“Sir, I requested to update you in person.”
“And good that you did so. The less on paper, the better. This is”—and here the deputy head of the FSB gestured toward a slender man, dressed in a finely tailored gray suit, who was looking at him from the other side of the enormous desk—“the head of the SVR’s Tenth Directorate, the Black-Ops Directorate. We’re handling the investigation into the Katrina Geifman affair on their behalf, since the operation to which you’ve been partially exposed, Operation Cobra, is one of theirs.”
Demedev snapped to attention momentarily and nodded his head—in subordination mixed with a sense of pride and self-worth—in the direction of the high-ranking SVR officer. “Sit, please,” said the deputy head of the FSB. “We’re listening.”
“I’ve completed the interrogation of the traitor Katrina Geifman,” Demedev began after sitting down stiffly in his chair. “She told the young woman who visited her everything she knows about Cobra. The young woman, known to us as Ya’ara Stein, although that’s surely not her real name, probably works for the Israeli Mossad or Israeli Security Service. There’s been a leak concerning Operation Cobra and they’ve got wind of it, and they’re trying to learn more. Thanks to stringent adherence to procedures, Katrina Geifman knows very little about Cobra, almost nothing. But she knows he’s a top-level agent, and she knows that we’ve been investing extensive resources into the operation. Including the assignment of a deep undercover combatant to serve as Cobra’s handler. She didn’t tell the Israeli woman anything about the handler, apart from the fact that he had a Canadian passport in the name of Brian Cox. I don’t think she knew very much more than that about him. Trust me, sir, we questioned her in a manner that left nothing held back. But I am concerned about the things she said.”
“Tell me something, Demedev, did she not suspect that the young woman wasn’t Igor Abramovich’s daughter?”
“I think she wanted her to be his daughter, and that’s also why she didn’t confront her on the matter until the end. It was a chance for her to return to her past, to recall the wonderful romance she once had, a love affair that turned ever sweeter in her memory with the passing of time.”
“But she told her about Cobra. She didn’t have to say anything about him. He wasn’t a part of her story with that Abramovich man.”
“You’re right, sir. I’ve read her file and my guess is that this sudden reconnection with her past also reawakened her old anger about being forced, and quite rightly so, to immediately put an end to that outrageous love story, which was, in my opinion, a fantasy, for the most part. Seeing each other just once a year doesn’t make for a true love affair, does it? What did she have, after all? Love letters and a pile of lies. I’m no psychologist, but I can read people. She was overcome by anger, and she opened her heart and mouth to reveal the big secret to which she had the privilege of being party to the first stranger she saw—who just happened to be Galina, or someone who said she was Galina, it didn’t really matter to her.”
“Naturally, Demedev, you aren’t familiar with the particulars of Operation Cobra. After all these years, it remains a very important and highly classified operation. Don’t get me wrong. You’ve done an excellent job until this point, and now I’m asking you not to take any further action on the matter. If you come across any information you believe could be related to the affair, report directly to me. Only me.”
“Thank you, sir. I can’t even begin to describe the sense of satisfaction I get from playing a part, even marginally, in a special operation of this kind. Moments like these justify all the endless work we do. Suddenly we see how important it can be. What are we going to do about Katrina Geifman?”
“She’s no longer your concern, Demedev. I’m handling it personally. You did some fine and trustworthy work. The head of your department will be retiring in a few months, and I think I’ve found an excellent candidate to replace him. Take care of yourself and send my best wishes to”—and at that point the deputy head of the FSB glanced fleetingly at the piece of paper on the desk in front of him—“send my best wishes to Olga, your wife.”
“Pass on my best wishes, too,” the head of the SVR’s Tenth Directorate added dryly. “We appreciate the good work you’ve done.”
The deputy chief of the FSB asked to be put through to Colonel Semionov in Dimitrovgrad once Demedev had left the room. “Semionov,” he said, exacting a profoundly respectful response from the other end of the line, “put Katrina Geifman out of her misery. I believe that sadist Demedev worked her over good and proper. Oh, well, that’s the way things go sometimes in this line of work. We have no choice. Who’s going to do it for us? And report to me directly, Semionov. Your efforts don’t go unappreciated here in Moscow.”
42
SVR HEADQUARTERS, MOSCOW, MARCH 2013
Colonel Dmitry Malenkov, the director of the SVR’s Tactical Planning Division, which was responsible for the running of sensitive sources, and the head of the Tenth Directorate walked side by side down the long corridor leading to the bureau of the organization’s commander. An urgent discussion concerning Cobra, that’s all they were told in person by the commander’s secretary, who added that the meeting would appear in the computer logs as a consultation on “personnel matters.” They needed no further explanation. The code name Cobra didn’t appear in the organization’s computer systems. Their footsteps echoed off the sleek marble floor, and Dmitry Malenkov thought: They certainly know how to look after themselves here on the sixth floor. That’s for sure. They were ushered into the commander’s extensive office promptly and without delay, and that, too, from Dmitry’s limited experience at the lofty heights of the floor serving the organization’s top brass, wasn’t commonplace.
“I’ll get straight to it,” said the head of the SVR after the two had settled into their chairs on the other side of the huge, empty desk across from him. “Cobra may have been exposed, or the enemy may be on the verge of exposing him. We’re still trying to figure out how it happened, but the fact is that a woman, who probably works for the Israeli Security Service or the Mossad, paid a visit to Katrina Geifman, who once provided security for Cobra’s operational meetings. She wasn’t there by chance or for any other reason. She asked questions about Cobra and she got answers. I believe we’re seeing only the tip of the iceberg here. They’ve come across something, and there’s no reason to assume they have any intention of letting go. So several things. We’re going to conduct a comprehensive damage-control assessment. We have to bring his handler into the picture and get him to Europe as soon as possible. If Cobra has yet to be exposed, he needs to be warned and we need to weigh the option of extracting him from Israel. As part of our damage-control assessment we also have to consider the worst-case scenario: Cobra’s already been exposed and arrested, and he is now telling the Israelis everything he has done for us throughout all the years in our service. We have to assess whether Cobra’s exposure means the exposure of his handler, too. We need to come up with a contingency plan in anticipation of the possibility that Cobra is going to be exposed. There’s a good chance the Israelis will respond to Cobra’s exposure by expelling our people at the embassy there.” He broke off for a moment, a grave expression on his face. “Your thoughts?”
“We definitely have to assume that Cobra’s cover is about to be blown,” said Dmitry Malenkov. “Our primary concern has to be getting him out of Israel. If they haven’t exposed him just yet, the most important thing is to get him on the next flight out. I don’t have to tell you what will happen if he falls into the hands of their interrogators. Sooner or later he’ll come clean and tell them everything—how much damage he caused, the focus of his reports, the issues he didn’t touch. It would be best for all of us for him to vanish. As always, not knowing will be harder on them than knowing. They’ll have to assume the worst.