Alexei Vysotsky was the closest thing to a father that Valentina had ever known. She wasn't sure how to describe her feelings for him. It was probably love, although Valentina wasn't certain what love actually was. Whatever it was, her feeling for Vysotsky was mixed with deep resentment and grudging admiration for the unrelenting discipline he had imposed upon her over the years.
Valentina was proud of her skills. She knew she was one of the stars in Vysotsky's elite group of high level agents. It was unusual for her to be asked to seduce someone and maintain a relationship with them. There were plenty of agents available for that, men and women both, depending on the sexual preference of the target. Her primary role was as an assassin. The fact that Vysotsky had assigned her to Gutenberg told her that sooner or later she'd be ordered to eliminate him.
She hoped it was sooner. Gutenberg was becoming tiresome. Besides, he was a lousy lover. Lucien, on the other hand, was probably quite adept in bed, but Valentina would sooner sleep with a snake than with him.
She rose and started back for her apartment at an easy walk. There was time to go home, shower and change before her meeting. As she walked she was aware of everything in her environment, her paranoia high. That man with an umbrella could as easily be her counterpart from an enemy agency. The woman with a baby carriage might have a gun under those blankets.
Even though Valentina knew that the man with the umbrella was probably anticipating a spring shower or that the baby carriage contained nothing more menacing than a sleeping infant, she remained alert. She was still alive because she never dropped her vigilance.
It was a condition of her occupation.
She passed a couple strolling with their two children. The woman was laughing. She looked happy. The man said something and smiled.
I wonder what it would be like to have a family.
CHAPTER 42
Selena sat in shock, staring at the file in her hands. Elizabeth waited, watching her.
After a long pause, Selena said, "You're sure this is authentic?"
"Yes," Elizabeth said.
"I have a sister who is a Russian agent, an assassin?"
"Half sister. Yes. She works for General Vysotsky."
Nick had enough sense to keep silent.
"I don't believe this. I can't believe it."
"I'm sorry, Selena," Elizabeth said. "I wish it weren't true."
"How could he? How could my father sleep with a Russian whore?"
"It's an old trick," Elizabeth said. "The KGB used sex to compromise a target all the time. Moscow Center was better than anyone at exploiting human weakness. It would have taken a saint to resist. Your father didn't know she was a Russian agent until it was too late. Remember, he was assigned to West Berlin. Every time he crossed into East Germany he risked his life. He would have been threatened with arrest and execution. It doesn't excuse him, but you can understand how much pressure he was under."
"You're right, it doesn't excuse him."
"If you read the file carefully, you'll see that there's no conclusion your father betrayed his country."
"What about the meetings with Russian agents? What about the bank accounts?"
"On the surface that looks bad," Elizabeth said. "But all of it could easily have been part of his assignment. Why would the Russians kill him if they thought he was giving them good intelligence? It's much more likely they discovered he was reporting back to Langley. There were people on the seventh floor who knew what was going on. One of them was Aldrich Ames. He sold out a lot of our agents before he was caught. Your father may have been one of them."
"Then why doesn't it say so in the file?" Selena asked.
"The file was closed in nineteen eighty-seven," Elizabeth said. "Ames was still there. He would have seen it as an opportunity to deflect suspicion away from him."
"We'll never know, will we?" Selena said. There was bitterness in her voice.
"I'd like to talk with Hood about this," Elizabeth said. "He was there at the same time as your father and Ames. He might know something that would cast a little more light."
"It would make a difference to know that he wasn't a traitor. Nothing will change the fact that he cheated on my mother."
"No."
"This woman, Valentina. Where is she now?"
This woman, not my sister, Elizabeth thought.
"I don't know. All we know is that she works under Vysotsky. Stephanie will try and find out more."
Selena stood and dropped the file on Harker's desk. She walked out. They heard the door to the downstairs level slam behind her.
"She's pissed," Nick said.
"Your powers of observation are astounding," Elizabeth said. "I never would have guessed."
"Why did you tell her about her sister?"
"I thought about it and I decided it's too important for Selena. Even if it wounds her to learn that her father was unfaithful, now she knows she has some family left in the world."
"A Russian assassin," Nick said.
"Yes, but still family. She deserved to know."
"I don't think Selena is looking forward to the family reunion."
"It's unlikely that they'll ever meet," Elizabeth said.
"You don't know Selena like I do, Director. Don't count on it," Nick said. He got up off the couch. "I'd better go see how she's doing."
He went down the spiral staircase to the lower level and heard pistol fire coming from the range. Selena stood at one of the stations, bent forward, pistol straight out in front of her, firing at a man sized target fifty feet away.
Ronnie had worked on her Sig 229 to lighten the trigger pull. He'd brought the pull down from four plus pounds to just a touch under three. It made rapid fire easier. Nick watched Selena empty a twelve round magazine in seconds. She wasn't trying for a perfect score, she was shooting for combat accuracy. All except one of the twelve rounds were somewhere in the silhouette's upper body. Most were clustered near the center of the chest.
The slide locked back on her pistol. Selena ejected the empty magazine and laid the gun down in front of her. She saw Nick and took off her shooting glasses and ear protectors.
"He's dead," Nick said. "Nice shooting."
"What am I going to do, Nick?"
"About what?"
"You know what. My father's bastard. My sister."
"I don't know if bastard is quite the right word," Nick said.
"Don't try to make me feel better with your bullshit humor."
"You're right, I'm sorry. It's an old habit when I'm not sure what to say."
"Then don't say anything."
Selena went over to a bench by the wall and sat down. Nick sat beside her.
She looked out the floor. "I thought I didn't have any family left after uncle William died. Now I find out I have a half sister who's a Russian assassin. How the hell do I deal with that?"
"I don't know. I guess it depends on what it means to you. Finding out that you have a sister."
"I want to hate her, but I can't. It's not her fault my father couldn't keep it in his pants."
"You heard what Harker said. Your father was only human. Everybody's got a weak spot and the KGB was really good at setting people up."
"He should have resisted."
"Yeah, but he didn't."
"I wonder if my mother knew that he had an affair."
"I doubt it," Nick said. "Your father was good at concealing what he did and who he was."
"She must've known he worked for the agency."
"She probably did but that would've been about all she knew. He wouldn't have talked about his work."
"What am I going to do?" Selena said again. "I want to know more about her but I can't very well call her up and introduce myself. It's not like she's working in a regular job somewhere."