Sentinel

by Matthew Dunn

  Will looked sharply at Korina. “If these two men are absent without leave from Spetsnaz, they’ll be a liability to our team, as their unit commanders will issue orders for their arrest.”

  Korina shook her head. “I spoke to their superior and gained formal clearance for their immediate short-term attachment to me. I also spoke to my boss in Moscow and fed him a lie. I said that one of my agents had contacted me and said he had information about U.S. naval movements but suspected that he was compromised and needed to urgently meet me in the western borders of Russia. I said I needed a few days to get there and meet him and had requisitioned two men and equipment from Spetsnaz GRU to help protect me during my meeting.” She smiled, pulling out a cigarette. “As far as our superiors are concerned, the three of us are on official business and will be difficult to contact during the next few days.”

  Will looked at the Spetsnaz men. “Why are you willing to help?”

  Vitali answered with a smile, “What man wouldn’t like a short-term attachment to Major Tsvetaeva?”

  Will didn’t smile and repeated his question.

  Markov pointed at the major. “Because we both trust her judgment. All of the Spetsnaz men based here think that way. She’s one of us.”

  “Have you been told who we’re looking for?”

  Vitali nodded. “The head of Spetsnaz Alpha.”

  Markov added, “Major Tsvetaeva told us outright. In case we had a problem hunting one of our own.”

  “Has either of you ever served with him?”

  Markov shook his head.

  Vitali answered, “No, but I saw him once. I was on an advanced sniper course. There were ten of us from various different Spetsnaz units. We were testing a prototype rifle, and each of us was given the task of trying to hit a playing card, one mile away. Colonel Khmelnytsky was observing, along with four other commanders, because two of the students were from Alpha. We could hear the other commanders talking, saying the new weapon was rubbish given that none of us could get a bullet to within five feet of our playing cards. But Khmelnytsky stayed silent. Instead, he walked up to the sniper on the left of our range, picked up his rifle, took aim while standing, and fired the weapon. His bullet struck the center of the playing card. Then he walked along the line, doing the same with each of our guns, until he’d fired ten bullets from ten rifles and struck ten playing cards as if they’d been only a few feet away from him.” Vitali smiled. “After he dropped the last rifle, he strode off, walked past the other unit commanders, and muttered loud enough for us all to hear, ‘The weapon’s not rubbish, but every man around me is.’ ”

  Will looked at Korina. “Why did you bring these men here?”

  Korina inhaled deeply on her cigarette. “Two days after the intelligence report was issued, Taras instructed the agent to abscond from the U.S. Navy and use an infiltration route to enter Russia. He did so on the pretext that the agent could be in danger, although from what we know I suspect his real motive was to get the agent out of his game. But he needed official clearance to do that, as the infiltration route belonged to the SVR and required their assistance. His request for the agent’s exfiltration from America’s Kitsap Naval Base was officially recorded in our files and was approved. As a result, the source is now residing in a dacha on the outskirts of Moscow. The records show that the man has low-level security protection from the SVR, is not deemed a threat, and can come and go from the property as he pleases.”

  Will’s anger vanished. “We need to meet the agent and put the fear of God into him to make him panic.” His heart beat fast. “After that meeting, I don’t think he’ll dare discuss his situation with his agent handler on the telephone in case the SVR is monitoring his calls. I think he’ll want to meet Taras. Hopefully, he’ll lead us straight to him.”

  Korina’s eyes flickered. “I thought you’d say that.” She looked at Roger, Laith, then Will. “But that hope rests upon the ability of you and your men moving through my country as if you were GRU officials.” She nodded at Markov and Vitali. “That’s why I asked for these two men. Together with me, they will front the team and diminish the threat of scrutiny on the three of you. They’ll also help with equipment and transport.” She smiled, flicking her cigarette onto the floor and stubbing it out with the heel of her boot. “And they can handle themselves very well in a fight.”

  “That’s all good, ma’am, but”—Laith was still pointing his handgun in the direction of the GRU personnel—“I don’t speak fluent Russian.”

  “Then you’ll just have to keep your mouth shut.”

  Will frowned. “The SVR will never let us meet him without clearance.”

  “Correct. That’s why I called them and told them that I needed to have a formal meeting with the man.” She looked serious. “Technically, Taras’s intelligence falls within my jurisdiction, as it relates to a naval matter that is happening within seas that come under the scrutiny of GRU Vladivostok. That means I have every right to reevaluate the intelligence, up to and including challenging the source of the report.” She nodded once. “The SVR had no choice other than to grant me an audience with the American agent.”

  Will nodded. “Okay. But we need to meet him tonight.”

  “Tonight?” Korina looked shocked. “He’s an eight-hour flight away in Moscow.”

  For the first time that day, Will smiled. “I’m sure that right now there are plenty of military flights traveling back and forth across Russia. I’m confident you can get us on one.”

  Will and Korina were alone. The rest of the team were in the next room, quietly talking to one another, the Russians trying to get the measure of the Americans and vice versa.

  Will asked, “Can we work together?”

  Korina studied him. “We’ll have to find out.” She lit a cigarette and pointed it toward him. “But I warn you, I’m no fool. If you try and trick me, I’ll make you and your men suffer.”

  “I’ve no intention of tricking you. I came here because I need your help.” He frowned. “Is this a place they’d normally post someone with—”

  “A pretty face like mine?”

  “That’s not what I was going to say.”

  “Then what?”

  “It’s just that you look like you’d be better suited to Moscow HQ.” Will wasn’t sure he knew what he was saying. Perhaps it was that Korina’s elegance seemed at odds with the harshness of this part of Russia.

  Korina inhaled smoke. “I have no family now. I never knew my mother—she ran off with another man when I was a baby. And when I was old enough to look after myself, my father was often away at sea for long periods. I suppose it toughened me up a lot. I didn’t want a cozy desk job in Moscow. So I volunteered to come out here.”

  Will understood. The tragedies in his early life had driven him to seek out his extreme existence. “I’m sorry about your father.”

  Korina lowered her head. “They wouldn’t tell me at first how he was killed. No doubt they thought it would be too upsetting. But I pulled some strings and found out everything.” She looked up. “That bastard savaged him.”

  Will hesitated before placing a hand on hers. “I know how you feel.”

  Her expression steeled. “How?”

  “My parents were killed.”

  “An accident?”

  “Murdered.”

  She squeezed his hand, released her grip, and muttered, “So here we are, filling the void.” She nodded once. “Yes, I think you and I can work together.” Extinguishing her cigarette, she added, “There’s something else you should know. When I was in my office, I checked my telegrams. One of them was from GRU Moscow HQ and was marked URGENT. It was sent to me and every other GRU station chief based in Russia but outside Moscow. The telegram stated that we must store all intelligence files in our possession within burn boxes, ready to be incinerated if our offices are overrun by American forces.”

  Chapter Thirty-four

  By midmorning they were in the SUV, traveling to the outskirts of Vladi
vostok through driving snowfall. Korina spoke quickly and sternly into her cell phone. “There are six of us, three from GRU plus three from a special division. We—” She went silent as she listened to the person at the other end of the phone. Then, “If you want to refuse us entry, call GRU HQ and explain to them why you wish to hinder a major intelligence operation.” She listened again, smiled, and snapped the cell shut. She glanced at Will. “There’s space for us on a transport aircraft. It won’t be the most comfortable ride, but it’s the next flight out of here and leaves in forty-five minutes.”

  “Excellent. But how are my men and I going to get through perimeter security?”

  Korina shrugged. “Everything will be fine, provided my identity is valid.”

  From the front passenger seat, Markov looked over his shoulder at them all. “We’re minutes away. In addition to your own bags, in the back of the SUV are five Bergen rucksacks containing Spetsnaz battle kit, MR-445 Varjag pistols, tactical communications systems, cell phones, and spare ammunition. Strapped to the Bergens are AS Val assault rifles with sound suppressors. Vitali and I grabbed them from our base as soon as Major Tsvetaeva called us. I’ve no idea if the kit is going to be right for what you need, but we didn’t have time to be selective.”

  Roger nodded. “I’m sure it will do just fine.”

  Vitali called out, “Time to shut up. We’re approaching the base.”

  He drove the SUV off the main road onto a wide lane. Signs with crosses told motorists that they were entering a military restricted zone. An armed soldier stood on one side of the lane, waving them onward; soon they passed another doing the same. At the end of the lane they were confronted by a large arch, within which were four soldiers and an electronic barrier. To either side of the entrance was a twelve-foot-high razor-wire fence.

  Vitali stopped the vehicle, opened his window, and showed one of the soldiers his Spetsnaz GRU identity card. The soldier looked inside the SUV, examining every occupant. Korina leaned forward, showed her ID, and spoke rapidly to the guard. He returned the document to her, then fixed his attention on Will and his colleagues. He asked them who they were, at which point Markov opened his front passenger door, walked around the front of the SUV until he was right in front of the guard, and grabbed the soldier’s jacket in a bunched fist. Pulling the guard close to his scarred face, Markov muttered something inaudible. The smaller guard looked terrified. He appeared to speak urgently and called out to his colleagues, who immediately raised the barrier. Markov released his grip and shouted at the four soldiers, who all sprang to attention. He nodded slowly at them, his face still furious, then reentered the vehicle. Vitali gunned the SUV. They drove onto the air base.

  Markov shook his head. “Fucking idiots. They’d received the order to let us through once they saw Major Tsvetaeva’s ID. But they took it upon themselves to make a more thorough check of our vehicle in order to try to impress their commanders that they had initiative and were doing an excellent job.” He smiled. “I changed their point of view.”

  The base was big, dotted with multiple runways and feeder routes, huge hangars and other buildings, and strewn with large and medium-sized military transport aircraft. Although it was daylight, everything was lit up by halogen lamps casting strong light through the leaden gray air and persistent snowfall. Some of the planes were taxiing, some stationary, others landing and taking off. Ground crews and other military personnel were moving on foot and in jeeps along tarmac tracks adjacent to the runways. Snow-clearing vehicles moved up and down the tracks. Vitali was clearly familiar with the layout of the airport as he drove his SUV with confidence, changing routes several times until he brought it to a halt adjacent to a building.

  Korina glanced at Will. “Stay here.” She looked forward. “Markov, come with me.”

  The two Russians got out and strode into the building. Vitali lit a cigarette, lowered his window a few inches, and looked toward the runways. Will and his CIA colleagues followed his gaze. Approximately a thousand troops were standing in lines, carrying heavy packs and rifles, near to two large troop-carrying aircraft. Other men, presumably their NCOs and officers, were walking up and down the lines. They were probably barking orders at the soldiers, although nothing could be heard beyond the thunderous drone of the aircraft. Across the base, some of the massive hangars opened their doors and more soldiers emerged onto the tarmac until what must have been several thousand troops were visible. All of them were waiting to board planes, patiently standing as thick snow fell over them.

  Vitali muttered in English, “They belong to the Fifth Army. Their commander, Lieutenant General Viktor Fursenko, has ordered them to mobilize to Western Operational Strategic Command.”

  Will asked, “Why?”

  “It’s all presentational—show the West that we’re big boys and need to be taken seriously at the negotiating tables.”

  “The soldiers out there won’t have been told that.” Laith’s tone was solemn. “I expect that their commanding officers have told them that this is for real.”

  Vitali nodded slowly, puffing on his cigarette while keeping his gaze on the troops. “Of course. They have to be ready in case there really is a fight.” He sighed, flicked his cigarette outside, and closed his window. “My younger brother will be one of the soldiers standing out there. He joined the 60th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade two years ago. I tried to persuade him not to because he was never cut out for the army way of life and had far better options.”

  Markov reappeared and leaned into the vehicle. “Time to move. Grab your kit. If spoken to, say nothing.”

  Vitali immediately jumped out and strode to the back of the vehicle. Will, Roger, and Laith joined him.

  Markov had the trunk open and began throwing the heavy Bergens at each man. “It’s good that we’re all dressed in suits and overcoats. The fact that we look different from everyone else here means we look special. We’re less likely to be confronted.”

  Will slung one strap of his Bergen over a shoulder, grabbed his other bag, and watched the rest of the team do the same. Korina emerged from the building, picked up her own travel bag, and nodded at Markov, who led them all across the air base to a large Il-76M transport aircraft that was positioned away from the mass of troops. An airman was waiting, holding a clipboard. Korina spoke to him, nodded at the team, and then beckoned for them to come forward.

  As Will climbed into the airplane, he expected the craft to be nearly empty given that the brigades he had seen a moment before had been assembled on the other side of the base. But the plane was filled with soldiers, sitting on their packs and with their assault rifles cradled over their legs. They all wore distinctive sky blue paratrooper berets. Will followed Korina down the center of the plane, walking between the soldiers, who eyed them with looks of confusion, until he and his team were at the back of the aircraft. There were no seats. Will put his rucksack down and sat on it, leaving a space between him and the rearmost paratrooper. Roger took that space.

  The airplane immediately started moving and then accelerated hard for takeoff. The noise within the craft, deafening at first, receded to a low drone as it leveled out. Will looked to his left at Laith. The SOG officer was either asleep or pretending to be so. Opposite him, Korina was trying to make herself as comfortable as possible. Markov and Vitali were next to her, talking to each other. Will glanced at Roger. He was frowning. He followed his gaze and saw that one of the paratroopers opposite Roger was trying to strip down, clean, and reassemble his AKS-74 assault rifle. The soldier looked to be barely eighteen years old; he was sweating, and his hands shook as he clumsily tried to put the weapon back together. Two of the soldiers next to the paratrooper were also watching him, chuckling. Roger leaned quickly forward, grabbed the parts of the rifle, expertly stripped it down again, looked at the inside of the barrel to ensure it was clean, checked the other working parts, rapidly reassembled the weapon until it was fully functional, and held it out to him. The paratrooper took his weapon, smiled
with a look of relief, and gripped the rifle tight enough to whiten his knuckles. As Roger leaned back, Will saw that Markov and Vitali had stopped their conversation and were looking at Roger with their mouths slightly open.

  Roger cupped a hand around Will’s ear and said quietly, “Russian or otherwise, no soldier deserves to have a faulty weapon.”

  Will looked around at all of the soldiers in the airplane. Some of them were laughing and joking with one another in an exaggerated manner. Others were busying themselves with unnecessary tasks. But most of them were quiet, looking apprehensive and lost in their own thoughts. Will knew all of this behavior very well. He too had sat as a young paratrooper in military airplanes, waiting to go to war. And the smell in the airplanes then had been the same smell that enveloped him now. It was the smell of fear.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  It was midevening. Will, Korina, and Markov walked quickly down a long, winding driveway illuminated by lamps and surrounded by trees. Ahead of them was the dacha. The villa was quite large, and the lights were on. Two stationary vehicles were by the front entrance. The place was isolated in the forest and looked beautiful and homely, with gentle snow falling through the dim yellow glow of the lamps. They were forty miles outside Moscow and were here to interview the American traitor.

  Markov knocked on the front door and stepped back. A voice called out. Markov responded, “Major Tsvetaeva. GRU.”

  Bolts were unfastened; the door swung open. A tall, dark-haired man wearing a suit and a holster containing a Serdyukov SPS self-loading pistol stood in the entrance. Korina stepped forward and showed her ID, speaking quietly. The SVR officer scrutinized her identity card and, glancing over his shoulder, called out a name. He was joined by someone wearing similar attire. Markov pulled out a packet of cigarettes and said something to the men, then laughed. They smiled and stepped out of the doorway, joining Markov for a cigarette. Korina and Will stepped into the house.