“I get the sense that you have a personal stake in this,” Sanderson said.
“The United States owes him everything. I can’t leave him hanging like this,” Berg said.
“Tell me why the CIA can’t yank her off the streets?”
“Tensions are high right now. The Russians grabbed a high-level CIA officer from our embassy in Stockholm. We can’t afford an escalation, and the director will not authorize the use of Special Activities Division assets on Russian soil,” Berg said.
“Have you asked the director?”
“I don’t need to ask him. They will not authorize the kidnapping of a Russian citizen.”
“What about the other option?”
Karl Berg’s silence answered the question.
“The CIA would be willing to kill her to protect this secret?” Sanderson said.
“I can’t really speak for what the CIA might do. I only learned about this problem a few minutes ago. I do know that a street killing would be a hell of a lot simpler than kidnapping someone under active surveillance. I called you first because your operatives have proven to be extremely effective with this type of operation…and because I’m fairly confident that the CIA will scrap the raid on Vektor if I present these new facts. We can’t let that happen. The Iranians have infiltrated the program, and it’s only a matter of time before something worse than the Zulu virus finds its way into their hands.”
“My operatives will not assassinate a noncombatant. If she can’t be taken alive, I suggest you start working on your travel plans to Moscow. What kind of surveillance are we talking about?” Sanderson asked.
“Most likely on the lower end of the spectrum. They’ve made themselves fairly obvious, which doesn’t require a great deal of skill. Plus, they’re probably doing the same thing to at least a dozen other suspects.”
“I’m going to burn two operatives with this,” Sanderson said.
“I’ve faced the same decision point before, so I know it sucks. All the time and investment wasted on something seemingly insignificant. I’m intimately familiar with the feeling,” Berg said.
“I trust your assessment of the situation. If anything, you’ve demonstrated an uncanny talent for predicting the future. I’ll make the arrangements. Barring unforeseen circumstances, I can have two operatives in place by noon tomorrow. I’ll need specific information about the target and limited logistical support from your agency. Be prepared for a handoff. Snatching her off the street is my problem. Getting her out of Russia is yours.”
“Perfect. I’ll start working on my end immediately. My contact will be able to provide most of the information you’ll need to locate and identify the target. I’ll pass this on immediately. Have you heard from Petrovich yet? We had an interesting meeting with Dr. Evil.”
“He’s scheduled for a videoconference tomorrow morning. I’ll have the entire team assembled, to include the young woman from Langley. I plan to recruit her, by the way. I’m not sure where you find these femme fatales, but I’d like a tour of the factory. With a little additional training, she could give Jessica Petrovich a run for her money. She’s already broken one nose. The second batch of ‘Russians’ is a little rowdier than the first. It was well deserved,” Sanderson said.
“Sounds like they would fit in perfectly on the Moscow subway,” Berg said, obviously ducking the rest of Sanderson’s comments.
Sanderson had lost both of the program’s women during the domestic operation to stop True America, and saw little chance that either would ever return. Dhiya Castillo survived her gunshot wounds, but permanently lost the full use of her primary shooting hand. Beyond that, the full impact of her injuries couldn’t be determined without extensive physical therapy. For all practical purposes, she was done with the program. This left Jessica, who may or may not continue to serve the program in a limited capacity. He suspected that Daniel and Jessica wouldn’t be able to stay away from the action for long, but he wasn’t about to push them for an answer. He was satisfied just knowing that they hadn’t officially told him to “fuck off.” Yet.
“Let’s hope they don’t have to ride the subway to escape. I assume these mafiya contacts will be able to provide something more substantial than Metro tickets?”
“Petrovich already shared that gem?” Berg asked.
“He felt we would need to have an in-depth discussion about this prior to his teleconference. I’m not sure how I feel about it,” Sanderson said.
“Neither am I, frankly,” Berg said. “Daniel’s biggest concern was the exfil. Your boy isn’t that talkative, but we came to the same conclusion during the drive back to Burlington. The safest way to the Kazakh border will likely involve the use of a boat and several pre-staged vehicles. Reznikov also made a good point about Novosibirsk. We’re dealing with a unique part of the country. Novosibirsk is the third largest city in Russia, but it doesn’t resemble Moscow or any of the western cities. The language, customs…everything is a little different. The less contact your crew has with local vendors the better. Putin’s reforms may be mostly lip service, but my Russian area analysts say that the areas beyond Moscow’s grasp don’t even bother to read his lips. We can’t afford to attract the wrong kind of attention. Nobody questions the mafiya, inside or outside of the major cities. I’ve received approval from my director to offer up to ten million dollars in exchange for their cooperation and support.”
“That’s a hefty price tag. I assume you’ll start negotiations lower?”
“Of course,” Berg said. “I fully expect to be blackmailed at the last moment.”
“What if they insist on ten?” Sanderson asked, now knowing exactly why Berg had broached the topic of money.
“Well,” Berg admitted, “I was hoping that you might be willing to cover any expenses exceeding my budget.”
Sanderson shook his head and laughed. “Let me get this straight. Not only am I providing you with the car for your road trip, but now I’m expected to pitch in for gas money?”
“What can I say? There’s only so much money in the covert foreign invasion budget.”
“And it’s only May.” Sanderson sighed.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky, and they only ask for five million.”
“Don’t count on it. Make sure to pass me any bank routing information they provide. I can cover the shortfall.”
“One of these days, you and I will sit down and share that drink. I owe you more than one at this point,” Berg said.
“I suspect you’ll owe me the entire distillery before this is over, Karl. Call me when an agreement is reached with the Russians. We’ll start the planning phase tomorrow based on Daniel’s input.”
“Sounds good. Reznikov will place a call to his bratva contact tomorrow. I will monitor this call and take over if they are interested. At that point, Reznikov’s involvement will be limited to two additional calls to verify that we’re cooperating with the mafiya.”
“That’s an odd arrangement. How are you routing the call?”
“Satellite. I had the same thought at first, but Reznikov didn’t balk at the use of satcom for the checkins. He’s worried that I’ll revoke his deal if the team doesn’t make it back in one piece. He claims to be withholding a piece of mission-critical information that won’t be revealed until his last call is completed,” Berg said.
“Has it crossed his mind that you’ll just blow his brains out regardless of what happens?”
Berg hesitated with his answer, which confirmed his other suspicion. “He’s trying to exert some control over the end result. Ease of mind, I guess.”