“I’m sitting on a park bench watching people older than me play chess,” said Kaparov. “Thinking about learning chess. Because I’m bored out of my fucking mind after retiring. I’m retired, Karl, which means I’m no longer in a position to help you.”

“I think you might be able to help,” said Berg. “What do you know about Yuri Pichugin? Specifically, his ties to the GRU.”

“Please tell me you haven’t somehow made enemies with Yuri Pichugin,” said Kaparov. “He’s one of the wealthiest and connected oligarchs in Russia. Connected right to the top, if you know what I mean.”

“I do. I’ve stumbled across something that might be connected to him,” said Berg. “It’s definitely connected to Viktor Belsky. Does that name sound familiar?”

“I know the name, but not much more than that,” said Kaparov. “Midlevel oligarch with decent connections. Returned to Russia from the US in the mid–two thousands, if my memory serves me correctly.”

“It serves you well. Viktor Belsky and his father sold a company based in the United States to Yuri Pichugin around that time,” said Berg.

“Must have been a very successful company,” said Kaparov.

“That’s the thing,” said Berg. “The Belskys had money, but not that kind of money, and the company they sold to Pichugin didn’t appear to have any assets beyond a sizable chunk of land in the middle of the United States. Valuable, but not that valuable.”

“Karl. Maybe my brain is a little mushy these days,” said Kaparov. “But what are we talking about here?”

“The bottom line is that I believe Yuri Pichugin is bankrolling a Soviet-era GRU-run sleeper network in the United States through this company and is pulling the strings on behalf of your beloved leaders.”

“And you have evidence of this?”

“We’re piecing it together, but the network is real. I’ve seen it firsthand. The network’s training camp was located on the land the Belskys sold to Pichugin. I’ve seen that, too,” said Karl. “The problem is that we’re unable to identify close to eighty percent of the network. We’re talking upwards of six hundred sleepers.”

“Six hundred! Come on. That’s a ludicrous number,” said Kaparov. “But assuming it was true, they’d all be in their seventies by now.”

“I’m talking about their children,” said Berg.

“Second generation?” said Kaparov. “That’s the stuff of legends.”

“Not anymore,” said Berg. “They’ve penetrated everything here. One of them is a senator. And they’re working on a third generation.”

“Maybe this would be a better conversation to have in person,” said Kaparov.

“I would gladly discuss this with you in person, in private, but Russia and Kazakhstan have just put me on Interpol’s Red Notice list. We’ve stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest over here.”

“We?”