The old Russian eyed Eric shrewdly. “Fulton placed much trust in you. You are good man?”
Before Eric could speak, Smith interrupted. “He’s good enough to keep you on a tight leash.”
Vasilii nodded and stuck out his hand, which Eric shook. The old man bowed his head. “A pleasure, young man, but now I speak to Fulton.”
Eric’s eyes narrowed and Smith could practically feel the gears turning in the young man’s head. “I’ll meet you back at the car,” Smith said. “It’s quite alright, Vasilii and I have unfinished business.”
Eric nodded and headed back toward the car, leaving the two men alone.
“Thank you for cleaning up mess in Feofilivka,” Vasilii said. “It could have been… problematic.”
“That’s one way to describe it,” Smith said. “Now, about that other matter.”
Vasilii glanced away. “I’m sorry, old friend, but was not enough. They will not allow it.”
“I thought you were going to push for this?” he asked, his heart sinking. “I thought you were going to help?”
Vasilii shook his head sadly. “I tried. What Alexandra did? The way she left? They say it cannot be forgiven. I am sorry. I did try.”
He wondered if Vasilii had tried. No one was hurt more by Alexandra’s betrayal than Vasilii, and his sudden reversal on her position had come too easily. “Did you?”
“Even against my better judgment,” Vasilii said softly. “I do not wield your power. I still answer to superiors. I used every bit of influence. It was not enough. You understand? It was not enough.”
He felt the anger rising, not at the old Russian, but at himself for thinking he could reunite his wife and daughter. He turned to stare at the murky water in the reflecting pond. “All my power? It’s not enough to give me the one thing I desire.”
Vasilii turned to join him and together they stood, two old men, looking out across the water, lost in their thoughts.
Smith stood next to the intersection, calmly watching the traffic rumbling through the heart of Washington. It had been two weeks since the events outside Nashville, and the Office was slowly recovering. He had one last piece of business to complete and it would soon be over.
He squinted, looking to see if he could make out the forms of the snipers positioned on the rooftops along G Street.
His earpiece crackled. “You’re good, sir,” Taylor Martin said.
“Thank you, Mr. Martin.” Martin and the newly recruited Bill Burton were armed with Barrett sniper rifles, though he didn’t expect them to be needed. But, recent events had reminded him that careful preparations made all the difference.
His earpiece crackled again. “Your target is approaching, over,” Dewey Green said from his office in Area 51. “I picked them up on the traffic cams two blacks from your location, over.”
He bit back the laugh at Dewey’s absurd speech patterns. “Thank you, Dewey.”
He glanced down G Street. Traffic was heavy, but it wouldn’t interfere with his plan. He waited patiently until he saw the black Chevy Suburban, between a Nissan Sentra and a Toyota Camry. As the Nissan passed, he stepped into the street and turned to the face the driver of the Suburban.
The SUV screeched to a halt and the young Chinese driver stared at him with wide eyes.
He smiled at the young man, slowly walked past the driver’s door, and tapped on the rear window.
He heard an old man’s voice from inside, then the doors opened and two burly men climbed out. They glared at him but remained silent. He nodded at them, then slid in next to the old man in the back seat.
He spoke to the driver over the sound of blaring horns from outside. “Please continue, Mr. Chen.”
The young man watched them in the rear-view mirror until the old man finally nodded. The Suburban accelerated, heading west on G Street.
The old man turned to him, his face a frozen mask of indifference. “I believe Americans call this a reversal of fortune.”
Smith tilted his head. “One good turn deserves another. Huang Lei is missing.”
The old man said nothing. Smith continued, “We stopped his plan, but I believe it is a temporary setback.”
The old man finally nodded. “You felt the need to tell me in person?”
“I followed your advice,” Smith said. “I looked for where he wasn’t. Thank you.”
The old man offered him a faint smile. “You are most welcome.”
Smith shook his head. “You offered your help to prevent the PLA’s hacking operation from coming to light and to keep China from suffering an international incident. You knew Huang Lei hacked your data center, but you didn’t go after him yourself. You used us to fix your problem.”
The old man bowed his head. “As I said, you are a clever man.”
“We will find him,” Smith said. “No one can hide from us forever. Neither him… nor anyone else. Do we understand each other, Mr. Wang?”
The old man’s eyes widened, almost imperceptibly. Smith might not have caught it before, but his senses were keener than they had been in years. It warmed his heart and he smiled, barring his teeth.
“I believe we do,” Mr. Wang finally said.
“Mr. Chen, you may pull over. I’ll be getting out here,” Smith said.
The driver nodded and the Suburban pulled to the curb. Smith opened the door and stepped out. Then, before he closed the door, he turned back to Mr. Wang. “Of course. You are also a clever man.
Before Wang could speak, Smith slammed the door shut. The Suburban’s tires squealed as it took off, but Smith didn’t care.
“Sir?” his earpiece squawked. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, Mr. Martin. I’m heading back.”
“Do you want us to pick you up?”
“No,” Smith said. “It’s a pleasant day. I’m going to enjoy the walk.”
“Roger that.”
He nodded and strolled causally down the street, enjoying the last of the warm September sunshine on his face and the smell of autumn in the air.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin Lee Swaim studied creative writing with David Foster Wallace at Illinois State University.
He is currently the Subject Matter Expert for Intrusion Prevention Systems for a Fortune 50 insurance company located in the Mid West. He holds the CISSP certification from ISC2.
When he’s not writing, he’s busy repairing guitars for the working bands of Central Illinois.
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review at Amazon.
Follow him at www.facebook.com/KevinLeeSwaim