron replied. He got up to leave.
“That’s it on ops stuff,” continued Nina. “Oh, one more thing: we brought in plenty of food and drinks. Make yourselves at home while I’m gone.”
***
It was nearly two in the afternoon when Nina drove away from the farmhouse. She went back to the warehouse to switch vehicles. Her meeting to bring Allison up to date was scheduled for 4:30 p.m., so she had about an hour and a half to make the meeting. As she pulled into the warehouse, Nina heard a ringing noise. She quickly reached for the flip-top, pulled it out of her coat pocket, and opened it to look at the LED screen. No calls. She heard the noise again and reached for the cell phone in her purse. She looked at the caller ID. Derr’mo. It was Alex. She answered.
“Hello, Alex, what’s up?”
“Hi. Just wanted to make a quick call to see if you got to Moscow OK. You didn’t say, but I figured you would have taken the “express,” which takes about four hours to get there.”
She was stumped for a moment, not expecting to be talking to Alex or about the train trip to Moscow.
“Yes, I got here just fine. Thanks for checking. Where are you?”
“I’m in the office. Was just sitting here thinking about you. Glad that you made it OK. Have a good visit, Nina. Lots of things to talk about when you get back.”
His last comment came as a surprise. What things? “OK” she said. “Thanks, I’ll see you maybe on Sunday. Bye, bye.”
She ended the call and put the Makarov back in the concealment device and left.
***
Alex was concerned that Nina was involved in something that she didn’t want him to know about. There were many military bases that she had visited in the area where she was heading earlier that morning. It could be that she was doing something secretly to help the military and had told him about the Moscow trip to conceal her activities and to cover her time away from the office for a few days. Why else would she be going to a warehouse, switching vehicles, and driving a van to who knows where? On the other hand, she could have been doing something completely different. What, he didn’t know, but it must be something she didn’t want him to know about. He decided that he would drive by her apartment after work. He could see the apartment windows from the corner of the street. If the lights were on, it would mean that she had been lying to him. But, be that the case, what was he to do: confront her and possibly ruin their relationship because she couldn’t tell him what she had been up to or risk ruining everything by going up to her apartment and knocking on the door? It could be that she was in trouble of some sort and was too proud to ask for his help.
He was almost afraid to look up when he drove past her apartment, but he did, and in the growing dusk could see that the lights were on. Alex decided to park and go up. He found a place down the street on Admiralalteyskiy and got out, leisurely walking the sidewalk back in the direction of her apartment building. He turned the corner onto Gorokhovaya Street in time to see Nina turn and walk up the street away from the main entrance of the building. She had looked in the direction of the Admiralty before he turned the corner, so she didn’t see him. She continued up the street for a while and then crossed over to the other side.
Where is she going? Alex wondered, after deciding to follow her. She was up to something, and he wanted to know what the hell it was.
Even though it was getting darker, Alex kept his distance to avoid being detected if she should happen to look back in his direction. When she crossed the street, and headed back down the other side toward Admiralalteyskiy, he became even more confused about her activity. He turned around and walked back down his side of the street, all the while keeping her in sight. He watched as she reached the intersection and turned up Admiralalteyskiy heading in the direction of Saint Isaac’s Cathedral. He had to wait for the traffic light to change before he could cross to the other side, but he never lost sight of her.
It was becoming old habit, Nina’s clandestine meetings with her CIA handler, but she had been trained well by her two previous handlers and knew to take a different route to the meeting point.
“Surveillance detection is a meticulous process,�
� Otto had told her. “You must use corners, windows, street crossings, and frequent stops to ascertain if you are clean or whether you are being tailed by someone. Go around a corner and quickly turn around and head back in the direction you just came from. Pay attention to the faces you see. Cross a street at the last moment and look to see who follows. Look at a window and attempt to use it as a mirror to look around for a familiar face. Stop at a café and see who comes in or who sits down nearby if you are at an outside café. If you are in a car, drive around the same block twice, maybe three times and look frequently in your rear mirrors for a following car. These measures, if adopted and applied to your everyday activities, will become habit and may save your life someday.”
She continued up the street in the direction of Saint Isaac’s Cathedral and spent a few minutes there observing activities before preparing to cross the street. She waited until the pedestrian crossing light was about to turn red before quickly darting out into the street. The light turned red midway across, but she reached the other side safely. She stepped onto the curb and turned in the direction of the Admiralty. While doing so, Nina ventured a look to see if anyone was preparing to cross the street or had crossed the street behind her. She almost stopped when she saw Alex standing on the other side beneath a small corner light that had just come on. He was prancing about preparing to cross the street. He didn’t see her; he was busy watching the traffic that was speeding by.
What’s going on? she thought, as memories of the exchanged they’d had the night before came to mind, her telling him about the planned trip to Moscow, and the phone call. What about the phone call? He was following her and obviously aware that she wasn’t in Moscow. Allison’s cautionary warning quickly came to mind.
“If you ever feel that you are being followed when coming to one of our sidewalk meetings, Nina, you are to abort the meeting and let me know with a hand signal. Touch one of your eyes as you near me, but keep walking, go on past me. I will understand that something is wrong and will make contact at an appropriate time later on.”
As Nina approached the meeting point, she looked at her watch. It was precisely 4:30 p.m. A woman was sitting on a bus stop bench. The area was dimly light by the streetlight, but Nina could tell that it was Allison as she got closer. She raised her hand and rubbed her eye and as she walked on by. Allison tossed a kernel of corn out to some pigeons, an indication to Nina that she had gotten the message. Allison looked up the sidewalk in the direction from which Nina had come. She saw him: a man walking quickly in their direction hurrying to get around some people. Allison concluded that he was the one tailing Nina, and she had to do something to protect her asset.
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