“I am glad to see you back, Captain.”
“Thank you, Eminence. I do bring good news.”
This perked up the crowd considerably.
“The trip sounds successful.”
“Indeed. Andri Stemovich has agreed.”
There was a collective sigh of relief. Everyone knew that if Andri had turned them down they would have had to eliminate him to ensure his silence.
“His engineering skills will be quite beneficial to us. How much did you have to divulge?” asked the emir.
Mohsen wished the question hadn’t been asked. “He is a bright man, Eminence. I was vague to start with, but he pressed. Eventually he figured out exactly what would be required of him.”
The emir scowled at the answer. “That is a political answer.”
Mohsen show his discomfort. “Eminence, his intellect was underestimated. A man of such education and training knew that I was not there just for his advice as an engineer. He required the truth. He would not consider working for us if he did not get it.”
The room fell silent at the revelation of an outsider knowing their scheme. “How did he respond, Captain? Are you assured of his silence?”
Mohsen could see in the adviser’s eyes, already — a plot to kill Stemovich.
“He offers something to help us considerably. He explained that he has access to a ship. A ship that can fulfill our wishes. And this one need not be built. It will necessitate only two hundred million American dollars to acquire.”
This news devastated the room. Everyone had a role in the project, and they were all anticipating having to spend several billion to get the ship built. Two hundred million took an incredible responsibility off their shoulders. The only one who showed little emotion was the emir. “Did you tell him what kinds of weapons are needed?”
“Yes, Eminence. The man cares little for our problems. He is driven by other causes.”
“What are his causes?”
“He wants to be the captain. He wants that, and the respect the post demands. He wants to be treated like the leader of a great vessel. He wants to be remembered for something more,” Mohsen said, little knowing how correct he really was.
“Do we have assurance that he will not speak?”
Mohsen knew he was in the driver’s seat now. He was the key to this undertaking, and the emir couldn’t back out now. “I am confident that he is committed to our action. He understands the risks.”
The emir showed little emotion as he absorbed the words. “There is very little in my lands that I don’t have any control over. If this goes badly, people will die.”
The irony of the statement shocked Mohsen for a moment. He knew the emir was not only speaking about his death, but the death of his whole family. “Pay him quickly, Eminence. Involve him as fast as possible. The sooner he is paid, the better he will feel.”
The room became so quiet that a small fly could be heard buzzing in the corner. Some of the advisers felt that they shouldn’t have gone along with this dangerous scheme and squirmed in their chairs. They wished the emir would end it because they all had to trust Mohsen’s judgment. That feeling was uncomfortable. Would the oil be worth it?
The emir stood. “Very well, Captain. We will accommodate Andri Stemovich with whatever is required.”
There was another collective release of tension. This time it was because the men in the room knew the road. They would follow it to the end.
Two days after his meeting with Andri, Sasha arrived in Lyublino, a small town on the outskirts of Moscow. There he visited Colonel Boris Valsovich, commander of Russian Tank Battalion 39.
Boris, like many other military men, was disgruntled by the breakup of the Soviet Union. He was also insulted that he had not been called by the leaders of the September Coup to crush the resistance and Yeltsin. Time and again, he had thought that if he had been in command they would still be living under the Soviet flag. Now he sat in his office, waiting for the Russian government to give him orders. His tanks were covered in the yard and his men out drunk with whores. It was all very disagreeable to Boris’s way of thinking. Life seemed a waste, and he longed for the Communist Party.
Sasha, as usual, entered without knocking. His appearance didn’t startle Boris.
“You bring news from Comrade Stemovich?” Boris never addressed Sasha by name. He knew he was gay and refused to do more than acknowledge his existence.
“Yes, comrade. Andri believes he will soon have the tools to begin the revolution.”
In the past, Boris had had lengthy discussions with Andri on how to return to communism, but he thought they would never have the resources to pull it off. What Sasha relayed was next to impossible. “He has the money?”
“Soon. He has told me to tell you to ready your battalion. Though he does not anticipate it will come to that.” Sasha watched the glee spread across Boris’s face.
“Incredible. What is his timetable?”
“None yet, but he wants you prepared.”
Visions of the parades in Red Square and the troops marching flooded back to him. The artillery and the tanks rolling in perfect formation. Those were the days for which he longed. Now there might be a glimmer of a chance they could come again. Boris committed right then. If there were an opportunity to return to the old way — to return to the respect he once had — then he would do everything in his power to make it happen. He picked up the phone and dialed the maintenance bays. It was time to uncover the tanks. Stemovich didn’t think he would be needed, but Boris knew better. Someone always had to do the dirty work, and he was just the man to get dirty.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Opinion Formulates Action
The next step was obvious, yet Dan hesitated. He had sent George with Sharon to get squared away in a local apartment until they needed him again. As much as he didn’t like Levi, he was comfortable with him sitting across from him now.
“I can’t remember when anything like this has been handed to me so complete.” Levi stared out the window.
“Do you think Stemovich can really pull it off?”
“The Russian? Yes. With the state their economy is in I think anything is up for sale. Even submarines. We know that they’re selling ships, planes, and missiles. So why not a nuclear sub? Yet there is another question.” Levi tapped at the window.
“What’s that?”
“Does he really intend to deliver on the agreement?”
“Why wouldn’t he?” queried Dan.
“We’re talking about a nuclear submarine. It’s ice ages up from the diesel. You can’t just make the transaction and wash your hands of the event. No, there’s more to it than that. Consider a crew. It would be impossible to field a reliable crew to complete the mission suggested. He’s got to be playing them for the money. There are too many uncontrolled variables. Bad idea to see it through.”
Dan was still grappling with the size of the event and found Levi’s coolness unsettling. “I have to consider that he already has a crew. Stemovich is the right man in the right place. The question is, which one?”
Levi’s brow furled. “Which one what?”
“Which sub?”
“You’re letting that conversation spook you into speculative conclusions. There’s no support for the fact that Andri would go through with it. No, he’ll take the money and run. Hell, if he wanted a sub, he’d have built them one. A lot more money, and he gets pampered by those Mideast fuckers. That makes more sense.” Levi continued gazing out the window.
Dan wasn’t going to argue. Nothing in his business ever made sense. The more cause for concern if it did. “It’s time we let the boss in on this one.” He picked up the phone. Levi frowned.