| "Taking the Initiative" | ||
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Sergei's Office May 2, 2008, 1200 hours For the first time in his career he was beginning to understand what people meant when they said they were stressed. He rubbed his head as he clicked through the pages on the computer in front of him. Reams of information that he had to make decisions on, and if he got it wrong� well, people died. It was as simple as that. There was no margin for error, and as he looked over the details of yet another intelligence mission he began to wonder whether he was cut out for this job. Sure, he had the knowledge, but did he have the capability? Polyakov was born for this type of role; he revelled in the stress. Sergei was different, not a born Commander� No, he thought to himself, I'm not going to give in, I know I can do this and I will. He looked back at the screen and decided that an increase in intensity would produce the required results. He tapped the directive into the computer and saved the file, which also caused the directive to be sent out to the agent in question. Sergei was unsure of how this happened, and Livosky's explanations didn't help him at all. One thing he did understand was that the security of the communications was not guaranteed, and that was a huge cause for concern. The matter had been partially addressed with the addition of an ex-KGB communications wizard, but even though Sergei knew little about computers, he did know that more needed to be done in order to ensure communications were safe. There was nothing more frightening to a career intelligence officer than knowing that your communications were not safe, and as Commander of the RGZS that feeling was multiplied many times over. Everything they had achieved so far could be undone in a matter of hours by a dedicated hacker, and the information they held would be disastrous if it fell into the wrong hands. Pushing that thought aside, he decided to see what his `old friend' Alexei was up to. He called up the file on Alexei Pavelevich Konstantin and read through the information. He knew Nikolai had kept his interest in the subject, and that was to be expected, but Sergei was also sure that Nikolai didn't know exactly what Alexei did, and why they were interested in him. Sergei had his orders, and he was not going to break them despite the fact that this meant holding back information from his son-in-law-to-be. The phone rang, a high-pitched shrill that indicated that the incoming call was from Georgiev. He paused for a second to compose himself, then answered. "Good Morning Ilya Stepanovich." "It may well be, Sergei Semyonovich, but there are people who wish to make it not so," Ilya informed him. "I know, and it is up to us to stop them," he replied. "So, to what pleasure do I owe this call?" "What is the status of Club Rossya?" "Club Rossya has been under surveillance for a while now," Sergei said, "and during that time nothing significant has occurred. The building itself has not undergone any changes on any of the main floors. The private suits on the upper floors have been observed via electronic elements and have also not been changed in any way." Ilya asked, "What about Konstantin?" "He has also been under constant surveillance, and so far he has not committed any crimes, though he has engaged in some activities which could be of concern to the State." "Such as?" "He has been in contact with a certain Arkady Mihailivich Bukharin, an individual who has been on the SVR's list for a while now. We took an interest in him after contact was made between him and Konstantin, and have developed some rather interesting information on him." "Are you acting on that information?" Ilya asked him, a degree of worry in his voice. Sergei caught it and wondered what could have spooked him. He was known as a man with ice in his veins when circumstances dictated, but now he sounded anxious. "I am working on a strategy at the moment," he responded. "Kill it," Ilya ordered. Sergei couldn't believe it. "Is there something I should know about?" The pause caused for a chill to run down Sergei's spine. He's holding something back, Sergei thought. It had to be important, and if he was going to kill the mission then it must be something for him to worry about. "There is something, but now is not the time to discuss it. I will explain more when I visit tomorrow." The line went dead. Briefing Room One May 2, 2008, 1230 hours Team Myech sat around the table in Briefing Room One awaiting the arrival or their Commander. Nikolai wondered why they were all here, seeing as they were meant to be being debriefed, a task which was dealt with individually, not as a group exercise. The others looked at him for answers, but he couldn't give them any answers because he simply didn't have an answer. He could guess, theorise, propose ideas; he couldn't say for definite. Sergei strode into the room and took his seat at the head of the table. He pressed a series of hidden buttons, activating a powerful jammer in the room which would disrupt any electronic devices, including both `foreign' bugs and the recording equipment put in by the RGZS. Once this was done he turned to them, pressing another button which caused a transparent board to lower from the ceiling. After a further button press images began to appear on the board. "Alexei Pavelevich Konstantin. A man we are interested in. He owns several buildings, one of them a Club here in Moscow, Club Rossya. Work has recently been completed on another club in America, and it is due to open tonight." He pressed a button and the screen changed from Alexei's face to pictures of the new club. He continued, "Olesya and Maksim will travel to America immediately and attend the opening night. You will take the opportunity to reconnoitre the club, familiarise yourself with the security paths, camera positions, entrances and exits. I want to know everything about that club." He locked his eyes on the pair as he said, "This is pitch black, no-one, and I mean absolutely no-one is to know about this, not even the other team. There is no negotiation on this." The members of Team Myech stared at each other not knowing what to say. Even Nikolai looked to be in disbelief; he had never seen Sergei in this way. For his part Sergei ignored the looks he was getting and proceeded with the briefing. "Club Rossya," he said, as the image loaded up on the screen, "is our target's Moscow club. He visits it at least four times a week, always on a Wednesday and Friday, and usually spends the night there." He looked at the remaining members of Team Myech. "We need someone on the inside. That will be Nikolai. We have a strategy that will allow Nikolai to gain employment at the new club as a DJ." Nikolai looked surprised. "You're going to get me a set?" "Yes. On Sunday you will visit Club Rossya. Olesya will spike the resident DJ's drink with a concoction which will cause sickness within seven minutes. Once this has occurred, Kirill will walk near to the DJ booth carrying a record case. He will then be approached by a concerned member of the Club's staff asking if he will help them out by playing a set, at which point he will explain that he is carrying the records for his friend who is playing at another friend's birthday party that night. Nikolai will be sought out and will agree to play for an hour or two, after which he will be offered a regular slot." Sergei could see that Nikolai looked sceptical, but continued, "You will explain that you cannot accept the offer because you are flying to America to live. A position at the new club will then be offered and you will accept. From then on your task will be to get as close to Konstantin as possible, and extract whatever information about him and his activities you can. Based on the information you learn, and the other intelligence we gather, a mission will be devised to eliminate Konstantin and his network." Sergei pressed a button which caused the screen to ascend back into the ceiling. "That will be all." Briefing Room Two May 2, 2008, 1245 hours You're taking a great risk, his mind told him. He knew that, but he also knew that it had to be done. The information he possessed told him that, and if he ignored it then he would be responsible for the deaths of Russian citizens, and that was something he was not prepared to accept. Georgiev wouldn't be pleased, and there was the chance that he would relieve Sergei of his position for blatantly disobeying orders, but Sergei pushed that thought to the back of his mind. If he could pull it off then it would be much easier defending his actions. He walked into Briefing Room Two and saw that all of Team Kinzhap (Dagger) were assembled round the table. He walked over to his seat and sat down. After taking a breath he started. "Arkady Mihailivich Bukharin," he said as the image appeared on the screen, "an important member of the Russian Mafia. Bukharin came to our interest through an outside source, and the decision has been made to remove him from play. Despite being know to the authorities for quite some time Bukharin has escaped jail terms due to his influence, and because of this the State's hands are tied." Sergei smiled. "Ours are not. We are going to make a statement to those who think they are above our laws, and Bukharin is going to be one of the first to find that out. We are going to operate within a three-week timeline, and the end product will be both the removal of Bukharin and a reduction in the volume of drugs entering our country through his network. Further information has been placed in your room, and I will give additional briefings when necessary. That is all." Return |
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