Listen To Her Heart, page 35
“Help yourself. Second door on the left,” Rheyna said.
When Sgt. Mueller returned, Rheyna looked at Demescko. “When I got back from Prague earlier than expected, I overheard you talking with Oleg Skorick from the FSB’s Counterintelligence Service and it seemed like a heated conversation.”
Demescko thought back for a second or two, her heart racing. “Yes, I remember that now. Oleg Skorick called me after one of Gran …Grandpa Khasan’s contractors pulled out. This particular company was one of many who were responsible for laying the sand for the new roads for Sochi. Several employees were arrested and he was ve … very upset and wan … wanted to know if our company could pick up the slack,” she lied.
“That makes sense,” Rheyna said and nodded, although she felt as if Demescko wasn’t being completely honest.
Sgt. Whitley frowned again. “I am, so confused. Why would someone from the Counterintelligence Office in Russia care about that?” she asked.
“This is your area of expertise. You wa … want to explain it?” Demescko asked, looking at Rheyna.
Rheyna leaned forward in her chair, her forearms resting on the top of her legs. “In order for us to create a solid cover in Russia, our government anteed up the money to buy controlling interest in a construction company near the Kremlin. Through business contacts, we’ve been able to establish who the players are in the Russian Mafia and which ones have ties to the Russian government.”
Rheyna stopped to take a sip of coffee. “I’m sure most of you know that the 2014 Winter Olympics is going to be held in Sochi, Russia. The problem is that ninety-nine percent of all building construction for the stadiums, the athletes’ Olympic Village, restaurants, roads, hotels, you name it, are all being built by companies owned and run by members of the Russian Mafia and organized crime groups in the country. These groups have been tied directly to Putin’s government, the FSB and SVR, formerly known as the KGB, and they are operating with the government’s consent.”
Rheyna leaned back in her chair. “The Police and FSB are two different entities in Russia and a source of ours in the FSB claimed they protected Grandpa Khasan because he,” Rheyna made double quotes in the air with her fingers, “assists the government with important matters where the mafia is concerned. It’s to the point that high-profile officials have been meeting with him to discuss the Olympics.”
Rheyna looked down at the cup in her hands. She shook her head and laughed. “There was an incident where the police had placed Grandpa Khasan’s favorite restaurant under surveillance and to everyone’s surprise, one of the men who met with him was Valdislav Surkov, the deputy head for Putin’s presidential staff and the Kremlin’s top political strategist. I personally spoke with one of our contacts who told me that the meeting was arranged by the FSB at Surkov’s insistence. The men met to discuss the construction going on in the Krasnodar Region, which is where the Olympics will be held. They talked about building roads because Grandpa Khasan owns or controls all of the construction companies in that region as well as the suppliers for the building materials. As it currently stands, Grandpa Khasan has every single contract.”
“I am shocked by all of this and I do not shock very easily,” Sgt. Mueller said, shaking his head.
Rheyna smiled. “It gets better. Another source of ours inside the Ministry of Affairs told us that Surkov wanted Grandpa Khasan to bring in other companies because he was concerned that the importance of such a project for the Olympics wouldn’t be complied with and Grandpa Khasan told him that he would take care of everything himself and that’s exactly what he’s done.”
“That is bloody bollocks,” Sgt. Mueller said, shaking his head again. “Does the Olympic Committee know about this?”
“I can’t see how they couldn’t know,” Rheyna answered. “It’s the best kept open secret in Russia and they just don’t give a damn because their bank accounts are full. The part that pisses me off the most is how they take and take from the people of Russia who on average, only make $650 a month if they’re lucky.”
Rheyna looked at both sergeants over the top of her cup. “This may surprise you but when we talk about the mafia, everyone thinks of men because that’s how it is in the U.S. Men run the organized crime families but in Russia, women get in on the deal as well and some of them are just as ruthless as the men.”
“May I?” Yalen asked, looking at Rheyna.
“Of course, the area of criminal women has always been your crème la crème,” Rheyna laughed.
Yalen looked at Briana and the sergeants. “One of the most famous Russian ladies of criminal enterprise is Elena Baturina. She owned a company called Inteko, which she sold in September to a banker. That company has the contracts to manufacture all of the eating utensils as well as all the seats at the Luzhniki Stadium for the Olympics. Elena is Russia’s richest woman and was recently featured on the cover of Forbes. She even made their list this year, with a net worth of $2 billion dollars. She claims to be self-made like Oprah Winfrey but they leave out how the money was stolen through embezzlement, money laundering, and fraud at the federal level in Russia.”
Yalen leaned back in her chair. “Last year, she was investigated and they discovered close to $500 million in her personal bank account from misappropriated funds. She fled Russia to avoid prosecution and is now living in Vienna as well as here in London with her two daughters. You’ll really like this part,” she said, looking at the sergeants. “She is now thinking about investing here in the U.K. with no plans to return to Russia.”
“Why the hell isn’t she in jail?” Briana asked, shaking her head. “I seem to be asking that question a lot and keep getting the same bullshit answers.”
“It’s the old saying of how money talks and bullshit walks,” Rheyna laughed as she got up from her chair. “The amount of women involved in Russian organized crime is mindboggling. There is a list, which contains the names of close to six-hundred men and women involved in crime and seventy-five percent of them hold official positions in the Russian government. Last year, Vladimir Putin claimed an income of just $200,000 but it’s estimated he’s worth close to four billion.”
“I can’t believe that bloody wanker bitch is here in my country,” Sgt Whitley said, causing everyone to laugh.
Rheyna shrugged. “We can’t stop them because they’re everywhere and when the Russian government is part of the mafia, the U.S. can do nothing about it. Russia has literally become a Mafia State.”
Yalen looked at everyone in the room. “And that is what has brought us together. All of the links, starting with me and Emily online, has come full circle with every single thing linking back to the Russian Mafia and their government.” Yalen let out a deep breath. “Now that everyone has had a geography and history lesson, we need to discuss our plan tonight and get it laid out.”
“Wh … what exactly is your plan?” Demescko asked.
“We are going into Mystics and we are going to rescue every single woman in there who is being held against her will,” Yalen answered. “Before we do that though, I saw in one of the photos at Lebedev’s party, my old case officer from when I was in my early twenties, and I wanted to see if you recognized her,” Yalen said as she reached behind her to get her cell phone from her coat pocket. Instead of pulling out the phone, she pulled out a folded envelope. She looked at it and frowned. “What the hell,” she said as she turned it over in her hand.
“What is that?” Briana asked, looking at the envelope.
Yalen shook her head. “I have no idea but I know I didn’t put it there,” she said as she ripped open the flap with her finger. Folded inside the envelope was another piece of paper with a paperclip on it. The color completely drained from Yalen’s face as she read the note. “Oh, dios, this can’t be possible,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
“What’s wrong?” Briana asked as she got up from her chair and came over to Yalen.
Yalen struggled to swallow as she read the note aloud. “Chica, you’ll know what to do with this, the same thing I planned on doing with it in Khost.”
Yalen shook her head again in disbelief. “This can’t be possible,” she said as she removed the SD disk from under the paperclip and held it up in the air.
“Oh, my god,” Demescko and Rheyna said at the same time as they both got up from their chairs.
“Why did they call you chica?” Briana asked, looking at Yalen.
“My father is the only one to ever call me that,” Yalen said as she angrily wiped away the single tear that had slipped down her cheek.
“Yalen … is it now safe to say that you know who killed the Albanians?” Sgt. Whitley asked.
Yalen nodded as she reread the note. Her heart felt as if it were breaking, her mind screaming that it was not possible. Suddenly, she ran from the room, barely making it into the bathroom before her stomach emptied its contents.
“Are you okay?” Briana asked, coming into the bathroom a few minutes later.
Back in the surveillance room, the sergeants, with confused expressions on their face, looked at Rheyna.
“What just happened?” Sgt. Whitley asked.
“Her father passed away almost three years ago when a terrorist bombed the U.S. military base in Afghanistan,” Rheyna answered.
Sgt. Whitley’s eyes went wide. “So that means her father is alive?”
“It looks that way,” Demescko said.
How you doing, girlfriend?” Rheyna asked, and walked over to Yalen when she and Briana came back into the room.
“I think I’m in shock,” Yalen answered and then out of nowhere, she felt more anger than what she had felt when she thought her father was dead. “I’m going to kill him,” she said, looking at Rheyna. “How could he put me through that for the last three years?”
Rheyna laid her hands on Yalen’s shoulders. “I can only imagine what you must be feeling right now but you know as well as I do that your father would not have done this without a good reason.”
“D … do you have any idea how he got it into your pocket without you knowing it?” Demescko asked.
Yalen chewed on her bottom lip for several seconds as she thought about it and then she laughed. “Yeah, I do know. When Briana and I returned from the shelter, we turned the corner by that bar up the street and a man bumped into me. He nearly knocked me over and then he apologized but he spoke with a British accent. As he walked away, I thought there was something familiar about him and now I know what it was. He smelled like rum and maple pipe tobacco, the brand my father smoked.”
“Okay is anyone else other than me, anxious to see what is on that disk that people are dying over?” Sgt. Mueller asked.
“Let’s take a look,” Yalen said, handing the disk to Rheyna.
Rheyna slipped the disk into the laptop as everyone gathered around. “Here we go,” she said as she clicked on the file and brought up three sub-folders. She clicked on the first one and it opened up as a list with name after name.
“Jesus Christ!” Demescko swore under her breath.
“What is it?” Briana asked, not understanding what they were looking at.
“This is what we call a dirty laundry list,” Rheyna said as she continued to read the names.
“Do you realize that every official person tied to the Russian mafia from countries all over the world is listed?” Rheyna said. The list not only stated their name and country, it also included who their contacts were as well as their bank account information and how much money they had been paid.
“My god, look at all of th … those names of people from the CIA and FBI. There’s even a current senator’s name on the list,” Demescko said.
“Look at that name,” Yalen said, tapping the screen with her finger.
Demescko shook her head. “I’m seeing it but having a hard time believing it.”
“We have to do something about this,” Sgt. Whitley said as she and Sgt. Mueller looked at the list of names from the United Kingdom. “The Inspector said all along that we had leaks in the Yard as well as MI5 and MI6. I guess this proves he was correct.”
Rheyna clicked on the next sub-folder and her breath caught in her throat as she looked at it.
“Oh, Dios in heaven,” Yalen said as she read the names on the screen. This list contained in alphabetical order, every single double agent from around the world. It showed their real name as well as the aliases they were using along with the aliases they had used in the past. It listed what country they were from along with what agency they were spying for. There were pages and pages of names that also included the names of the informants that were used.
Rheyna clicked ahead to the ‘R’s’ and sure enough, her name was listed along with the role she had been playing in Russia for the last two years. She continued to page down to the ‘Y’s’ and Yalen’s name was there too. It stated that she was no longer active CIA but it listed the assignments and the operations she had partaken in for the last fifteen years. Rheyna paged back to the beginning of the list.
“Check the ‘E’s, please,” Demescko instructed.
“My name is on there,” Emily said in alarm.
Demescko wrapped her arm around Emily’s good shoulder, giving her an affectionate squeeze.
“No wonder Lebedev, the Russians, and everyone else on the planet wanted this disk,” Yalen said. “It’s worth killing over, not to mention how much money someone could make with this information.”
Rheyna opened the last file folder. “I’m seeing it but I’m not believing it,” she said, leaning back in her chair as she looked at the new list that contained more names along with what government agency or office they belonged to. Next to each name, was their true name in Russian, followed by a photograph of them as a child and then as an adult.
“I don’t understand what any of that means,” Briana said as she looked at the new set of names. “Who are those people?”
“I understand perfectly,” Sgt. Whitley said as her eyes scanned the photos of those listed for the United Kingdom.
Sgt. Mueller leaned in to get a better look. “I can honestly say I am speechless.”
At the top of the page the words, Матушка Россия встает Победоносца, were written in Russian and directly beneath it were the words, Братья и сестры объединиться с рождения защищать нашу родину от тех, кто хотят нас уничтожить. Мы будем уничтожать их изнутри.
“It says that Mother Russia Stands Victorious and that brothers and sisters together from birth, to protect our country from those who want to destroy us. We will destroy them from within,” Emily said, her voice just above a whisper.
Briana looked at the sentence above the names, which read, Наша семья. “What does that say?” she asked, pointing at the screen.
“Our Family,” Emily answered.
“I’m still clueless about what any of that means,” Briana laughed.
Yalen looked at Briana. “Have you seen the movie Salt with Angelina Jolie?”
Briana nodded. “That is one movie I have seen because I love everything Angelina’s in.”
“She is bloody hot,” Sgt. Mueller laughed.
Sgt. Whitley playfully shoved the sergeant. “You never stop, Brody.”
Yalen looked at Briana. “Then you probably remember that Evelyn Salt, Angelina’s character, worked for the CIA but as we later learned, Salt was actually Russian and had been groomed since birth to become a sleeper agent in the U.S. along with many other Russians. Their goal was to annihilate their enemy, the U.S., by infiltrating all branches of our government.” Yalen nodded at the laptop screen. “Those people on that list are sleeper agents that have been planted all around the world by the Russians.”
Briana’s eyes opened wide in shock. “You mean all of the ones listed as Americans who work at the CIA and FBI are really double agents working for Russia as spies?”
“You got it, sweetheart,” Yalen grinned.
Briana looked at the pictures again. “They’re everywhere and that guy looks familiar,” she said pointing at a photo of a clean cut, blond-haired man.” Briana’s hand flew to her mouth. “I know who he is. He’s a senator for crying out loud.”
“He certainly is but not for long,” Yalen said as she looked at the photo because she had recognized him as well.
“So what are we going to do with this information now that we have it?” Rheyna asked, looking at Yalen.
Yalen looked at Rheyna and smiled. “I’m going to do exactly what my father would have done with it. Do you have any extra disks?”
Rheyna nodded.
“Good. Can you make several copies that contain just the information regarding the sleepers and the officials who have taken money or are doing business with the mafia?” Yalen asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Rheyna said as she reached under the table and pulled out a laptop bag.
“You haven’t said much,” Yalen said, looking at Demescko.
Demescko shook her head in disgust. “I honestly don’t know what the hell to s … say about any of this except that we were right about the stealth technology being a load of bullshit. All the time we sp … spent in Russia chasing after this goddamn disk and it has nothing to do with protecting our stealth technology.”
“What we were protecting was several someone’s traitorous asses,” Rheyna said, the anger evident in her voice as she took the last disk out of her laptop. “Here is the original,” she said and handed the blue colored disk to Yalen. “And here are the copies and it helps that these disks are black,” she said with a wink.
Briana looked at Rheyna and then Yalen. “What will happen to those people in the U.S.?”
“They will most likely be tried for treason and sentenced to death but the luckier ones will just get life in prison,” Rheyna answered.
Briana ran her hands through her hair as she dropped down onto the chair. “And the senator?” she asked, looking up at Rheyna.
Rheyna shifted in her seat to look directly at Briana. “The senate will vote to expel him but he’ll probably resign before then. I’m sure once they do their due diligence, he will be charged formally for treason, or espionage at the very least.”
When Sgt. Mueller returned, Rheyna looked at Demescko. “When I got back from Prague earlier than expected, I overheard you talking with Oleg Skorick from the FSB’s Counterintelligence Service and it seemed like a heated conversation.”
Demescko thought back for a second or two, her heart racing. “Yes, I remember that now. Oleg Skorick called me after one of Gran …Grandpa Khasan’s contractors pulled out. This particular company was one of many who were responsible for laying the sand for the new roads for Sochi. Several employees were arrested and he was ve … very upset and wan … wanted to know if our company could pick up the slack,” she lied.
“That makes sense,” Rheyna said and nodded, although she felt as if Demescko wasn’t being completely honest.
Sgt. Whitley frowned again. “I am, so confused. Why would someone from the Counterintelligence Office in Russia care about that?” she asked.
“This is your area of expertise. You wa … want to explain it?” Demescko asked, looking at Rheyna.
Rheyna leaned forward in her chair, her forearms resting on the top of her legs. “In order for us to create a solid cover in Russia, our government anteed up the money to buy controlling interest in a construction company near the Kremlin. Through business contacts, we’ve been able to establish who the players are in the Russian Mafia and which ones have ties to the Russian government.”
Rheyna stopped to take a sip of coffee. “I’m sure most of you know that the 2014 Winter Olympics is going to be held in Sochi, Russia. The problem is that ninety-nine percent of all building construction for the stadiums, the athletes’ Olympic Village, restaurants, roads, hotels, you name it, are all being built by companies owned and run by members of the Russian Mafia and organized crime groups in the country. These groups have been tied directly to Putin’s government, the FSB and SVR, formerly known as the KGB, and they are operating with the government’s consent.”
Rheyna leaned back in her chair. “The Police and FSB are two different entities in Russia and a source of ours in the FSB claimed they protected Grandpa Khasan because he,” Rheyna made double quotes in the air with her fingers, “assists the government with important matters where the mafia is concerned. It’s to the point that high-profile officials have been meeting with him to discuss the Olympics.”
Rheyna looked down at the cup in her hands. She shook her head and laughed. “There was an incident where the police had placed Grandpa Khasan’s favorite restaurant under surveillance and to everyone’s surprise, one of the men who met with him was Valdislav Surkov, the deputy head for Putin’s presidential staff and the Kremlin’s top political strategist. I personally spoke with one of our contacts who told me that the meeting was arranged by the FSB at Surkov’s insistence. The men met to discuss the construction going on in the Krasnodar Region, which is where the Olympics will be held. They talked about building roads because Grandpa Khasan owns or controls all of the construction companies in that region as well as the suppliers for the building materials. As it currently stands, Grandpa Khasan has every single contract.”
“I am shocked by all of this and I do not shock very easily,” Sgt. Mueller said, shaking his head.
Rheyna smiled. “It gets better. Another source of ours inside the Ministry of Affairs told us that Surkov wanted Grandpa Khasan to bring in other companies because he was concerned that the importance of such a project for the Olympics wouldn’t be complied with and Grandpa Khasan told him that he would take care of everything himself and that’s exactly what he’s done.”
“That is bloody bollocks,” Sgt. Mueller said, shaking his head again. “Does the Olympic Committee know about this?”
“I can’t see how they couldn’t know,” Rheyna answered. “It’s the best kept open secret in Russia and they just don’t give a damn because their bank accounts are full. The part that pisses me off the most is how they take and take from the people of Russia who on average, only make $650 a month if they’re lucky.”
Rheyna looked at both sergeants over the top of her cup. “This may surprise you but when we talk about the mafia, everyone thinks of men because that’s how it is in the U.S. Men run the organized crime families but in Russia, women get in on the deal as well and some of them are just as ruthless as the men.”
“May I?” Yalen asked, looking at Rheyna.
“Of course, the area of criminal women has always been your crème la crème,” Rheyna laughed.
Yalen looked at Briana and the sergeants. “One of the most famous Russian ladies of criminal enterprise is Elena Baturina. She owned a company called Inteko, which she sold in September to a banker. That company has the contracts to manufacture all of the eating utensils as well as all the seats at the Luzhniki Stadium for the Olympics. Elena is Russia’s richest woman and was recently featured on the cover of Forbes. She even made their list this year, with a net worth of $2 billion dollars. She claims to be self-made like Oprah Winfrey but they leave out how the money was stolen through embezzlement, money laundering, and fraud at the federal level in Russia.”
Yalen leaned back in her chair. “Last year, she was investigated and they discovered close to $500 million in her personal bank account from misappropriated funds. She fled Russia to avoid prosecution and is now living in Vienna as well as here in London with her two daughters. You’ll really like this part,” she said, looking at the sergeants. “She is now thinking about investing here in the U.K. with no plans to return to Russia.”
“Why the hell isn’t she in jail?” Briana asked, shaking her head. “I seem to be asking that question a lot and keep getting the same bullshit answers.”
“It’s the old saying of how money talks and bullshit walks,” Rheyna laughed as she got up from her chair. “The amount of women involved in Russian organized crime is mindboggling. There is a list, which contains the names of close to six-hundred men and women involved in crime and seventy-five percent of them hold official positions in the Russian government. Last year, Vladimir Putin claimed an income of just $200,000 but it’s estimated he’s worth close to four billion.”
“I can’t believe that bloody wanker bitch is here in my country,” Sgt Whitley said, causing everyone to laugh.
Rheyna shrugged. “We can’t stop them because they’re everywhere and when the Russian government is part of the mafia, the U.S. can do nothing about it. Russia has literally become a Mafia State.”
Yalen looked at everyone in the room. “And that is what has brought us together. All of the links, starting with me and Emily online, has come full circle with every single thing linking back to the Russian Mafia and their government.” Yalen let out a deep breath. “Now that everyone has had a geography and history lesson, we need to discuss our plan tonight and get it laid out.”
“Wh … what exactly is your plan?” Demescko asked.
“We are going into Mystics and we are going to rescue every single woman in there who is being held against her will,” Yalen answered. “Before we do that though, I saw in one of the photos at Lebedev’s party, my old case officer from when I was in my early twenties, and I wanted to see if you recognized her,” Yalen said as she reached behind her to get her cell phone from her coat pocket. Instead of pulling out the phone, she pulled out a folded envelope. She looked at it and frowned. “What the hell,” she said as she turned it over in her hand.
“What is that?” Briana asked, looking at the envelope.
Yalen shook her head. “I have no idea but I know I didn’t put it there,” she said as she ripped open the flap with her finger. Folded inside the envelope was another piece of paper with a paperclip on it. The color completely drained from Yalen’s face as she read the note. “Oh, dios, this can’t be possible,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
“What’s wrong?” Briana asked as she got up from her chair and came over to Yalen.
Yalen struggled to swallow as she read the note aloud. “Chica, you’ll know what to do with this, the same thing I planned on doing with it in Khost.”
Yalen shook her head again in disbelief. “This can’t be possible,” she said as she removed the SD disk from under the paperclip and held it up in the air.
“Oh, my god,” Demescko and Rheyna said at the same time as they both got up from their chairs.
“Why did they call you chica?” Briana asked, looking at Yalen.
“My father is the only one to ever call me that,” Yalen said as she angrily wiped away the single tear that had slipped down her cheek.
“Yalen … is it now safe to say that you know who killed the Albanians?” Sgt. Whitley asked.
Yalen nodded as she reread the note. Her heart felt as if it were breaking, her mind screaming that it was not possible. Suddenly, she ran from the room, barely making it into the bathroom before her stomach emptied its contents.
“Are you okay?” Briana asked, coming into the bathroom a few minutes later.
Back in the surveillance room, the sergeants, with confused expressions on their face, looked at Rheyna.
“What just happened?” Sgt. Whitley asked.
“Her father passed away almost three years ago when a terrorist bombed the U.S. military base in Afghanistan,” Rheyna answered.
Sgt. Whitley’s eyes went wide. “So that means her father is alive?”
“It looks that way,” Demescko said.
How you doing, girlfriend?” Rheyna asked, and walked over to Yalen when she and Briana came back into the room.
“I think I’m in shock,” Yalen answered and then out of nowhere, she felt more anger than what she had felt when she thought her father was dead. “I’m going to kill him,” she said, looking at Rheyna. “How could he put me through that for the last three years?”
Rheyna laid her hands on Yalen’s shoulders. “I can only imagine what you must be feeling right now but you know as well as I do that your father would not have done this without a good reason.”
“D … do you have any idea how he got it into your pocket without you knowing it?” Demescko asked.
Yalen chewed on her bottom lip for several seconds as she thought about it and then she laughed. “Yeah, I do know. When Briana and I returned from the shelter, we turned the corner by that bar up the street and a man bumped into me. He nearly knocked me over and then he apologized but he spoke with a British accent. As he walked away, I thought there was something familiar about him and now I know what it was. He smelled like rum and maple pipe tobacco, the brand my father smoked.”
“Okay is anyone else other than me, anxious to see what is on that disk that people are dying over?” Sgt. Mueller asked.
“Let’s take a look,” Yalen said, handing the disk to Rheyna.
Rheyna slipped the disk into the laptop as everyone gathered around. “Here we go,” she said as she clicked on the file and brought up three sub-folders. She clicked on the first one and it opened up as a list with name after name.
“Jesus Christ!” Demescko swore under her breath.
“What is it?” Briana asked, not understanding what they were looking at.
“This is what we call a dirty laundry list,” Rheyna said as she continued to read the names.
“Do you realize that every official person tied to the Russian mafia from countries all over the world is listed?” Rheyna said. The list not only stated their name and country, it also included who their contacts were as well as their bank account information and how much money they had been paid.
“My god, look at all of th … those names of people from the CIA and FBI. There’s even a current senator’s name on the list,” Demescko said.
“Look at that name,” Yalen said, tapping the screen with her finger.
Demescko shook her head. “I’m seeing it but having a hard time believing it.”
“We have to do something about this,” Sgt. Whitley said as she and Sgt. Mueller looked at the list of names from the United Kingdom. “The Inspector said all along that we had leaks in the Yard as well as MI5 and MI6. I guess this proves he was correct.”
Rheyna clicked on the next sub-folder and her breath caught in her throat as she looked at it.
“Oh, Dios in heaven,” Yalen said as she read the names on the screen. This list contained in alphabetical order, every single double agent from around the world. It showed their real name as well as the aliases they were using along with the aliases they had used in the past. It listed what country they were from along with what agency they were spying for. There were pages and pages of names that also included the names of the informants that were used.
Rheyna clicked ahead to the ‘R’s’ and sure enough, her name was listed along with the role she had been playing in Russia for the last two years. She continued to page down to the ‘Y’s’ and Yalen’s name was there too. It stated that she was no longer active CIA but it listed the assignments and the operations she had partaken in for the last fifteen years. Rheyna paged back to the beginning of the list.
“Check the ‘E’s, please,” Demescko instructed.
“My name is on there,” Emily said in alarm.
Demescko wrapped her arm around Emily’s good shoulder, giving her an affectionate squeeze.
“No wonder Lebedev, the Russians, and everyone else on the planet wanted this disk,” Yalen said. “It’s worth killing over, not to mention how much money someone could make with this information.”
Rheyna opened the last file folder. “I’m seeing it but I’m not believing it,” she said, leaning back in her chair as she looked at the new list that contained more names along with what government agency or office they belonged to. Next to each name, was their true name in Russian, followed by a photograph of them as a child and then as an adult.
“I don’t understand what any of that means,” Briana said as she looked at the new set of names. “Who are those people?”
“I understand perfectly,” Sgt. Whitley said as her eyes scanned the photos of those listed for the United Kingdom.
Sgt. Mueller leaned in to get a better look. “I can honestly say I am speechless.”
At the top of the page the words, Матушка Россия встает Победоносца, were written in Russian and directly beneath it were the words, Братья и сестры объединиться с рождения защищать нашу родину от тех, кто хотят нас уничтожить. Мы будем уничтожать их изнутри.
“It says that Mother Russia Stands Victorious and that brothers and sisters together from birth, to protect our country from those who want to destroy us. We will destroy them from within,” Emily said, her voice just above a whisper.
Briana looked at the sentence above the names, which read, Наша семья. “What does that say?” she asked, pointing at the screen.
“Our Family,” Emily answered.
“I’m still clueless about what any of that means,” Briana laughed.
Yalen looked at Briana. “Have you seen the movie Salt with Angelina Jolie?”
Briana nodded. “That is one movie I have seen because I love everything Angelina’s in.”
“She is bloody hot,” Sgt. Mueller laughed.
Sgt. Whitley playfully shoved the sergeant. “You never stop, Brody.”
Yalen looked at Briana. “Then you probably remember that Evelyn Salt, Angelina’s character, worked for the CIA but as we later learned, Salt was actually Russian and had been groomed since birth to become a sleeper agent in the U.S. along with many other Russians. Their goal was to annihilate their enemy, the U.S., by infiltrating all branches of our government.” Yalen nodded at the laptop screen. “Those people on that list are sleeper agents that have been planted all around the world by the Russians.”
Briana’s eyes opened wide in shock. “You mean all of the ones listed as Americans who work at the CIA and FBI are really double agents working for Russia as spies?”
“You got it, sweetheart,” Yalen grinned.
Briana looked at the pictures again. “They’re everywhere and that guy looks familiar,” she said pointing at a photo of a clean cut, blond-haired man.” Briana’s hand flew to her mouth. “I know who he is. He’s a senator for crying out loud.”
“He certainly is but not for long,” Yalen said as she looked at the photo because she had recognized him as well.
“So what are we going to do with this information now that we have it?” Rheyna asked, looking at Yalen.
Yalen looked at Rheyna and smiled. “I’m going to do exactly what my father would have done with it. Do you have any extra disks?”
Rheyna nodded.
“Good. Can you make several copies that contain just the information regarding the sleepers and the officials who have taken money or are doing business with the mafia?” Yalen asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Rheyna said as she reached under the table and pulled out a laptop bag.
“You haven’t said much,” Yalen said, looking at Demescko.
Demescko shook her head in disgust. “I honestly don’t know what the hell to s … say about any of this except that we were right about the stealth technology being a load of bullshit. All the time we sp … spent in Russia chasing after this goddamn disk and it has nothing to do with protecting our stealth technology.”
“What we were protecting was several someone’s traitorous asses,” Rheyna said, the anger evident in her voice as she took the last disk out of her laptop. “Here is the original,” she said and handed the blue colored disk to Yalen. “And here are the copies and it helps that these disks are black,” she said with a wink.
Briana looked at Rheyna and then Yalen. “What will happen to those people in the U.S.?”
“They will most likely be tried for treason and sentenced to death but the luckier ones will just get life in prison,” Rheyna answered.
Briana ran her hands through her hair as she dropped down onto the chair. “And the senator?” she asked, looking up at Rheyna.
Rheyna shifted in her seat to look directly at Briana. “The senate will vote to expel him but he’ll probably resign before then. I’m sure once they do their due diligence, he will be charged formally for treason, or espionage at the very least.”
