by Alex Lukeman
"Like my mother? Like you?"
"Yes. Like her and like me. It is not an easy thing to do, Valentina. You will have to work very hard. Can you do that?"
Valentina had nodded her head. "Yes, I can."
It had been a persuasive story, truth mixed with lies, a story that had shaped her life and placed her by this window.
A noise on the street outside brought her back to her hotel room and the cold metal of the rifle resting on her lap. She looked at her watch, shocked by how much time had passed. It was almost time for Todorovski to appear.
She set the rifle down on the table. She got up and moved the curtains with slow and calculated motion, first one and then the other, fixing them open just enough to create a tiny gap and a clear shot at the balcony across the way. The interior of the room was dark. The rifle barrel would not protrude out of the window where it might be seen. The advanced suppressor on the muzzle would reduce the sound of the report by half. Most of the rest would be lost inside the room. By the time anyone figured out where the shot had come from, she would be gone and out of the hotel.
Valentina sat back down in the chair. She set the rifle on its bipod and looked through the scope at the balcony. She nestled the butt firmly against her shoulder. She set her left elbow on the table and grasped the stock under the barrel with her left hand. She placed her right hand on the grip and laid her finger alongside the receiver. She wriggled in the chair until the stance was steady. The balcony filled the scope. The light breeze was not a factor, not at this distance.
One of Todorovski's men came out onto the balcony and looked down at the crowd below. They cheered his appearance and he waved. She used him as a reference for the shot and made a slight adjustment. Through the scope she saw him looking at her building. His eyes passed by her window without stopping. He seemed to be satisfied with what he'd seen because he called something into the room behind him.
Jerzi Todorovski stepped out onto the balcony. He was bareheaded in the cold.
The crowd screamed its approval.
Jerzi! Jerzi! Jerzi!
Valentina let out half a breath and placed her finger on the trigger. The rifle steadied, unmoving. She centered the reticle on Todorovski's forehead and gently squeezed. The rifle kicked back against her shoulder. The sound inside the closed room was loud, even muffled by the suppressor. Todorovski's head exploded in a spray of blood and bone.
Valentina didn't bother watching the body fall, she knew he was dead. She stood and had the rifle disassembled in seconds. She'd practiced the sequence hundreds of times and could do it blindfolded, in the dark. The separate pieces went back into the foam bedding in the flower box. She slipped the ribbon and bow back over the box. Less than a minute had passed since she'd fired.
Valentina heard screams and shouts outside. She put on her coat and her round fur hat and put the box under her arm and left the room. The door locked automatically behind her. She'd already planned her escape route. She made her way to the fire stair at the end of the hall and hurried down four flights to the bottom floor. Valentina opened the door into a service hall. No one was there.
She followed the hallway back to the rear of the hotel. If anyone saw her they would assume she was making a delivery. If anyone tried to stop her she was prepared to kill them. She only needed one hand to do that. But as she'd suspected, there was no one about. They had all gone to the front of the hotel or had joined the crowd to hear Todorovski speak.
She reached the last door and stepped out into the alley behind the hotel and walked away into the cold morning.
CHAPTER 19
Nick and his companions left the bodies of Viktor and the others in the isolated clearing and drove back to the abandoned church where Josef's men had stopped them. Their rented car was parked behind the church, out of sight from the road. They changed cars, headed back to Debar and checked out. They drove through the night back to the Macedonian capital and checked into the same hotel they'd stayed in before.
When they got to Skopje Nick called Elizabeth and relayed everything that had happened. He told her what Josef had said about the Russians. Then he lay down next to Selena, dog tired. She was already asleep. He didn't bother to take off his clothes. He'd been out for about three hours when his phone woke him with a call from Virginia.
He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, Director."
"Wake up, Nick. Things have changed since I talked to you."
"Give me a minute."
"Make it quick."
Nick got up and went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. Some of the mind fog cleared. He picked up the phone, walked to the window and looked out at Alexander Square. It had been mostly deserted since the bomb had gone off in the stage area. Now people streamed in from every direction. Something had happened.
"Okay, I'm awake. Sort of."
"Somebody assassinated Jerzi Todorovski two hours ago."
"That's not good."
"That might be the understatement of the year," Elizabeth said. "Mitreski issued a statement expressing, and I quote, 'deep sadness over the brutal murder of a true Macedonian patriot' unquote. He went on to say that the assassin was an Albanian, part of the Albanian National Front. He said a note was received claiming responsibility. A lot of Macedonians will believe him."
"Is it true?"
"Nobody knows. The ANF is a real group and people know about it. They've been a thorn in the side of Macedonia for years. They want to reunite Macedonia with Albania. It won't be a good time to be an Albanian in Macedonia."
"Seems pretty convenient," Nick said.
"Isn't it, though? The ANF is a small fringe group. It seems suspicious to me that they could organize something like this. Whoever took the shot was a professional. One shot from the hotel across the way and nobody saw anyone or anything suspicious. No one even heard the shot. The bullet blew Todorovski's head off."
"They probably used a scope and a suppressor. Any comment from the Albanians yet?"
"Tirana denies Albanian involvement. They say Mitreski is using the assassination as an excuse to divert attention from his corrupt policies and escalate the possibility of war."
"What do you think is happening?"
"I think Mitreski could be behind it and that the Albanians are right. Whether he is or not, it means trouble."
"From where I'm standing I can see Alexander Square," Nick said. "A lot of people are showing up. It's a natural gathering spot."
"There are calls for revolution," Elizabeth said. "If enough people think Mitreski is responsible for Todorovski's death he's living on borrowed time. The problem is that this isn't just about Macedonia or Mitreski. Albania is part of NATO. If Mitreski sends troops into Albania NATO will have to get involved."
"Do you think he's going to cross the border?"
"I think it's likely. He has to do something to keep himself in power. People will rally to the flag if they think the Albanians are coming. We're looking at another war that could polarize central Europe. All the old religious hatreds will come up. It could spread to Kosovo and Serbia and Bulgaria and possibly Greece. Croatia again. Montenegro."
"Shit."
"My thought exactly."
Selena had come awake when Elizabeth called and Nick got up. She came over and stood beside him and rested her hand on his shoulder.
"What do you want us to do?" Nick asked.
"There's nothing more you can do in Skopje. Leave Macedonia right away. You're supposed to be a foreign news team and Mitreski might not want reporters there unless they're his. He could close the airport. I don't want you getting hung up there. Try to get to Vienna. It's a good place to start from if I need to send you somewhere else in the region."
"Anything else?"
"That's it."
"We might need weapons," Nick said, "depending on where you send us."
"Don't worry about that," Elizabeth said. "I'll make sure you have what you need if it comes to that. Get going, Nick."
/> She broke the connection. Nick looked at the phone.
"What did she say?" Selena asked.
"She said we should get out of Dodge," Nick said. "How does Vienna sound?"
"I love Vienna," Selena said.
An hour later the team was at the airport. Armed troops patrolled the perimeter and the terminal. They turned in the car and went inside the terminal. The atmosphere was tense, electric. Lines were forming at the ticket counters.
"Looks like we got here just in time," Lamont said. "I get the feeling it's gonna get real crowded in here real soon."
"I think you're right," Nick said.
"Let's try Alitalia," Selena said. "They fly to Vienna and there's not much of a line there yet."
"You speak Italian, don't you? You do the talking."
They walked over to the Alitalia counter. After a brief wait they reached the agent. She was clearly Italian. The way she wore the airline uniform spoke volumes. Only the Italians could make an agent's outfit look ready for a fashion show. A name badge identified her as Anna de Fiori.
"Parli Italiano?" Selena asked.
"Sì. Posso aiutarla?"
Selena began talking, gesturing as she spoke. The agent consulted her computer. They spoke for another minute. Selena turned to Nick.
"There's a flight leaving soon for Vienna. It's almost full. There are still four seats available in first class. That's all she has."
"Take them," Nick said.
"Harker's going to love that when you give her the expenses," Lamont said.
Selena handed over a credit card for the tickets. All of their luggage was carry-on except the camera case that went with their cover as reporters. Selena checked it through to Vienna. Then they made their way to the first class passenger lounge to wait for the flight.
"I wish we were leaving sooner," Nick said. "Things move fast when something like this starts. They could still close the airport."
"The plane boards in half an hour."
"Can't be too soon for me," Ronnie said. "I've had enough of Macedonia for a lifetime."
"Do you think there will be a revolution here?" Selena asked. "A kind of European Spring?"
"Spring is a long way off in this part of the world, revolution or not. There could be, but if there's a war all bets are off."
"Who would want to start another war here?"
"The same people that always start wars. Governments like Mitreski's that want to distract their citizens from incompetence and corruption at the top. Manufacturing industries and companies that see an opportunity to make a whole lot of money regardless of who dies. For them there's nothing like a good war to drive up profit. Or else it's some egotistical bastard in charge who thinks he's the next Napoleon or Caesar. Hawks in the military. Whoever it is will always find plenty of people itching to play along."
"That still doesn't answer my question," Selena said.
"Here in the Balkans? I like what Josef said."
"You mean about the Russians?"
"The new president of the Federation, Orlov, is ambitious. It wouldn't be the first time Russia started something here to gain an advantage."
Ronnie had been listening to the discussion. "Macedonia doesn't border Russia," he said. "It's not like the Ukraine. What does Orlov gain by war?"
"You mentioned the Ukraine. It might have something to do with that. NATO has been making moves to beef up its forces in the East and war here would complicate that. It's hard to get the NATO member states to agree on anything. Nobody in that alliance except us ever wants to spend any money, much less send troops."
"The Europeans sent troops during the Bosnian war," Lamont said.
"Yeah, as peacekeepers. With a few exceptions they were forbidden to shoot anybody. A lot of good that did. They had to stand by and watch the slaughter. It wasn't until the US brought in heavy air power that things got more or less settled. The Europeans don't like to fight. Orlov knows that. If he gets NATO all bogged down in central Europe it could free up his hand in the East."
"General Nick," Lamont said. "They ought to put you on the Joint Chiefs."
Nick laughed. "I don't think they'd like what I had to say."
From where they sat they could see the front of the terminal building.
"Something's happening," Selena said.
Three armored personnel carriers pulled up outside. Soldiers armed with assault rifles disembarked and lined up. An officer barked orders at them and they deployed along the road in front of the terminal.
"They're taking over the airport," Nick said. "We'd better hope they're going to let the scheduled flights leave."
Selena looked at her watch. "We board in ten minutes."
"Keep your fingers crossed."
Armed soldiers entered the terminal building. They took up positions by the counters and began turning away people trying to buy tickets.
When the Alitalia flight was called they left the first class lounge and headed for the gate. They didn't notice the dark-haired woman waiting in line with the cabin passengers. There was no reason to notice her.
When Valentina saw Selena her heart skipped a beat. Her half-sister was easy to recognize. Her violet eyes and reddish hair stood out in the crowd. She was with her husband and two other men. Valentina assumed they were a team, all part of the same intelligence unit.
They were going to Vienna, just as she was. She'd planned to take a flight to Moscow the next day but seeing Selena changed everything. Valentina slipped behind a large man standing in front of her, concealing herself. She watched Selena and the others as they reached the gate.
An army officer stood by the gate, looking at the passports of passengers boarding the flight. An enlisted man carrying a H&K G3 rifle stood next to him.
The officer looked at Selena's passport.
"American?" He looked at the three men with her. "You are all together?"
His English was good, the accent light. Selena smiled at him.
"Yes."
"What was your business here?"
"We're a documentary news team for public television in America," Selena said. "We came to film the wildlife in Galicica National Park. It is really quite beautiful. We got some wonderful pictures of the lynx."
The officer was unsmiling. "Let me see the rest of your passports."
Shit, Nick thought. His face remained impassive.
They handed over their passports. The officer thumbed through them, looking at the visa stamps.
"The park is on the border," the officer said. "Did you cross into Albania?"
"There was no need for that," Selena said. "Our instructions were very specific. The special is only about Macedonia. As you can see, there are no stamps for Albania."
"Did you see many people in the park? Anyone who seemed out of place?"
"Not at all. That was one of the reasons we chose the winter for this shoot. We wanted to avoid the crowds of tourists. The animals are more relaxed in the winter."
"Did you take film of the demonstrations?"
"We heard there were demonstrations," Selena said. "But we didn't see them. We were busy in the park. We don't do regular news at all."
The officer tapped their passports against the palm of his hand.
"Where is your camera? Your tapes?"
"Checked through into baggage."
Nick could see the man thinking about the problems it would create if he delayed the plane so the camera could be retrieved from the baggage hold. Italy was a friend. These people were flying first class and they were from the press.
The officer handed the passports back to Selena and saluted.
"Have a good flight," he said.
"Thank you," she said.
They walked down the gangway and entered the plane. They found their seats. Nick and Selena were seated together. Lamont was in the row in back of them. Ronnie was across the aisle.
A flight attendant asked if they wanted a drink.
"I'd like a mimosa, please," Selena said.
"Whiskey," Nick said.
He leaned back in the comfortable leather seat.
"I thought he was going to pull us out of line," Nick said. "That was great, the way you made that up about the park. How did you even know about it?"
"There was a brochure in the hotel. The park is famous for its wildlife. It was the first thing that came to mind."
"Well, it worked."
"We're not in the air yet," Selena said.
"I'll feel a lot better when we are."
Fourteen rows behind the curtain separating first class from the rest of the plane, Valentina thought about what she was going to do when they reached Vienna.
Two hours later they were on the ground in Austria. They rented a car with a GPS and drove into the city.
CHAPTER 20
Elizabeth came into her office and turned on the coffee. She went over to her desk and found a dead mouse on her chair.
Another little gift, Elizabeth thought. Sometimes I wish that cat didn't like me so much.
She plucked a tissue from her purse and picked up the mangled corpse by the tail. She dropped it into the wastebasket and sat down. While she waited for the coffee to be ready Elizabeth thought about what the day was likely to bring. It didn't look good.
It hadn't taken long for Mitreski to send troops into Albania. He'd crossed the border at the only two places where his motorized infantry and tanks could roll down improved highways toward the capital of Tirana. On paper, it looked like a classic pincer movement. One thrust had launched from Debar, the second further south near Lake Ohrid. In theory a quick, blitzkrieg-like attack would succeed in threatening the capital and forcing some sort of capitulation. Theory and reality were two different things. The attack was poorly planned and premature. The Macedonian forces were already in trouble, only hours into the war.
Mitreski's troops had succeeded in blowing through the border checkpoints and starting into the country but had met fierce resistance only a few miles inside Albanian territory. Now the advance was completely bogged down. Winter was not cooperating and heavy snow was making things that much more difficult.
