by Mike Gomes
"Nikolai, let me try to explain to you something that I live my life by." Victor swirled the drink in his hand as he spoke to his old friend. "I don't believe in a God. I don't believe in an afterlife. What we have here on this planet today, is all that we have. Once a moment has passed, it is unchangeable. All those moments we had, the missions we worked together, we did moment by moment. That is how I live my life every day. It doesn't matter if I'm in the mission or home alone. Every moment that passes is gone, it has become dead and serves no purpose other than the reflection for future successes. Our friendship, our work relationship, sat in exactly the same realm. It reached a certain point where things had changed, and all those past experiences needed to be used to my advantage for my future plans and to fulfill what I wanted to do in the moment."
"But I screwed you over, didn't I?" Nikolai asked. "You had no idea, and didn't plan that I knew about the diamonds and the work that you were doing on the side during each of our little missions."
"I always saw you as a loyalist. A man not out for himself but for the greater good. I defended the KGB fiercely and loyally for a long time, only to have them pass me over for promotion and not treat me with the respect that I was deserving of," Victor said. "I've reached a point where I decided to take matters into my own hands, but then you, Nikolai, surprised me. I knew that you were not lying when you were tied up, when you told me that you would set up the system in order to release the information that was needed. Quite honestly, I was rather impressed."
"I knew you would be." Nikolai smirked. "I knew that you'd never think twice about giving me up or harming me in any way. I saw the change in you. I assumed that you would just drift away from the KGB and become a rogue agent for the highest bidder, but when I noticed that the reports didn't match the information we found on some of our missions, it all became much more cloudy. The bearer bonds from Turkey. The diamonds from the Ukraine. The cash out of England. None of them matched up to what was really there, and there were only two people that had access to that information. You and I. And I know I didn't take it."
"But you kept your mouth quiet. I knew that you would. A torn loyalty between the country you love and the man that had saved you so many times." Victor took another sip of his drink. "Your belief in human beings, Nikolai, that's one of your downfalls. You don't have the ability to separate and eliminate. You let people get too close to you."
"It never interfered with my work," Nikolai said abruptly. "You know that as well as I do. I held a hard line on everything that you that wavered. You made the change, not me."
"You may be right with that, Nikolai. And you may be right that I made all the mistakes that put myself in this position. I was probably too arrogant and too boastful about my own accomplishments. I probably got too angry and didn't calm my tongue when it needed to be."
"It was your downfall." Nikolai sighed. "But as for your trailing of me, I assume that you are now back in the good graces of the KGB."
"And you are the rogue agent. You know that they'll never believe you and the story you have to tell." Victor grinned to himself.
Nikolai knew the situation, there would be no return to the KGB for him now. He would be a rogue agent on the run for the rest of his life.
"Most people that break from the KGB and decide to go rogue are apprehended within a few months, Nikolai. What makes you think you can do any better with the vast network that you know we have worldwide?"
"Because I know that network better than anybody. I'm one of the people that helped develop it. I know every agent, in every location, worldwide," Nikolai admitted with confidence and authority. "I'm sure new ones will get placed out there quick enough, but to change out the entire system is a monumental task that could take years to complete. By that point I would be completely unrecognizable in every way, both physically and electronically."
"I wanted to compliment you on that actually," Victor mused. "I saw that you completely disappeared from the KGB computer. When I searched for you online, anything under your name and any aliases you had, they were all completely gone, not so much as even a birth record. I doubt you have the time to go around and physically collect them from the different locations around the world, but eliminating it online does just as well."
"And any family that I have is dead," Nikolai said coldly. "You can't get a hold of them and then manipulate them to get to me. I have no wife and children, no parents, no siblings. Nobody that I would forfeit my own life for."
"There is one person." Victor allowed the comment to hang in the air before saying one simple word. "Gabriella."
"A beautiful woman, yes, but one that I haven't seen in years. Any emotions that would've been there have long since faded," Nikolai said, trying to play off any feelings that he had for the woman.
"Wasn't she an agent?" Victor asked.
"No, she was a civilian. She should have been an agent. She had all the skills and abilities, but it wasn't anything that interested her in the slightest. She was an accountant," Nikolai confirmed.
"You've never been a very good liar, Nikolai. Not to me. She was an agent, it was plain to see. I also think of the times she may have been working you for information, that you were too head over heels in love to be able to see. But that love could be quite a downfall."
"Do what you will, Victor, it makes no difference to me. I have no affection for the woman. If you want to put her in a grave, then that’s up to you."
"I wonder if I was holding a gun to her head if you would feel the same? I wonder if you saw me torturing her if you would feel the same?" Victor asserted his authority in the situation from thousands of miles away. "You know that it is my thought, that the woman was the Mantis the people speak of."
"She was the Mantis?" Nikolai laughed. "The accountant?"
"Let's stop lying to each other!" Victor snapped. "She was not an accountant, she was an agent. We both know it, we both understand it."
"You can think whatever you like, but it doesn't make it true, Victor. Put a tail on her and watch her for a month if you want, and all you’ll see is a boring woman going to work and going home. By this point I'm sure she's probably married with a family."
"She would serve my needs if she is that as well. Your affections can't be stopped." Victor enjoyed taunting his old friend. "I believe you were spending time with her when we were in Poland. She had that Polish accent that seemed too good. Very clean, and very polished. Just as the Mantis had learned when she was with our training programs. The most famous agent, the benevolent wrote, she was just a little girl."
"From the stories I've heard, if she is the Mantis you'd be wise to stay away from her, Victor. She’s not exactly the person you want to be dealing with."
"It's the challenge of a lifetime." Victor smiled to himself and took another sip from his drink. "And if I take her and you down, they will have no choice but to move me into the highest levels of the KGB."
Chapter Seven
A text message flashed across the screen saying two words, South Africa. There was no mistaking the message had been sent by Nikolai who still had some access to tracking agents and where they were. His access to the system and any holes that he led into it would quickly be closed by the KGB after Victor had contacted them. It would also be unsafe for Nikolai to press his luck and risk getting traced back, no matter how good his covert skills were.
"Okay, South Africa. Here we go," Gabriella said to herself, maintaining her Spanish accent and staying in character. Letting her fingers dance across the keyboard, she accessed the local airlines. Hacking her way into the subsystem of the computer, she placed herself in a first-class ticket on a flight, leaving in two hours from Madrid to South Africa. As was always the case, a fake name and address were used on the ticket which came compliments of the airline without them ever knowing it.
"Shit!" Gabriella muttered, remembering her rifle in its case. The case was no different than a normal traveling bag, and it had gone through serious changes in order
to make it get through airport security. The only difficulty could come was if she was asked to open the bag and reveal what was inside. "This could be very bad."
Gathering her things, Gabriella made her way out of her hotel room and down to the rental car she had. Putting on a set of headphones with a microphone attached, she started the car and made her way out onto the street moving toward the airport as quickly as she could.
Placing her cell phone on the seat next to her, she hit the speed dial button, contacting her husband back in Chile.
"Hola," came Antonio’s familiar and soothing voice.
"Hello, handsome," Gabriella chirped, with a light and joyful tone for her husband. "I'm on the way to South Africa. I was wondering if you could make some contacts there for me so that I might have some tools for my job?"
"I do believe I still have a few friends over there that could help you out," Antonio confirmed. "South Africa is a place that’s good to have a lot of friends. Between the government and the crime, there is a lot that goes unaccounted for."
"As long as I can get the things that I need, I hope to be able to complete this mission quickly," Gabriella said. "At a minimum, I hope to be able to gather some information about the man that I'm looking for. I think that he'll be too smart to stay in one place for too long."
"I know that it's not okay to ask for details, but I do want to make sure you're okay on this mission alone, Gabriella. Another set of hands and eyes can always be a good thing. I'll be happy to meet you there."
"Absolutely not. You've got things to do there, and I have things to do here," Gabriella argued. "There's no need for the two things to meet. Besides, it's too much of a risk to have us both working the same job. We’ve gone over this a hundred times. That husband and wife joining forces crap only works in the movies." A barrel of laughter comes from the other end of the phone, lightning Gabriella's mood and letting her know that her husband was in agreement, even though he struggled with his instincts of wanting to care for his wife.
"Alright, have it your way,” Antonio agreed. "I'll make all the contacts that I need to, and you'll be ready to go once you get there. But we may still run into problems. What if this guy has moved? What if he's moved on from the location and off continent?"
"Hopefully wherever I can track him will be where I have contacts, and I won't have to involve you. It's my understanding that this target is known not to be taken lightly."
"Well neither are you," Antonio said sarcastically. "You know we both need to retire."
"I know, I know. With our little ranch at the edge of the mountains and living off the grid." Gabriella sighed. "We've been trying to do it for years, honey, and it's just really difficult."
"I got the new turbine," Antonio told her. "That moves us another big step closer. With the size of the blade on this thing, and the mechanism that runs down into the shaft, we should be able to power ourselves twenty-four hours a day with no problem, and also fill up a battery bank to store energy for up to seven days. That will make life a lot more comfortable here."
"That's fantastic. You're absolutely right, nights in the dark are not that much fun," Gabriella laughed.
"Until bedtime," Antonio said in a flirtatious tone.
"Is that all you boys think about?" Gabriella laughed again. "I meant that it was nice to not have to do dishes by candlelight, and now we may be able to actually have things that can function off of electricity. We’ve come a long way, honey, we just have a little further to go."
"I was thinking the same thing when I saw the turbine arrive.” Antonio smiled at his wife’s words. "This opens up everything to us. We can now use an electric pump to get water into the house for showers and all our other needs. The house will be lit, and we can even use rechargeable equipment for the jobs we need to do. The only thing that we have left to do, is put up our greenhouse so we can plant crops all year round. And with the aid of the electricity that we’ll have, we can set up heaters so that even in the dead of winter the greenhouse can be warm and growing whatever we need."
"The money I get from this job should be enough to cover the greenhouse," Gabriella said. "Do you really think that's the last thing?"
"Other than the incidentals. We’ll need to purchase some seeds to grow things, but after that we can use the seeds we get from the plants themselves. I might have to set up a hosing system to keep everything watered properly. I think if we have a small amount of money, that can help us for if we have something that can only be repaired outside of you and I, then we’re totally all set. We’ve reached a point where we have enough livestock to support us in the protein area. With our greenhouse we can have all these fruits and vegetables growing for us on a constant basis. We’ll have everything we need."
"It's been a long time coming." Gabriella smiled. "It's nice to finally see the finish line."
"Don't get distracted, honey," Antonio said in a stark and harsh tone. "Don't let your mind start drifting towards home. Stay on point with what's happening now. Complete the mission, and get back to me, then we can celebrate."
"I hear you loud and clear," Gabriella agreed using a militaristic tone to her voice. "When I'm back home we will celebrate in style."
Chapter Eight
Gabriella was still able to follow Victor’s trail, despite the man's best efforts to cover it up.
Concluding his phone call with Nikolai was all he needed to make a move to his next location. There was little sense in staying still when he knew that the software he was using to trace the call worked quicker when the person being traced was close by. Despite the fact that he knew Nikolai could bounce it off of several satellites in different servers across the world. The odds of him being local was slim.
Gabriella’s tracking of Victor was much easier. The man made no attempts to block his phone call, knowing that Nikolai would never have the courage to try to trace him. It left a long and accurate trail, in the electronic sense, right back to him. It was a fool’s journey to attempt to do it and Victor was sure that his old partner wouldn't make such a basic mistake.
Crunching the data that was in her hands through the use of her laptop, Gabriella scrolled through the different screens, discovering a posh hotel that sat at the center of Cape Town. The thriving capital city of South Africa was no stranger to tourists from all over the world, and a favorite place for Russians in general. Gabriella knew the large Russian man would fit in well with the other travelers in the Hotel Stenson.
So, Hotel Stenson was her next destination. She took a taxi service straight from the airport.
"I was wondering if you could direct me to a friend I have staying here in the hotel?" Gabriella asked, smiling gently at the man behind the counter in the hotel lobby. "I was supposed to meet him here, but I'm afraid my trip got delayed because of some issues I had at home."
Gabriella had dressed herself in business casual attire, her skirt dropped just below the knee, and her blouse open to the second button. Letting her hair drop back behind her shoulders reaching her shoulder blades, she smiled gently at the man as she placed her hands on the partition that separated the two.
"Yes... Excuse me," the man stammered, making eye contact with the woman whose eyes were inviting and friendly. "What did you say your friend’s name was?"
"Victor. Victor Grabowski," she replied. "Thank you for being so helpful to me. These business trips can be such trouble."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, it looks as though he's checked out," the young man said, looking down to his computer and typing quickly. He raised his eyes back up to look at the woman again and continued, "He left yesterday afternoon."
"Oh dear, I have no idea where he went," Gabriella said with a pout, attempting to play the weakened female as best she could. "Do you happen to have any information that would let me know where he went, so I can at least try to call in there? Was it another hotel or did he leave altogether?"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, I'm not allowed to give out any personal information like that." The yo
ung man looked disappointed at having to reject anything that the woman asked for. "It's hotel policy, there's really nothing that I can do about it."
"Please can you help me?" Gabriella softened her eyes and let her body sag in a relaxed state, showing the need for help from him. "I need a knight in shining armor. Well, not literally, but you know what I mean. I could use a guy that can really help me figure out what's going on with this situation."
"Ma'am, I really want to help you, but I'm not sure what I can do," the young man had desperation inching into his voice as he didn’t know how he could help the woman. "Maybe if you called him, he could give you some more information."
"This was supposed to be a surprise,” Gabriella said softly. "We work with in the same company, but haven't seen each other in years. We both got sent here on assignment and I thought we could meet up like old times. I'm just worried that he's gone too quick. We both travel a lot."
"Well, what I can tell you, is that he officially checked out last night just after six PM. He took all of his luggage with him. Other than that, I'm afraid to get too personal," the young man stammered again and tried to make eye contact with the beautiful woman in front of him.
"Could you please just make one exception?" Gabriella placed her hand across the partition, touching the top of the young man’s hand. His eyes rose up, finally making eye contact with the woman and drifted away into a fancy of being with her. "It's not like I'm some spy, it would make me so happy to see my old friend again.”
The young man let his eyes roam across the lobby of the hotel, looking for anyone that could dissuade him from breaking the hotel policy.
"He left a bag behind," the young man finally whispered. "He called and asked us to forward it to the international Airport, flight 135 heading into Brazil."
