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

“Sir, I’m only saying that a virus spreads. A virus like the one you’ve requested, it’s unstoppable. It will spread and spread and we’ll have no ability to control it. Like a genie, sir. Once it’s out of the bottle, it will never go back in.”

“Why don’t you just tell me if you managed to isolate it,” Yevchenko said.

Sofia shook her head. She couldn’t say the words.

“Sofia,” Yevchenko said. “Did you do it, or did you not?”

She remained silent. She’d always been good at reading people. She thought about the GRU agent, Tatyana Aleksandrova. Everything depended on her now. Sofia knew next to nothing about her. A single meeting, when they’d ordered her to work at the institute. Just a hunch. A feeling. And now, she was the only hope.

Yevchenko stepped forward and slammed his hand on the table. The sound roused her from her thoughts.

“I did it, sir.”

Yevchenko smiled. “And it’s effective?”

“Effective sir?”

“Effective, Sofia. Virulent. Lethal.”

“Lethal?”

“Doctor,” Yevchenko said, drawing his gun. “I’m here on orders from the president of the federation. I’m not playing games.”

“Sir, this is like nothing we’ve ever seen. COVID-19, Ebola, Marburg, plague, Q fever, Junin, glanders, even smallpox. They pale in comparison.”

“So you’ve done it?” Yevchenko said. “You’ve given him what he asked for?”

“I have a deliverable,” she said. “Yes, sir.”

“A virus?”

“Taken from the same mammoths as the anthrax.”

“And it’s stable?”

“It’s a fucking time bomb,” Sofia said. “It should be destroyed immediately.”

Yevchenko smiled. “Now, now. Let’s leave that for the president to decide.”

Sofia had a safe under her desk and she bent down to unlock it.

“I trust I don’t have to tell you how sensitive this is?” she said.

“This isn’t my first day on the job, my dear.”

“This vial,” she said, holding it up for him to see, “contains possibly the most virulent substance on the planet. Certainly the most dangerous thing ever to come out of a Russian lab.”

“I would expect nothing less,” Yevchenko said.

“Under no circumstances should it be tampered with,” she said, placing it inside a sealed, titanium transportation case. “Under no circumstances should this case be opened. You must deliver it intact to directorate scientists in Moscow.”

“I’ll be careful with your little package,” Yevchenko said.

Sofia held it out to him, but as he took it, her fingers resisted letting go.

“You don’t trust me?” Yevchenko said.

“When it comes to something like this,” she said, “I trust no one.”

“Well, surely you can trust the president of the Russian Federation.”

Sofia looked at him wryly. “If we can’t trust him, who can we trust?”

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