I personally questioned the commander and he reluctantly admitted to being paid to look the other way about these missing items."
"What else did he say, can I talk to him?" Matt was anxious to get involved.
"He gave me the name of the man who paid him, but I am afraid he will be of no further help in this matter" said Oleg.
"Surely I may be able to learn something, the smallest detail may be important" Matt pleaded.
"That will not be possible. Our questioning methods are quite thorough. Besides, he was executed after our little chat."
Matt realized that this business really was of life and death importance.
Chapter 48
This was the first time that either Bill or Matt had ever been to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Phelps Place in Washington DC.
As they were leaving their vehicle Bill pulled Matt aside and whispered to his protégé "This should be interesting, I understand you made quite an impression on our Russian friend" said the Intelligence chief with a wink, knowing more than he was letting on.
They were immediately ushered into the private dining room which was magnificent and the crystal chandelier breathtaking.
"A toast to our friendship" as Oleg passed glasses of vodka.
Matt was not a vodka drinker, but he had long ago learned that when in the presence of superiors, it was best to drink whatever they were drinking!
Bill was similarly unimpressed with the Russian staple, and was hoping for a change of brew.
"Any chance of a whisky Oleg" whispered Bill in perfect Russian.
Matt had no idea that Bill had language skills outside of New England, his esteem for his boss continued to grow.
The burly Russian host waved to the waiter who waited patiently well out of earshot, and he rushed over immediately.
Oleg whispered in his ear and almost immediately the waiter re-appeared with a bottle of thirty five year old Macallan malt scotch labeled Cask strength, thought by many to be the ultimate whisky experience.
The Russian poured three glasses and took his straight up. Bill did as his Scottish host the previous year had taught him and splashed in a little water. Matt did the same and added a couple of ice cubes as well.
"Thanks for agreeing to meet us Oleg, I was going to buy you pizza, but I hear the food here is infinitely better than Pizza Hut!" Bill began when the time was right.
"Oleg, we need help to track down the other missing suitcase nukes," shot Bill in a tone that was a little too forceful.
"Sorry Oleg, I didn’t mean to be rude, but President Connolly is not the only one really worried about this situation."
"I spoke to him this afternoon and he has insisted that we have someone on the ground to help you track down those nasty suitcases that were supposed to have been destroyed long ago."
Oleg grinned from ear to ear "I have also been in contact with my President Arkadin. He has been speaking with your President Connolly, and they both agreed that I could pick the US liaison officer on this case.
Given the fact that the first weapon almost certainly landed in the hands of muslim extremists, I have chosen you my young friend" said Oleg pointing at Matt Peterson with his glass of amber nectar "to go back to Russia with me to be the U.S. eyes and ears over there."
Matt’s mouth hung open and he dropped twenty five dollars worth of malt scotch in his lap.
"Sorry guys, I don’t think I am the right person for this, I am a desk jockey" replied Matt in a sheepish sort of way as he mopped the dregs from his trousers with a napkin.
"No way Matt, both Presidents have already approved you, our Russian friends have insisted on a non-shooter. After I explained your Russian and Arabic language skills and security clearance, it was decided way above my pay grade, it’s a done deal…no discussion" Bill explained in a formal way.
Chapter 49
Once they were seated in the rear soundproof compartment of their car for their trip home, Matt turned to Bill "What the fuck is going on here?"
Bill found Matt’s comment very amusing and commented, "I had a bet with myself you would say that, I won!"
"You know I am a computer guy, not a field guy, this isn’t what I do" said Matt.
"So you keep saying" said Bill, tossing Matt a folder.
Matt caught it, "What’s this?" he asked.
Bill did not answer, but the cover said it alclass="underline"
CIA Training File — Matthew Peterson.
There was instant silence in the cabin for more than the next hour, as Matt read it cover to cover. He did not even notice when they double parked at the Langley undercover entrance and Bill held up his hand, signaling the driver to wait.
What he read fascinated Matt. There were even excerpts from interviews with people he had not seen since grade school. The background check was very thorough. The first thing that really caught his eye was something from one of his University professors. It read:
"Peterson is an excellent student and has a real flair for languages, I recommend him for recruitment."
Matt had always wondered who had brought him to the agency’s notice. The guy that arrived to join him five years previously at an empty coffee table and passed him a CIA card would never tell Matt. "You don’t need to know" said the recruiter.
Next, he came to the section detailing his training at the infamous Farm, the top secret CIA training centre near Williamsburg Virginia.
"Bill, what is all this? I am just a computer nerd who can shoot."
"Read on Matt, it gets even more interesting" said Bill.
There was quite a bit included from his self-defense instructor.
"Peterson has way above average skills in hand to hand combat, I would rate him in the top 5 % that I have ever trained."
Matt had always thought just the opposite, since his instructor seemed to take personal pleasure in kicking his butt at every opportunity.
Matt realized he made a huge mistake during his first class, when he had unconsciously bowed when entering the training hall. This mark of respect was taught to him in his first Goju Ryu karate lesson in Texas when he was only eleven. He had done it at every lesson for more than ten years, old habits die hard.
Tom Cullen, the burly ex Delta Force instructor had noticed this immediately and asked Matt to come down the front to be the first guinea pig. "Show me what you can do Bruce Lee" said Cullen as he grabbed Matt in a bear hug. Matt had no idea at all and actually passed out from lack of oxygen.
Over the next four months of daily sessions, Matt came to realize that the karate he had learned gave him awesome punches, kicks and blocks, but it was a long way from being of much practical use. Cullen had spent a lot of time working with Matt, and insisted he practice all techniques until they were second nature to him. Weapons, take downs, wrestling and grappling are not part of traditional karate training, so they did heaps of work in these areas.
"Peterson’s speed is excellent, and his defense against a knife attack is the best I have ever witnessed in 15 years of teaching unarmed combat."
Matt could not believe what he was reading. He thought he had not done well in this part of the training at all, and did not realize that he was put under much more pressure than the other students because of his potential.
He knew he had done ok on the shooting range, since he had been shooting since he was a kid when his father began taking him hunting for groundhogs when he was only ten.