Nuclear Surprise

by Rob Carnell

  Arseny appeared holding a large pistol fitted with a sound suppressor. "Quickly please, we need to get out of here I think." He cut their bonds, got them free and they all beat a hasty retreat toward the car. But Natasha stopped "Arseny, we still need to find out where the case went?" and she started back for the office.

  "That won’t be necessary said Arseny. I managed to get the shipping records for the last three months while I was trying to find you. I had to pull my gun to get it, but I have the files here in my pocket. Let’s take a look at them when we get out of here."

  Just as they were approaching the car they heard the telltale whump whump of a helicopter approaching. They nearly got to the car before The Leopard and another similar looking man appeared in the open door of the chopper with machine pistols.

  The first clip of rounds sprayed behind the car but they managed to get in and the car started before the next onslaught.

  The trunk of the car was peppered with holes as they sped away.

  Arseny threw a case to Natasha who caught it and started to open it midflight. The Druganov sniper rifle was assembled quickly. Natasha thumbed three rounds into the magazine. If that didn’t work they were dead anyway.

  This time the chopper was hovering in front of them ready for the kill. There was nowhere to go but forward. Arseny braked hard, but he was dead seconds later, sprayed across the face with deadly fire. The car slid to a stop against the gutter and Natasha drew a bead on the chopper pilot through their open window. The first shot splintered the canopy but missed the pilot. The noise inside the car was deafening. The action cycled and the next shot struck home. The chopper pitched forward toward them, but started to spin on its axis as the pilot was unable to maintain pressure on the rudder pedals. As the copter bucked, the Leopard fell from the open door to the pavement five hundred feet. He screamed all the way down until he landed on his head. Matt ran over to check on their foe, but his head was embedded in the thin concrete with his body at an unnatural angle, problem solved.

  The chopper landed heavily with the rotor clipping a car and flipping over on its side. There was a horrendous ripping sound of shredding metal. A fireball erupted soon afterwards.

  Natasha grabbed the papers from their dead driver’s pocket but tripped getting out of the car and twisted her ankle. Matt grabbed her around the waist and helped her limp away.

  The dock area had more than a couple of smoky bars and they entered and sat in a dark area to gather their thoughts. By now Natasha’s hair was flowing and it was difficult to hide a good looking girl in a bar full of drunken sailors.

  It took but a moment for two guys to come over to start trouble. Matt was nearly fed up with Russia. Before the first guy even opened his mouth Matt rose to his full six foot three inches and hit him on the chin with a punch that came from his toes. His CIA self defense instructor at "The Farm" had showed him how to twist his hips to increase the effectiveness of the blow, and this one was right on the button. He went down with a thud onto the dusty floor. The second guy just nodded and plodded back to his seat. Matt had passed his rite of passage here. There would be no more trouble. Even so, the feel of his now familiar Yarygin 9mm in his pocket was a comfort. He had grabbed it from his computer bag on the way out of the vehicle.

  Natasha made a call to her boss/father, and thirty minutes later half a dozen commando types arrived to ensure their safe passage back to a hotel.

  The escorts had already retrieved their bags from the car. They showed them to their rooms and told Natasha they would station someone in the lobby all night just in case.

  Natasha was still bleeding a little from the nose. They were still full of adrenalin from their day of action.

  Matt helped Natasha to her room but Matt slipped getting her inside.

  They fell together with Natasha on top of Matt which took the wind out of his lungs. However a surprise kiss quickly revived him.

  By the time Natasha reminded Matt to call Bill Simpson it was only five minutes late.

  "Hi Bill any luck with Riyadh?" asked Matt.

  "Not much, what is happening there?" enquired Bill.

  "It has been a very busy day so far. We are in Minsk on the trail of one of those suitcases, can I give a better report tomorrow after a few hours sleep?" asked Matt.

  "Ok, stay in touch. Keep your hands firmly on the ball, not on the lady, I just saw her picture. She is cute." said Bill.

  Chapter 72

  Lenin Hotel

  Minsk, Russia

  * * *

  NATASHA WAS studying the records closely as her written Russian was much better than Matt’s.

  Matt had his notebook computer connected to the internet via an encrypted link bounced off a satellite.

  Natasha would come up with the name of a ship and Matt would research the ship and her owner. They had been doing this for some time now and every time they had drawn a blank.

  Finally Natasha mentioned "I found an invoice for crane hire, it is different to everything else in the journals."

  Matt took a look as well, and it did seem out of place, everything else was for large amounts for repairs on large ships. Matt had been taught that it was not possible to investigate everything, and to look for the smallest thing out of place.

  "Nat, lets get back to the boatyard, with the mafia goons all in jail, we should get a much better reception this time."

  Chapter 73

  Boatyard

  Minsk, Russia

  * * *

  THE MANAGER of the boatyard was extremely co-operative as soon as Natasha showed her identification. The new version of the KGB, was only slightly less feared than its predecessor!

  "Thank you for the return of our documents Major, I regret your inconvenience yesterday" quite the master of understatement was Igor the manager.

  "We would like your assistance to track down a vessel bound for Korea" explained Natasha.

  "I am sorry, but the only vessels we work on here are local ships. None of these are big enough or stable enough to travel that far. The international ships are repaired at another larger yard with a dry dock" explained Igor in deep heavily accented Russian.

  "We understand" said Matt, "but we are wondering about this invoice for crane rental" Matt passed over the book with the item underlined.

  Igor scanned the invoice and the name Dimitri Ostrowski rang a bell. "Yes, I remember that. Dimitri has been building a small sailing boat in the yard next door. He got us to move it from its hardstand to launch it into the water. Come to think of it I have not seen him around since then. I am quite busy for the next hour, but I would be happy to take you over to meet some of the other workers there if you could wait" said a very co-operative Igor.

  "That won’t be necessary. We can find our own way there. Thank you for your assistance. Can I be assured that our visit here will remain between us?" asked Natasha.

  "What visit?" answered Igor.

  Matt and Natasha walked to the back of the yard, dodging forklifts, barrels, spools of wire and a myriad of workers.

  Eventually they located a well trodden dirt track along the water’s edge. It led to a small open patch of land covered with a number of much smaller boats, both sail and motor.

  Natasha got a few wolf whistles as she limped along the track, but did manage to find someone working on their craft.

  "Excuse me sir, we are looking for Dimitri Ostrowski" announced Natasha to a man partly obscured under a small motor craft.

  "Just a minute" called the man, and he extracted himself and walked over while wiping his greasy hands on his overalls.

  "Why do you want to see Dimitri?" questioned Ivan, the man who had helped Dimitri turn over his hull a month earlier.

  "We will ask the questions, unless you outrank me" said a very businesslike Natasha who flashed her credentials.

  "Please forgive me Miss, how can I help you" said Ivan obviously scared of authority.

  "How long since you have seen him?" asked Matt.

  "H
e launched his boat a week or so ago, but I am afraid I have not seen him since then. He has promised to take me sailing, so I am hoping he comes back to see me soon" said Ivan.

  "Did he say where he was going?" queried Natasha.

  "Not really, he seemed to be following orders of the other man with him" said Ivan.

  "What did the other man look like?" asked Matt.

  "I guess he was early to mid forties, short black hair and a clipped beard. Quite fit looking, but he spoke terrible Russian" said Ivan.

  "Did he have a name? Or did he say where he was from?" Matt sensed they were on to something.

  "He would not even acknowledge our presence. He only spoke to Dimitri, but I did hear them once whisper in another language. I did not understand at all, but it seemed quite clipped, I would guess from somewhere in the Middle East maybe" said Ivan, who had been around the world quite a bit on merchant ships in his youth.

  "Bingo" thought Matt.

  Natasha handed Ivan her card "please talk to the other builders, if they have any further information, please call me anytime, I will make it worth your while".

  Chapter 74

  CIA Headquarters

  Langley, Virginia

  * * *

  ADAM SCOTT immediately briefed Matt’s controller Bill Simpson, who telephoned Matt on his cell phone.

  "Hi Matt, how is the vodka capital of the world?" joked Bill.

  "Natasha and I have had a pretty busy day yesterday, getting shot at by helicopters and tied up by mafia boys" Matt explained.

  "Are you guys both ok?" asked a concerned Peterson.

  "It was a real rush, but we are fine. We did trace the suitcases. One was sent to Minsk east of here, the other two went to Saudi Arabia. I think one was on that Cessna."

  "Pretty fair bet. But we still need to find the other two, where to next?" questioned Bill.

  "We are in Minsk now. We got a hold of records from a shipyard, we are trying to track that suitcase" explained Matt.

  "Great work boy, you were born for this work. I also have some news. It is sensitive, but it can’t wait for a secure line. NK is involved." This was of course code for North Korea, and Matt immediately made the connection.

  "In what way?" asked Matt.

  "We think the case is on board a boat or ship headed for N.K. Seems to tie in with your information as well. Keep digging there and see if you can identify the vessel. In the meantime, we are working satellite images to see if we can find a needle in a haystack." Bill was not hopeful the images would help, but it was worth a try.

  "Ok Bill, I will stay in touch" and Matt broke the connection.

  Chapter 75

  Lenin Hotel

  Minsk, Russia

  * * *

  MATT AND Natasha were convinced that they had finally unearthed a lead to follow. On their return to the hotel, Matt established a secure connection on his computer and sent a chat request to Bill Simpson.

  Matt: Bill, are you on-line?

  Fifteen seconds later came the reply

  Bill: You bet any news?

  Matt: Yep, we traced the records back to a small sailing boat that was launched a couple of weeks ago. The builder and his mysterious helper have vanished.

  Bill: What else?

  Matt: One of the other workers in the yard remembered the other guy, thought he was from the Middle East. Both have vanished without trace. The boat is nowhere to be found.

  Bill: I will bet you a beer that the boat is on it’s way to North Korea. I think it’s time for you to get back here to Langley.

  Matt: I was thinking of getting my ass to Saudi Arabia and checking out the Caliph hotel. If I can find the source of the money, I may be able to track it back to a person. How about I take Natasha with me to work on this, she is really good?

  Bill: Good idea, but I will have to check with Oleg. Come home for a briefing first. Then you can hit Arabia. I am sure the Russians will be working on this. They will have their own people on it anyway. We may as well work together. I will clear it with the boss, but I don’t see any problem this end. Do you think she will go for it?

  Matt: I think I can convince her with my good old American charm and wit.

  Bill: Puke! Don’t worry about the 4pm check in. It’s only an hour away.

  Matt: Thanks Bill, cya.

  Chapter 76

  Sheremetyevo Airport

  Moscow, Russia

  * * *

  NATASHA HAD managed to organize a military shuttle for them from Minsk to Moscow. Matt’s rear end was still sore from the hard webbing seats on the ageing Russian copy of the C-130. That old plane was so noisy that ear plugs were given out and conversation was impossible. So he had a lot of time to think.

  "What is the security like here leaving Russia" asked Matt as they were walking from the military section of the airport to the civilian check-in.

  "I don’t think it is as bad as your country, but they can be quite thorough. You might even get frisked by a Russian girl if you are lucky."

  "I think I got that last night" said Matt with a wink "What do we do with our weapons?"

  "I will leave the guns in a locker here at the airport. My knife travels with me always. It is invisible to X-ray and metal detectors."

  "Where are you going to hide it?" asked Matt.

  "It fits into a little flap underneath my handbag. I can get it out almost instantly. It has gotten me out of a couple of nasty situations. It’s almost invisible, we will have no problem."

  Checking in was simple once Natasha showed her identification. After they had dropped their bags and proceeded to immigration, they were herded through barriers until they came to the security screening point. The metal detectors were pretty standard, but Natasha was right, there was a physical frisk search as well.

  There were two mats. Passengers stood on the mats two at a time to get groped. There was one male and one female officer conducting the searches.

  Matt thought it would be fun to stand on the female mat. The frisker was quite cute thought Matt, who realized that working in such close proximity to Natasha was turning him into a horny teenager.

  However this turned out to be a big mistake. The friskers just glanced at each other and changed mats. This had obviously been done before. Matt got a really thorough job from the big Russian guy.

  "That went well" whispered Natasha with a grin after they were past the barrier.

  There was a special lounge for Russian military and it was quite beautiful. Matt went exploring. He came back carrying two bottles of Budweiser.

  "Hey Natasha, try this" said Matt as he passed over a bottle of Budweiser "you need to learn to drink this if you are really going to pretend you are American."

  "I will try" suggested Natasha as she grabbed it and drank down the whole bottle in just a couple of gulps. She followed this by a silent belch "how did I do?"

  "Ok, I promise not to ever pre-judge you again. Did they teach you at the University of Moscow as well?"

  "Of course. You have to remember that we have been training Russians to appear American since the cold war began. Some of our sleeper agents have been in your country for more than 30 years. The training is very thorough."

  "I believe you!"

  Chapter 77

  United Airlines Flight 965

  Enroute Moscow-Washington D.C.

  * * *

  NOW THAT they were safely aboard an American plane, they were much more comfortable than on the Russian transport.

  "Natasha, have you ever been to the U.S. before?" asked Matt.

  "Matt, before graduation I needed to pass a test, so yes, but I can’t tell you more."

  "I understand, how long is your visa for this trip?" whispered Matt.

  "My father has managed to get me transferred permanently to the Russian Federation Embassy in Washington. I have a diplomatic passport and don’t need a visa."

  Matt’s jaw dropped but no sound came out.

  Chapter 78

  CIA Headqua
rters

  Langley, Virginia

  * * *

  MATT DID the introductions "Bill Simpson, this is Natasha Karpov of the Russian Federation."

  "Welcome to Washington Miss Karpov. I am delighted for you that you do not look too much like my old friend your father!" Joked the intelligence chief.

  "Thank you Mister Simpson, my father told me you were one of the good guys!" returned Natasha.

  She passed Bill a bottle of malt scotch that she had purchased duty free on the aircraft "Compliments of my father."

  "Have a seat team" said Bill. "Great work in Russia, it seems one of the weapons is on that boat headed for North Korea. We have verified from another source a plot by Al Qaeda teeming up with North Korea to detonate a device against us. You need to find it first.

  Of course we believe one of the cases sent to the Caliph Hotel in Saudi Arabia disguised as caviar ended up in that Cessna we splashed in the Gulf. Your other mission if you choose to accept it (and of course you will) is to find that one as well!" laughed Bill.

  Bill passed across a new ID badge across to Natasha, it identified her as a CIA Contractor "Welcome to the CIA, you are the first Russian ever to do a tour of duty here" said Bill as he shook Natasha’s hand.

  "Matt, make her feel at home here" he said with a wink unseen by Natasha.

  "Do you have a spare room for Natasha or do you want me to organize a hotel?" asked Bill.

  "Travel would be easier if we share and I have a nice spare room she is welcome to" said Matt, "also we can do quite a bit of research from there anyway, I have a desktop computer Natasha can use and I can use my laptop. My internet connection is cable, so we have plenty of bandwidth."