“Good morning, Colonel,” said General Sun. “Thank you for meeting me on such short notice. I apologize for the urgency of my request.” He was wearing his forest-green uniform, with a modest block of ribbons on his chest, and three bright-yellow stars on his epaulets, which were the same shade as the steady unperturbed halo behind his head. As usual, his eyes did not linger on her bust or legs—there had never been even the slightest whiff of prurient interest—and Dominika had shelved for the moment the idea of engineering a “bump” on the general with a Sparrow.
“It’s always a pleasure to see you, General Sun,” said Dominika. “How can I be of service?”
“The matter is delicate and embarrassing,” said Sun. “Our counterintelligence units have uncovered unsubstantiated indications that a high-ranking PLA officer recently may have been targeted for recruitment by an unknown service.”
“That is always an upsetting development,” said Dominika. The general clasped and unclasped his hands. Dominika forced her foot to stay still.
“I am pained even to raise it, but there are unsubstantiated reports of a possible meeting between a Chinese official and a young Russian in Macao. Nothing is substantiated; all we have is the single sighting.”
“What is your question, General?” said Dominika evenly.
“Forgive me, but I must ask you officially, as the Chief of Counterintelligence, are there any SVR recruitment operations in China?”
Dominika kept her face shut down even as the thought boiled from the pit of her stomach, crept up her spine, and volleyed around the top of her head. It’s Nate, she thought. I’m sure of it, I can feel it, it’s a false-flag pitch, Benford’s behind it, they’re up to their old tricks, pitching a Chinese officer as a Russian. Thanks very much, fellows, you could have given me some warning, but that wouldn’t have happened, not in a million years.
“General, I can answer with complete honesty that there are no human SVR operations, in China, or against Chinese interests anywhere,” said Dominika. Technically, she was telling the truth: there were no ongoing human recruitment operations, but that did not include massive Russian SIGINT and ELINT collection programs along China’s northern border and Far East Pacific Coast. General Sun smiled. He was aware of the distinction, and recognized the evasion.
“I never thought so myself,” he said. “But I had to ask. Please excuse the presumption.” His yellow halo was steady.
“But your counterintelligence problem remains,” said Dominika. “What are your next steps?”
“With the most welcome confirmation that your service is not involved, we can proceed to investigate other possibilities,” said the general.
“You have other leads to pursue?”
The general leaned forward in his chair. “Yes, a particular possibility with which I believe you can assist. Several weeks ago, assets in Hong Kong reported the arrival of a CIA officer on a limited temporary assignment, somewhat unusual, coinciding with the approximate time frame of the shady contact between an unknown Chinese official and an unidentified Russian.” Bozhe moy, my God, they’re already looking at Nate, she thought. Chinese counterintelligence is insidious. Keep fishing, you must learn as much as you can.
“We have no information on this officer,” said Sun. “He apparently has never operated against the People’s Republic, but I kindly request SVR traces in the event you have a file on him. Beijing would like to review his biography, operational history, and, most important, whether he speaks Russian.” Nate’s delo formular, the operational file, is five volumes, it will make the MSS swoon. Respond now, she thought, you have to agree, no other response is possible.
“Of course, General,” said Dominika. “Please send me this American’s name and I will personally run full traces on him for your review.”
“Thank you, Colonel,” said the general.
“And what will be your course of action?” said Dominika.
“Our priority, of course, is to identify the traitor. If the American CIA officer has indeed recruited an agent, he knows the name. Beijing has directed an asset to develop a relationship with the American, to attempt to elicit the name of the turncoat.”
“It will not be easy,” said Dominika. “In my experience, the Americans are disciplined and cautious.” The ultimate irony, thought Dominika. A hundred years ago, I was sent to elicit the name of Korchnoi from Nate. Look how that turned out.
“Our operatives are very effective,” he said. “I have heard about your service and its methods, so I know you will understand. You are not the only ones who employ what I believe you call Sparrows.”
“Sparrows,” said Dominika, swallowing hard. “They were effective in their day. Sexual attraction can be a powerful tool, but times have changed, and methods have evolved over the years.”
“Most interesting. But our Sparrows—we call them Zhènniǎo—are occasionally called upon to perform functions beyond mere seduction and coercion,” said the general. Dominika felt her foot bouncing.
“Zhènniǎo translates as ‘poison-feather bird,’ ” said the general. “Part of an ancient mythology.”
“What are you saying?” said Dominika.
“Whether our operative is successful in eliciting the name of the mole from the CIA officer or not, his complicity is clear,” said the general. “She will be ordered to assassinate the American. She is highly trained in the requisite skills.” Wonderful. A Chinese female assassin running loose, a goddamn poison-feather bird, whatever that is.
“You know your procedures best, General,” said Dominika, casually, feeling her heartbeat behind her eyes. She was gently trying to talk this down, with no effect. “I might mention that we have long observed an unspoken rule that we do not offer violence against opposition officers. We view it as counterproductive and costly.”
“I understand. Sadly, the result of this policy of restraint did not, as we know, stave off the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a somber historical lesson noted by our own politburo,” said the general, displaying uncharacteristic candor. “We believe that it is salutary occasionally to send a dramatic message to the enemy to deter future offensive action, especially inside China.”
“I am not convinced it is a wise course of action,” said Dominika.
The general shrugged. “Beijing insists,” he sniffed. “But I would like to propose something a little out of the ordinary.”
“You have all my attention,” said Dominika.
“Would you consider coming to China—Hong Kong—to advise us on the counterintelligence phase—the entrapment—of the operation against the American? Your service has many years of experience operating against America and Americans, especially CIA. We would look forward to your guidance and, of course, to exchanging methods and techniques. You would be the esteemed guest of the minister.”
What was this? An intricate CI trap? Some way to link Nate and her, some triple move by Gorelikov to incriminate her? Don’t be paranoid, your security is intact. These Chinese were devious and intricate, but they’re not stupid. A rare invitation to China to observe MSS operations would be a triumph. Putin would marvel at her acumen and skill; no senior SVR officer had ever before been invited to monitor an ongoing compartmented activity.