“I have never eaten in here,” Putin remarked, placing a linen napkin into his lap.
Gil did the same with his own napkin, noting a portrait of Joseph Stalin on the far wall and feeling the infamous dictator’s eyes boring into him.
“It seems to be a day of firsts, sir.”
“It does,” Putin said. “Vodka?”
Gil hated vodka. “Please. Thank you, sir.”
Putin signaled for the male waitron to pour Gil a drink and dipped his spoon into a bowl of borscht.
Gil did the same.
Putin looked up from his bowl and spoke directly to Gil in English: “Have you ever eaten borscht?” The soup was made from beets, potatoes, and cabbage.
“No, sir,” Gil said, wiping his chin with the napkin. “But it’s very good.”
They continued with small talk throughout the first course and most of the second, which consisted of meat and potatoes. Not until the third course — tea and cake — did Putin come around to the events of the past forty-eight hours.
Savcenko turned to Gil with a stern look and translated, “You are aware of the awkward position this rescue has put me in?”
Gil set down his cup of tea. “I am, sir.”
“Why do you think your superiors allowed you to leave Turkey with those women?” Putin’s eyes were once again cold and lifeless.
“May I speak freely, Mr. President?”
“Of course.”
“I think they let us take off because they knew I’d burn down half of Istanbul if that’s what it took to get those girls out.” Gil sipped his tea. “Now, that’s an exaggeration, of course, but Colonel Savcenko tells me the GRU has been following my career for the last year and a half. And if that’s true, sir, then they must have told you by now that I can be very determined when I want to be.”
Putin smiled. “It has been mentioned.”
“Well, with that being said, Mr. President, I’m guessing my superiors decided it was probably easier to let me have my way than to risk me making things worse.”
Putin sat back, attempting to read Gil’s demeanor. “You don’t think they allowed it in order to put me into an awkward position?”
Gil shrugged. “It’s possible, sir. Your government and mine have been at odds over Ukraine for some time now. But that’s politics, Mr. President. I don’t know much about it, and I’m very careful not to involve myself in it. I’m a Navy SEAL, sir. I go where I’m told and do what I’m told.” But even Gil was hard-pressed not to laugh. “Well, sir, that last part’s not entirely true, but I think you understand my point.”
Putin sat nodding, unable to entirely suppress his own smile, speaking directly in English once more. “Here in Russia, things would be very different for you.”
“I am entirely aware of that, Mr. President, and if my actions have put you in an awkward position, I hope you will accept my sincere apologies. I cannot, however, apologize for bringing those girls home. It was the right thing to do, sir, and I do not regret having done it.”
Putin raised his hand to the translator to silence him. He looked at Gil for a long a moment. “You are a man of principles.”
“I’m not sure if that’s it or not, sir. My father was a Green Beret during the Vietnam War. Toward the end of the war, he was sent on a mission north of the DMZ. He was forced to kill innocent women and children on that mission, and he never forgave himself for it. After the war, I watched him drink himself to death. I’m not a psychologist, sir, and I don’t spend too much time thinking about it, but I suppose it’s possible that I feel some inner need to make up for the people he killed.”
Putin added a shot of vodka to his tea and sat back in the chair. “Tell me about the pregnant woman you brought back from Iran.”
Gil stared at the table for a moment and then looked Putin in the eye. “Mr. President, I’ve come to respect you very much during our short time together, but you know that I can’t talk about Iran.”
“I suppose not,” Putin said with a sly smile. He fell silent, but after a pause, he spoke again in Russian. Savcenko translated for Gil. “You also rescued Warrant Officer Sandra Brux against orders, correct?”
Gil realized that Putin had been thoroughly briefed, and he understood there was no point to denying his actions in the Panjshir Valley. “I did, sir. Yes.”
Putin drank from his tea as Savcenko turned to Gil. “I’m curious how many more times you will need to disobey orders to pay for the sins of your father.”
Gil thought about that. “It’s a good question, sir. I don’t know the answer myself.”
“Would it surprise you to hear that Major Dragunov has accepted responsibility for bringing the girls home?”
“Not at all, sir.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’ve fought together, sir. He’s saved my life, and I’ve saved his. Combat forms a bond, Mr. President, and warriors like us — well, sir, we tend to take all that gung-ho shit seriously.”
Putin laughed, his eyes suddenly much less lifeless than they had been, but the moment of levity was short lived. “I wanted to talk with you to learn the mind of an American Special Forces operative. This is a rare opportunity for me.”
Gil smiled. “I understand, sir. May I ask a question of my own, sir?”
“You may, yes.”
“Will Major Dragunov be punished, sir?”
Putin didn’t answer for a long time. Finally, he said, “Sasha Kovalenko has been spotted in Belarus. By now, he’s making his way back to South Ossetia. Would you be interested in another opportunity to face him?”
Gil felt his blood begin to pump. “Very much so, Mr. President.”
“Major Dragunov will be pleased.” Putin took another drink of tea. “He would very much like the opportunity to redeem himself. But I will need for you to give me your word that you will not deviate from the mission this time.”
Gil held Putin’s gaze for a long moment, hoping that Pope would never get such a bright idea. “You have my word, Mr. President.”
“Very well,” Putin said. “Major Dragunov is preparing your weapons and equipment. Your plane leaves in an hour.”
“Excuse me, sir, but I was told that I’d be meeting with someone from my embassy this evening.”
“Well, you can if you like,” Putin replied, “but that will mean missing your chance to accompany Major Dragunov.”
Gil chuckled. “In that case, sir, will you give the American ambassador my regards?”
“I will do that,” Putin said with smile. He then addressed Gil in English: “Shall we drink to your mission, Master Chief?”
“Absolutely, Mr. President.”
They toasted the mission, and it was all Gil could do not to gag on the pint-size shot of vodka.
49
The Russian An-72 transport jet cruised along at three hundred miles per hour, not much more than three thousand feet off the deck.
Gil sat across from Dragunov dressed in Russian combat gear. “This is fucking insane.”
Dragunov smiled, drawing calmly from a cigarette. “Not as crazy as jumping out the back of a 727 over Iran.”
Gil smirked, shaking his head. “I don’t know where you people get your information.” He knew that Dragunov was referring to Operation Tiger Claw, the mission in which he had infiltrated Iranian airspace via a Turkish Airlines flight almost two years earlier.
“From a reliable source,” Dragunov assured him.
“Yeah? Maybe you’ll introduce me to that source sometime.”
“Maybe.” Dragunov’s gaze was confident, much more so than when they’d gotten off the helo back at the Kremlin. “Tell me about your meeting with Putin.”