“I agree,” Justin said. “I already have about half a dozen people ready for their orders. If you can secure a safe insertion into Buinosky, transport, weapons, a guide or two, and six, seven men, that should be sufficient for a blitz.”
Derzhavin nodded and drew in a breath of relief. “The transport, weapons, and men are not a problem. Safe insertion is not guaranteed.”
“Of course not. I’m not asking for guarantees, but I’m looking for capable men who know their way around the area, where the checkpoints are located, and the safest trails to sneak into the country. I don’t want my team to fall into an ambush before we even enter Dagestan.”
“You’ll have a guide, and my contact on the ground will provide support,” said Derzhavin.
“OK. I’d like to leave as soon as we can, preferably today,” said Justin.
“Yes, we’ll make it happen. I don’t want to give Kaziyev time to resettle to another stronghold.”
Justin looked over at Carrie. She was giving him a worried look.
“How long before I get the intel package?” Justin said.
“I’ll have someone bring over what we already have and schedule for updates every two hours,” Derzhavin said.
“That will work. Carrie, any questions?”
Carrie leaned forward. “Yes, exfil plans.”
Derzhavin thought about the answer for a few moments. “There’s a strong military outpost in Gurlar — about a hundred miles south of Buinosky — that has a few Mi-24 choppers. One will be on standby to retrieve the team.”
Justin nodded. It was not the greatest of scenarios but he had been in worse situations. The outlines of a rough plan were taking shape in his mind. “All right. I’ll be downstairs visiting a friend.” He stared deep into Derzhavin’s eyes as he said those words.
Derzhavin began to shrug, but caught himself and his face showed faint concern. “How is she?” he asked quietly.
“Recovering, but she’ll be out of commission for quite some time. She’s pissed off.”
Derzhavin searched Justin’s eyes for an explanation but Justin simply stared back. A moment later, Derzhavin asked, “And her business contacts?”
“They’re not impressed either, but for the time being you’re safe. The future will depend on what you do or mostly what you do not do.”
Derzhavin nodded.
Justin said, “Send your man to me with the files. And I want to meet the full team at 3:00 p.m.”
“Where?” Derzhavin asked.
Justin thought about it for a moment. It had to be a safe place, but he did not want to give away the location of their safe house to FSB members faithful to Derzhavin. He decided the location of this meeting provided a good opportunity to test Derzhavin’s loyalty. “Your headquarters, the safest place in Moscow,” he said with a small smirk.
Derzhavin did not hide his disapproving look. “You’re testing the limits of my patience. I don’t like it.”
Justin stood up. “I want a token of your commitment to our joint operation, Derzhavin. That’s all.”
He waited for a moment but Derzhavin did not say a word. The look of his face expressed more clearly than any words his anger and his resentment. Then he cleared his throat, pointed a finger at Justin, and said, “You know, other men, better men, have threatened me, crossed me, and in many other ways tried to outplay me. They’re long gone and forgotten, Mr. Hall, but I’m still here.”
Justin cocked his head to the left. Derzhavin’s warning had surprised him only because it came so early in their game. It had barely been twelve hours since he had saved the man’s life and this is what he got in return: a warning. This positive thinking is not working well for me, not when I’m surrounded by this kind of man.
He locked eyes with Derzhavin and gave him a pleasant smile. “There’s always a first time, Derzhavin. Consider this your first time, and you have my word that if you try to backstab me, it will be your last.”
He headed toward the door.
Carrie followed him but before stepping outside into the hall she turned her head and gave Derzhavin a menacing gaze. “I’m not very good with words,” she said coldly but evenly. “And I don’t make threats or warnings. I make promises and I keep them. At the first sign of betrayal, I’m promising you that I will kill you.”
Derzhavin tried to keep his gaze stoic but the corner of his lips gave an involuntary twitch and his arm began to tremble. He flinched as if Carrie’s words had crossed the room and slapped him across the face. He looked away at the cream-colored wall of the hospital room.
Chapter Thirty-one
“You really want to go back into the viper’s nest?” Carrie asked Justin as she joined him in the hall.
“Yes. I need a place where I can think, analyze, and come up with a working plan.”
“The safe house.”
“No. No need to reveal it to the FSB, and besides, it’s too small. I need everyone around a table, to see who they are, what I can do with them, what we know and what we don’t.”
She stepped closer to him and her worried eyes fell on his face. “I can’t come with you to Daggerstan, but I’ll be in the meeting.”
“Thank you. And you’re right, that is a place of daggers. I just hope none will go through my heart.”
“This is not to be misunderstood as lack of confidence in your abilities, but have you considered all the odds against you?” she asked in a gentle voice. “I will not be there and Yuliya is also out of action. Derzhavin just threatened you, and putting your trust in his men… I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do.”
Justin sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I’ve thought about just going home, but this war, Kaziyev, he won’t stop if we leave. His men are plotting massacres in the States, and Canada could be next. This team, my team, will have to do.”
He took a couple of steps and turned around. He shrugged and put his hands in his pants pockets. “I have to use what I’ve got. Let’s review the intel, the pictures, and the maps. And let’s run a couple of scenarios. We’ll go with the one that gives the minimum of intel to the men appointed by Derzhavin.”
Carrie nodded. A spark glinted in her eyes. “Need-to-know basis and low-level tasks. I like it. Will take some work, but it is doable.”
“Yes, an operation where half the team is not aware of the exact moves of the operation. Hard to pull through but better than trusting the wrong people.”
Justin let out another sigh.
Carrie said, “Let’s go talk to Yuliya, then check on Fyodor. Once we have the intel in our hands, we’ll have a better idea.”
Chapter Thirty-two
The coffee was strong, hot, and bitter, the way Justin liked it. The woman who rolled in the food cart with two large stainless steel carafes called it “the KGB blend.” She was in her late forties or even early fifties, with curly blonde hair, an hourglass-shaped body, and long legs that stole glances just like when she was eighteen.
“Our interrogators preferred it for staying awake during the long nights,” she whispered as she brushed past Justin and strutted out of the large conference room.
They were on the fifth floor of the FSB headquarters’ east wing. Justin was sitting at the head of the long rectangular table holding a laser pointer in his hands. Carrie was on his right, fiddling with a laptop, and Bronislav was in the seat to his left. Around the table there were eight other men and a woman. Justin knew only Daniel, and Yuliya had introduced him to Marcus and the woman, Svetlana. The two were at the other end of the table, whispering to each other. The rest of his team were people assigned by Derzhavin. Yuliya had inquired about their backgrounds and previous missions and Justin had sent the names to McClain for a thorough search. Nothing suspicious had come up so far, and Justin doubted Derzhavin was going to offer him less than capable men for such a dangerous operation. But he had to remember that these agents’ loyalty rested with Derzhavin, and him alone.