BooksBarbecue
Back The Asset
Chapters (86)
  1. Foreword
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. Afterword

She looked at her watch. Forty-five minutes had passed and she was running out of time. Any longer and her absence would be noticed.

She got up and asked the proprietor, an overweight, overworked, bearded man in his fifties with a coffee stain on the front of his skin-tight shirt, to call her a cab. She returned to her seat and when she saw the cab she got up and left.

She’d left the envelope on the table.

7

Sofia glanced nervously at Vasily and prayed he didn’t do anything stupid.

Before them stood Major General Yevchenko, his uniform bristling with enough ornaments for a Victory Day parade. From what Sofia had seen, he was a man used to being disliked. His men called him the Kaiser because of his mustache and it was no compliment.

He’d come with three other officers. They’d arrived at the institute unannounced in an armored cavalcade. The expressions on their faces said it wasn’t a social call.

“What can we do for you, Major General?” Sofia said.

She was standing behind her desk as if it would somehow protect her. Next to her was Vasily, his temper simmering below the surface. He’d had his share of run-ins with the army. Growing up where he had made it unavoidable.

Technically, the institute was a civilian facility, no one wanted international inspectors coming around waving their treaty provisions, but everyone in the room knew who called the shots.

The fact they were located within the electrified fence of a military compound said it all. It was in that very compound that the USSR’s most notorious bioweapons facility, Biopreparat, had operated during the Cold War. The fact was an open secret. The Moscow bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal broke the story decades ago. The KGB later got to him and he disappeared without a trace, but they were too late. The word was out and the world knew about Biopreparat and the work that was done there. They knew what the government had been up to.

“I’m sure you can guess why we’ve come,” Yevchenko said.

It was always the same song and dance. The military bigwigs loved nothing better than playing games, showing her who was boss.

“Why don’t you give us a clue?” Vasily said.

Sofia’s heart pounded. He was feeling punchy. She could hear it in his voice. Yevchenko would jump at any excuse to get rid of him.

“I’m sorry,” Yevchenko said. “I haven’t met your second in command.”

“Of course,” Sofia said. “Major General Yevchenko, this is doctor Vasily Ustinov.”

“You look familiar,” Yevchenko said.