The Russian Deception (9 page)

CHAPTER 19

Nick and his companions left the bodies of Viktor and the others in the isolated clearing and drove back to the abandoned church where Josef's men had stopped them. Their rented car was parked behind the church, out of sight from the road. They changed cars, headed back to Debar and checked out. They drove through the night back to the Macedonian capital and checked into the same hotel they'd stayed in before.

When they got to Skopje Nick called Elizabeth and relayed everything that had happened. He told her what Josef had said about the Russians. Then he lay down next to Selena, dog tired. She was already asleep. He didn't bother to take off his clothes. He'd been out for about three hours when his phone woke him with a call from Virginia.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, Director."

"Wake up, Nick. Things have changed since I talked to you."

"Give me a minute."

"Make it quick."

Nick got up and went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. Some of the mind fog cleared. He picked up the phone, walked to the window and looked out at Alexander Square. It had been mostly deserted since the bomb had gone off in the stage area. Now people streamed in from every direction. Something had happened.

"Okay, I'm awake. Sort of."

"Somebody assassinated Jerzi Todorovski two hours ago."

"That's not good."

"That might be the understatement of the year," Elizabeth said. "Mitreski issued a statement expressing, and I quote, 'deep sadness over the brutal murder of a true Macedonian patriot' unquote. He went on to say that the assassin was an Albanian, part of the Albanian National Front. He said a note was received claiming responsibility. A lot of Macedonians will believe him."

"Is it true?"

"Nobody knows. The ANF is a real group and people know about it. They've been a thorn in the side of Macedonia for years. They want to reunite Macedonia with Albania. It won't be a good time to be an Albanian in Macedonia."

"Seems pretty convenient," Nick said.

"Isn't it, though? The ANF is a small fringe group. It seems suspicious to me that they could organize something like this. Whoever took the shot was a professional. One shot from the hotel across the way and nobody saw anyone or anything suspicious. No one even heard the shot. The bullet blew Todorovski's head off."

"They probably used a scope and a suppressor. Any comment from the Albanians yet?"

"Tirana denies Albanian involvement. They say Mitreski is using the assassination as an excuse to divert attention from his corrupt policies and escalate the possibility of war."

"What do you think is happening?"

"I think Mitreski could be behind it and that the Albanians are right. Whether he is or not, it means trouble."

"From where I'm standing I can see Alexander Square," Nick said. "A lot of people are showing up. It's a natural gathering spot."

"There are calls for revolution," Elizabeth said. "If enough people think Mitreski is responsible for Todorovski's death he's living on borrowed time. The problem is that this isn't just about Macedonia or Mitreski. Albania is part of NATO. If Mitreski sends troops into Albania NATO will have to get involved."

"Do you think he's going to cross the border?"

"I think it's likely. He has to do something to keep himself in power. People will rally to the flag if they think the Albanians are coming. We're looking at another war that could polarize central Europe. All the old religious hatreds will come up. It could spread to Kosovo and Serbia and Bulgaria and possibly Greece. Croatia again. Montenegro."

"Shit."

"My thought exactly."

Selena had come awake when Elizabeth called and Nick got up. She came over and stood beside him and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"What do you want us to do?" Nick asked.

"There's nothing more you can do in Skopje. Leave Macedonia right away. You're supposed to be a foreign news team and Mitreski might not want reporters there unless they're his. He could close the airport. I don't want you getting hung up there. Try to get to Vienna. It's a good place to start from if I need to send you somewhere else in the region."

"Anything else?"

"That's it."

"We might need weapons," Nick said, "depending on where you send us."

"Don't worry about that," Elizabeth said. "I'll make sure you have what you need if it comes to that. Get going, Nick."

She broke the connection. Nick looked at the phone.

"What did she say?" Selena asked.

"She said we should get out of Dodge," Nick said. "How does Vienna sound?"

"I love Vienna," Selena said.

An hour later the team was at the airport. Armed troops patrolled the perimeter and the terminal. They turned in the car and went inside the terminal. The atmosphere was tense, electric. Lines were forming at the ticket counters.

"Looks like we got here just in time," Lamont said. "I get the feeling it's gonna get real crowded in here real soon."

"I think you're right," Nick said.

"Let's try Alitalia," Selena said. "They fly to Vienna and there's not much of a line there yet."

"You speak Italian, don't you? You do the talking."

They walked over to the Alitalia counter. After a brief wait they reached the agent. She was clearly Italian. The way she wore the airline uniform spoke volumes. Only the Italians could make an agent's outfit look ready for a fashion show. A name badge identified her as Anna de Fiori.

"
Parli Italiano
?" Selena asked.

"
Sì. Posso aiutarla
?"

Selena began talking, gesturing as she spoke. The agent consulted her computer. They spoke for another minute. Selena turned to Nick.

"There's a flight leaving soon for Vienna. It's almost full. There are still four seats available in first class. That's all she has."

"Take them," Nick said.

"Harker's going to love that when you give her the expenses," Lamont said.

Selena handed over a credit card for the tickets. All of their luggage was carry-on except the camera case that went with their cover as reporters. Selena checked it through to Vienna. Then they made their way to the first class passenger lounge to wait for the flight.

"I wish we were leaving sooner," Nick said. "Things move fast when something like this starts. They could still close the airport."

"The plane boards in half an hour."

"Can't be too soon for me," Ronnie said. "I've had enough of Macedonia for a lifetime."

"Do you think there will be a revolution here?" Selena asked. "A kind of European Spring?"

"Spring is a long way off in this part of the world, revolution or not. There could be, but if there's a war all bets are off."

"Who would want to start another war here?"

"The same people that always start wars. Governments like Mitreski's that want to distract their citizens from incompetence and corruption at the top. Manufacturing industries and companies that see an opportunity to make a whole lot of money regardless of who dies. For them there's nothing like a good war to drive up profit. Or else it's some egotistical bastard in charge who thinks he's the next Napoleon or Caesar. Hawks in the military. Whoever it is will always find plenty of people itching to play along."

"That still doesn't answer my question," Selena said.

"Here in the Balkans? I like what Josef said."

"You mean about the Russians?"

"The new president of the Federation, Orlov, is ambitious. It wouldn't be the first time Russia started something here to gain an advantage."

Ronnie had been listening to the discussion. "Macedonia doesn't border Russia," he said. "It's not like the Ukraine. What does Orlov gain by war?"

"You mentioned the Ukraine. It might have something to do with that. NATO has been making moves to beef up its forces in the East and war here would complicate that. It's hard to get the NATO member states to agree on anything. Nobody in that alliance except us ever wants to spend any money, much less send troops."

"The Europeans sent troops during the Bosnian war," Lamont said.

"Yeah, as peacekeepers. With a few exceptions they were forbidden to shoot anybody. A lot of good that did. They had to stand by and watch the slaughter. It wasn't until the US brought in heavy air power that things got more or less settled. The Europeans don't like to fight. Orlov knows that. If he gets NATO all bogged down in central Europe it could free up his hand in the East."

"General Nick," Lamont said. "They ought to put you on the Joint Chiefs."

Nick laughed. "I don't think they'd like what I had to say."

From where they sat they could see the front of the terminal building.

"Something's happening," Selena said.

Three armored personnel carriers pulled up outside. Soldiers armed with assault rifles disembarked and lined up. An officer barked orders at them and they deployed along the road in front of the terminal.

"They're taking over the airport," Nick said. "We'd better hope they're going to let the scheduled flights leave."

Selena looked at her watch. "We board in ten minutes."

"Keep your fingers crossed."

Armed soldiers entered the terminal building. They took up positions by the counters and began turning away people trying to buy tickets.

When the Alitalia flight was called they left the first class lounge and headed for the gate. They didn't notice the dark-haired woman waiting in line with the cabin passengers. There was no reason to notice her.

When Valentina saw Selena her heart skipped a beat. Her half-sister was easy to recognize. Her violet eyes and reddish hair stood out in the crowd. She was with her husband and two other men. Valentina assumed they were a team, all part of the same intelligence unit.

They were going to Vienna, just as she was. She'd planned to take a flight to Moscow the next day but seeing Selena changed everything. Valentina slipped behind a large man standing in front of her, concealing herself. She watched Selena and the others as they reached the gate.

An army officer stood by the gate, looking at the passports of passengers boarding the flight. An enlisted man carrying a H&K G3 rifle stood next to him.

The officer looked at Selena's passport.

"American?" He looked at the three men with her. "You are all together?"

His English was good, the accent light. Selena smiled at him.

"Yes."

"What was your business here?"

"We're a documentary news team for public television in America," Selena said. "We came to film the wildlife in Galicica National Park. It is really quite beautiful. We got some wonderful pictures of the lynx."

The officer was unsmiling. "Let me see the rest of your passports."

Shit,
Nick thought. His face remained impassive.

They handed over their passports. The officer thumbed through them, looking at the visa stamps.

"The park is on the border," the officer said. "Did you cross into Albania?"

"There was no need for that," Selena said. "Our instructions were very specific. The special is only about Macedonia. As you can see, there are no stamps for Albania."

"Did you see many people in the park? Anyone who seemed out of place?"

"Not at all. That was one of the reasons we chose the winter for this shoot. We wanted to avoid the crowds of tourists. The animals are more relaxed in the winter."

"Did you take film of the demonstrations?"

"We heard there were demonstrations," Selena said. "But we didn't see them. We were busy in the park. We don't do regular news at all."

The officer tapped their passports against the palm of his hand.

"Where is your camera? Your tapes?"

"Checked through into baggage."

Nick could see the man thinking about the problems it would create if he delayed the plane so the camera could be retrieved from the baggage hold. Italy was a friend. These people were flying first class and they were from the press.

The officer handed the passports back to Selena and saluted.

"Have a good flight," he said.

"Thank you," she said.

They walked down the gangway and entered the plane. They found their seats. Nick and Selena were seated together. Lamont was in the row in back of them. Ronnie was across the aisle.

A flight attendant asked if they wanted a drink.

"I'd like a mimosa, please," Selena said.

"Whiskey," Nick said.

He leaned back in the comfortable leather seat.

"I thought he was going to pull us out of line," Nick said. "That was great, the way you made that up about the park. How did you even know about it?"

"There was a brochure in the hotel. The park is famous for its wildlife. It was the first thing that came to mind."