by Skye, S. D.
Yet, still she eyed the letter from Jim Cartwright—work was never far away…
“Two spies down and three more to go,” J.J. said, sunken into her couch with her feet kicked up on the coffee table. “I’m really worried about Nixon being in charge until Freeman gets back on his feet. The director warned me for a reason. Something hinky’s going on there.”
“I agree. Somethin’ definitely ain’t right there. But I don’t want you to worry your pretty brown head about anything. I have people who hurt people for me,” he said. “Besides, when you take down the financial network, I’ve got a feeling this investigation’s gonna be all downhill from there.”
“I was thinking about calling Director Freeman to tell him to allow the New York office to take over the investigation. I can’t do anything they can’t do. And they know the streets better than I do.”
“You’re not fooling me. You just don’t want to leave me behind,” Tony said. “But you and I both know you’d go nuts sitting back here on the sidelines. They may know the streets, but nobody understands how the Russians operate better than you.”
J.J. let out a long sigh, set the letter on the table, and grabbed Tony’s hand. “You’re right. I know you’re right. Curse me and my work ethic,” she said. “You gonna miss me while gone?”
Tony wrapped her in the comfort of his arms for the first time in too long. “You know it, my little Hershey bar,” he answered. “Wish I could go with you, babe. But you can call me anytime. If I can’t help you, I know people who can.”
“What if I need some personal servicing?” J.J. asked. “You gonna send someone for that, too?”
“Oh yeah, right after I kill ‘em,” Tony joked.
J.J. chuckled and then her expression turned serious.
“About Gia,” she began, her voice exposing her vulnerability. “It’s just been a long time since I’ve allowed anyone to get close to me, and I’m not going to lie, it scares the shit out of me. But I’m beginning to realize I’d rather live with the fear, than live without you.”
Tony turned to J.J. and locked his eyes on hers. “You have nothing to worry about. Ever.”
J.J. smiled and stroked his face. “I know, my sweet Antonio,” she said with a wry smile. “because your little girlfriend Gia’s going to New York with me where I can keep an eye on her bony ass!”
They dissolved into laughter before Tony added, “And two-and-a-half will be in Moscow.”
“What’s the half for?” J.J. laughed, wiping giggle tears from the corners of her eyes.
“Because he’s a half-brain, half-wit.”
J.J. kissed him. “And not even half the man to me that you are.”
“Is that right?” Tony said in his sexy tone. “Well, the lower half of me really wants to get into the lower half of you.”
He wrapped her up in a passionate kiss, when his cell phone rang. He let it go to voicemail and it rang again. And again.
He pulled away from J.J., exhaled in frustration, and glanced at the caller ID. “It’s a Jersey number. Lemme get this.” He picked up the phone and swiped his finger across the screen. “Santino? Why are you calling me?”
He listened for a moment and bolted upright in the bed. J.J. watched his face transform, his ears reddened, and his voice quivered. “What the fuck happened? Is he okay?”
Tony kicked his feet over the edge of the bed and sat up, leaning forward on his knees. He scraped his fingers across his scalp. J.J. sat next to him and rubbed his back whispering, “Is everything okay?”
“Son of a bitch! Cocksuckers!” He gave her the hand and scooted himself away to give himself some space. She could hear the frantic voice rattling off of some story that sent Tony into a tailspin.
“No, no. I’ll call my mother and get Uncle Paulie to drive her to the city tomorrow,” he said. “Lemme make a few calls and I’ll get back to you later.”
He hung up and took a deep breath.
“It’s my brother, Dante,” Tony said. “He’s been shot. Twice. In the back. He’s in bad shape. They don’t think he’s gonna make it.”
J.J. gasped and covered her mouth in shock. “What…how did …who did it?”
“Word on the street is that it was a Russian group. Dante and Santino were meeting in Brooklyn, and they hit Dante by mistake. They look more like brothers than Dante and I do.”
“W-w-why would they want to hit Santino?” J.J. asked. “You don’t think it’s revenge for Lana, do you?”
Tony nodded. “That’s exactly what I think…and everybody thinks. The group is linked with Mashkov. And we know something my family doesn’t—that Mashkov has direct ties to Russian intelligence…and that her father is probably the one who ordered the hit.”
In an instant J.J. was deflated. She felt like a truck tire with a slow leak. She hated to see the hurt on Tony’s face and only wanted to make it go away. “What can I do to help?”
“Understand that what I’m about to say is not up for debate, J.J.,” he said. “I’m going to New York. This is my family…and the enemy is bigger than me now.”
“At least you hope so.” How could J.J. argue with that? Especially after what she’d gone through with her own father when Lana had only threatened to kill him. Tony’s brother lay in the hospital dying. She couldn’t expect Tony to listen to reason or act within it.
“I’m afraid if we don’t’ find a way to bring calm to this situation, my family is going to war. A lot of bloodshed.”
“I understand, Tony,” J.J. said. “But I don’t want a drop of it to be yours.”
“Then just be there for me.”
“You never have to worry, Tony,” J.J. said. She grabbed his hand and kissed his palm. “I’ll always have your back.”
J.J.’s mind whirred in confusion and despair. Her entire world shifted in a matter of seconds. Instead of going to New York to shut down the financial source of an Illegal’s network, she was potentially putting herself in an all-out war between the Russian and Italian organized crime. The moment felt surreal and out of control, just like the potential for calamity if a tit-for-tat grudge match played out on the streets.
If she couldn’t find a way to de-escalate the situation, she stood to lose something a lot more important to her life than her case.
stay tuned for the next exciting installment of the series…
Acknowledgments
To my son, William, who is one of my biggest fans and supporters. You are my manager/agent/assistant/bag carrier/anything mom needs, and I appreciate everything you do to help me do what I love.
Lisa and Becky, my Beta Readers. Every year you go through the drudgery of reading my first drafts. I couldn’t do this without your support. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules to help me make my work better for the fans.
To Mike Lance, thank you so much for taking a chance to tell me something I didn’t want to hear. Your feedback has been invaluable to helping me make my work shine, and I appreciate you for it!
To the readers and fans of the J.J. McCall series, thank you for spending time with J.J. and the crew. A lot of people thought I was nuts for attempting this series, but each year I pick up more and more fans who are also crazy enough to believe this is a story worth telling…and reading.
Thank you, Ella Curry for all of your PR efforts, sharing your knowledge, encouragement, and always going the extra mile. It does not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
Thank you to the “real” J.J. McCall—for being such an inspiration to me, even though you never knew it. You’re a role model every girl can aspire to be—a consummate professional, an intelligent thinker, a hard worker, and a badass FBI Special Agent.
Key FBI Espionage Series Characters (Books 1 and 2)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (Current)
Russell Freeman – Director
John Nixon – Assistant Director of Counterintelligence
J.J. McCall – FBI Special Agent/Russian Operations
Antonio “Tony” Do
nato – FBI Special Agent/Russian Operations
Former Characters
Naomi Jones McCall (Killed in the Line of Duty) – FBI Special Agent/Counterintelligence and J.J. McCall’s mother.
Lana Michaels/Svetlana Mikhaylova (deceased) – former FBI Special Agent/Russian Operations; Russian Intelligence Deep Cover Agent also known as the ICE (Intelligence Community)Phantom.
Jack Sabinski (forcibly retired) – Former Supervisory Special Agent/Russian Operations
Christopher Johnson (Jailed) – FBI Special Agent/Russian Operations – Served as cut-out for Lana Michaels’ operations.
James “Jim” Cartwright (deceased) – former FBI Assistant Director of Counterintelligence, blackmailed and killed by Lana Michaels.
FBI Washington Field Office
SAC MacDonald – Special Agent in Charge of the field office
Kyle Oliver – FBI Supervisory Special Agent/Russian Operations
Hopper Mack – FBI Supervisory Special Agent/Russian Operations
Russian Embassy Personnel
Andrei Komarov – SVR Resident – Responsible for intelligence operations conducted from Washington Embassy. Comparable to the CIA Chief of Station.
Aleksey Dmitriyev – Security Officer – Most senior counterintelligence officer.
Yuriy Filchenko – Counterintelligence Line Chief – Responsible for supporting operations that involve recruiting American government personnel to spy for Russia.
Boris Gusin – Signals Officer – Responsible for listening device operation targeting the White House
Igor Sonin – Counterintelligence Officer – Sent by Golikov to spy on Embassy Personnel
Vasiliy Turov – Counterintelligence Officer – Sent by Golikov to spy on Embassy Personnel
SVR Headquarters (The Center)
General Anatoliy Golikov – Counterintelligence Directorate Chief – Oversees all Russian counterintelligence operations in U.S.-based embassies.
Pavlov Mashkov – Russian organized crime associate – conducts “off-the-books” operations and murders as ordered by Golikov.
Key Terms
AD – Assistant Director
ATF – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
COINTEL – Counterintelligence
COINTELPRO – Counterintelligence Program
Cut-Out – Operational intermediary. Facilitates the exchange of information between agents.
DEA – Drug Enforcement Agency
Dead Drop - Method of espionage tradecraft used to pass items between two individuals using a secret location and thus does not require them to meet in person.
Exfiltrate (Exfil) - The process of removing personnel when it is considered imperative that they be immediately relocated out of a hostile environment and taken to a secure area.
FSB – Russian Federal Security Service – roughly analogous to the FBI.
Goomar – Mistress
HUMINT – Human Intelligence
ICE Phantom – Intelligence Community Phantom
IED – Improvised Explosive Device
MVD – Ministry of Internal Affairs security forces
NOC – Non Official Cover officer – works undercover with no diplomatic immunity
RAPTURE – A Russian intelligence bugging operation targeting the White House.
SAC – Special Agent in Charge; heads FBI field offices.
SVR – Russian Foreign Intelligence Service – roughly analogous to the CIA.
SIGINT – Signals Intelligence
TAC Team – FBI Tactical Team
TMZ – Gossip Magazine and TV Show
VTC – Video Teleconferencing
WFO – FBI Washington Field Office
Prologue
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” ~ Sun Tzu
Fear, failure, and the fear of failure turned enemies into friends like nothing else in the convoluted world of intelligence and spying. This is no doubt the reason FBI representatives had been summoned to the Russian Embassy in Washington following Lana Michaels’ death.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs reeled after a reported "heated discussion" with the U.S. Secretary of State; she promised harsh and swift diplomatic sanctions following the successive wave of embarrassing Russian intelligence blunders that resulted in FBI and Secret Service agent arrests. The tense political situation had outraged the Russians’ now tight-lipped government contacts in Washington and New York, drying up critical sources of American intel. The stone silence threatened to paralyze the SVR's intelligence collection across the United States unless they quelled America’s fury. Thus, the come-to-Jesus meeting called by the SVR Resident was inevitable and necessary.
FBI Special Agent J.J. McCall marveled at the embassy's ornate grand lobby. Rich white and dark European marbles accented by cardinal red carpet runners, stately winding staircase crowned in gold, and paintings of lush landscapes brightening the halls and sitting areas, J.J. placed it among the most beautiful embassies she'd visited. The sight was impressive and a stark reminder of the country's willingness to spare no expense when it came to putting up deceiving fronts and paying American traitors.
"We'll need a dump truck for the bullshit about to be heaped on us today," J.J. whispered to her co-case agent, Tony Donato. As the lead case agent behind the ruckus, she'd been ordered to attend the meeting, listen, and respond to nothing.
"Shhh," Tony whispered in reply. "The walls have ears."
Resident Andrei Komarov, the Russian equivalent to the CIA Station Chief in Moscow, led J.J., Tony, and Assistant Director of Counterintelligence John Nixon through the hallowed embassy halls until they reached a well-appointed conference room. It contained mahogany-paneled walls, large, open armchairs, and an oversized table large enough to seat Komarov's ego and attitude, both massive in her past experience.
The group, all dressed in their services' uniforms—pin-sharp, woolen suits in late-fall hues concealed under beige all-weather overcoats—was met by the only other declared SVR officer in the Russian Embassy, Security Officer Aleksey Dmitriyev.
Jolted by his presence, J.J. avoided his gaze, kept their handshake and greeting brief. The last time they met, he was not working for her. Now, he was—and the only other person in the group aware of his status was Tony. Butterflies rolled in her stomach as everyone took their seats, and the meeting began. She forced a poker expression and prepared herself for the barrage of lies.
Komarov settled in at the head of the table, his face reddened and contorted. It was as if every word he was about to speak, no doubt carefully selected by the Foreign Minister, would sear his throat and exit his lips like sharpened razors carving him from the inside.
"We've all met before and are quite familiar with one another," Komarov began, shooting a slicing glare through J.J. "So, I'll feel free to dispense with the pleasantries. We all understand why we are here today." Her aggressive targeting of SVR officers for recruitment was legendary...or infamous, depending on which side of the table you sat. She suppressed the awe she felt. The personification of the Russian James Bond in looks and dress, he was devoid of any semblance of an accent.
J.J., Tony, and Nixon exchanged strained glances before she took a deep breath to brace herself. Komarov was about to progress through the four steps of surviving a massive operational failure.
Step 1: Admit nothing.
"There has been a spate of unfortunate and seemingly unfounded reports regarding the activities of our foreign intelligence service inside the United States," he began.
Her birthright, her gift, the ability to detect lies, sent the sensation of an army of crawling ants through her fingertips and up the length of both arms. She clenched her teeth and prepared for Step 2: Deny Everything.
"We have no information to substantiate the many reports circulating in the media nor can we speak to the involvement of any of our staff. However, I can assure you that if such activity occurred it was orchestrated by rogue officers conducting unsancti
oned operations. If ever discovered, they will be dealt with accordingly. This brings me to my next point..."
As the lies continued, the annoying sensations intensified. The itch stretched through her back and up into her neck. She shifted in her seat and tensed her body to suppress it.
A moment of relief would come with Step 3: Demand Proof.
"If your Secretary of State persists in her current path and continues to threaten sanctions against our diplomatic corps, we must require access to the evidence used to justify these unfounded accusations against our government or we will be forced to reciprocate and target the American in Moscow."
They always demanded proof because they knew the FBI couldn't provide the most critical elements, at least not so early in the investigations. Such provisions risked revealing FBI sources and methods, potentially compromising the Russian Embassy recruit sitting across the table from J.J. It would also expose the FBI's knowledge of the listening device found in the White House Situation Room, an announcement the President had postponed for reasons unbeknownst to her.
Nixon cleared his throat. "It's forthcoming," are the only two words he offered, which was two too many in J.J.'s estimation. He said, "Continue with your little speech, please," in his typical condescending way.
From the pinched expression on Komarov's face, he took the comment in the spirit in which it was intended, just as J.J. would've. This certainly contributed to Step 4: Make counter-accusations.
"And if your government should bring forth any evidence against the Service, we may be required to present our own proof that these arrests are merely a provocation to discredit Russia and increase hostilities within the international community given U.S. opposition to our security operations in the Ukraine."