‘I have some conditions,’ I said, once the silence had gone on long enough; once I’d digested the magnitude of what they were asking me to do.
‘Conditions?’ Sewell blinked. I guess he wasn’t accustomed to field personnel trying to negotiate their orders. Except that I wasn’t part of the CIA, so if I didn’t like the assignment I could always get up and walk away. And he knew it.
‘Let’s hear him out,’ said Tom Vale. He was trying not to smile and I figured a former field man like himself understood what I was thinking. Setting a few rules is never a bad thing, and going into an assignment like this without knowing the parameters would be crazy.
‘Before that, where exactly will I be going?’
Sewell looked pointedly at Angela Thornbury, who seemed surprised at being brought back into the discussion. She shifted in her seat before saying, ‘Um … we’re not sure at this point. Mr Tzorekov is trying to confirm that information right now. As soon as we know … so will you.’ She glared at Sewell, meaning it would be his responsibility to pass on the information.
‘Why?’
‘Pardon me?’
‘Why is Tzorekov telling you? If he’s going in the hopes of meeting Putin and making a difference, he must know this could end in disaster. He might never come out again. Does he expect you to lift him out if it all goes belly-up?’
‘No, not at all.’ She glanced at the other two as if for help, but Vale and Sewell were studying the ceiling and the table with great interest. ‘He doesn’t want his efforts to go public, but he wanted us to know what he was attempting to do. He firmly believes in this.’ She shrugged and looked a little defensive. ‘We have no idea what his deepest motives are, but we do believe he’s sincere and want to facilitate his safe journey.’
‘Sincere. For a former KGB man.’
She flushed a little. ‘Yes. I suppose so.’
I turned to Vale. ‘Does he know I’ll be watching him?’
‘God, no. I think he’d be shocked if he thought he was dragging a posse with him – especially foreigners. As Ms Thornbury said, he’s doing this because he’s convinced he can make a difference; Ms Thornbury and her colleagues have requested that we provide a covert backup to help in that aim.’ He gave a chill smile. ‘Not that I think he’d object too much if you did have to step in and help him out of a sticky situation. He knows the risks better than anyone but I doubt he has a death wish.’
As plans went it sounded a little loosely-packed, but I’d worked with far less. And this one had a greater benefit potential if it could be pulled off. ‘Do we know if he’s already in touch with Putin?’
Thornbury again, now on the relatively safer ground of political intrigue and motivation. ‘Not directly. It’s a very sensitive situation; Tzorekov is regarded by those around Putin as an outsider – a man who has turned his back on his country. It would be almost impossible for him to make a direct approach, and neither can Putin be seen to be talking with such a person. Tzorekov will have to use an intermediary close to the president and he will advise us as soon as he has confirmation of a safe entry. If he can, of course,’ she added. ‘Putin might refuse to see him.’
‘What’s the likelihood?’
‘Fifty-fifty. But we have faith in Tzorekov’s shared history and friendship with Putin; he knows as well as we do that Putin is being influenced by some very powerful figures around him. They’re military as well as government, but there are a few very tough business leaders in there as well who are using economic and commercial arguments in favour of standing up against what they see as threats by the West. Putin is his own man, but there seems to be evidence that even he is in danger of being persuaded to take a much tougher line generally than is healthy for us all. If Tzorekov can pull him back just a fraction from being too confrontational, it will give us time to work on a wider diplomatic solution.’
So, jaw-jaw instead of war-war. Where had I heard that before everything went belly up because politicians thought it was a game? ‘And if the meeting goes ahead?’
‘It will probably be away from Moscow, somewhere towards Saint Petersburg, close to the border with Finland. Putin has a dacha in the area and holds some of his more private meetings there. It would be the most likely area for a meeting like this.’
‘You’re talking about the Ozero Cooperative.’
I saw a grin spread across Vale’s face at Thornbury’s look of surprise. Clearly she hadn’t expected me to know about that, but I do read the newspapers, and had picked up a mention some time ago about a cooperative of rich men around Putin buying up sites around a lake – ozero – in the north-west of the country. These were reputed to be businessmen and ministers who had all prospered in the new Russia and on whom Putin relied for economic and commercial support in building Russia’s economy. Putin himself had a house there, thought by some to be his own way of keeping an eye on the movers and shakers on which he relied, and making sure they knew it.
‘Yes. The members are thought to be different to those of the Siloviki, although it’s almost impossible to be certain. Undoubtedly there are some who share the same aims and business interests.’ She checked herself, then added as if as an afterthought, ‘There’s a strong belief that apart from the Siloviki and the Ozero Cooperative, there’s a third grouping; this one much smaller but just as diverse, which may include selected members of the other two. They’re rumoured to call themselves the Wise Men and have connections in industry, government and the military.’
‘You make them sound significant.’
‘That’s because they are. If anybody in the Russian hierarchy has a profound desire not to permit a meeting between President Putin and Leonid Tzorekov, it will be this group. They don’t want the situation to be “normalised” or rendered anything other than what it is. On the other hand, neither do they wish to supplant Putin. He’s the leader they need and they merely want to steer him in the best direction that suits them. For the same reasons I’m sure you’ve had outlined to you already, they have too much to lose by Putin turning friendly to the West: military budgets, defence spending and the supply of armaments and energy to the surrounding countries fearful of a confrontation of any kind – all that would fall by the wayside.’
‘They undoubtedly have investments outside their own borders,’ Sewell put in, ‘being good capitalists at heart, but not enough to make good any losses they could suffer at home.’
I nodded. I was beginning to lose interest, not because the venture didn’t wound worthy – it certainly did – but this was entering the area of ‘too much information’ for the job I was going to do. I got the impression somebody might have ramped up the argument to sell this mission, and it was feeding all the way down the line.
In any case, my decision was already made. I was in.
‘I’ll need to work with people I know and trust. I’m going to need good intelligence and first-rate comms backup.’
He lifted his eyebrows. ‘For instance?’
‘Brian Callahan and Lindsay Citera.’ Callahan was a CIA Clandestine Service Officer, and knew all there was to know about field operations. He was sharp, incisive and didn’t take needless risks with personnel in the field. So, too, was Tom Vale, but I was pretty sure he wouldn’t be involved except in an advisory role. Lindsay Citera was a communications operator working with Callahan and had proved a real boon the last time I’d worked with her as my unseen ‘voice’. She was smart and cool under pressure, and although fairly new to the task, she had proved to have an instinct for working at long range with an operative in difficult circumstances. She also had a sense of humour, which was pretty useful when the going got tough.
Sewell shifted in his seat and like all good administrators, tried to dodge the point. ‘I don’t think we can nominate any specific persons at this stage,’ he muttered, and looked at the other two for support before adding, ‘in any case I’m not sure they’re available. We do have many other very competent people who can do just as good a job.’
‘I’m sure you have.’ It wasn’t an acceptance and he knew it from my tone of voice.
After several moments, Vale said pointedly, ‘Is it a deal-breaker?’
‘Yes.’ I wasn’t being difficult; this wasn’t a friendly country I was being asked to enter, nor was it a place I could easily blend in and move about at will. Russia is one of the toughest environments for outsiders to move in and possesses several highly efficient government agencies with a wide network of resources to call on. If the Wise Men Thornbury had mentioned were as well placed as she said, they probably had the resources to drop a net on anyone of interest. If they wanted a city or area closed down, they could most likely do it very quickly. I would need to know exactly what was going on around me and have absolute faith in the people I was going to work with.
Sewell looked hesitant but he could see this wasn’t going his way. ‘Very well. Callahan and Citera. Anything else?’
‘No. Anything I need I’ll source myself.’
‘Like what?’ Thornbury looked alarmed. I could see by her face that she was trying not to think about things that go bang and the possible consequences of somebody going off on a Rambo-style mission in the Russian heartland. Typical State Department; we want you to do this for us but please don’t make a noise doing it in case we get embarrassed.
‘Stuff. A vehicle, clothing … resources.’ When she didn’t lose the frown I explained, ‘I’ll have to go in light, so it’ll be easier to get what I need over there.’
‘Are you saying you have contacts there who can do that?’
‘I do.’
‘Who are they? Can they be trusted?’
I smiled and said nothing. Silly question; my life depended on trusting people to do what I wanted and not turn me in, and most of the time they didn’t let me down. Maybe they didn’t have the same ethos in the State Department.
But she hadn’t finished grandstanding yet. ‘Very well. I have a couple of conditions of my own. Under no circumstances are you to engage in any form of conflict with local forces, nor are you to come to the attention of the authorities. I understand you’re accustomed to operating below the radar, is that right?’
‘That’s correct.’
‘Good. Make sure you keep it that way. This mission is of vital importance and I don’t want anybody taking the potential outcome lightly – and that will surely be a bad one if you should allow yourself to be compromised.’
‘I don’t think that’s likely.’ Tom Vale looked annoyed, but she waved a dismissive hand as if he were of no importance.
‘The White House,’ she continued grandly, ‘wants this to succeed without any unpleasant consequences or adverse publicity. That means nobody can know that the US is involved in any way whatsoever. I hope I make myself clear?’
‘Sure,’ I said. ‘Which would you prefer me to do if I am careless enough to get caught – take a cyanide pill or shoot myself?’
At that point Jason Sewell levered himself out of his chair and said, ‘I think we’re done here. Brian Callahan will give you a briefing as soon as we’re ready for you to go. Ms Thornbury, may I have a word outside?’
The way he said it and the look on his face made it an invitation she couldn’t refuse. As he walked out leaving her to trail along behind, I wished I could have been a fly on the wall.