Alexandra’s blood was boiling. How dare her sister act so disrespectfully in front of their father! “If you are not going to bless us with a visit,” said Alexandra, her words dripping with venom, “then please tell us, what is so important that you had to fly here to tell us only to have to leave right away?”
“Later,” said Nika curtly.
Romanov watched his daughters as they verbally sparred with one another. He never said it aloud, but he had always encouraged his daughters to be competitive, even with each other. It was the only way to survive in the real world. People will use you up and spit you out if you do not learn to use them first.
Nika slowly undid a zipper on her breast pocket, and pulled out a small green memory stick, which she carefully laid on the table in front of her.
Alexandra reached over and snatched it, examining it. She was not surprised to see that it was marked top-secret, and had come from the South African Ministry of Defense.
“So, what did you have to do to obtain this little gem?” asked Alexandra, as she eyed her sister.
“Not too much,” said Nika, as she poured herself a tall glass of ice-cold water. “It was remarkably easy. I appealed to the loneliness of a very young and forlorn corporal far from home, who also happened to work in the computer section located deep inside the South African Ministry of Defense. He was instantly smitten by me and, after a few days of toying with him, I simply had him download the information that I was looking for.”
“What about the corporal?” asked Romanov.
“Oh, he had an unfortunate accident. They fished his bloated body from the Jukskei River yesterday,” said Nika, without a hint of remorse in her voice.
“Most unfortunate for the young man,” said Alexandra dismissively, as if they were talking about the weather.
“Love can be fatal,” said Nika with a cold smile as she poured herself another glass of water.
A sudden thought occurred to Romanov. Perhaps Nika’s husband was helped along with his suicide; he was not putting anything past his daughter these days. With a forced smile, he asked, “What are the chances his theft of key defense information will be discovered?”
“Nil, absolutely none,” Nika said confidently. “The late corporal uploaded a virus that I provided to him after he had downloaded the information that I needed. It will take their IT experts weeks to de-bug their system and by then the files will be horribly corrupted. The theft will go unnoticed for weeks; by then it will of course all be too late for anyone to do anything about it.”
Romanov smiled at his daughter’s ingenuity.
“Have you looked at the files?” asked Alexandra, her voice suddenly trembling with anticipation as she spoke.
“Oh most definitely; everything, and I do mean everything, is on that memory stick. Father, all you have to do is give the go ahead to Colonel Chang and what you seek will be yours,” said Nika.
Romanov said nothing. He stared proudly at Nika, and turned towards Alexandra. “Take the stick and download all the information into our secure computers. Make sure you encrypt it before sending it on to Colonel Chang. Let him know that he can back-brief me via video-teleconference on his plan to secure the packages tomorrow morning at 1000 hours,” said Romanov.
Alexandra nodded, picked up the stick, and placed it in her pocket for safekeeping.
“Nika, you have done wonderfully,” said Romanov. “Since you have taken the time to personally deliver this truly wonderful news to us, why do you have to leave?”
“Father, I have a totally reliable source in the US that has provided me with information that the American woman your people failed to grab in the Philippines will be back home tomorrow night,” said Nika, as she inattentively swirled the ice around in her crystal glass.
Romanov smiled. “Do you think you can you get your hands on her?”
Nika locked eyes with her father. “Have I ever failed you?” said Nika boastfully.
“No, not once, my dear,” Romanov said, as he patted his daughter’s hand.
Nika stood. “Now, I have wasted too much time already. I must be going.” Nika wrapped her arms around her father, looked over at her sister, and shot her a smug, almost taunting, self-righteous smile.
Romanov and Alexandra stood there watching as Nika exited the room and was escorted to the waiting helicopter. When she arrived on the helipad, Nika turned towards the nearest camera and playfully waved goodbye, just before climbing into the passenger door of the helicopter.
Romanov shook his head at his daughter’s increasingly unpredictable behavior, before sitting down in his favorite leather chair. Reaching into his leather briefcase, he pulled out an iPad and opened it to today’s New York Times. The headline read, Another deadly week of unrest sweeps Moscow — Can President Ivankov survive?
He smiled to himself and looked towards Alexandra and thought about the revolution he was secretly financing. “These zealots are creating more havoc than I had truly hoped for when we initially agreed to support them and their foolish uprising,” said Romanov, genuinely impressed with the chaos and carnage sown by the latest bombing at an army barracks on the outskirts of Moscow.
Alexandra looked over her father’s shoulder at the news headline; a crooked smile crept across her face. “The Russian current government is nothing more than a glorified dictatorship. It will naturally overreact and crack down even harder on the rebels, causing more disenfranchised people to turn to them, thereby creating the opportunity for someone willing to take the chance to lead Russia and her people out of this mess.”
Like a cat, Alexandra slinked over and sat down beside her father. “As I planned, Father, we only need to keep the West’s intelligence agencies focused away from what is really going to occur. The plan is pure genius in its simplicity. I have it from very well-placed and highly reliable sources that your name is already being whispered on the lips of some very nervous Chinese, Japanese, and European officials as the possible savior of Russia and their precious supply of oil and natural gas. Your well-cultivated, pro-western stance, and proven track record as a formidable global business leader, makes you their knight in white shining armor,” said Alexandra smugly.
“They are all fools who have become addicted to the cheap oil and gas I have been selling them,” said Romanov contemptuously.
“Most assuredly, father, I expect that by the end of next week, the West will be begging you to step in and become the de-facto ruler of Russia. As it should be, the House of Romanov will resume its rightful place as the leader of the nation.”
“This is all truly excellent news. Now, all we need is the right catalyst, and we will be richer and more powerful than any family in the history of the world. Alexandra, do you think Chang and his band of overly well-paid mercenaries can pull this off?” asked Romanov.
“If Nika is right, and the information contained on the memory stick is 100 % accurate, then Colonel Chang is the man to do it. After all, he does not come cheap. People like him care more about their reputations than anything else. He will deliver what we are after,” replied Alexandra confidently.
Romanov smiled and lovingly patted his daughter’s hand. “You and your sister truly do make me proud.”
Alexandra smiled at her father as she stood, removed the memory stick from her pocket, and rolled it in her hand for a moment, wondering to herself what their world would look like in a matter of weeks. Snapping herself back into the here and now, she strode out of her father’s office, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
6