Matthew Dunn - Slingshot

She stopped midway across the room. “Approximate age, obvious intelligence activities that we know about and reference someone called Mikhail, diplomatic listings of Mikhails who’ve been in posts that are known SVR covers, and I’ve managed to get some-not nearly enough, mind you-of the flight rosters of carriers that entered Germany during the forty-eight hours after the Gdansk operation. I’ve checked the handful of Mikhails that we know entered German airspace during that time. All are wrong.”

Will remained motionless. Speaking quietly, he said, “I want you to narrow it down much more than that. When you wake up, you need to focus solely on our databases, and within that focus only on our Russian double agent files. In particular, I want you to see if a Mikhail crops up in any cases during the last five years where one of our agents has been compromised and captured or killed by the Russians.”

Suzy grinned, turned, and started to walk back to the table. “ Now you got me all revved up. Sleep can wait.”

“No it can’t, Suzy!” Will faced her and said in a more sympathetic tone, “This is so vital that the agent files can wait a few hours until my best analyst is fully reenergized.”

Suzy looked unsure, then beamed. “You shouldn’t be trying to charm a pregnant, married woman, Mr. Cochrane.”

Will laughed softly. “Off to bed with you. Both of you.” He frowned. “Boy or girl?”

“Too early to tell.”

“Have you thought of names?”

“Not yet.” Suzy paused, then smiled. “If it’s a boy, I could call him Mikhail. Seems it’s a good choice.”

After she left the room, Peter moved close to him and asked quietly, “Why the double agent files?”

Will pointed at the whiteboard. “Let’s assume that the SVR officer did give Alina the name ‘Mikhail’ for a specific reason. Perhaps there’s a connection between the two Russians. Alina doesn’t know what that connection is, but that doesn’t matter.”

Peter seemed to be following Will’s train of thought. “Because Mikhail suspects she’s in contact with Yevtushenko and will pass him the name?”

Will nodded.

“Doesn’t get us anywhere nearer to understanding what the connection is, though.”

Will considered this. “Yevtushenko’s a conduit to, as you call him, Number 1.”

William.

“SVR officer gives Alina the name ‘Mikhail’; Alina passes the name to her lover; and lover boy passes it to Number 1. Exactly as the SVR officer hoped.”

Peter frowned. “A message?”

“It could be.”

“But the connection. .?”

“What if there is no connection beyond the fact that while Mikhail may not be known to Yevtushenko, the defector will certainly know of him.”

“Mikhail’s the big SVR officer’s real name?”

“It’s conjecture at present. But Suzy can help on that.”

“But why would he want Yevtushenko to have his real name?”

“To unsettle him.” He walked up to the board, and grabbed a marker pen. “Here’s a thought: the crown jewel is stolen, Russians are going to do everything they can to get it back, so they send the one man who can achieve that objective.” He momentarily glanced back at Peter. “A man who has identified and grabbed Russian double agents in the past.” He looked at the board. “I think Mikhail knows who Number 1 is and needs Number 1 to understand who he’s dealing with.”

Peter stood next to him, his eyes also staring at the board. “Could be a pincer movement.”

“Mikhail on the one side, his four-man team on the other?”

“It would explain why the team’s remained static. Mikhail wants Number 1 to know that if keeps hold of the crown jewel, he’ll hunt him down and put a bullet in his head.”

Will considered this. “You’re thinking that he’s trying to force a sale? And the team is there to pay and take delivery?”

“Yes. Aggressive leverage. The team isn’t a benign bunch of business-cover spooks.” Peter folded his arms. “They’re hard bastards, men who are waiting for Mikhail to drive Number 1 toward them so they can confront him with a bag of cash to buy back the paper, or failing that put a shitload of bullets into Number 1’s body.”

Will nodded. “It’s a good theory, but wrong.”

Peter frowned. “You’re sure?”

Will said, “I think the team are shooters, but there’s no pincer movement to be had.”

“Look, we are conjecturing, but this has to make sense because. .”

“No!” Will put a finger against one of Peter’s questions.

Why can’t it be copied and its value therefore diluted?

“Damn.”

“Yes, damn.” Will removed his finger. “There can’t be a sale.”

“Because a buyer would need to know that he or she’s in possession of something unique.”

“And anything on a piece of paper can be copied.”

“None of this makes sense.” Peter sounded exasperated. “How can this paper retain any value?”

“Its value is to the man who orchestrated its theft. He’s not looking to sell it, and the Russians have no intention of trying to buy it back.” He repeated, “There’s no pincer movement.”

“Then what?”

Will said quietly, “What if the Russians have sent a spycatcher? Their best. Mikhail is warning Number 1 that Mikhail’s that man. And the team is there to support him while he does what he excels in.”

“But if that’s the case, why’s the team still holed up in the hotel?”

“Perhaps because Number 1’s hiding in a location that’s known to Mikhail. No doubt it’s an armed camp, too heavily defended for Mikhail and his men to go in there, but the moment Number 1 steps out then Mikhail will activate his team and go for him.”

“A standoff?”

“It’s possible.”

“It would also suggest that Mikhail’s got other assets in situ who are helping him watch Number 1’s place.”

Will agreed. Recalling what the injured Polish AW operative had said to him in Gdansk, he frowned. “Mikhail actively encouraged the Poles to stop Number 1’s men leaving Poland, and by implication he wasn’t concerned if the Poles took possession of the paper. Now we have a standoff between Number 1 and Mikhail, and that would suggest that the paper and Number 1 himself are no threat while they’re locked down in their current location.” He rubbed his face. “I suspect the Russians know that the paper’s useless to anyone except Number 1; and that it’s useless to Number 1 unless he has freedom of movement.”

“But how does Mikhail know the location of Number 1?”

Will shrugged. “Someone close to Number 1 tipped him off, or maybe he’s had him under observation for several weeks.”

“Neither makes sense. An insider would have also tipped him off that the paper was about to be stolen. The Russians would have shot Yevtushenko the moment he tried to get near it.”

“Maybe the insider wasn’t privy to that information.” Will shook his head. “No, you’re right. An insider would have tipped off Mikhail about Number 1’s location because that location had a precise value to the SVR. The value being that a highly valuable SVR paper was about to transit from Moscow to the location.”

Peter nodded. “The same logic would apply to the need to have Number 1 under SVR observation prior to the theft.”

“I agree.” Will was deep in thought. Speaking to himself, he muttered, “Come on. Think, think.”

Peter was silent.

Will frowned. Speaking slowly and deliberately, he said, “I think Mikhail already knew the location of Number 1, maybe had known for years, but had no specific concerns about him. But when the paper was stolen, Mikhail knew the only place it was headed was Number 1’s hands. The Russian tried to stop that happening in Gdansk, but failed. So he then raced to Number 1’s location and has been close to the place ever since.”