"We are in Minsk now. We got a hold of records from a shipyard, we are trying to track that suitcase" explained Matt.
"Great work boy, you were born for this work. I also have some news. It is sensitive, but it can’t wait for a secure line. NK is involved." This was of course code for North Korea, and Matt immediately made the connection.
"In what way?" asked Matt.
"We think the case is on board a boat or ship headed for N.K. Seems to tie in with your information as well. Keep digging there and see if you can identify the vessel. In the meantime, we are working satellite images to see if we can find a needle in a haystack." Bill was not hopeful the images would help, but it was worth a try.
"Ok Bill, I will stay in touch" and Matt broke the connection.
Chapter 75
Matt and Natasha were convinced that they had finally unearthed a lead to follow. On their return to the hotel, Matt established a secure connection on his computer and sent a chat request to Bill Simpson.
Matt: Bill, are you on-line?
Fifteen seconds later came the reply
Bilclass="underline" You bet any news?
Matt: Yep, we traced the records back to a small sailing boat that was launched a couple of weeks ago. The builder and his mysterious helper have vanished.
Bilclass="underline" What else?
Matt: One of the other workers in the yard remembered the other guy, thought he was from the Middle East. Both have vanished without trace. The boat is nowhere to be found.
Bilclass="underline" I will bet you a beer that the boat is on it’s way to North Korea. I think it’s time for you to get back here to Langley.
Matt: I was thinking of getting my ass to Saudi Arabia and checking out the Caliph hotel. If I can find the source of the money, I may be able to track it back to a person. How about I take Natasha with me to work on this, she is really good?
Bilclass="underline" Good idea, but I will have to check with Oleg. Come home for a briefing first. Then you can hit Arabia. I am sure the Russians will be working on this. They will have their own people on it anyway. We may as well work together. I will clear it with the boss, but I don’t see any problem this end. Do you think she will go for it?
Matt: I think I can convince her with my good old American charm and wit.
Bilclass="underline" Puke! Don’t worry about the 4pm check in. It’s only an hour away.
Matt: Thanks Bill, cya.
Chapter 76
Natasha had managed to organize a military shuttle for them from Minsk to Moscow. Matt’s rear end was still sore from the hard webbing seats on the ageing Russian copy of the C-130. That old plane was so noisy that ear plugs were given out and conversation was impossible. So he had a lot of time to think.
"What is the security like here leaving Russia" asked Matt as they were walking from the military section of the airport to the civilian check-in.
"I don’t think it is as bad as your country, but they can be quite thorough. You might even get frisked by a Russian girl if you are lucky."
"I think I got that last night" said Matt with a wink "What do we do with our weapons?"
"I will leave the guns in a locker here at the airport. My knife travels with me always. It is invisible to X-ray and metal detectors."
"Where are you going to hide it?" asked Matt.
"It fits into a little flap underneath my handbag. I can get it out almost instantly. It has gotten me out of a couple of nasty situations. It’s almost invisible, we will have no problem."
Checking in was simple once Natasha showed her identification. After they had dropped their bags and proceeded to immigration, they were herded through barriers until they came to the security screening point. The metal detectors were pretty standard, but Natasha was right, there was a physical frisk search as well.
There were two mats. Passengers stood on the mats two at a time to get groped. There was one male and one female officer conducting the searches.
Matt thought it would be fun to stand on the female mat. The frisker was quite cute thought Matt, who realized that working in such close proximity to Natasha was turning him into a horny teenager.
However this turned out to be a big mistake. The friskers just glanced at each other and changed mats. This had obviously been done before. Matt got a really thorough job from the big Russian guy.
"That went well" whispered Natasha with a grin after they were past the barrier.
There was a special lounge for Russian military and it was quite beautiful. Matt went exploring. He came back carrying two bottles of Budweiser.
"Hey Natasha, try this" said Matt as he passed over a bottle of Budweiser "you need to learn to drink this if you are really going to pretend you are American."
"I will try" suggested Natasha as she grabbed it and drank down the whole bottle in just a couple of gulps. She followed this by a silent belch "how did I do?"
"Ok, I promise not to ever pre-judge you again. Did they teach you at the University of Moscow as well?"
"Of course. You have to remember that we have been training Russians to appear American since the cold war began. Some of our sleeper agents have been in your country for more than 30 years. The training is very thorough."
"I believe you!"
Chapter 77
Now that they were safely aboard an American plane, they were much more comfortable than on the Russian transport.
"Natasha, have you ever been to the U.S. before?" asked Matt.
"Matt, before graduation I needed to pass a test, so yes, but I can’t tell you more."
"I understand, how long is your visa for this trip?" whispered Matt.
"My father has managed to get me transferred permanently to the Russian Federation Embassy in Washington. I have a diplomatic passport and don’t need a visa."
Matt’s jaw dropped but no sound came out.
Chapter 78
Matt did the introductions "Bill Simpson, this is Natasha Karpov of the Russian Federation."
"Welcome to Washington Miss Karpov. I am delighted for you that you do not look too much like my old friend your father!" Joked the intelligence chief.
"Thank you Mister Simpson, my father told me you were one of the good guys!" returned Natasha.
She passed Bill a bottle of malt scotch that she had purchased duty free on the aircraft "Compliments of my father."
"Have a seat team" said Bill. "Great work in Russia, it seems one of the weapons is on that boat headed for North Korea. We have verified from another source a plot by Al Qaeda teeming up with North Korea to detonate a device against us. You need to find it first.
Of course we believe one of the cases sent to the Caliph Hotel in Saudi Arabia disguised as caviar ended up in that Cessna we splashed in the Gulf. Your other mission if you choose to accept it (and of course you will) is to find that one as well!" laughed Bill.
Bill passed across a new ID badge across to Natasha, it identified her as a CIA Contractor "Welcome to the CIA, you are the first Russian ever to do a tour of duty here" said Bill as he shook Natasha’s hand.
"Matt, make her feel at home here" he said with a wink unseen by Natasha.
"Do you have a spare room for Natasha or do you want me to organize a hotel?" asked Bill.
"Travel would be easier if we share and I have a nice spare room she is welcome to" said Matt, "also we can do quite a bit of research from there anyway, I have a desktop computer Natasha can use and I can use my laptop. My internet connection is cable, so we have plenty of bandwidth."