by Matthew Dunn
She’d asked him not to open it until they were together in his apartment. For a moment, he wondered what to do. He weighed it in his hand. Then he sighed and opened the pendant. Inside was a photo. It was of a man.
Svelte.
A man who had risked his life in driving snowfall to send a coded message to the West. A message that could stop a war. An act of heroism that had cost him his life.
Next to him in the photo was his beautiful daughter, Korina.
A woman who had risked everything to do the right thing. A woman Will would have wanted to get to know. A woman he was sure he could have loved.
He banged a fist on the table, causing some of the contents of the grocery bag to spill out. Shallots, chicken, garlic, and herbs. The same ingredients he’d used to prepare a meal for Korina.
He stared at the food; his fist slowly unclenched. Lifting the pendant, he held it against his cheek. A tear ran down his face; he momentarily closed his eyes.
Standing, he looked around. He hated this place. He hated everything about his life. More than anything, he hated losing Korina.
He grabbed the kitchen table and threw it against the wall with sufficient force to break it. He grabbed the chairs and broke them into pieces as well.
He slumped to the ground, still gripping the pendant. His breathing was fast, but as he held the necklace against his chest, his breathing began to slow.
His cell phone rang.
Alistair.
That could mean only one thing.
Work.
He thought about ignoring the call, instead grabbing a drink in a bar, going for a walk through London’s streets, perhaps catching an evening show at a theater.
Will Cochrane desperately wanted to do those things.
But not alone.
With someone special.
Spartan answered the call.
Glossary
AEK-919K Kashtan submachine gun—Russian special forces submachine gun; fires 9 mm rounds.
AK-47 assault rifle—Russian assault rifle in Soviet and Russian service since 1949; fires 7.62 mm rounds.
AKS-74 assault rifle—A variant of the Russian AK-74. It is equipped with a folding metal frame stock, fires 5.45 mm rounds, and is used primarily by Russian air assault units.
Akula I submarine—A nuclear-powered Russian attack submarine. It deploys conventional weapons through its torpedo tubes.
Akula II submarine—A nuclear-powered Russian attack submarine, larger than and with an improved sonar system compared to the Akula I class.
AMR-2 12.7 mm sniper rifle—A Chinese antimaterial sniper rifle that fires 12 mm rounds and has an effective range of up to 4,500 feet.
Antisurveillance—An intelligence drill that is designed to establish whether an intelligence officer is being watched by hostile intelligence operatives. It can be conducted by intelligence officers on foot, in cars, and with the use of many other modes of transport.
AS Val assault rifle—A Soviet-designed assault rifle containing an integrated suppressor; fires 9 mm high-performance armor-piercing rounds.
BfV—Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, equivalent to Britain’s MI5 and the United States’ FBI.
BIS—Bezpečnostní Informační Sluzˇba. The primary domestic intelligence agency of the Czech Republic.
CIA—Central Intelligence Agency. The United States’ overseas intelligence agency, tasked primarily with gathering intelligence from foreign human sources as well as conducting special operations.
Companies House—Britain’s register of companies; an executive agency of the U.K. government.
DA—Defense attaché. Typically, a high-ranking serving military officer who is attached to one of his or her country’s overseas embassies. DAs are tasked with interacting with the embassy’s host country on a range of military matters, including military procurement.
Delta III submarine—Russian ballistic missile submarine.
Delta Force—Alongside DEVGRU, the United States’ primary antiterrorist special operations unit, though, like DEVGRU it is deployable in all covert and overt theaters of war and operating environments.
DEVGRU—U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group, popularly known by its previous name, SEAL Team 6. It is one of the United States’ premier multifunctional special operations units and draws its recruits from other SEAL units.
DGSE—Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure. The French overseas intelligence agency, tasked primarily with gathering intelligence from foreign human sources as well as conducting special operations.
DLB—Dead-letter box. A method of espionage tradecraft that allows one spy to pass an item, using a secret location, to another spy without their having to meet.
FSB—Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation. The main domestic security agency of Russia, comparable to the FBI and MI5.
GCHQ—Government Communications Headquarters. The British intelligence agency responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) to the U.K. government and armed forces. Comparable to the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA).
Groupement des Commandos Parachutistes—A highly trained reconnaissance unit of the French Foreign Legion’s Parachute Regiment (2ème Régiment Étranger de Parachutistes).
GRU—Glavnoye Razvedyvatel’noye Upravleniye. The foreign military intelligence directorate of the general staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
98th Guards Airborne Division—An airborne division of Russian airborne troops, stationed in Ivanovo.
217th Guards Airborne Regiment—Part of Russia’s 98th Guards Airborne Division stationed in Ivanovo.
Heckler & Koch USP Compact Tactical pistol—A semiautomatic pistol developed in Germany by Heckler & Koch; fires 9 mm rounds and is favored by many countries’ special forces and special police units.
Household Cavalry—The term used to describe the Commonwealth of Nations’ (formerly British Commonwealth’s) cavalry of the Household Divisions.
HS 2000 handgun—A semiautomatic handgun manufactured in Croatia. There are several variants of the weapon, each firing different-caliber rounds.
Il-76M transport aircraft—A Russian multipurpose strategic airlifter airplane.
Increment—The term for the unit within MI6 comprising handpicked elite British special forces soldiers.
60th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade—A unit under the command of Russia’s Fifth Army within the Far Eastern Military District.
IR/TG-7 thermal goggles—A rugged, lightweight, and powerful infrared optical device that can be handheld or mounted on a helmet or headgear.
KGB—Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, or Committee for State Security. It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991 and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.
MI5—The British domestic intelligence agency, equivalent to the United States’ FBI.
MI6—Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). Britain’s overseas intelligence agency, tasked primarily with gathering intelligence from foreign human sources as well as conducting special operations.
MiG-29K—Russian all-weather, carrier-based, multirole fighter aircraft.
MIT—Milli I·stihbarat Tes¸kilatı, or National Intelligence Organization. Turkey’s governmental intelligence organization.
MR-445 Varjag pistol—A Russian semiautomatic pistol; fires 10 mm rounds.
MZKT-79221 transporter-erector-launcher—A sixteen-wheel Russian military mobile missile launcher that carries the Topol-M, an intercontinental ballistic missile.
OCP—Operational cover premise. Typically, a domestic or business property that is used to support the alias identity of an intelligence officer.
Ohio-class submarine—A nuclear-powered submarine used by the U.S. Navy. Ohio-class submarines are deployed with either conventional or nuclear cruise missiles.
Oscar II submarine—A Russian cru
ise missile submarine capable of firing conventional and nuclear weapons.
104th Parachute Regiment—Part of the 76th Air Assault Division; the first Russian ground forces regiment to be fully made up of professional soldiers rather than conscripts.
QBZ-95G assault rifle—A Chinese assault rifle; fires 5.8 mm rounds.
QSZ-92 handgun—A Chinese semiautomatic pistol; fires 9 mm Parabellum rounds or 5.8 mm armor-piercing ammunition.
RT-2UTTKh intercontinental missile—A Russian missile with a single 800-kiloton-yield warhead. Capable of flying up to 7,000 miles.
SAS—Special Air Service. The world’s oldest, most experienced, and arguably most effective Special Operations unit, the British SAS is regarded as the benchmark for all tier-1 units and special forces around the world.
SBS—Special Boat Service. A U.K. special forces unit, directly comparable to the United States’ DEVGRU (SEAL Team 6), though the SBS is older and more experienced. Recruitment and selection into the SBS are considered even tougher than entry into the renowned SAS.
SBU—Sluzhba Bezpeky Ukrayiny. Ukraine’s security agency, comparable in duties to Britain’s MI5 and the United States’ FBI.
SEALs—Sea, Air, Land teams. U.S. special operations personnel who can operate in any combat environment. Highly trained and very effective.
Sig Sauer P226 handgun—A popular weapon among special forces and law enforcement around the world. Various round calibers.
Sig Sauer P229 handgun—A variant of the P226 handgun, though more compact and therefore favored for operations requiring weapon concealment or close quarter combat.
Slava-class cruiser—A large, conventionally powered Russian warship.
SOG—Special Operations Group. The paramilitary wing of the CIA’s Special Activities Division. Many members are drawn from Delta Force and DEVGRU.
Sovremenny-class destroyer—An antisurface Russian warship.
Spartan Program—The twelve-month-long selection program for premier MI6 officers in which they attempt to attain the code name “Spartan.” Only one officer at a time is allowed to endure the program, and only one successful trainee is allowed to carry the code name until his death or retirement.
Spartan Section—The highly secretive unit within MI6 that supports the Spartan MI6 officer.
Spetsnaz—The generic term for Russian special forces. The Russian army, navy, GRU, and SVR all have Spetsnaz units attached to them and under their control. They are wholly separate units. For example, Spetsnaz Alpha (SVR) is a completely different unit from Spetsnaz Vympel (GRU), and recruitment, selection, and training follow different paths.
SPS Serdyukov self-loading pistol—A short-recoil, 9-mm-firing Russian handgun.
Su-33s—Sukhoi Su-33; a Russian all-weather carrier-based air-defense fighter.
SVR—Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki. Russia’s primary overseas intelligence agency, comparable to Britain’s MI6 and the United States’ CIA.
Udalay I destroyer—Russian antisubmarine destroyer.
WTO—World Trade Organization. An organization whose remit is to supervise and liberalize international trade. Formed in 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, the WTO currently has 153 member states (at time of print).
Acknowledgments
To Jon Wood and the team at Orion (U.K.), David Highfill and the team at William Morrow/HarperCollins (U.S.), Luigi Bonomi and Alison and the rest of the team at LBA, Rowland White, Judith, and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).
Excerpt from The Spy House by Matthew Dunn
coming fall 2015 from William Morrow
One
Place des Vosges, Paris
Israel’s ambassador to France was due to retire in three months, but that wasn’t going to happen because in six minutes he’d be dead.
He had no inkling of his imminent demise, given he was a healthy fifty nine year old who’d recently undergone a full medical check-up and had been told by his doctor that he wasn’t going to die anytime soon. In fairness, his doctor could not be expected to anticipate that his patient’s heart might be targeted by a sniper.
The ambassador was not alone as he walked through Paris’ oldest square. Tourists were ambling nearby, taking photos of the striking and identical seventeenth century red-brick households that surrounded the square. Children were playing tag, running through the vaulted arcades. Lovers were strolling arm in arm, admiring the manicured lawns that partly covered the interior of the square, and the rows of trees that had turned an autumnal russet.
Walking forty yards behind the ambassador were three men who had pistols secreted under their suit jackets.
The ambassador took a walk through the square every lunchtime, and on each occasion his bodyguards wished they could be closer to their charge. But the ambassador was stubborn and insisted they kept their distance, so that he could have space to unclutter his mind from the hundreds of tasks and problems sent his way during the course of the morning.
Today, he was deep in thought on one issue: indications that American and European support for Israel was on the wane.
He reached the fountain in the center of the square and stopped. He’d been here so many times that his eyes barely registered his surroundings, nor his ears the sound of running water. His bodyguard detail also stopped, silently wishing the ambassador wouldn’t do things like this and make him an easy target. Their hands were close to their weapons, ready to pull them out and shoot anyone who ran toward the senior diplomat while carrying a knife, bomb, or gun.
The ambassador moved on.
His protectors kept pace with him.
They were good bodyguards - ex-Special Forces who’d been given subsequent training in surveillance, close protection, evasive driving, and rapid takedown of hostile attackers. But the Place des Vosges was a nightmare environment for such men. Too big, too many buildings, windows, people, entrances and exits, and open spaces. They couldn’t be blamed for not spotting the sniper behind one of the top floor windows of a house that was seventy yards away. That window was one of hundreds that looked onto the square. And the sniper had chosen it because at this time of day the sun reflected off it and made it impossible to see anyone behind the glass.
There was no noise when the bullet left his silenced rifle, penetrated the window, travelled across the square, and entered the ambassador’s heart. But when the diplomat collapsed to the ground, the square became chaotic and loud. Some people were running toward the dead man shouting. Others screamed, remained still, held hands to their mouths and pointed at the body. The bodyguards raced to the ambassador, yelling at everyone to get out of their way, their withdrawn handguns now inducing fear and panic into the square.
Many believed the armed men must have shot the man. Some fled the scene; others threw themselves to the grounds; mothers grabbed their children and held them close, their expressions filled with horror. The bodyguards ignored them all.
When they reached the body, they rolled it onto its back. They cursed in Hebrew as they saw the bullet entry point in the ambassador’s chest. One of them checked for a pulse, though it was obvious the diplomat was dead. The others scoured their surroundings for signs of a man holding a high velocity rifle.
They saw no one like that.
The sniper had vanished.
For the last few months, Britain’s MI6 and its American equivalent, the CIA, believed that I’d been sitting at home doing nothing. MI6 occasionally checked up on me but it had always given me advance notice of its visits, meaning I could make sure I was at my South London pad when the service’s Welfare Department came knocking. Tonight, the agencies probably thought I was going out for a few beers to drown my sorrows. After all, tomorrow was officially my last day as an employed field operative of Western Intelligence, because during my last mission a malevolent U.S. senator revealed my identity to the world’s media, I tore apart Washington DC to get answers, and the joint U.S.-U.K. task force I worked for was shut down.
My employers told me I’d beco
me a loose cannon without portfolio, and added that I should be grateful that they were giving me four months on full pay to allow me to idle and decompress after nine years of near constant deployment. And I was told to use that time to learn how to integrate into normal society. Trouble was, I don’t do decompression or integration well, and though I’ve enough sorrows to fill up a hundred lives, I rarely feel the need to drown them.
Instead, they are prone to drowning me if I stay still for too long.
So, I’d been busy. Secretly busy.
Travelling to different parts of the world; obtaining weapons, and other equipment, and secreting them in dead letter boxes within the major cities; meeting my foreign assets and telling them that one day I might still have a use for them; and tying up loose ends. Only two people knew what I’d been up to: my former bosses Alistair McCulloch and Patrick Bolte from MI6 and the CIA, respectively. They’d helped me where they could with cash, and information, and covered my ass when needed. But even they didn’t know that tonight I wasn’t propping up a bar in London and instead was in Hong Kong walking through the Temple Street Night Market.
It was a tying-up-loose-ends evening.
I was observing a Chinese woman who’s a highly prized intelligence operative who’d spent her entire career combating the West. I was behind her, disguised as a seaman on shore for a night out after twelve months on a tanker. She was unaware of me, and the threat I posed. Around us were hundreds of tourists and locals, haggling with the multitude of vendors who’d crammed central Kowloon’s most popular bazaar with stalls selling counterfeit goods, clothes, noodles, and still-twitching bottom-feeding sea life. People were shouting, calling out to each other, opera was being sung by troupes busking for a few dollars outside stinking public toilets, and junkies were arguing with old men as they faced each other over games of Chinese chess. Few people would hear a woman scream in pain if someone killed her on the street, and no one would care if they heard such a noise. There was too much sensory overload to notice anything odd in this bustling and bruising place: people banging into each other; a heavy rain descending from the late summer night sky; vast banners with Cantonese characters overhanging the street and flapping loudly in the wind; glowing Chinese lanterns suspended in the air; the smell of crustaceans, soy sauce and burning incense; and swathes of dazzling neon light around each stall.
