The Devil's Playground

by Michael Reagan

Englishman's life is critical to the interests of my friends and colleagues. I promise you the moment this ceases to be, you will have my permission to kill him." He looked firmly into her eyes. "These are my terms and are they are not negotiable."

  Jennet Amayradova stormed into her hotel suite. Dismissing her bodyguards and her son's nanny, she paused and gazed at her baby for a few moments as he slept in his cot.

  The request by the head of the Katamaya-Gumi to attend a meeting with him to discuss the continuance of the business relationship that they had with Ruslan had been too good of an opportunity to pass up. Ruslan had once told her that out of all his business relationships, the one with the Yazuka was his most important.

  "The Yakuza's ties to the state go back to the late nineteenth century. They control the politicians, the labor market, and during the Second World War even served as spies and assassins for the Japanese Government," Ruslan had said to her one night after little Oleg was born and he was updating her as who would be assisting in the purchase of the LNG Plant in Ukraine. "This collaboration between the Yakuza and the rulers of Japan continues to this day," he had said whilst playing with his son.

  "The Oyabun, like any good father, is always obliged to provide protection and good counsel to his children," he had said patronizingly before handing Oleg back to her because he had thrown up on him. "If anything happens to me, go to him with this and he will offer his protection to you and my son." He had handed her a wax-sealed letter.

  "My son," she angrily whispered so not to wake her sleeping baby, as she thought back to that moment. "You made have helped in his creation but he is a Rejejow first!" she whispered.

  Like all men Katamaya had lusted after her. She could see this in his eyes and by the way he had instantly moved his body forward in a dominant manner as he sat across from her then licked his lips and mentally undressed her while he had been lecturing her.

  Her instincts also told her because he believed that Balysh had him killed and the only thing keeping her alive at this moment was Ruslan's letter confirming that their son was his heir.

  Up to that moment if the Japanese gangster had wanted, she would have slept with him to celebrate and cement their new business partnership, but that prize was quickly removed from being on offer once he had instructed her that she couldn't kill Litchfield.

  "First, the Grey Cardinal," she said to Oleg, referring to the nickname the Russians gave Putin in English, the language she always dreamed due to education. "Then your Papa!" referring to her husband and the man whose name her son would carry and always hold the role in his life despite not being of his gene pool. "And now this Katamaya!" she whispered with a shake of her head and disappointment.

  "All the Devil's servants!" she added in disgust, referring to Sir Thomas Litchfield, not quite believing the level of the Englishman's power and influence. "Have no fear, my Prezent we will have our revenge!" she said, using the Turkmen word for baby as she kissed his forehead gently. "I swear it!" she announced with passion as her son's eyes popped open and then smiled up at her.

  The Countdown to War

  28

  Saman Depe, Turkmenistan

  The Central Asia gas pipeline system is the name given to the system of natural gas pipelines that run from Turkmenistan via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to Russia and China that are collectively operated by Gazprom, the energy giant of Russia.

  The branches of this vast spider's web of pipes all meet at a gas processing plant located on Saman-Depe field in Northern Turkmenistan. First built in 1960 and completed in 1988, the pipeline from the moment it became operational has been critically important to Russia in the high-value game in the fight for geopolitical dominance of Eurasia that is played each day with the United States and China.

  Whilst Turkmenistan is not a regional power, it had long been seen to have an advantageous position due to vis-?-vis external entities that had been seeking to control Central Asia's energy deposits since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

  When Russia allowed Turkmenistan in 2013 to strike a deal with China so to allow them to increase its purchase of Turkmenistan gas, it was done on the understanding that in exchange for staying out of European markets, they would only use the TLH pipeline to supply Russian-Western pipelines in Dagestan that ultimately connected to Ukraine and Europe.

  That arrangement killed any thoughts United States interests ever had of creating a pipeline through Turkey. Another part of the deal between Russia and Turkmenistan was that they would never undercut one another in the Asian markets.

  When the Korean pipeline was built two years ago, that deal had then been expanded to allow the Turkmenistan government to sell gas directly to Japan via the Russian pipelines.

  The young officer in charge of the team of thirty men from the Chengdu Military Region Special Forces unit knew nothing of this though. His orders were to simply destroy the processing plant and make it look like Russians had done it by leaving the bodies of two ethnic Russians in paramilitary clothing and equipment at the scene of the attack.

  He looked at his G-shock Casio watch, the watch of choice of all the world's Special Forces. The countdown on the digital timepiece told him it 0500 hours. Just before dawn. He gave the signal to his snipers to begin the operation. A second later the two guards on the west gate of the two billion U.S. dollar facility crumpled to the floor. The same thing also happened at the North, South, and East gates and within seconds the teams reached the positions of the fallen guards and dragged them into the guardhouse. Whereupon the two dead guards were replaced by two men from each of the five man teams.

  In all Special Forces operations there is never any talking, only hand signals. That was case now for each team undertaking the attack. Leaving the two men of their unit at the gate to guard the exits, the three other members of each team, dressed in the overalls of Gazprom, calmly walked at a steady pace into the complex. To the managers and cameras of the site they looked like typical Turkmen employees about to go on shift.

  For such important facilities in the world, there surprisingly have only been two attacks of this nature by terrorists in the past: At the Abqaiq oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia by Al-Qaida in 2006 and in Algeria at the Amenas gas complex in 2013 by the Sons of the Sahara. In planning this particular attack, the men of the Chinese Special Forces team had noted that those attacks failed because they had been designed as killing operations on the living quarters. This attack had only one purpose: to hit the production area.

  The decision to follow this battle plan was taken after the review of the facility's "Best Practice" reports that had been stolen by the cyber intelligence unit of the MPS during the planning phase. Every Special Forces leader will always tell their commanding officers that they never have enough time to plan and make sure they were ready to undertake an assault on a target. When the young officer had been asked by the General how much time he had, even he had been surprised when he was told he had three days! Aware that complaining went against the nature of an officer like himself, the General had replied, "Best job time available."

  The group arrived in Turkmenistan via Uzbekistan using one of the Chinese coaches that carried workers to the many sites that the various entities of China's State Oil companies' exploration teams had working in the country. Then once across the border they redirected their coach to the small town just outside the target facilities.

  Met by the local resident director of the MPS and his team of five who had driven up from Ashgabat in the south of the country, the men set about preparing the battle plan inside the small warehouse the officer had procured for them.

  Their review of the security around the target facility had revealed that, although it had cameras placed around the site, its Operator had relied on the local military to provide security of the facility - it was woefully inadequate. Consequently it had only taken the five teams fifteen minutes to walk around the facility unnoticed and strategically place the Russian made PVV-5A high exp
losives on timers at the key production areas of the site: the reactors, turbines, valves, and the high-pressure distribution pipelines.

  Once they had completed their tasks, the men calmly left the facility and walked to each of their respective gates and left the facility. Leaving behind the two dead decoys 'John Does' behind on ice, in a truck five miles away.

  Ten minutes later, the early morning sky over the Saman-Depe field lit up.

  29

  Moscow

  The events of the last seventy-two hours in Turkmenistan had taken the political leadership of Russia by surprise due to the words of out of Balysh Amayradov's mouth during his impassioned interview with CNN.

  "Is he mad, Sergey Viktorovich?" The Prime Minister asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs because the Turkmen had just accused Russia of being behind the attack on the gas processing plant.

  "Two men dressed in military special forces clothing doesn't mean we did it!" continued the Prime Minister.

  "Dmitry Anatolyevich, it may appear that way but I can assure you he is far from that," The Minister of Foreign Affairs answered in his typical measured manner. "He has been looking for a way to cozy up to the Chinese since he came to power. This gives him the excuse."

  The Mayor sat in silence and listened while his mind churned