Spy Thriller: An Involuntary Spy: An espionage thriller (Involuntary Spy Espionage Thriller Series Book 1) (16 page)

     All through dinner with Natasha, Seth was not at ease.  He glanced around nervously, looking at the entrance and the kitchen door.

     “Seth, what’s wrong?” asked Natasha.

     “Nothing really. I guess I’ve just been a little jumpy lately.”

     “I’ll say you are.  Calm down, relax.”

     “I’m fine.”

     After finishing dinner, Seth was still uneasy.  He excused himself to go the restroom, and there he flipped out his cell phone and called Yuri.

     “Yuri, I was ambushed by three guys tonight.”

     “I know.”

     “You know?  And you let them get me?”

     “CIA, Seth.  Remember I told you not to go out of town?  First they send Salisbury and now they send these guys.  They aren’t going to mess around.  Their first visit is always where they give the ultimatum.  You don’t want second visit, believe me.  We have to take measures.”

     “What measures?”

     “Let’s talk about that in person.  I meet you at apartment in one hour.”

     When Seth got back to the apartment, the door was ajar and looked like it had been jimmied open.  The door frame was bent.  He called Yuri on the cell phone.

     “I’m on my way,” said Yuri.  “Don’t go in until I get there.”

     Seth trusted Yuri, but he had to check and make sure his hiding place had not been touched.  If the report had already fallen into the wrong hands, he was as good as dead.”

     He looked through the crack of the half-opened door and listened for any sounds of movement.  It was as still inside as a meadow at midnight.  He carefully slipped in at once, remembering the time his apartment in St. Louis had been ransacked.  This time nobody struck him on the head – yet.

     What greeted Seth was what was becoming too familiar of a scene.  Food was dumped all over the kitchen floor, the contents of the refrigerator mixed with spices, pasta, rice, cereal and broken glass; every drawer was stretched out like a tongue at a doctor’s office; every cabinet door was gaping open.  All the contents of Seth’s entire apartment now covered the floor like a badly sewn quilt.  But, thank God, the cover plate was intact.  Seth reached into his pocket for his keys to unscrew the plate, and, as he bent over to do it, Yuri walked in and Seth immediately stopped.

     “What you are doing?  I thought I told you to wait outside,” he admonished.

     “Uh, just looking around.”

     “Did they get it?”

     “What?”

     “What they were looking for, did they get it?”

     “No, no, it’s not, it’s not even here.”

     “Where is it?  You can’t fuck around anymore.  This is only thing between you and cut throat.  You have to give it to me for safekeeping or you are as good as dead.”

     “I told you, it’s not here.  It’s safe.”

     “Safe?”

     Seth looked around at the torn cushions of the couch and stuffing all over the living room.  He knew Yuri was right.

     “Yes.”

     “Look, Seth, we already know your shitty skills as a spy.  You got three CIA guys after you.  What they say to you?”

     “To give them the report and I will be safe.”

     “We have to get you out of here right away.  And first thing you need to do is to give me report.  Stop fucking around.  By tomorrow you have to be ten thousand kilometers from here.”

     “I think we should talk to Dave first.”

     “Talk to Dave?  Are you out of your mind?”

     “Look, if Dave was supposed to get me, then why would these guys be after me?  I think they’re working two different sides.”

     “What, I duck your head into car for high speed chase and gun battle and now you think you are expert detective?  Man, you are way, way out of your league.”

     “Maybe so, but it’s logical.”

     “Seth, for smart guy, sometimes you can be so fucking stupid.  There is no logical in spy business.  Instincts defy logic.  You have to be quick or you are dead.  And there is always some guy out there who is quicker than you.  The only logic is how not to meet that quicker guy.”

     Seth knew Yuri was right.  But he had to talk to Dave first.  It was the only piece of the puzzle that did not fit.  Neither Dave nor Julia had threatened him or asked him for the report.  He knew the CIA’s agenda.  He knew he didn’t dare meet with them.  And he knew he needed Yuri’s protection.  But he had to find out what Dave was up to.

     “Come on.  You go to hotel tonight.  Not safe here.”

     Seth saw his briefcase on the floor amongst the debris, open and empty, of course.  He picked it up and closed it.

     “Yuri, I…Okay, let me get some stuff.”

     “Seth, you know there is cat and there is mouse, right?”

     “Yes.”

     “Mouse smells piece of cheese, he runs to it, bites into it without looking and BAM! – he is smashed to pieces by mousetrap.  But cat is different.  Cat sees mouse and becomes very, very still.  He looks at every move of mouse, creeps up on mouse without mouse seeing him, and is very, very patient.  Cat crouches low and stays there like statue, as long as it takes.  Every one of cat’s muscles is tensed, ready to strike at the right moment, and cat waits until that very moment, then BAM! - mouse is in cat’s claws.  Mouse never saw him coming.”

     “And?”

     “Simple.  Be cat, not mouse.  Cat lives longer.”

     Seth kept rolling around in the little hotel bed.  He couldn’t possibly sleep.  He kept thinking, staring up at the ceiling, then closing his eyes to try to force himself to sleep.  He turned to one side, then another.  It seemed like every part of his body itched.  He scratched, then turned to the other side.  Ridiculous lyrics to the same song
, Heard it through the Grapevine
, bounced around in his brain, refusing to be evicted.  Finally, he called Dave.

     “Dave, it’s George.”

     “George, how are you?”

     “I’m good – look, I’m sorry it’s late, but we have to talk.”

     “George, I’m not much of a phone guy.  If you want to get together, let’s get together and we can talk then.”

     “When?”

     “Well, how about right now?”

     “Okay.  Where?”

     “Remember that hotel we went to with those two chicks.  Just say yes or no.”

     “Yes.”

     “Meet me there.”

     “Okay.”

     “But be careful, Seth.  It’s late and there’s a lot of low-lifes out there.  Don’t trust anyone at this time of night.”

     The phone went dead.  Seth looked out the grimy window of his tiny room.  He thought he understood Dave’s cryptic code speech.  If he tried to walk there, he would freeze after a few long blocks.  If he called a taxi, he may have uninvited company again.  He decided to slip out and hail a cab on the street.

     Seth went by the cloak room in the lobby bar, and grabbed a stranger’s coat and hat from the coat rack.  He waited for a couple of drunks to leave, then staggered out the front entrance with them, slushing his boots randomly through the snow, and followed the drunks into a mini mart, where they bought cigarettes and some beers for the road.  Seth bought a pack of cigarettes and some matches, and exited the mini mart, lighting one.  A taxi was waiting outside the mini mart, and Seth asked the driver in Russian if he was free.  He hopped in the cab and was whisked within a block of Hollywood Palace, then got out and walked the rest of the way on foot.

     Dave was waiting, in the same suite.  Seth knocked on the door and Dave opened it.  As Seth entered the suite, he could see that Dave was not alone.  Julia was also there.

     “Have a seat, George,” said Dave.

     “Thanks.”

     Seth sat in one of the two chairs opposite the large couch, with Dave on the left side, closest to him, and Julia on the right.

     “Who else knows you’re here?”

     “Nobody.”

     “Were you followed?”

     “No.  I took precautions.”

     “Good.”

     “Dave, I was confronted tonight by three American guys.”

     “CIA.  We knew they were in town.”

     “Yes, and they made me an offer.”

     “What did they offer you?”

     “Before that, I’d like to know your offer.”

     “My offer?”

     “Yes.”

     Seth looked over at Julia, sitting on the couch.  She seemed to be trying to read his mind.  She scooted closer, opposite Seth.

     “We came here to Russia as a result of your request,” said Julia.

     “My request?”

     “Yes, you said you wanted a Congressional investigation.  Several members of the Senate are in agreement with you.  These are very powerful people, with very specific requirements.”

     “Before we get into their requirements, what are they offering to me?”

     “We’re here on their behalf because you said you wanted an investigation,” said Dave.  “That means, if you accept, you testify before Senate hearings and you receive immunity for your testimony, so long as you turn over all classified information to the Committee and let them deal with it as they see fit.”

     “This means all copies of everything you have,” said Julia.  “Anything shows up on the street or in the press and there is no deal.  No immunity.”

     “What about the other stuff?  The FDA and EPA reports about GMO food?”

     “The Senate hearing is about government corruption.  Since you’ve already made those reports public, they are known, but they still have to be presented to the Committee.”

     “And how do I know I can trust you?”

     “You have no choice,” said Julia.  “The CIA has made an appointment with you to deliver the report, right?”

     “Right.”

     “If you don’t make the appointment, they will come after you.  I think you know that you are in better hands with us, or you wouldn’t be here.”

     “When is the appointment?” asked Dave.

     “Tomorrow.  Eight o’clock.  Look, the FSB has also been asking me for the report also.”

     “George,” said Dave.  “Are you American or Russian?”

     “Well, actually I’m Canadian right now.”

     “Right, sure you are.  Well, you can’t turn over this information to the Russians.  First of all, it does you no good.  It won’t get you any closer to a Congressional investigation, and isn’t this why you put your ass into hot water in the first place?  To try to change things?”

     “Well, yes…”

     “Second, you cannot trust anybody – even your protectors.”

     “Technically, that includes you, Dave.”

     “Fair enough, but the fact that you’re here and have not turned over the report to the Russians says that you have already made your decision.  Is the report safe?”

     “Yes.”

     “You have it hidden somewhere?”

     “Yes.”

     “The best bet is to get it while the CIA is waiting for you.  Less chance for them to track you when they’re sitting there for the appointment.  Let’s meet, secure the report, then get you out of Russia as soon as possible.”

     “Then what?”

     “You’ll travel to the states on your Canadian passport,” said Julia.  “U.S. Marshals will pick you up at the border and take you to a safe house.  You will be enrolled in the witness protection program for your safety.  That means a new identity, a new location.”

     “How do I know this isn’t all bullshit?” asked Seth.

     “We put the deal in writing,” said Dave, as he lifted his briefcase onto his lap, opened it, and took out some papers.  Dave slid the papers to Seth on to the coffee table.”

     “This is the best deal you will ever make,” Julia said.

     Seth read over the papers.  They were from the U.S. Attorney’s office, they looked official, and seemed to provide everything Dave said they would.

     “Because it’s a government corruption case, you can rest assured that nobody in the government, except for the U.S. Marshal, will know who you are or where you are,” said Dave.

     “Would I be able to bring my girlfriend with me?” asked Seth.

     “If you were married, the deal would cover both parties,” said Julia.  “If not, I’m afraid they wouldn’t even be able to tell her where you are.”

     Seth thought hard about this.  If he signed the deal, he wouldn’t be able to see Natasha for some time, maybe a long time.  But if he didn’t sign the deal, he would surely be killed or thrown into an obscure prison.  If they could find him in Russia they could find him anywhere.  He needed to tap the same kind of unlimited government resources to hide as they had used to find him.  He signed the deal.

     “You made the right decision,” said Dave.

     Now if only he could live long enough to see it through.