And since the CIA was my next subject, I asked him, "What did the CIA tell you about their interest in Asad Khalil?"
He stayed silent for a while, then replied, "Very little. But I had the impression-based on my own training and experience-that the CIA's interest in Khalil was not the same as the FBI's interest."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, of course, that the CIA wanted to use Khalil for their own purposes."
"Which were?"
He shrugged and said, "If you don't know, then they don't want you to know."
Time to stir up some poop, so I pointed out to Boris, "The CIA must certainly know that Asad Khalil is back in America. So has anyone in Langley called you and said, 'Hey, Boris, your old pal is back and he probably wants your head in his overnight bag. But we're going to protect you'?"
Boris had thought about that within one second of me telling him Khalil was back, and he'd been thinking about it ever since. He stayed silent awhile, then said to me, "My relationship with them is complicated. In fact, it is nonexistent since my last debriefing. They have turned me over to the FBI, and that is why I have not heard from them, and why it is you who are here."
Actually, that was not why I was here-I was freelancing. As for the FBI being Boris's nursemaid, there was often a disconnect between the FBI and the CIA in the post-Soviet resettlement program. Sometimes it was just a glitch, sometimes it was simply indifference on the part of the FBI. Boris had no value to the Bureau, or to anyone, and he was now in limbo. But if someone in the CIA or the FBI realized that Boris Korsakov had become lion's bait, then they'd be all over him. The problem with the system, as always, was faulty communication, firewalls between the agencies, and bad institutional memories. So that left John Corey having pickled beets with Boris Korsakov. Or… it was possible that the FBI and the CIA were already on this, and half the clientele of Svetlana were Federal agents, but they weren't telling Boris, as I had, that Khalil might come calling. Well, I'd know very soon if my visit here was captured on film by my colleagues.
Boris said to me, "I assume that my unwillingness to become bait, as you call it, will not be held against me."
"Of course not. We protect all citizens-hey, are you a citizen?"
"No."
"Oh, well, then… gee…"
"But I hold an American passport."
"Me too." I suggested, "Maybe you and I should go to Moscow with your wife."
He informed me, "I would rather be in New York with Asad Khalil than in Moscow with my wife."
I let that go, and reassured Boris, "If you don't want to be actual bait, we can still work out some sort of protective detail for you."
He had another thought and said, "You know, I am very safe here, and I have no plans to leave here… until Khalil is killed, captured, or flees… so I am not sure I need your protection." He added, "In fact, I pay very good money for my own protection."
There was a subtext here, and I thought that Boris was realizing he did not want the NYPD or the FBI hanging around Svetlana for a variety of reasons, some legitimate, and some maybe not so.
It occurred to me, too, that Boris was coming to some of the same conclusions that I had come to-he wanted to kill Asad Khalil without police or FBI interference. And his reasons went beyond my simple reasons of revenge and permanent peace of mind. Boris, I suspected, wanted Asad Khalil dead because Khalil knew too much about Boris. And what Khalil knew might not comport with what Boris had already told the CIA three years ago, about his not knowing that Khalil was coming to the U.S. to kill American pilots. Therefore, Boris did not want Khalil captured alive and interrogated by the FBI and the CIA. Boris would not be the first defector-a non-citizen-to be shipped back to the old country. I may have been wrong about that, but it was certainly a reason for Boris to want to get to Khalil first.
Another reason, possibly, was the reward, which he may have known about. I said to him, "There's a million-dollar reward for Khalil's capture-dead or alive. Did you know that?"
"I would assume that." He added, "Not a lot of money for this man… but I am not thinking about capturing him… I am saying I will protect myself."
"Come on, Boris. I know what you're thinking. And if anyone can capture-or kill-Asad Khalil, it's you."
He did not reply.
I advised him, "But don't get overconfident. Khalil hasn't spent three years running a nightclub and drinking vodka."
This annoyed him, as I knew it would, and he leaned toward me and said, "I have no fear of this man. I taught him all he knows, and it would be a good thing if I was able to teach him one last lesson."
"There you go." I reminded him, "You taught that young punk everything he knows, and you can still kick his ass."
Boris had no response.
I said, "Well, I'll pass on your statement that you don't want protection." I informed him, officially, "It is your right to decline police protection, and you certainly don't have to volunteer to act as bait. But you can't stop a surveillance of your premises, or your movements." I added, "However, it might be easier and better for everyone if you cooperated and coordinated with us."
He informed me, "I have… former colleagues who I trust to assist and protect me."
"You mean like old KGB guys who know how to take down a punk like Khalil and know what to do with him in a back room here when they get him?"
Boris lit another cigarette and replied, "No comment."
I advised him, "If you should somehow capture him alive, call me first."
"If you wish."
Well, Boris was getting less talkative and it was time for me to leave. The next thing I had to do was report this meeting to Walsh and Paresi. I could get away with what I'd done so far-cops and agents often take a shot at something without telling the boss everything they're doing. But if you don't make a quick and full report of something like this, you are in big trouble.
On the other hand… I wasn't even supposed to be here. I mean, I think Walsh was pretty clear about my limited duties and limited movements, and about carrying my GPS tracker. Another reason for not reporting this was that Boris and I seemed to be on the same page with this. Khalil did not need to be apprehended-he needed to be killed.
I stood and said, "We may speak more tomorrow."
But Boris seemed not to hear me, and he was deep in thought.
Boris, as I said, is not stupid, and in the old days he played games that were more dangerous and more deceitful and convoluted than this one. And I could tell that his KGB brain was awake and working. No doubt he was getting interested and excited about being back in the old business. He looked at me and asked, "Does anyone know you are here?"
Well, Veronika does. Viktor. You. That was not the question I wanted to hear. And I had a good, strong reply. I said, "What do you mean?"
"I think you know what I mean." He asked me, "Why are you alone?"
"I work alone. Like James Bond."
He shook his head and said, "You should have an FBI agent with you." He added, "I don't mean to be disrespectful, Mr. Corey, but you are a New York City detective-as I was told three years ago. Where is your FBI counterpart?"
"She's at the bar."
"No. I believe you are pursuing this matter on your own and I understand why."
"Believe what you want. Tomorrow I'll be back with my team."
He thought about that, then looked at me and said, "Give me a week. Give yourself a week. One of us, I think, will resolve this problem in a way that is best for us."
I replied, of course, "This is not just about us. It is about the law, and justice, and national security."