“General?”
“Yes?”
“We are in a hurry.” Andrey turned toward the voice as the man sat down beside him. ”General, we’ve come up with a way to help you out of this predicament.”
“How did you get my phone number?”
“You used your phone inside the White House. It wasn’t really that difficult.” The Director leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and locking his gloved hands together.
“What do you propose, Mr. Thorn?”
“There is a ballet troupe that has been touring here for a month. They were to return to your country this morning, but five members, how shall we say, missed the flight.”
“And you want me to do what?”
“Give them a ride back to Russia. That is all.” Thorn leaned back against the back of the bench and rested his hands on his lap. The light breeze had ceased and their breath hung in the air like the mists above a waterfall.
“And what will these ‘ballet dancers’ do when they get back home?” Andrey asked.
“If you can get them on your plane leaving tomorrow morning, they will take care of your problem, General.”
“So, five American soldiers are just going to board my plane with me? No questions asked?”
“I hope you give us a little more credit than that, General.” Thorn hesitated before continuing. “Sir, we have a vested interest in your situation. It’s been a long time since serious tensions between our two countries boiled over into the world at large. I’d like to keep it that way.”
“Is it not uncommon for the director to personally get involved in such a situation?”
“To be honest, this is not a normal situation, and you are not just an ordinary dignitary.”
“And if this was Venezuela?”
“As I said, General. You are not an ordinary dignitary. It things go awry, the buck stops here.”
“And not above you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir,” Thorn replied.
“You want me to what?” The President of the United States abruptly stood from behind his desk in his secondary office. Not all meetings were held in the famous Oval Office. In fact, few actually were. “I can’t sanction kidnapping on top of whatever else you’re planning. This is getting out of hand.”
“Mr. President, we aren’t going to kidnap anyone, but I can tell you, this isn’t going to be easy.” Martin looked over to Stephen Thorn before looking back. “We’re just going to briefly detain a few people.”
“I understand that, Martin. But sneaking a hit team into Russia is, well hell, I don’t know what the hell that is. How are you planning to do that anyway?”
“Sir, I think those details are just more than you really want to know.”
“So you want me to just approve the operation without actually knowing what’s going on?”
“Something like that, sir.”
“That’s a hard pill for me to swallow, Stephen.” POTUS sat back down into his chair and bowed his head. The room was silent for a few moments before he looked up. “We’re trying to prevent a war here. There is nothing I want less than an armed confrontation with the Russians. And that’s what we’re potentially setting ourselves up for.”
“If this succeeds sir,” Martin replied, “we’ll be avoiding a larger conflict, one that could involve not only us but NATO as well.”
“NATO?”
“Yes, Mr. President. If Russia begins to arm, that stirs the pot. Then, so does NATO.”
“And the cycle of East versus West begins again,” POTUS sighed.
“But there are new pieces in play. This isn’t the 1970’s any longer. There are new insurgents on the RISK board.”
“The Chinese?”
“I think he’s referring to the Middle East, Martin,” POTUS said. “That could give any terrorist group or their parent states unfettered opportunities to take liberties against us or our allies.”
“And not Russia?”
“Possibly. But there has been little interest in insurgency in that part of the globe for many years,” Stephen answered. “Not since we had an agent deep inside the Soviet Union.”
“Deep?” POTUS asked. “How deep?”
“About as deep as can be, Mr. President.”
“Chief of staff deep?”
“Uh, something like that, sir.”
“It would be nice to have that again, wouldn’t it?”
“Sir?”
“Stephen, just how sure are we of this story we’ve been fed? I mean, what is the risk if this is all just a big hoax? What happens if this is just a whopping, monster of a lie?”
The Director laid his arms across his chest and dipped his head. It was something he had not considered. Things were happening so fast. Too fast. Even in the intelligence game, things needed to be verified. Nothing went unchecked. Nothing. The intelligence services could not afford to cowboy their way through missions. That was television. That happened in the movies. Not in real life. He lifted his head as POTUS’s voice caught his ear.
“How do we verify this?”
“I don’t know that we can, sir.”
“It’s a hell of a pickle we’re about to put ourselves in.”
“About?” POTUS looked to his chief of staff. “Martin, this isn’t your decision.”
“I believe him sir.”
“Is that enough? Do we gamble war on the solitary word of our one-time opponent?”
“There is no rationale otherwise. If this were truly a movement by the Russian government, he would be standing behind it. He would be flying the colors in support. It is protection of sovereignty, the rise of nationalism throughout his country. Even President Novichkov would be pumping his chest over Russia flexing its muscles in the world again. None of that is happening.”
“That’s a thin line to go on, Martin.”
“Yes sir.”
President Kiger leaned back and stared at his subordinates. These were two of the most powerful men in the world and they worked for him. They were learned, not only from years of study, but from life. Life in the real world where events cast massive shadows over everything they touched. These were the men who worked through them, and worked through them with integrity. He needed to trust them when he didn’t have all the facts himself. It’s what presidents did since the beginning of the republic. The president’s chief of staff and the Director of the CIA were out the door seconds later.
“It is a highly unusual request, Andrey.”
“I understand, Mr. President, but they are in need of our help. They do not wish to stay in America.”
“Are there no other arrangements they can make?”
“They were delayed and could not make their flight. Their company does not have the money to pay for their return.”
President Novichkov remained seated in a large armchair before a roaring fire. He had begun to realize that cold was cold, no matter if it was in Russia, or elsewhere. Washington DC was as cold as anywhere. The warmth of the fire felt good against his bones. He waved his chief of staff down into the leather chair beside him.
“There are only five of them. We can make sure they stay toward the back of the cabin.”
“How did they come to ask this of you? It is quite the request.”
“They contacted the consulate and the request was passed on to me.” Andrey crossed his legs as he stared into the fire. “Who knows how long they would have to wait otherwise?”
“Very well. Tell them they may join us.” President Novichkov rose, sliding his hands into his pockets. “You are getting soft in your old age, Andrey,” he smiled. “I wouldn’t have thought it of you.”