Russian
Games
Bruce Savage
About Bruce Savage He is the author of thriller, science fiction and horror novels including the smash hit Casualties of War has been on track to being on the bestseller list in the US and Worldwide since its release. He writes full-time and loves hearing from his fans. "If you took the DNA from authors Stephen King, Tom Clancy, James Patterson, Arthur C. Clarke and H.G. Wells and spliced them together in a ultra-secret government lab controlled by a mad scientist from an alien world and then gave birth to a writer from that combination you would have the one of a kind writing style and unique stories of Bruce Savage. That is author Bruce Savage.� Bruce Savage – RUSSIAN GAMES
Books by Bruce Savage The Novels: GODS ASSASSIN NO MERCY FOR THE DEAD LEGEND OF THE DRAGON THE SKULL EUROPA'S CHILD RUSSIAN GAMES QUEST FOR THE TABLET ORIGIN SHORT SCARY STORIES PSYCHO CASUALTIES OF WAR For previews and information about the author: Visit www.brucesavage.com.
Table of Contents ABOUT BRUCE SAVAGE................................................... BOOKS BY BRUCE SAVAGE............................................ TABLE OF CONTENTS...................................................... DISCLAIMER...................................................................... COPYRIGHT....................................................................... QUOTES............................................................................. PROLOGUE......................................................................1 PART I...............................................................................3 CHAPTER 1......................................................................5 CHAPTER 2......................................................................9 CHAPTER 3....................................................................13 CHAPTER 4....................................................................19 CHAPTER 5....................................................................25 CHAPTER 6....................................................................29 CHAPTER 7....................................................................35 CHAPTER 8....................................................................39 CHAPTER 9....................................................................43 CHAPTER 10..................................................................47 CHAPTER 11..................................................................51 CHAPTER 12..................................................................55 CHAPTER 13..................................................................61 CHAPTER 14..................................................................65 CHAPTER 15..................................................................70 CHAPTER 16..................................................................72 CHAPTER 17..................................................................76 CHAPTER 18..................................................................80 CHAPTER 19..................................................................84 CHAPTER 20..................................................................89 CHAPTER 21..................................................................91 CHAPTER 22..................................................................95 PART 2............................................................................97 CHAPTER 23..................................................................99 CHAPTER 24................................................................101
CHAPTER 25................................................................105 CHAPTER 26................................................................109 CHAPTER 27................................................................111 CHAPTER 28................................................................117 CHAPTER 29................................................................121 CHAPTER 30................................................................125 CHAPTER 31................................................................129 CHAPTER 32................................................................133 CHAPTER 33................................................................137 CHAPTER 34................................................................139 CHAPTER 35................................................................143 CHAPTER 36................................................................145 CHAPTER 37................................................................150 CHAPTER 38................................................................154 CHAPTER 39................................................................158 CHAPTER 40................................................................162 CHAPTER 41................................................................166 CHAPTER 42................................................................171 CHAPTER 43................................................................173 CHAPTER 44................................................................177 CHAPTER 45................................................................181 CHAPTER 46................................................................185 CHAPTER 47................................................................189 CHAPTER 48................................................................193 CHAPTER 49................................................................197 CHAPTER 50................................................................201 CHAPTER 51................................................................205 CHAPTER 52................................................................207 CHAPTER 53................................................................211 CHAPTER 54................................................................214 CHAPTER 55................................................................217 CHAPTER 56................................................................219 CHAPTER 57................................................................221 CHAPTER 58................................................................223 CHAPTER 59................................................................227 CHAPTER 60................................................................229
CHAPTER 61................................................................231 CHAPTER 62................................................................237 CHAPTER 63................................................................241 CHAPTER 64................................................................245 PART 3..........................................................................249 CHAPTER 65................................................................251 EPILOGUE....................................................................257 WAIT!............................................................................265
Disclaimer Russian Games By Bruce Savage Copyright © 2015 Russian Games Paperback Edition This paperback is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This paperback may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite paperback retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems without the express permission in writing by the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. First Edition 1.0 Bruce Savage – Russian Games
Copyright Copyright © 2015 www.brucesavage.com All rights reserved. ISBN-10: 1517789176 ISBN-13: 978-1517789176 Bruce Savage – Russian Games Visit: www.brucesavage.com or your favorite book seller to order additional copies. Bruce Savage – Russian Games
Quotes I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. -Winston Churchill radio speech, Oct. 1, 1939 Nobody and nothing will stop Russia on the road to strengthening democracy and ensuring human rights and freedoms. -Vladimir Putin Russia is an ancient country with historical, profound traditions and a very powerful moral foundation. And this foundation is a love for the Motherland and patriotism. Patriotism in the best sense of that word. Incidentally, I think that to a certain extent, to a significant extent, this is also attributable to the American people. - Vladimir Putin “Whoever doesn't miss the Soviet Union has no heart. Whoever wants it back has no brain.� - Vladimir Putin Russia has made its choice in favor of democracy. Fourteen years ago, independently, without any pressure from outside, it made that decision in the interests of itself and interests of its people... of its citizens. This is our final choice, and we have no way back. There can be no return to what we used to have before. - Vladimir Putin
Russian
GAMES
Bruce Savage
Russian Games
Prologue The Once self-proclaimed powerful and mighty Evil Empire was dying. After years of mismanagement and overspending on grand military ambitions, blatantly ignoring economic growth and a failed war in Afghanistan the financial coffers of the second most powerful nation in the world had run dry. The Soviet Union was broke! Its final death throws came with the dissolution of the Soviet Socialist Republic in December of 1991. Democracy had finally come to Russia at long last! An ambitious and democratically elected President, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin took the oath of office not long after the dissolution with an overwhelming fifty-seven percent of the peoples vote. A new day had come to the people of Russia. The people now had a real chance at fulfilling the hopes and dreams that they had kept secret and hidden from the once powerful and notorious Communist regime. Mikhail Gorbachev was out. The last Communist ruler of the Soviet Empire had been ousted despite his futile attempts at reform. Out with the old and in with the new. The Russian Federation was born! Yeltsin 1
BRUCE SAVAGE immediately dissolved the power of the Communist party and set out to rebuild the once powerful nation that was now in chaos. Grocery stores were empty, millions were homeless and starving. Crime and unrest was the attitude of the day. There was much to do-much to do indeed. While Russian democracy lay in its cradle who would think that despite the wishes of its people, another group-secret and hidden- would be plotting its demise? A group known as, The Committee. Who would think that this secret group of Communist had ambitions to kill the newborn democracy as it lay sleeping in its cradle? Who knew that this secret group hiding in the darkness that its party had been banished to would be hiding an ace up its sleeve? Not just any ace, but a nuclear ace that had been tucked away long ago for a rainy day. It is said, and with good reason; you should never trust a dying animal. You never know what it might do...
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Part I My Empire
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Chapter 1 November 7, 1962 The Soviet Cargo Ship Grisha. Somewhere in the North Atlantic Ocean. The World Exhaled! The United States and the Soviet Union had just finished a nuclear Mexican standoff that could have plunged both countries into a massive nuclear exchange. Soviet R-12 Intermediate-range nuclear missiles had been discovered on the island nation of Cuba and for the past several days both America and the Soviet Union stood eye-to-eye and toe to toe unwilling to back down. The missiles could not be allowed in Cuba so close to America. Soviet R-12’s are more than capable of striking any heavily populated American city and this could not be allowed. This would not be allowed. An agreement had been reached through 5
BRUCE SAVAGE back channels in the final seconds between America and the Soviets in order to save face on both sides. Neither wanted a nuclear war. Neither country wanted to destroy the world. But neither could show weakness in the eyes of the world. America would deactivate its Thor and Jupiter IRBM’s in Europe and promises never to invade Cuba. In exchange all of the Soviet missiles and bombers would be packed up and shipped back to the Soviet Union. And so it was. All of the Soviet missiles and bombers were packed up and put onto cargo ships and sent back to the Soviet Union, just as the Soviets had agreed to do. All of the ships were verified to have reached their destination with their deadly cargo. But then...records can be falsified... “War-Peace-War- Peace! You would think that such powerful men would know which direction they wish to go in. You would think that a seasoned politician such as Premier Cruschev would not be so quickly persuaded by such a young American President such as Kennedy. But yet, here we are Yuri headed back to the Soviet Union. Bring the missiles to Cuba. Take the missiles home. I hope that this is the final word on the matter. Are we going to die today? Perhaps tomorrow? Whose decision is it supposed to be anyway? Do we have a say in the matter at all? We are like pawns on a chessboard where nobody dares to checkmate!” Captain Arkadi Vasilevich said to his first officer as he stood with his arms crossed staring out the window on the bridge of the Soviet cargo ship Grisha Podobedov at the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. He took off his Captains hat and tossed it onto a navigation console in front of him as he ran his hand through his thick black hair. “BAAHH! Enough trying to know what they are thinking. Who am I to know what is on the minds of such men. I am but an insignificant Captain...an ant. They give 6
Russian Games an order and I obey. That is all I need to know.” “You are right, Sir. You should not worry yourself with what is on the minds of men with more power then we shall ever know. You are headed home. Soon you will be with your wife and new baby. That is what matters I think, Sir.” Yuri Sidorov the Captains First Officer replied as he leaned over navigational charts plotting the course the Grisha would take on its final length of its journey back to port at Leningrad in the Soviet Union. “Ahh Yes! My wife and child. Soon we will be together again. My wife Lika will be waiting for me at the dock. And with her she shall have our first child Dimitri. He was born just before we received orders to go to Cuba you know Yuri. I have had only enough time to hold my son only once at the hospital before we left. He shall be a great man one day. Mark my words Yuri. Dimitri shall be a legend in the history of Russia. I may not be remembered, but I promise you, his name will be remembered with pride. He will be a great and powerful man in Russia one day.” “Sir-if your son grows up to be half the man you arehe shall be a great man indeed.” “Thank you Yuri. That is very kind of you to say. You should come over, have dinner with us. My wife would like this. She will cook so much food you won't be able to leave the table. She is a very good cook you know.” Captain Vasilevich said as he rubbed his slightly rounded stomach and found his way back to the helm. “It would be an honor Sir. I shall bring the wine and we will toast to your new son.” “What have we here Yuri?” Captain Vasilevich said pointing out at the distant sky where dark storm clouds were starting to form. “I think we're headed for a little nasty weather- Sir.” “I can see this. Have the crew make sure everything is secure and go to the radar room and get me the latest 7
BRUCE SAVAGE weather information Yuri. With the cargo we are carrying we cannot afford to waltz our way into rough seas.” “Yes sir, right away.” “Yuri, also check on the situation with the American planes that have been following us. If they have turned away, then I would suspect that we are indeed headed for some very nasty weather. And make sure our KGB friend is updated. We don't need him breathing down our necks in the middle of a storm.” “Yes Sir. I’ll find Comrade Naumovski and make sure he’s updated.” Yuri briskly replied as he left the bridge and headed to the radar room. Finding Comrade Alexander Naumovski shouldn’t be a problem for the young First Officer. Especially when Comrade Naumovski will be looking for him.
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Chapter 2 A strange feeling came over First Officer Yuri Sidorov as he entered the radar room of the cargo ship. A feeling that someone was there hiding someplace. The radar operator was not at his post monitoring the radar equipment as he should be. Something was not right. This strange feeling that something wasn’t right reached its climax as a tall slender man with short black wellgroomed hair wearing a dark drab suit stepped out from the shadows of the dimly lit radar room and pointed a pistol equipped with a silencer at the young First Officer. It was Comrade Alexander Naumovski the KGB officer assigned to the Grisha. “What is the meaning of this Comrade Naumovski? Why are you pointing your weapon at me?” Yuri asked as fear and confusion replaced the strange feeling the First Officer was having. “Meaning Comrade Sidorov? It is obvious don’t you 9
BRUCE SAVAGE think?” Alexander replied as an evil grin slid across his face and then he squeezed the trigger and fired two shots at Yuri’s chest. The young First Officer placed his hand on his chest and looked at Alexander with shock as he stumbled backwards into the doorway of the radar room and then collapsed to the floor-dead! Alexander quickly went over to Yuri’s body and grabbed his feet and dragged him behind the radar equipment where he had placed the body of the radar operator not more than moments before the unsuspecting First Officer had entered the room. It is now time to continue on with his mission of eliminating the rest of the crew. A mission that was given to him before he left the Soviet Union by a group of very powerful people. The Grisha must not return home to the Soviet Union. It must be sunk. It must be kept a secret. The nuclear cargo that it is carrying will belong to The Committee for future use at their discretion. It will become part of a grander plan-an insurance policy for a rainy day. Alexander reloaded his pistol and continued on throughout the ship finding crew member after crew member and ensuring that there would be no survivors. One by one each crew member was sought out and eliminated by the skillfully trained and relentless KGB agent. There could be no one left to disclose what happened here or where the Grisha had sunk. It must remain a secret. Not even Premier Cruschev would know about it. Steps had already been taken in advance to ensure that records were falsified and people were silenced. The Grisha would somehow mysteriously disappear once back at Leningrad and quickly be dismantled in a Soviet scrap yard. Never to been seen again. The plan was ingenious. Witnesses would swear that they saw the ship at port. Workers would testify if asked that they had 10
Russian Games worked on the dismantling of the ship. Family members of the crew would be silenced or face life in a Soviet work camp. Everything for the cover up was carefully thought out. Nothing was left to chance. The records for the three R-12 missiles would be falsified. The missiles would be deemed defective and damaged during their travel from Cuba then decommissioned and scrapped. Members of the Soviet military loyal to the Committee would ensure that no traces of the missiles fate would see the light of day. The Committee was that powerful. The Committee was that clever! The cover up of the Grisha and its cargo had begun some time before the crisis with America. It was a member of Cruschev’s cabinet that had leaked the information of plans to build missile bases in Cuba to the Committee. It was the Committee that knew the United States would not allow this and seized the opportunity to steal the missiles before they returned to the Soviet Union. It was the perfect opportunity to hide an ace up their sleeve should a rainy day ever come. A day when the Communist Party might lose control of The Committees Empire. Alexander found the final crewmember sleeping in his bunk and finished his mission of ensuring the crew did not survive. Only one left to go. Captain Vasilevich. The dear Captain may be a problem if he suspects anything. Stealth must be used with the Captain. Alexander carefully and quietly crept up the stairs to the bridge of the Grisha. He needed to ensure that Captain Vasilevich was not alerted. He knew that the Captain was required to carry a side arm especially on the bridge of the ship. Transporting nuclear missiles was a dangerous business and a Captain must be prepared for all sorts of trouble. Captain Vasilevich stood looking out at the ocean 11
BRUCE SAVAGE and the flashes of lightning from the approaching storm and wondered what was taking Yuri so long to get the weather update he requested when something told him to turn around. Something was not right. Captain Vasilevich quickly turned around to find Alexander Naumovski standing at the entranceway of the bridge holding a gun in his hand. The look in Alexander’s eyes told the Captain everything he needed to know. This man was on the bridge for a reason that was sinister. It was instinct that made the Captain react and draw his weapon and fire at Alexander striking him in the shoulder. Alexander stumbled backwards into the stairwell as he returned fire hitting Captain Vasilevich in the leg and dropping him to the floor of the bridge. The Captain pulled himself behind the wheel housing of the ship to provide some cover for himself from another possible round of fire from Alexander. Minutes seemed like hours as the Captain wondered what was happening. Did he kill Alexander? Was he dead?
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Chapter 3 Captain Vasilevich listened quietly for any soundany sign that Alexander might still be alive as he hid behind the wheel housing of the Grisha. Nothing was heard, not so much as a whimper from the wounded KGB officer. He must be dead he thought to himself. That could be the only answer. Just to be certain Captain Vasilevich called out. “What is the meaning of this Comrade Naumovski? You are KGB! You are supposed to protect the crew and cargo. What do you think you are doing? Have you gone insane?� Nothing returned. There was no response from Alexander. Captain Vasilevich glanced at the wound in his leg. It was a clean wound. The bullet had gone clear through the muscle tissue in his left thigh and nothing major was damaged. He took off his belt and wrapped it around his 13
BRUCE SAVAGE leg to make a tourniquet and stopped the bleeding. He would survive. But for how long if Alexander was still alive? Captain Vasilevich quietly listened a few minutes more before deciding that the threat must be gone. Alexander must be dead he finally convinced himself. He tightly grasped his gun and slowly got to his knees and peered out around the wheel housing to see if Alexander was lying dead on the floor. As soon as he poked his head out from around the wheel housing he felt the cold steel of Alexander’s gun press up against his forehead. “There are rules my dear Captain. Never trust a wounded animal. Now drop your weapon and get up and do as I say, or I will blow your brains out all over your bridge.” Alexander said as he pressed the barrel of his gun harder against the Captains forehead. “As you say Comrade Naumovski.” Captain Vasilevich replied as he dropped his gun and slowly and painfully found his way to his feet. “Now turn around and put your hands behind your back.” “Why are you doing this Comrade Naumovski? What is the purpose for all this?” “I have my orders Comrade. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. I won’t survive a day on the ocean with a wound in my shoulder. You will make certain I survive. If you do not comply, then I will kill you. Do you understand me Captain?” “I understand Comrade Naumovski. But we are hundreds of miles away from land. There is a good chance neither of us will survive more than a few days on the ocean especially with a storm approaching.” “Don’t worry my dear Captain everything has already been taken care of. Transportation will be coming for us. When it arrives you will accompany me back to the Soviet Union. From there you will be put in a Gulag 14
Russian Games for the rest of your life. Consider this mercy from me Captain.” Alexander said as he took out a pair of handcuffs and handcuffed the Captains hands behind his back. “I have a family-a wife and son. What will become of them?” “Your wife will be placed in a work camp in Siberia and your child-your child will be placed in a program by the Soviet government. He will be raised and trained to be a KGB agent.” “But, I’ve committed no crime. My family has done nothing wrong. They are innocent. Do with me as you wish-but please leave my family alone.” “You have shot an agent of the KGB. That is punishable by death in itself my dear Captain. You will be deemed insane for your actions. Everything will all be done in secret. No one will know anything or of your fate. Don’t worry about your child Captain. He will be raised to be a fine KGB officer. I will see to it myself. I have had the misfortune of marrying a woman that is unable to bear children. It will make her happy to finally have a child. Now let’s go! To the life boat Captain.” Alexander commanded as he waved his gun at the Captain. Alexander followed the Captain off the bridge and to the lifeboat where the Captain and Alexander climbed in. “Turn around Captain and don't try anything.” Alexander ordered. The Captain did as he was told and Alexander took off the handcuffs. The Captain turned to face Alexander and could see that the wound in his shoulder was bleeding substantially and his suit coat was soaked with blood. “Your wound Comrade Naumovski is serious. You are losing a lot of blood.” “I am KGB dear Captain. I am trained to ignore pain. Don’t pretend to be concerned with my discomfort. I will tend to the wound once we are away. Now lower the 15
BRUCE SAVAGE lifeboat Captain.” Alexander ordered as he waved his gun at the Captain. “Why should I obey you? I am as good as dead. My family is as good as dead.” “I see dear Captain. Perhaps you need a little more convincing as to who is in control here. Perhaps a work camp in Siberia isn’t a fitting place for your wife? I could always think of something worse. There is always something worse.” Alexander replied. “Very well Comrade Naumovski. I’ll do as you say and I hope you burn in hell someday. I hope that one day my son will know the truth and avenge me.” “Perhaps Captain, perhaps. One can always hope. Now lower the lifeboat or I’ll kill you right here.” Alexander said and pressed the barrel of his gun up against the Captains head. The Captain complied and took hold of the rope and began lowering the lifeboat down into the water. The sky darkened as the approaching storm began to make its presence known. Lightning lit up the sky as thunder echoed and rain began to pour down from the dark menacing clouds. Slowly the lifeboat descended down to the ocean below. The ocean waves had become more and more violent and unforgiving pushing the tiny lifeboat up against the hull of the cargo ship as it came closer to seating itself in the ocean. “Now cast off and start rowing Captain.” Alexander ordered as the tiny lifeboat finally settled on the ocean. The Captain took one of the ores and pressed it up against the hull of the Grisha and pushed with all his strength sending the tiny boat away from the cargo ship and its murdered crew. He sat down and placed the ores in the water and began to paddle away from his ship. His ship! The last ship he would ever Captain. The last ship he would ever command. Alexander was his commander now. Alexander was his executioner. This would be the 16
Russian Games beginning of the end of a simple man’s life. He would never see the Grisha again. Just as he would never see his wife and son again. Alexander reached into his pocket and took out a small radio transmitter. “Do you like it Captain?” Alexander asked smiling as he showed the transmitter to him. “The plans for this were stolen from the Americans. I don’t suspect that they know we have this yet. This transmitter will radio a signal that will detonate the explosives I have placed in the hull of the ship sending it to a watery grave. It will also act as a radio beacon to a submarine that is waiting for my signal to take us back to the Soviet Union. Say goodbye to the Grisha my dear Captain.” Alexander said as he flipped the switch on the transmitter. A large explosion roared from the hull of the Grisha sending shards of metal out into the air and sea. Within moments the Grisha began its decent to its watery grave below. Within minutes it was gone from sight only leaving an oil slick that was quickly being dissipated by the stormy sea that was increasing in its rage. A rage that would echo through time. It was the end of a nuclear chess game between America and the Soviet Union that ended in a draw. But it was also the beginning of the final game for The Committee. A game that will start World War III and bring about the end of democracy as well as America. It is only a matter of time now before once again Mr. Wolf will be at the door.
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Chapter 4 Moscow, Russia November 10, 2001 It was a little over a decade ago that the Soviet Union came crashing to the ground. It was a little over a decade ago that the Communist party had been ousted from power. But even though some time had passed and democracy had begun to flourish in the new Russian Federation there was still much to do-much to do indeed. Mr. Wolf was back again, sitting quietly at the door, waiting patiently for the right moment, that precious moment when he will strike! The Russian Federation was now faced with a new set of problems. Terrorism from Muslim extremist, a second bloody war with Chechnya and then there was 19
BRUCE SAVAGE the biggest problem of all, the elite of Russian society. The wealthiest of the wealthy had somehow been given a free hand to do as they wish by President Yeltsin. And they did just that. They pillaged and embezzled the banking and financial system to a point where once again Russia was faced with going bankrupt and collapsing. Once again the streets outside the Kremlin were filled with the poor and unemployed. Once again crime, corruption and unrest were the attitude of the day. A new President was chosen to replace Yeltsin who had clearly lost control of the government. Yeltsin had no choice but to quietly leave office and was forced to step down or face prosecution for crimes against the state. The new President appointed to replace him as his successor was Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. A man that no one had ever really heard of before. He was a complete mystery man to all-a wild card. This man was once KGB and former Director of the FSB-Russian Federal Security Services, the successor agency to the former KGB and infamous NKVD. But this President was nothing like Yeltsin. This President had an iron hand and was extremely intelligent and just as clever. This President had no fear and took back from the wealthy what they had stolen from the people. This President seized control of Russia’s largest corporations and placed them under state control. Putin was determined to ensure that democracy was here to stay. Russia was not going to collapse again. In time he would be known as the peoples President. To the world he would be known as the President that brought Russia back from the brink of near disaster and once again to wealth and greatness. But he would not do this alone. He could not do this alone. All great leaders must have a sword to wield when their nation is faced with a crisis. President Putin’s sword had a name. It was a name that struck fear in the hearts of 20
Russian Games Russia’s enemies. That name is Dimitri Naumovski, Russian FSB... “Who will bring flowers to your grave when you are dead? Who will remember your name when you are gone?” Dimitri Naumovski coldly said to himself as he stared into his bathroom mirror at his reflection tightly gripping the Vektor pistol in his hand. It was his favorite weapon, capable of piercing thirty layers of Kevlar if need be. A gift Premier Mikhail Gorbachev gave to the tall, dark haired and blue-eyed agent personally to say thank you for taking a bullet in a failed assassination attempt against the Soviet leader a number of years ago. “So many years, so many graves you have filled. And for what? To die alone? To be an unknown hero of Russia?” Dimitri quietly whispered to himself as he sat down on the edge of the bathtub in his small, sparsely furnished Soviet style apartment. Dimitri intentionally owned very few possessions- a small couch that folded out into a full size bed that had seen better days twenty years before when it was manufactured, a folding metal kitchen table that wobbled whenever he sat at it to eat a meal and a black and white television that barely got reception on days when it felt like working and the rolling blackouts allowed the availability of electricity where he lived on the outskirts of Moscow. In his line of work there was no need for material possessions. What good would they do him he concluded to himself if tomorrow could be his last day? Who would he give them to? Who would want them? The answer always came back- nobody. This life was the life of an FSB agent. This is what he was born and trained to be. This is what he was. He was the best of the best that the former KGB now renamed the FSB had trained. He was an agent that was untouchable, unstoppable and fearless. His code 21
BRUCE SAVAGE name, The Executioner, was a name that the enemies of Russia needed to hear only once to know that death would soon be upon them. He had lost count of the graves he had filled in his many years of service. There were just too many to remember and too many for him to care about anymore. Thoughts of one last grave to fill entered Dimitri's mind. Yes- just one last grave to fill he thought to himself as he put the muzzle of the Vektor to his head and pressed it against his temple and firmly placed his finger on the trigger. “No one will bring flowers to my grave when I am dead!� Dimitri said out loud and with certainty- squeezed the trigger. A click and an echo from the firing pin sounded in his ear letting him know the chamber was empty-again. The Vektor, his favorite and most dependable weapon was not loaded. He slowly lowered his weapon and sat for a moment on the edge of the bathtub thinking to himself of the day when he would have the courage and the chamber would not be empty. These thoughts of the day when he would no longer be the tip of the spear of Russian Security Forces filled and tormented his mind. A time will come when he would be old and alone. There will be no one who will remember his name. There will be no one to bring flowers to his grave. There were so few that knew his name to begin with other then Alexander Naumovski, the head of the FSB and also Dimitri's father. There was a woman once that knew his name. She was a woman of great beauty and intelligence. She knew him well and she loved him. And he loved her deeply. But that time had passed. That time was gone. She had made that clear to him. There could be no future for them. This is the way it had to be in Dimitri's line of work his father explained to him a long time ago when he was 22
Russian Games just a boy and at the beginning of his training. He had to sacrifice everything in order to be effective and to protect the interest of the Soviet Union. This is the way it was. This is how it had to be. A well-trained KGB agent values nothing of his own life and is willing to sacrifice it for the good of the Soviet cause. This his father explained to him time and time again to ensure that it was burned into his young mind when he was a boy, to make certain that it would never be forgotten. The telephone in the living room began to ring and Dimitri stood up and took a deep breath. He knew who would be on the other end of the line when he answered the phone. He knew another assignment was waiting for him. He knew another grave was going to be filled. But not his grave- not today. He exhaled and walked to the phone and answered it. “DA?” Dimitri spoke. “You are needed Dimitri. There is a problem in Chechnya that needs to be taken care of immediately.” His father’s voice painfully sounded in Dimitri's ear. How many times has he heard this from him? How many times has Russia needed him? He had lost count. The same as the number of graves that he has filled he mused to himself. “Of course-what is it this time?” “We will talk about it tonight at dinner. It has been a while since we had dinner together my son. We are all we have now Dimitri. It is just you and me.” Alexander replied making an intentional effort to remind Dimitri of his mother’s death not long ago. A death caused by a car accident. A car accident that still left many unanswered questions in Dimitri's mind. Questions of whether or not it was really an accident as his father and the report from the Milizia stated. “I will see you tonight, Poka!” Dimitri hung up the phone while still gripping the 23
BRUCE SAVAGE Vektor tightly in his hand. He looked down at it and realized his knuckles had begun to turn white. “Perhaps next time my friend we will finish our conversation.� He said to the Vektor and then placed it back in its holster on his chest. It was time to fill another grave. But not his-not today.
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Russian Games
Chapter 5 Dimitri climbed into his 1974 Russian made Lada and after several turns of the key and loud complaints from the aged and worn starter was able to fire it up and head for his father’s house near the city center of Moscow. This journey would take him the good part of an hour. Not because of the distance, but because of the route Dimitri would have to take. A route that avoided unnecessary problems the FSB agent had no desire or patience to deal with. These days in Moscow travel had become a nightmare due to the amount of unrest there was in the country. Either there was a protest or demonstration being held that blocked traffic or it was gangs of Skinheads that roamed the streets that would intentionally stop unsuspecting motorist and steal their vehicle and rob them of anything they had of value. 25
BRUCE SAVAGE These gangs had no problem with taking the driver’s life or leaving them on the side of the road beaten to near death if he or she showed any sign of resistance. These days’ crime in Russia was everywhere and everyone was susceptible. Even Russia’s top FSB agent was susceptible. Need it be said that it was the criminal that would end up on the wrong side of the gun if they had the misfortune and very bad luck of crossing Dimitri’s path. Especially when he was in a hurry to get to his father’s house and receive an assignment. Several Skinheads had found that out the hard way in the past. With an economy that was spiraling downwards and the memory of the collapse of the Soviet Union still fresh in the memories of the people it was easy to understand why there was so many that had a, me first or I’ll kill you mentality. These days in Russia it was survive by any means necessary or die. Dimitri pulled up to the front gates of 21 Tretyakov Street and waited as they slowly opened and gave him entry into the inner courtyard of his father’s home. This was his father’s house just on the edge of the city center. It was a heavily fortified and secure stone and brick building that took up the good part of a block. This building from its grandeur alone said that someone important lived here. This someone had great power and influence in Russia. This was the home where he was raised and grew up as a child. This was also his prison during childhood. This was the place where he received the core of his psychological training as an agent of the former KGB. Lessons only his father could teach him. Lessons about being emotionless, cold and ruthless. The iron gates slowly opened and Dimitri drove his car around the turn around and parked and was greeted by a short, rounded elderly man that looked like he could still hold his own in a bare-knuckle fight if need be. This is 26
Russian Games Yuri Petrov, his father’s long time personal bodyguard. “Zdravstrvujte Dimitri! How long it has been huh? I haven't seen you in quite some time.” Yuri said to Dimitri giving him one of his memorable missing tooth smiles. As a boy Yuri was more than just his father’s bodyguard. He was Dimitri's only friend. He was the only other person in the world other than his mother that knew how cold his father could be. He was the only person in the world that knew how alone Dimitri felt growing up with Alexander as his father. “Yuri! Let me get a look at you. You have put on a little weight, yes? Life is good for you I see.” Dimitri said and reached out his hand to shake Yuri's and kiss his cheek. “I am getting old Dimitri. Very old for this line of work. It is coming close to time for me to retire. Time to join the rest of the old men in Red Square feeding pigeons.” Yuri said as the two walked to the front door of the house. “That is how I feel as well my friend. Time is just ticking away for both of us. At least he keeps you here instead having you travel with him.” Dimitri replied and placed his hand warmly on Yuri’s back. “Come...your father is waiting for you in his study. He will be happy to see you.” Yuri said and opened the front door for Dimitri. “I wish the feeling was the same for me.” Dimitri gruffly replied. For Dimitri this wasn't a family reunion. This was just another assignment and a meeting with his boss.
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