He answered the door when she knocked. His stomach was knotted, his pulse racing. He felt like a high school kid on a first date. She stood for a minute in the doorway looking at him; she was as beautiful as he remembered. But there were dark circles under her eyes and no warmth in her gaze.
“Hello again,” was all she said. She brushed past him, walked into the living room, took off her dark brown cloth coat, and tossed it on a chair. She was wearing a white blouse buttoned to the neck and somber blue skirt. She sat on the sofa and looked at him without expression. “You have the medicines?” she asked. We’ve turned her into a high-priced call girl, Steve thought bitterly, paid to service a John – us.
He opened his attaché case and handed her the packet of medicines. “I brought this also for you,” he said, handing her the gift-wrapped silk scarf. She examined the medicines, put them in her purse, but handed him back the gift package without even bothering to unwrap it.
“You can give this to someone else,” she said coldly.
“Maya, what’s wrong?”
“What do you mean, what’s wrong?”
“You’re dealing with me as if I’m the enemy.”
“You are,” she said quietly.
“Why? How?”
“Your blackmail.”
“What blackmail?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”
“Believe me. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You really don’t?”
He took both her hands. “Maya, for God’s sakes, just tell me what’s happened.”
She looked at him and paused. “When this began, it was for the medicines for my daughter. I am against what my government is doing, but it was because I had to get those medicines that I started answering your questions – betraying my country.”
“It had nothing to do with our feelings about each other?” said Steve.
Her lips tightened. “Yes, maybe, that also. But that only came later. It was the medicines above all. You knew that, you set out the trap for me.”
Steve shook his head but said nothing.
She narrowed her eyes. “I am like a fish with a hook in its mouth. I live constantly with the fear of being discovered. Of being taken away and shot. My daughter sent to some orphanage. My mother dying alone in her apartment.”
“It won’t last,” said Steve.
“You are so naïve.” She glowered. “Six months ago, I told the man who took your place that I could no longer do this.”
“You told George Phelps?”
“Yes, Phelps.”
“I told him that my nerves were finished. That this had to end. You know what he said?”
Steve stared at her.
She put her hand over her eyes. “He said I had no choice if I wanted to keep getting those medicines. Then he said not only would there be no medicines but the agency would let the FSB know I’d been a traitor.” Tears were running down her cheeks.
Steve continued looking at her in amazement. “Maya, listen to me. Before returning to Moscow, I read through all the reports about you that had been sent to Langley since the very beginning. There was no mention from Phelps, or anyone else, that you tried to break off. I swear!”
“I don’t care what you read,” she raised her voice. “That’s what happened. Maybe he was too embarrassed to write the truth.”
“Maya, I swear again, I never heard a word about this. Believe me, the first thing I’m going to do is talk with Phelps and find out what happened.”
“I told you what happened,” she was almost screaming.
Steve raised his finger to his lips. “I want to know who authorized him to make such a threat.”
She sat staring at him, tears still in her eyes. “You people are the same as the FSB.”
He took her hands. “Maya, listen to me. I will deal with this. I will get authorization for your daughter to continue getting medicine for the rest of her life. I promise. And there is absolutely no question of turning you over to Russian intelligence. That would be despicable. I’ll see you also get additional payments to take care of your mother as well.”
She paused and looked at him. “What do I have to do for that?” Again he felt ashamed of the situation.
“Just work with us for a few more months,” he said. “Then I promise it will all be over.”
“Why a few more months?” She asked dully.
“Because we have a new, very urgent investigation. It was started by you.”
“You mean Kozlov hacking your elections?”
“Yes.”
“The strongest evidence we have comes from you,”
“It is all true,” she said. “When have I ever given wrong information? It is my unit that’s doing a lot of it. It is a stupid move. It will only hurt Russia.”
“I believe you,” Steve said. “But we need more facts, more hard proof. “
“Like what?” she said.
“We need to know who is responsible for it. Does it go right to the top? Are Stokes’s people involved in this at all? How are they doing it?”
“You are asking a lot,” she said.
“You’re the best source we have, Maya. This will be the culmination of everything you’ve done for us. Once this is completed, you will be completely off the hook. And I guarantee you, the medicines will continue for your daughter and for whatever your mother needs.”
“How can I trust you?”
“You know how much I care for you.” He said and then immediately regretted it. He wasn’t again going to get ensnared by emotion.
“What about Marilyn?” she asked.
“She’s dead,” he said. “Along with our child.”
She stared at him, her eyes wide.
“She died giving birth. We thought a child would save the marriage. It ended it.”
“I am so sorry for you,” she said. “It must have been horrible.”
“It was.”
There was a pause as they both gazed at each other. “So,” said Steve, “will you work a few more months with us? And then it will all be over?”
Her lips tightened. “I will, and you will keep your promise?
“I swear.”
At 9:10 a.m. the next day, Steve walked into the office of George Phelps on the fourth floor of the U.S. Embassy where the CIA’s section was located. Phelps looked up, startled from behind his desk. He had his feet propped up and was reading the morning review of the Russian media.
“Ever heard of knocking, Steve?” he said.
He was about forty, red hair, freckles, and horn-rimmed glasses, pursed mouth, given to a permanent sneer, a graduate of both Harvard and Yale and never tired of letting people know it. He’d been with the agency for fifteen years, considered bright by many of his colleagues, but also a pompous, ambitious ass.
“Sorry about barging in,” said Steve. “But I just met with Dancing Bear last night.”
Phelps scowled, “Yeah, I heard after the fact. Thanks. I do the hard work running her for two years, get all kinds of good stuff, and you come waltzing in from Langley like you’re king shit and take over.”
“Look, Phelps, you’ve already been told I’m heading a special investigation. Sorry if it put your nose out of joint.”
“And us lowly mortals,” said Phelps, “are not even allowed to know what the investigation’s about.”
“That’s the deal,” said Steve. “I didn’t chase after this job, I was assigned it, and I intend to carry it out. By now, you should know how this place works. If you’ve got a problem, I suggest you talk to the chief or go whining to Langley.”
Phelps’s eyebrows shot up. He took his feet off the desk and faced Steve.
“Is that what you charged in to tell me?”
“No, I want to know if you ever threatened to reveal Dancing Bear’s role to the Russians.”
Phelps ears reddened. He refused to meet Steve’s gaze.