by Trevor Scott
“You tell me. Who ordered my assassination?”
Pavel shifted in his chair. “That was not me, Ivan. You have to believe me.”
“Nothing should happen in the Baltics without your knowledge.”
“I only found out after the fact. I inquired to Moscow.”
“And?”
“And I got nowhere. Your successor would not tell me a thing.”
“Does that seem strange to you, Pavel?”
His eyes shifted toward the door at his man sitting with a glass of Coke in front of him. “It does,” he finally agreed. “Why did you have to kill Aleksei Volkov?”
Bragin smiled and shook his head. “You think I did that?”
“He tried to kill you.”
“He failed to kill me. I just want to know who gave him the order.”
Pavel leaned toward his old boss and said, “I do not know, Ivan.”
“But Aleksei Volkov worked for you,” Ivan reminded him.
“True. But he had to be working for someone else at a very high level as well.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t your boss?”
“I believe it came from higher than him. What have you done, Ivan?”
Bragin thought back and knew exactly what he had done. He had questioned Kremlin decisions and direction. That had gotten him fired, of course. But worse than that was his public dissent in recent weeks over the direction of the regime in foreign affairs.
“Let us just say that the leadership is not happy with me,” Bragin concluded.
“But now they think you killed Aleksei.”
“I was already here in Vilnius when Volkov was killed.” He could have given up Jake Adams, but he thought he might still need to nurture that relationship, so he kept his old adversary out of it. “You can easily check this out based on my credit card and flight records. I have been in this city since this afternoon.”
“They will send others to kill you, Ivan.”
“I know. But why? You have to ask yourself that question.”
Pavel Tursunov got up from his chair and looked down upon his former boss. “Have a good evening, Ivan. You should leave the city and collect your pension.”
Bragin looked up at his former employee, thinking perhaps that he should have left the man at his post in Korea instead of moving him into a high-level position.
“You are either part of the solution,” Bragin said, “or you are the problem. I would hope you know the difference, Pavel.”
The younger Russian just shook his head as he wandered out the door, his man giving Ivan Bragin a serious stare before following his boss out the door and up to street level.
He knew, Bragin thought, as he stared into his half empty beer. Then he waved to the waitress and ordered one more shot of vodka. Yeah, Pavel was part of the problem. The man would check to see that Bragin’s alibi checked out. But that didn’t matter. The SVR already had a hit out on him, and that had probably been ordered from the highest levels at the Kremlin. They would only be concerned with him if he was getting too close to the truth.
Bragin thought about his contact in Vilnius. And his association with Jake Adams. Jake had to believe him now. Soon the SVR would know about his American associate, and they would put a hit out on him as well.
25
Jake woke and pulled his gun from under his pillow, aiming it at the hotel door. In just his underwear, he got out of bed and quietly stepped toward the door. Looking back at the clock radio between the beds, he saw that it was a few minutes after midnight. Then he looked out the peep and saw a man on the floor across the hallway. The guy was trying to get his footing, and finally turned toward Jake’s way.
Shaking his head, Jake unchained and unlocked the door. “What the hell are you doing here?” Jake whispered.
The large Russian’s body swayed side to side. “Houston, we have problem,” Ivan Bragin said. “Do you have mini bar in there?”
Jake looked down both sides of the corridor, grabbed the man by his collar, and pulled the Russian into his room. Then he closed the door and locked it behind him.
The Russian rambled in his language, sitting on the floor again.
When Jake clicked on a small table lamp, he saw Zaiga pointing her gun at the Russian.
“Put the gun down,” Jake said to her.
As Jake pulled the Russian to a chair against the wall, he heard Zaiga get up and find her clothes.
Ivan’s eyes rolled around but tried to concentrate on the Latvian SAB officer. “Wow, Jake. You’ve got a beautiful young woman in your room. How did old guy like you get her?”
“On a scale of one to ten,” Jake said, “how drunk are you?”
“Twenty,” Ivan said.
Great. “I won’t even ask how you found me. I’m just wondering how you found me when you’re so drunk.”
Ivan’s head swayed side to side. “Superior Russian intelligence,” he said with a smirk.
This could actually work to Jake’s advantage. He knew that Ivan was much more likely to speak the truth when he was drunk. So Jake went through a bunch of innocuous questions about special occasions to get drunk, like birthdays, deaths, etc. Then he moved on to more important issues.
“Do you know that Aleksei Volkov and his men tried to kill us tonight?” Jake asked.
“Of course. I am not an idiot. You killed him.”
Jake didn’t want to correct the Russian. Better to make himself a target than to shift that onto Zaiga. “Sure,” Jake said. “Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on here in the Baltics.”
“You have no clue, Jake.”
“Oh, I know. Please enlighten me.”
The Russian waved his hand wildly from right to left. “This is all bullshit.” He rolled his tongue over his lips. “I need another drink. Check the mini bar.”
Jake shifted his head for Zaiga to check the bar for alcohol.
“Two bottles of vodka,” Zaiga said. She brought them to Jake instead of the Russian.
Looking them over, Jake said, “Not the best, but they’ll have to do on short notice.” He opened the top for Ivan and handed one of the bottles to the Russian.
Ivan smiled and sucked down every drop from the tiny bottle. “That helps. Now the other.”
“First you tell me everything you know,” Jake said.
“You know people are right about you,” Ivan said.
“How’s that?”
“You can be a major pain in ass.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Jake said.
“For an old guy, you are still very handsome.”
“Seriously, Ivan.”
“You are,” he said, and then pointed to Zaiga. “Tell him, young lady.”
Zaiga shrugged and nodded agreement.
“See, I tell you the truth.”
“Get back on track, Ivan. In Riga you mentioned Moscow was on the move militarily through Belarus.”
“That is true. But they know America is watching. This is for show.”
“Forcing the hands of NATO and especially America to respond. Article Five of NATO.”
Ivan clicked his tongue and tried to do the same with his fingers, but his drunken state wasn’t allowing it.
Jake wandered about the room, his mind reeling. He guessed that this had something to do with the summit of the Baltic leaders. “So, Moscow spends a bunch of money shifting a good chunk of its military to surround the Baltic States, making NATO believe that attack is imminent. That sounds like a perfect chess move. A false check to throw the opponent off of the real checkmate four moves away.”
“Exactly,” Ivan said. “You are good at this, Jake.”
“And you got drunk tonight because?”
“You know why,” Ivan said.
“I want to hear it from you.”
“One more vodka first.”
Jake took off the top of the last bottle and handed it to the Russian. Ivan sucked that one down like a porn star, licking his lips to get every drop.
“Okay,” Jake said.
“This is just my theory,” Ivan said. “Since I am not with the SVR anymore, I could not be sure.”
“But now you are.”
“When they try to kill you and send the deputy director of the Baltics region to reason with you, then you know you are close to the truth.” Ivan hesitated and then said more loudly, “They can’t handle the truth.”
“Are you still quoting American movies?” Jake asked.
Ivan shrugged and the motion nearly knocked him over.
“Continue.”
“It is common practice in SVR and KGB before that, Jake. You do one thing to occupy your opponent while you set them up for something bigger. But this is bigger thing than most will understand. This could bring down the Baltic States from within.”
Now Jake was confused. “Are you talking about anarchy in the streets? Like in Egypt?”
“That is just the beginning,” Ivan said. “The SVR works in the shadows by taking intelligence officers in Estonia and by organizing street protests in each country. At the same time, they work on the corruption of their leaders. But some people are not easy to blackmail. They are actually good people. Who knew?”
“Do you have any evidence?” Jake asked.
“Of course not, Jake. Our people are good. But, like I said, not all are corrupt. So they had to plan something big. And that will happen soon in Vilnius.”
The summit of Baltic leaders had been widely reported online and through old media, so it wasn’t like that was a secret. “The summit,” Jake finally said.
“Bingo, Jake. The summit is the key.”
“What about the summit?” Zaiga asked.
Ivan pointed his finger at her and said, “I think I know you. You are from Latvia. SAB.”
“Answer her question, Ivan,” Jake insisted.
Ivan gave a sheepish shrug and said, “Our people. My old people, plan to hit the summit.”
“How?” Jake asked.
“That is the important question. Now you see why I drink.”
Deep down Jake had a feeling his Russian colleague was correct, even before Ivan came to him in a drunken stupor. It was just too curious that all of these events were happening in the Baltics without them having some connection. Now he would need to stick around and find out how the SVR planned to strike the summit.
Jake was about to suggest to Ivan that he would help the man back to his own hotel, wherever that was, but before he could bring it up the Russian passed out in the chair. So Jake took this opportunity to search the man. He pulled out the man’s gun, an old Makarov with a pearl handle, and placed that on the table between the two chairs. Then he pulled out the man’s passport, which still showed the man with diplomatic immunity—a get out of jail free pass worldwide. Jake took a few quick photos of the passport with his phone before returning it to inside the man’s jacket. Then Jake texted the files to his friend, Kurt Jenkins.
“What are you doing?” Zaiga asked.
“Confirmation that we talked with the man,” Jake explained.
“I see. Do you believe him?”
Jake studied his Latvian friend, unsure how to answer her. “I believe that he believes. We must take this threat seriously. It makes a lot of sense, considering what’s gone down recently in the Baltics.”
“They want us back,” she said.
“Yes, they do.”
“But they can’t have us,” she declared. “Our people will not allow it.”
They might not have a choice, Jake thought. “There are just over six million people combined in the three Baltic States,” he said. “That includes men, women and children. Russia has about a hundred fifty million people, with armed forces numbering nearly a million and another two million reserves. If they want to take over your countries, they can do so.”
“But we are NATO now.”
“I know, Zaiga. But the crazy Russians might just want to test how determined NATO is to defend its newest and smallest states.”
She was about to say something else, but Jake held up his finger when he heard a text buzz in.
He looked at the text from Kurt Jenkins and saw that he wanted to talk. But he needed to do this in private.
“I’ve gotta take this, Zaiga,” Jake said. “Keep an eye on our Russian friend. Try not to shoot him.”
She sat up in the bed, concerned. “Very funny. Where are you going?”
He thought about leaving the room, but guessed he could find some quiet in the bathroom. “Just in here,” Jake said.
Zaiga looked relieved. She obviously didn’t trust the Russian yet.
As Jake went into the bathroom, his phone buzzed and he touched onto the call from Kurt Jenkins.
“What’s going on?” Jenkins asked.
“Ivan Bragin just confirmed that the SVR plans to strike the Baltic summit,” Jake said.
“I see.”
Something wasn’t right with his old friend. “You don’t sound too surprised.”
Jenkins let out an exasperated huff. “The Agency is probably already planning for that possibility.”
“I guessed that much. I understand they have plans for the invasion of Canada as well. But this is more tangible intel.”
“I’ll pass it on to Langley,” Jenkins said. “Anything else?”
“What the hell is going on, Kurt?”
“Nothing.” He paused, trying to search for words. “Maybe you should just go back to Italy. Alexandra is seven months pregnant.”
“Am I being pulled away?” Jake asked.
“Not exactly. As far as the Agency is concerned, you were never there. You’re not on special assignment or under contract.”
“Not all contracts are written and signed,” Jake assured the former CIA director.
“I know. But you found your son and now I think it’s time for you to head back to Alexandra.”
“Why are you being such a dick?”
“I’m trying to be a good friend, Jake.”
Crap. A light bulb just went on in Jake’s head. He was never supposed to be involved with any of this Baltic case. The Agency had something going on that they were hiding from him, and they were afraid he would ruin their op or out them. But he also didn’t need to let Kurt know that he knew.
“You know what, Kurt. I think you might be right. You can only eat so much sausage and drink this weak beer. I’ll just hang out for a day or so until my ride comes back.”
“Are you still flying around on that Spaniard’s private jet?”
“Yes, sir. And it’s awesome. I’ve gotta go. Need my sleep.”
“All right, Jake. Thanks for all your good work. We appreciate it.”
Jake shook his head and cut off the call. Right. He had just gotten the bum’s rush from his old friend. Which made Jake want to stay and work out the details of this case. He guessed his girlfriend would understand.
26
The dynamics of sleeping in a room with strangers reminded Jake of some of his experiences in the military, where temporary duty often led to random strange roommate combinations. With Zaiga’s help, Jake had hoisted the large Russian into Jake’s bed, fully clothed, and Ivan had begun to fart and snore like a drunken sailor. That left Zaiga and Jake to use the other bed, which was quite uncomfortable for him. Regardless of relationships, he was still a man with certain desires, and she was more than willing to fulfill his urges. It was hard for him to not take her up on her advances.
Once morning rolled around, Jake made sure Zaiga took a shower first and then sent her down to breakfast while he dealt with Ivan.
Jake showered and came out into the semi-dark room in his underwear and a T-shirt.
Ivan sat up in bed and cradled his head with his hands. “Mother of God. Did you hit me with a hammer?”
Sitting on a chair across from the beds, Jake pulled his pants on and stood up to button and zip them. “No, Ivan, you pretty much beat your head against the wall yourself this time.”
The Russian gave Jake a critical stare. “I seem to remember a beautiful girl in your room. Was I dreaming?”
“No. She’s down at breakfast. Which gives us a little time to talk.”
Ivan felt under his left arm and said, “What did you do with my gun? That was a gift from my father.”
Jake reached over and found the Makarov. “It’s pretty nice for a Russian gun.”
The Russian waved his hand for Jake to turn it over.
“First,” Jake said, “tell me what in the hell is going on with you.”
“I told you that last night.”
“So, you remember everything you told me?”
“Mostly,” Ivan said.
“Well, we skipped over one subject. The subject of this Sofia Sepp woman from VSD. Why did you want me to meet with her in this hotel tonight?”
“She is my contact in Vilnius,” Ivan said.
“I suspected that much. Is she working both sides?”
Ivan shook his head. “She works only for Valstybes Saugumo Departmentas. We tried to turn her as an agent for the SVR, but she was incorruptible.”
“You had no way to penetrate her?” Jake asked.
“I wish. We tried that with a younger SVR officer and she saw right though us. As far as we could tell, there was no way in.”
Now Jake was getting Ivan’s relationship with this Lithuanian woman. “So, since you found her integrity impeccable, you have been using her as a source for your own information.”
Ivan swung his legs to the floor and tried to stand up, but he seemed a little unsure of himself. Jake guessed the room was still swirling around. “I’m glad to see you still have it in the spy game, Jake.”
“Thanks. Now, what did you expect from me and Sofia Sepp?”
“She has been my insurance policy,” Ivan said. “If my Russian friends had actually succeeded in killing me in Riga, Sofia was ready to fill you in on what I told her.”
“Is her agency taking the lead?”
Ivan laughed and shook his head. “They don’t believe her. She was forced to give me up as her source and they still dismiss her intelligence.”
“Why?” Jake asked. Then he found his leather shoulder holster and swung that on, adjusting his gun under his left arm.
