The Russian Defector

by Ethan Jones

  The bald Russian cursed out loud. “We’re doomed either way…”

  Ava shot him an annoyed, angry look. “Then why don’t we just kill ourselves right now?” She groaned.

  “Just an expression…”

  “Not helpful, so keep it to yourself.”

  “Okay.” He sipped his coffee and said, “So, how do we attack?”

  Justin shrugged. “That’s all I’ve got, but let’s take the evening and the night to come up with a few scenarios. Brainstorm, and let me know. I have a few ideas that range from a mortar attack to a combination of sniper fire and RPGs.”

  “That would result in casualties and the potential destruction of the missile,” said the Russian who didn’t say much.

  “That’s why it’s my least preferred option. If I had it my way, we’ll slither in under the cover of darkness, twenty-four hours from now. At 3:30 a.m., when everyone is either sound asleep or close to it.”

  Ava finished her espresso. “We may be able to pull it off… That would be my choice as well.”

  Justin smiled at Ava, who returned the smile.

  He said, “That’s all I have for now. Why don’t we meet here tomorrow at 08:00 and go over specifics?”

  Ava nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

  The tattooed man and the close-mouthed Russian exchanged knowing looks that Justin couldn’t decipher. He thought about asking them about it, but he doubted he’d get a straight answer. So he feigned a smile and said, “Stay safe, everyone.”

  Ava was the first one to stand up. “See you tomorrow, Justin.”

  He thought he saw a hint of anticipation in her eyes, but his experience had taught him not to expect much from Russians, especially the ones he didn’t know at all, like Ava, a former SVR operative. He might like her, even admire her no-nonsense approach to the situation, and have to work together with her in the same operation.

  That didn’t mean he trusted her.

  As soon as the Russian team had climbed aboard their SUV, Carrie, who was observing them from the apartment window, turned to Justin and said, “So, which one of them is a traitor?”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  CIS Safehouse

  Three Kilometers West of Donetsk Airport

  Donetsk, Ukraine

  “What? A traitor?” Petro asked.

  Ihor nodded. “You didn’t see it? Their eyes said it all.”

  “I guess I missed it.”

  Justin said, “Right before they left Inkman flashed this subtle glance to Silentman, as if they knew about a secret.”

  Carrie said, “It was like a code.”

  Petro shrugged. “And why would they be so obvious if that’s their secret?”

  “For the same reason that we have aggressive surveillance,” Justin said.

  “So, they want us to know they have a secret?”

  “Yes, that they’re playing us, and we’ll never know the truth.”

  Petro shook his head. “Aren’t you being a bit paranoid?”

  “Of course, not,” Ihor said. “Haven’t you seen enough strange things to make you distrust your own skin?”

  Petro said nothing. He turned around and began to fill the espresso machine.

  “I’ll put my money on the silent guy.” Ihor stretched his leg. “There was something in his eyes. They had this cold glare, like he wasn’t here. He couldn’t care less about what was going on, because it didn’t affect him…”

  Justin nodded. “He gave me the same impression. What do you think, Carrie?”

  She shrugged and stood up. “The tattoo guy comes across as smooth, very smooth for a tough former Spetsnaz operative.”

  Petro said, “The British accent is confusing you.”

  “I don’t think so.” Carrie released her ponytail from the black band holding it, and shook it out to unscrunch it. She ran her fingers through her hair and let it flow down her shoulders. “I know what I saw. He might have fought with Ava, whoever this woman is, but that doesn’t mean he can’t betray us…”

  Petro said, “Maybe they’re fearless, just like us, at least me.” He turned around and gave them a serious look. “After doing this, fighting as a volunteer for my country for so many years, I’ve come so close to death that… you know, it doesn’t scare me anymore…” His voice had turned somber, yet firm and strong.

  Justin nodded. “I get it. I feel the same… sometimes. One day, we’ll run out of luck.”

  “Or we’ll just stop running,” Ihor said with a shrug.

  Carrie sighed. “You guys are depressing me.” She covered a yawn and stretched her arms and neck. “I should hit the sack.”

  Ihor stood up. “Petro, you coming?”

  “Sure.”

  He hoisted his AK over his shoulder, then gave Justin and Carrie a small nod. “Don’t go outside.”

  “We won’t, Dad,” Carrie said.

  Petro smiled at her. “Rebellious as always.” He shook his head.

  Ihor said, “We’ll come back in the morning. 6:00?”

  “Sounds good,” Justin said.

  “Bring breakfast,” Carrie said. “Something warm…”

  “Anything else, Princess?” Petro gave her an exaggerated, dramatic curtsy.

  “No, but I’ll call if something comes to mind.”

  Justin gave both Ukrainians a fist bump and locked the apartment door behind them.

  When he returned to the living room, Carrie had removed her gray sweater. “I’m going to take a shower. Wash off the grime. Maybe it will help me relax, sleep better.”

  Justin looked at her with hesitation in his eyes. “I was hoping I could talk to you about something…”

  “Sure, anything.” Carrie sat down. “What is it?”

  “You know my leg wound, the one I got in A-stan?”

  A frown began to spread across her face. “Is… is everything alright?”

  “Mostly. I’m having issues with my balance.”

  “What issues?”

  He told Carrie about the two episodes, the first one during the shooting at the Monaco Café, and the second one at the Canadian embassy. She listened carefully; concern clear in her saddened eyes. “What did Moretti say?”

  Justin didn’t reply immediately. “He… he doesn’t know.”

  “What? Justin…”

  “I tried to tell him. He said he’ll call back.”

  “This is…” She shook her head. “Do I need to explain to you how important this is?”

  He shrugged. “That’s not why I told you.”

  “Why did you?”

  “Because you need to know.”

  “But not do anything about it?”

  “I am. I told you the doctor doesn’t know the cause…”

  “But he’s not our agency’s doctor.” She shook her head. “When Moretti finds out…” Her voice trailed off. “I don’t want to even finish that thought.”

  “I told him I wanted to talk to him about my health. He shrugged me off.”

  Carrie cocked her head and gave him a you-know-better look. “C’mon, Justin. It’s not like you’ve caught a cold. This… I don’t know what to call it… this condition can get you killed.”

  Justin nodded slowly. “It can get us all killed…”

  She tried to smile. “I’m not worried too much about myself, but yes, you can’t, you shouldn’t be running in the field, if you can’t run in the field.”

  “I’ll talk to Moretti first thing after this is over.”

  Carrie nodded slowly. “You do that, and if you don’t, I will.”

  Justin frowned. “That won’t be necessary.”

  “Good. Anything else you want to tell me?”

  “No.”

  “How are things going with Karolin?”

  “Alright. She misses me.”

  “Do you miss her?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Does she know that?”

  “Of course she does.”

  Carrie smiled. “I remember you almost
never told me you missed me when I was gone.”

  They had dated for a while, years ago, and for a time, they thought they were soulmates. But work had gotten in the way. They had decided to break off their relationship amicably and remain good friends.

  Justin gave her a sheepish look. “I didn’t know any better. I’ve matured.”

  “Ha. When?”

  “You’re too funny.”

  Carrie stood up. “I’ll try not to use all the hot water.”

  “Use it all. I’ll shower tomorrow morning.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  Justin began to brew a fresh pot of coffee, then checked his emails. The Helsinki analyst team had sent him the much-anticipated report. He sat on the couch and began to sift through the videos, the transcripts, and the witnesses reports the team had meticulously gathered.

  The more he read, the more he began to doubt that Sokolov was a defector…

  Chapter Twenty-two

  CIS Safehouse

  Three Kilometers West of Donetsk Airport

  Donetsk, Ukraine

  “I just… I can’t believe everyone missed this,” Carrie said.

  Her hair was still wet, as she had just come out of the shower. She had put on a pair of stretch-fit blue jeans and a gray t-shirt with the word Army stamped on the front.

  “That’s because we weren’t looking there. I mean, Sokolov really pulled the wool over our eyes.”

  Carrie nodded. “He gave us enough to believe he was telling us the truth, the entire truth…”

  “Right, and like cops that stop looking once they’re convinced they have the perp, we stopped looking once we were convinced Sokolov was the real deal.”

  “ You didn’t.”

  Justin shrugged. “Little comfort. Too late.”

  Carrie shook her head and flicked some of her hair over her shoulder. “No, it’s not too late. We have the evidence.” She gestured at Justin’s Samsung S10 phone. “But why did it take so long to find this? I mean, you told the analyst team over twenty-four hours ago.”

  “The Russians knew we’d come for the security cameras of the shops near the embassy or along the route followed by the defector. So they either deleted or removed the recordings. Six stores noted break-ins, and only electronics were stolen or destroyed.”

  “But they missed one…”

  “Thankfully.” Justin tapped the screen. “I’m glad it was one of the best ones. Look at it again. There is this moment, right here.” He stopped the recording, then changed the video speed to slower. “Sokolov is facing the hunters. He runs toward their coupe, opening fire like a maniac. Two men inside the coupe do nothing. They both have pistols, but they don’t fire even a single round. Not only that, but they pull away from the intersection.”

  Carrie nodded.

  Justin said, “Then Sokolov turns left.” He returned the video to normal speed. “His back is turned toward the men in the coupe for three seconds. Three full seconds. You know how many rounds one can fire in that time?”

  “A whole mag.”

  “Right, but they don’t. If they truly wanted to stop Sokolov, kill him, this was their best opportunity. The perfect moment. But they wanted Sokolov to escape.”

  Carrie shifted on the couch and looked at Justin. “Why the smoke and mirrors? And Sokolov was wounded…”

  “To make his story solid, convincing. The defector cheated death in order to give us his secrets. He wouldn’t do all that if he were a double agent.”

  Carrie nodded slowly. “Makes sense.”

  Justin shook his head and clenched his jaws. “I should have seen this coming.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. How could you? Sokolov gave us the dissident, and the double agent, along with the intern. All accurate intel. And even in this case, about the missile, he’s not sending us on a wild goose chase. We know the missile is there—”

  “We suspect it’s there.”

  “Yes, but logically, the Russians gain nothing by luring a foreign op team here to discover nothing. That doesn’t match up.”

  “What do you think it is?”

  “I think this goes to their motive. The missile is here, I’m positive, but the Russians want us to see with our own eyes that they don’t have control over it. They’ve lost it, and they’re doing the impossible to retrieve it or destroy it.”

  Justin nodded. A dark thought crossed his mind, and a deep frown spread across his face, like gray clouds on a winter day. “So if the Ukrainian rebels use it, it’s all their fault. The Russians shouldn’t get the blame.”

  Carrie gave him a slow nod. “Exactly. But the truth is, the Russians never lost control of the missile.”

  “This is very clever, wickedly clever.”

  “But what is their larger plan?”

  Justin shrugged. “With Russians, it could be anything. Maybe they’ll use this as an excuse to move in and secure the entire eastern region. If Ukraine can’t control its territory and is allowing rebels to wreak havoc in such catastrophic proportions, then the Russians should swoop in and restore safety and order.”

  Carrie scoffed. “Order, right. What you’re saying follows logic, a twisted and dark, but coherent logic.”

  Justin sighed and glanced at the video. “How does this affect our plans?”

  “We knew the Russians couldn’t be trusted.” She gestured toward the phone. “This proves it beyond any doubt. Their team’s orders could be to stop us from interfering with their plans. At any cost.”

  “This could also mean whatever attack is in the works may happen very soon.”

  Carrie nodded and ran her fingers through her hair. “Yes, so we’ll be fighting against time, the Russians, and the rebels.”

  “What else can go wrong?”

  “Don’t say it. Murphy’s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will.”

  Justin shrugged. “Let’s rethink our plan, and cut down our reliance on the Russians as much as we can.”

  “Can’t we do this without them?”

  “We can, but that would create more problems.”

  “We can mislead them, like they’re misleading us…”

  Justin nodded. “That’s an idea. Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Let’s explore that further.”

  Carrie stifled a yawn. “Can I get an hour or two of sleep before? I’m not fully functional now, not when it comes to plotting to outsmart the Russians.”

  “Sure. Go ahead. I’ll take the first guard shift.”

  “Do you think the Russians would try something?”

  “I doubt it. I don’t see how they’ll benefit by killing or wounding us. Their mission is accomplished if ours fails. But then, you never know.”

  “Well, it’s our standard practice anyway.”

  “You may never know when the enemy will be blowing up your door, but the worst thing you can do is be found sound asleep.”

  “Can’t agree more.” Carrie covered another yawn and stood up.

  “Sleep well.”

  “I hope so. If I’m not up in two hours, which I should, wake me up.”

  “Let’s say three hours.”

  “Why not?”

  She headed out of the living room, and Justin moved to the small kitchen table. He spread out the reports, documents, and other paperwork the team had collected and began sifting through them. He started to make notes on a couple of blank sheets of paper. A plan slowly began to crystallize in his mind, and soon, he lost track of time.

  It was not until an hour and a half later that his phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen. Unknown caller. Who is this? He hesitated for a moment, then said, “Yes, who is this?”

  “Justin, this is Ava.” Her voice was low and distant.

  “Ava, how did you get this number?” His voice conveyed more irritation than surprise.

  “Justin, I’m Russian. We have ways to find things…”

  “Uh-huh, so, why did you call?”

  “I need to see you. It’s urgent.”

>   “How urgent?”

  “Right away.”

  Justin frowned. He looked at his wristwatch. One thirty in the morning. “Can this wait?”

  “No, can you come?”

  “Eh, I guess, I just need to get Carrie—”

  “No, come alone.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to talk to you, alone.”

  Justin frowned. He didn’t like the call, or meeting Ava, and now she wanted to meet with him alone. What kind of trap is she laying?

  Ava waited a long moment, then, when Justin didn’t reply, said, “Justin, it’s not an ambush. I just need to talk to you, in private. I’m coming alone too…”

  “Why?”

  “It’s… let’s just talk about it, shall we?”

  Justin pondered her strange request. He didn’t have to go, but he also couldn’t just shrug her off. What if she had sensitive intelligence about their operation or the Canadian team? He nodded and said, “Where?”

  “I just sent you the meeting location.”

  “Okay.”

  “See you there in ten.”

  He glanced at the phone and saw the text message from Ava with the meeting’s coordinates. Then he looked up, because he heard footsteps. Carrie went to the washroom.

  Justin wondered about the reason Ava called him. He was still deep in his thoughts when Carrie came into the living room. “Your turn to get some shut-eye…” Her voice trailed off, and she yawned.

  Justin grinned. “It looks like you can use some more sleep.”

  “No, I’m good. Who were you talking to?”

  “Did that wake you up?”

  “I was already awake. Is there any coffee?”

  “No, sorry.”

  Carrie walked to the kitchen and filled the coffeemaker’s pot with cold water.

  Justin stood up. “Ava called. She wants to see me immediately.”

  “Why, and why now?”

  “She didn’t say. Something that can’t wait…”

  “I just need two minutes.”

  “She wants me to go alone.”

  “Why alone?”

  “She didn’t say. I asked.”

  Carrie frowned. “I don’t like this, Justin.”

  “Neither do I, but I’ve got to see what she wants.”