by Andrew Watts
Wilkes stared back at him. “Who else do you think she was working for?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“I think you knew that Pavel Morozov was going to try and kill the Russian president. And I think you thought that my father’s plane, and the lives of everyone aboard, were an acceptable risk to take for a chance at changing the Russian leadership.”
“An interesting theory. But very cynical, Max.”
Max said, “If I were a man of low moral character, and the only thing that mattered to me was winning or losing the great game of espionage between the Russians and the Americans, I might see this Pavel Morozov situation as an opportunity.”
Wilkes grinned. “I hope you aren’t referring to me there. But pray tell, how so?”
Max said, “Let’s say that I found out Morozov was able to crash the Fend 100 into the Russian president’s plane. What would happen then? The Islamic State had already claimed responsibility for it. From my conversation with him, this was part of Morozov’s masquerade. You might have been tempted to encourage the public belief that terrorists were responsible for the whole thing. The Islamic State is responsible for so many atrocities. Why not this? It takes out a Russian leader who has been a thorn in our side and increases the American desire to pour more resources into fighting terrorism.”
“I hope you have more faith in me than that.”
Max said, “I do, actually. And I have more faith in the CIA. I can’t see them signing off on that.”
“Good.”
“But I think it was a worst-case scenario for you. A high-magnitude, low-probability risk that you were willing to take. And instead, I think you ended up getting exactly what you wanted.”
“Which is?”
“Either way it was a win-win for the CIA. But now, you got rid of Pavel Morozov and have the Russian president in our debt.”
Wilkes raised his eyebrow at that. “I hadn’t thought of that. I guess he is, isn’t he?”
“I noticed on the news yesterday that the Russians have announced they’re pulling a large number of their troops out of Syria. Interesting timing.”
“Well, I suppose it is, isn’t it?” Wilkes sipped his ice water.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If you took out Pavel Morozov and saved the Russian president’s life, I could see how something like that might present you in a very favorable light. Stopping a coup d’état? Maybe that appearance of savior-ship would help influence a deal. Maybe it could start a more peaceful relationship.”
Wilkes shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I remembered something about one of my Russian mafia contacts in France. Sergei. He was introduced to me by his former handler. But his former handler wasn’t DIA—he was CIA. It happened so long ago, and it didn’t seem important at the time. Just one agency sharing with another. Now, though—I’m not so sure that wasn’t orchestrated more carefully.”
Wilkes was chewing his ice cubes. “Alright, Max. I can see that you aren’t happy with me.”
“You used my father and me as bait, didn’t you? You knew that Morozov was working with some of his contacts in Russia to orchestrate a coup. But you wanted to manipulate how it happened. So you dangled a carrot that you knew he couldn’t resist. A chance to twist the knife in my father’s back, by hurting his company—and by blaming me. That got Morozov’s mouth watering. Just like you said…revenge keeps KGB agents warm at night.”
Wilkes said, “You have no idea how big this operation was, Max. We didn’t just dangle one carrot. We put out hundreds. You and your father weren’t the only bait. You just happened to be the bait that Morozov went for. And once he did, we had to keep up appearances.”
“That’s why MI-6 was used to break me out. There couldn’t be any connection to your operation.”
Wilkes nodded.
Max continued. “You didn’t want any chance of Morozov finding out the CIA was involved in all this. So you called in a favor to your friends at Legoland. But why did you care whether I was in FBI custody or not?”
“Because MI-6 got word that Morozov had ordered a hit on you, so that you couldn’t prove your innocence. We preferred that not to occur.”
“Why, thank you.”
“See? And you say I wasn’t looking out for you.”
“My guess is that very few people knew the risk you took with the Fend 100 aircraft. That was dangerous. Did the Russian president know what was happening as he flew towards the Atlantic coast of the US? Was it used as leverage while he was in flight?”
Wilkes looked like he was thinking of something to say.
“Don’t bother answering. I don’t need to know. There’s only one more thing I want you to tell me. What happened to Morozov?”
“I’m afraid that isn’t something I’m at liberty to discuss, Max.”
Max snorted, disappointed.
Then Wilkes said, “But if, hypothetically speaking, of course, I knew where he was, just know that you would probably be quite satisfied with his present condition.”
Max’s eyes were hard. “Good.”
The unmarked jet touched down at the airstrip near Sevastopol, on the Crimean Peninsula. After the annexation of Crimea, the airport was predominantly used by the Russian military.
It had been a long flight. The aircraft taxied to a stop near the end of the runway. Three black cars waited on the flight line. Security men opened up the door for one of the cars, and the Russian president stepped out.
As the door opened and the CIA men began taking their prisoner down the steps of the aircraft, a broad smile formed on the Russian president’s lips.
Wilkes walked up to the Russian president and shook his hand.
“I trust that you finished getting everything you could out of him?” he asked, a smirk on his face.
Wilkes shrugged but didn’t say anything. No more than you must have done working in Berlin many years ago, old man.
Wilkes’s men had to put Morozov through an accelerated interrogation regimen. He would have preferred to take more time, but they had still obtained a great deal of valuable intelligence.
The Russian president looked at the prisoner like he was a precious gift. “Mr. Wilkes, my thanks for this. Even if he is a week overdue.”
Pavel Morozov was gagged, bound, and blindfolded. The Russian president walked up and removed the blindfold. Red, bloodshot eyes looked back at him, filled with fear. The president patted Morozov’s cheek a little too hard, then gestured for his men to take him away. Then he got in his car, and the motorcade departed.
Wilkes began walking back towards the jet. He shuddered to think what might be in store for Morozov. But the man deserved his fate. Wilkes looked back from the top of the stairs once more, watching the motorcade speed off down the road. He pulled his jacket tight to fight the cold. The winds coming off the Black Sea lent a chilly bite to the air.
<<<< >>>>
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About the Author
Andrew Watts is the USA Today bestselling author of The War Planners series. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 2003 and served as a naval officer and helicopter pilot until 2013. During that time, he flew counter-narcotic missions in the Eastern Pacific and counter-piracy missions off the Horn of Africa. He was a flight instructor in Pensacola, FL, and helped to run ship and flight operations while embarked on a nuclear aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East.
Today, he lives with his family in Ohio.
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The War Planners Series
Now a USA Today Bestseller!
A nation on the brink of war.
A conspiracy that threatens the globe.
&
nbsp; And one military family, caught in the middle, fighting for freedom.
From a secretive jungle-covered island in the Pacific, to the sands of the Middle East. From the smog-filled alleyways of China, to the passageways of a US Navy destroyer. The War Planners series follows different members of the military and intelligence community as they uncover a Chinese plot to attack America.
Chinese billionaire Cheng Jinshan and his wicked spy, Lena Chou, are moving their pieces on the board. Deception and misinformation are everywhere.
Now, in order to save America, the leaders in the CIA and Pentagon have set up a secretive task force. Their mission: to thwart Jinshan's plans, and prevent a global war.
Each member of the Manning family has a critical role to play. Technologist David Manning is taken from his family's home and thrown onto a special CIA task force. Ex-SEAL Chase Manning is sent to team up with a Marine Corps special operations unit. Admiral Charles Manning leads a US Carrier Strike Group, filled with America's latest and greatest naval technology. And Lieutenant Commander Victoria Manning is the officer in charge of a helicopter detachment on the navy destroyer, the USS Farragut - the only ship that stands in the way of a Chinese onslaught.
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The War Stage
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