22.
A BOMBSHELL!
Back at the MI5 headquarters in London, Tom Spencer called his team together again.
“I want to take a closer look at Victor Peters,” he began. “I went to his home to meet him yesterday, and he had all the right answers. But I think he may be hiding something. He certainly has some links with the Russian embassy and may turn out to be an informer, even before his daughter got mixed up with Aldanov.”
The meeting went on to review their work to date, and the lawyers confirmed that the case against Aldanov was coming together well but that it would need extremely convincing evidence from Marina for it to stand up in court. His past history with GRU in Moscow did not suggest any involvement with the UK until he reported his online contact, and he clearly thought he could enhance his reputation by following up his honey trap in person.
The agents who had been digging into Marina’s past reported that they had not come up with anything to suggest that she had any nefarious ambitions. In fact, among all her friends from schooldays onwards, none of them knew about her Russian background or that she had any special interest in politics or international affairs. Previous boyfriends had found her to be serious-minded, quite reserved and certainly not flirtatious, and they had all been surprised to read the story in the news about her contact with the Russian. It had seemed “out of character” for her to follow up a relationship for so long, even one at a distance.
Tom listened to the reports from around the table and emphasized that when Marina returned from the trip to the US, they would need to spend time preparing her evidence carefully. Then he surprised the meeting with a bombshell.
“Now, this is only an idea at this stage,” he confided, “but the Foreign Office have asked us to consider whether Aldanov might be a suitable candidate for an exchange deal for one of our diplomats who is under house arrest in Moscow because they suspected him of some undercover activity. If they bring charges against our man, it could be a bit embarrassing for the FO, and they think a swap might be a way to pre-empt some future problems.
“One factor we have to consider with the FO is whether this would work better before we put Aldanov on trial here – in which case, we would not need Marina’s testimony anyway. Based on past experience, it takes quite a while to set up this sort of exchange with the Russians, and if it goes ahead, it needs to be handled very, very carefully. But it will be their call, not ours.
“And there’s something else,” he continued. “We are also giving some careful thought here to the future of Marina Peters and whether she and possibly her father could become useful to us when all this business dies down. She will certainly gain some useful experience during her time with the CIA boys in Florida. These decisions are out of our hands, of course. They will all be worked out upstairs – but I needed to share this with you now because it affects the way we proceed.”
Tom ended the meeting by instructing the team to continue their preparatory work for the trial of Aldanov as already planned, as well as an in-depth investigation of both the Peters brothers and their associates. But he emphasised that they should advise him immediately if they heard any developments which might become a factor in the new matters he had just introduced.
23.
LEARNING RUSSIAN
At Camp Orchard, “Mary” soon settled into an easy-going routine. Her room was comfortably furnished and equipped – not quite the Ritz Carlton but better than she expected in a government facility. There was an adjoining study room with books and computers, and in the main building, the restaurant was modern and attractive, and the food choices were excellent. The swimming pool was adjacent to the accommodation block, together with a sauna and a games room. So there were no complaints.
The company proved good, too. The group of seven were soon on warm and friendly terms, and the two women classmates soon arranged to take “Mary” on visits to some of the tourist attractions at the weekend – including Disney World, Seaworld and Epcot. Late on her first evening there, feeling a little homesick, she thought she should call her father, but her new phone did not appear to have a signal. After breakfast the next morning, she went in search of Sally-Ann in the administrative offices and told her about the problem.
“Sorry about that,” explained Sally-Ann. “But we do not have any open communications here for security reasons. Everything is screened through our comms centre, and your London folk told me that you should not make a call from here to your home. Your father’s lines are probably being monitored by now, and the Russians could easily trace where any call is coming from; you are not supposed to be in Florida, or any place connected with the CIA.
“Can I suggest that you use one of our protected circuits in the office to call another friend in England who is not involved in this business and then ask them to contact your father with a reassuring message – and to say you are in Canada, of course. Would that work for you?”
“I don’t see why not. I have a good friend in Portsmouth called Betty McGuire, who could do this, and I will work out my cover story about being in Canada.”
“Fine – unless your friend also works for the Navy. That could be a bit difficult.”
“No, she’s a hospital nurse,” Marina said.
“That should be okay then. I’ll fix a time when you can come back here later to make a call. There’s a five-hour time difference, of course, so maybe early afternoon would be a good time here to reach your friend in the morning, perhaps?”
“Mary” agreed and went to join the group for their first classroom session of the day. After the lunch break, she was called to go to the office, and she gave the comms officer the number of her friend Betty. She was taken to a private phone booth and given instructions on what to do next. A few minutes later, she was told to pick up the phone and could hear the number ringing.
“Hello, this is Betty – who’s calling?”
“It’s Marina – how are you and what’s going on there?”
“Well, hi Marina. Lovely to hear your voice. You sound good – how’s the holiday?”
“Oh, it’s a really nice break – and I needed it. I’m with a friend in Canada, and I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. I also wanted to call Dad, but I couldn’t get through, and I don’t want to make too many long-distance calls from here. So I wonder if you could ring him in Putney for me – do you have his number?”
“Gosh – you are in Canada – and so quickly! And yes, of course, what shall I tell him?”
“Just say I wanted to let him know that I have arrived safely here in Quebec and that all is well. My friend is looking after me, and there’s lots to see and do. The flight over was good, and there’s nothing to worry about. I will probably stay a couple of weeks. That’s about all…”
“Can I give him a number to call you back.”
“No, that’s not really necessary. I will probably be out and about quite a lot, and then there’s the time difference. Just say I’ll try to call again next week.”
“OK, I will do that … but what are you up to there? The papers are still running stories about your meeting with a Russian spy, and there has been an interesting piece about your father and his business. Sounds like he has done well. With the press nosing around, it is probably a good idea that you are away for a couple of weeks.”
“That was the plan, Betty. The authorities there did not want me to be bothered by the press until I had given evidence against the Russian at his trial. Apparently, he is really a spy and not just the naval officer I thought he was. He really led me on, and I am quite embarrassed by all the discussions we had on the website.”
“I’m not surprised. He really looks quite nice in the pictures they have in the paper. Anyway, how’s Canada?”
“A bit cold, but nice sunny days and there’s lots to see. I’ll tell you all about it another time.”
“OK Marina, I’ll look forward to that, and I’ll give your dad a call this evening. Take care of yourself.”
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“And you too, Betty. See you soon – bye.”
With that job done, Marina relaxed and felt she could now focus on enjoying Florida and hopefully learning some Russian conversation phrases.
The next two weeks went quite quickly. The classroom sessions were intensive but effective, and at the weekend, the three girls were ready to escape to see the wonderful performing dolphins at Seaworld, followed by a day at Epcot, where Marina was disappointed to find that among all the amazing national displays, there was still no Russian pavilion. During her third week at Camp Orchard, just as she was becoming familiar with the conversation sessions, Marina was called to the office to see Director Rooney.
“Hi Mary”, he began. “I’ve just had an interesting talk with Tom Spencer in London – you know him, of course? Well, he now wants you back there next week – how does that sound?”
“That’s sooner than I expected, but I guess there’s a good reason. Just when I was starting to enjoy myself here,” laughed Marina.
“We’ll be sorry to see you go,” he said. “We like having a Brit with us for a change. Anyway, could you give Sally-Ann your travel documents, and we will try to fix you a flight on Friday so that you can rest up for the weekend at home before getting back with Tom and his chums next week.”
“Do you know what this is about?” asked Marina. “And where do I go when I arrive in London. Can you ask them for me?”
“I can do better than that. Let’s get Tom on the line, and you can have a chat with him.”
An assistant scuttled away and after a couple of minutes came back with the news that Mr. Spencer was on line one. The Director opened up the speaker phone and began. “It’s Chuck here again, Tom, and I have your nice lady with us to have a word. Is that okay?”
“Hello, that’s fine,” came a familiar British voice. “Hi Marina, how are they treating you there?”
“Very well, thanks – but now I’m told it’s time to come back.”
“Yes, we are making good progress here, and now we would like to spend some time with you again. When can you make it?”
“They’re hoping to get me on a Friday flight so that I can recover at the weekend and then be with you on Monday. How does that sound?”
“That’ll work out okay. Let me know what flight you are on, and we’ll arrange to meet you at Heathrow. Is that okay?”
“Where do I go, and what happens next? And by the way, I think I left the keys to my flat with Patricia, just in case you needed to check on anything while I was away.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that Patricia has your keys for you. When you arrive, we’ll put you up at the flat here on Thameside again for the weekend, and then we can sort things out on Monday.”
“One other thing, Mr. Spencer,” continued Marina. “I realised the other day that I came away without saying anything to my solicitors in Portsmouth who had been so helpful. Can someone there let them know what is happening?”
“No problem, Marina. I think your police friends in Portsmouth have done that, and they have also kept in touch with your people in the Dockyard. Everyone knows that you are having a nice break in Canada until things settle down again. OK? See you next Monday, then.”
24.
“MARY” RETURNS
On the Wednesday afternoon, just three weeks after the Russian ships had arrived in Portsmouth, there was another senior-level meeting at the Home Office involving the Foreign Office, Scotland Yard, MI5 and MI6. Top of the agenda was to review the Aldanov case and decide on the next steps, and it began with the elegant Oliver Anderson-Scott from the FO leading the way with a surprise announcement.
“We have been having some back-channel exchanges with our contacts at GRU and at the Russian Embassy, and it seems that our little plan may be working out,” he stated. “You may not have known that when we saw the chance to pick up this Aldanov chappie in Portsmouth last month, we had another agenda in mind regarding one of our attachés being held by the Ruskies in Moscow. We have kept this matter very low profile while we tried to find out more, and it appears that they were anxious to keep it quiet, too. His name is Charles Alexander, and they said he had been caught outside the Moscow city limits – as you know, our people have to get special permission to do that. They also claimed that he had been caught taking pictures of one of the latest antennas used by their air defences around the capital. Our fellows in the Moscow embassy have kept us in the picture, of course, but no-one is saying very much – he is under house arrest and has been interviewed several times by the GRU, but it does not seem to be going any further at present.
“So, at one of the meetings where we answered their regular questions about our intentions regarding Aldanov, our people found the right moment to drop the subject of Alexander’s detention into the discussion – and cautiously, they introduced the idea of a swap. The Russians would not commit themselves at first, as usual, but now we have good reason to believe that we could make it work. I suspect that they don’t want the story about their defence antennas to get any attention, and I think they are also nervous about Aldanov going on trial with some spicy evidence about his relationship with the girl – and maybe more. They don’t know what he might say. What has happened to her, by the way?”
Tom then explained that not only had the world’s press been eager to interview her but that a Russian couple had suddenly turned up in Portsmouth looking for her. They had been photographed by the local CID, and it had been possible to identify them as known GRU agents based at the Russian embassy in London. Also, the Russian embassy had sent someone to see the girl’s father and tried to put pressure on him. So it had been decided that Marina Peters should be kept out of sight for a while, and it had been arranged for her to travel to Florida with a new identity to spend a few weeks at the CIA Languages School to learn Russian.
Sir Oliver pondered this information for a minute or two and then delivered his decision.
“You know, I think we can do without a show trial as well. Let’s see if we can get this exchange plan under way, and then you can bring the girl back from the States because she will not be needed to give evidence. What do you all think?”
The lawyers and MI6 agents who had spent many hours preparing the case against Aldanov tried to conceal their disappointment, but they nodded their agreement, as did the others at the meeting. They then turned to the question of Victor Peters and the extent to which he might have been complicit in the affair by informing his Russian friends about his daughter’s work for the Navy. The representative from the Security Service said they had now been monitoring all of Victor Peters’ activities for several weeks and had researched his records and there were certainly suspicions about his relationships with Russian embassy staff. It was agreed that this close surveillance should be continued and reviewed again after the Aldanov matter had been concluded.
There was nothing else on the agenda, and before the meeting broke up, there was a final insistence from Anderson-Scott of the FO that nothing regarding the proposed spy exchange should be leaked until it could be officially announced by the Foreign Office – and that this would be after it had been successfully concluded.
The next morning, Tom received a call from his boss, directing him to call the CIA without delay to bring an end to Marina’s trip and for her to be available for a de-briefing on Monday. After his calls to Chuck and his chat with Marina, Tom set the wheels in motion and soon received a message from Florida with the return flight arrangements. He briefed his associate, Patricia, to meet the flight and to liaise with immigration so that she could pick up her contact at the aircraft door and escort her through the special security section in the VIP arrivals area so that there would be no confusion with her two identities. When a confidential message arrived confirming Marina’s arrival at Terminal 5 at 10 am on Saturday, Patricia replied to confirm that she would be there to welcome her back and take her to the Thameside apartment again for the weekend.
Everything went just
as planned. “Mary” was given a farewell party in the office before she was driven off to Orlando airport. She managed to get some sleep during the overnight flight back to London. As she left the plane, she was delighted to see the familiar face of Patricia waiting to welcome her and take her to a special lounge where they completed the formalities with an immigration official and reunited her with her luggage. Eventually, when she was able to relax in the back of the official car, heading into London on the M4, she asked Patricia the question that had been on her mind for the past two days: “So what happens next?”
Patricia could only reply, “There’s a lot going on, Marina, and Tom says he will brief us all at a meeting on Monday. I think you should be able to call your family and friends from the flat over the weekend and tell them what a lovely time you had in Canada. There’s been some more stuff in the press while you’ve been away, but mostly about your Dad and some more guesswork about what the Russian guy, Aldanov, had in mind. You are still the mystery lady in all this, and we want you to stay that way for another few days.”
Patricia and the driver took Marina and her luggage back to what was now the familiar 8th-floor flat. This time, Patricia was not staying there as well, and after just a few minutes of chatting, she prepared to leave, saying, “Just call me on my mobile if you need anything – but have a good rest, and I will come to collect you at about nine on Monday morning for the meeting with Tom at the office.”
Marina quickly asked whether she would be able to contact her parents and possibly go to Putney over the weekend to see them, perhaps for Sunday lunch? Patricia said she would check this out and let her know if this was a problem. Then she explained that the press and the Russian embassy had all been visiting her father, so she thought it might be better if she arranged to meet them somewhere else in London. This would enable one of their agents to keep an eye on her – “just in case you are recognised.”
The Russian Lieutenant Page 12