menacing killer and his psychopath uncle. At least if Sean killed him it would be quick and painless.
Sean walked over to Luis and placed a reassuring arm around his shoulders and explained what he needed him to do.
Chapter 32
“I don’t understand?’ offered Borodin shaking his head.
Surkov smiled. “I wouldn’t expect you to.”
With that, Borodin jumped up from the sofa. He had had enough of the smart mouthed obsequious scientist. However, before he could cover the distance between the two sofas, Surkov moved with a speed somewhat belying his age and managed to avoid the mass of the General landing on him.
“You misunderstand me, I was not bating you comrade. I wouldn’t expect you to understand because you do not know what we do here at Grebnevo.”
Borodin picked himself up and looked Surkov in the eye for any sign of mischief. None existed, nor however was there any sign of fear. Borodin was a large man, far larger than the diminutive and aged Surkov. Throughout his career he had instilled fear in all before him, even presidents of Russia feared him and he would never throw himself in anger towards them. The more time Borodin spent with Surkov, the less he understood him and the more Borodin feared him.
“So what do you do here?” asked Borodin, retaking his original seat and mustering all of his composure.
“We will come to that. First, let us finish discussing the details of our Mr Fox.”
“Why is he a risk?”
“Now, General, you are beginning to ask the right question! We don’t know that he is but there’s a chance he may be.”
Borodin began to realize the chance of anything resembling a straight answer or explanation was unlikely.
Surkov could see the frustration building in Borodin and continued. He had already pushed him over the brink and was very close to alienating him. Something which he would rather avoid. The General was, after all, a useful ally but one that he wanted an upper-hand with.
“You were right when you mentioned we train spies here at Grebnevo. It’s just that is not all we do here. However let’s consider Sean Fox.”
“Sean Fox was a star even before he was born, his father’s career ensured Sean Fox would have the world at his feet!”
Surkov stopped talking and looked at Borodin, waiting for a reaction to what he had just said as if he had just solved the answer to life, the universe and pretty much everything that remained unanswered.
Borodin’s head tilted to the side, his mind was racing trying desperately to work out if he had missed something or if that was Surkov’s revelation. Sean Fox was destined to be a star!
“You don’t understand!” scoffed Surkov.
“What’s to understand? You haven’t said anything!” replied Borodin, even more confused.
Surkov’s eye’s raised to the ceiling in frustration. He had been informed Borodin had a superb mind. From all he had seen and what Surkov had told him, Borodin should have been able to understand Grebnevo. He was going to have to give him the foolproof tour.
“Come with me General and I will blow your mind!” offered Surkov, rising from the sofa.
Borodin followed and exactly two hours later was picking up Vasiliy from the coffee shop where he had been deposited earlier.
“General!” offered Vasiliy as he stepped into the Zil.
“Vasiliy,” replied Borodin. As Surkov had promised, Borodin was in a far better mood than he had been when Vasiliy had been left.
For the duration of their short trip back to the helicopter, neither spoke a word.
As they boarded the chopper and took off, Vasiliy waited for Borodin to unload but after a further ten minutes of silence could wait no longer, concerns of drugging his boss began to creep into his mind.
“Well?” asked Vasiliy breaking the silence.
“I’m still digesting what I have just witnessed!” explained Borodin the smile still affixed to his face.
“And?” prompted Vasiliy.
“Genius, utter and complete genius!” exclaimed Borodin.
Vasiliy waited for more, it wasn’t forthcoming. “What is?”
“Surkov, Grebnevo, Russia,” he said almost wistfully.
“General, are you OK?”
The concern in Vasiliy’s voice snapped Borodin out of his trance. “Of course, I am,” he said in his more usual gruff tone.
“Get me the Head of Spetsnaz team heading to Texas on the radio, I need to speak with him.”
“Whatever has happened?” asked Vasiliy trying to understand what was happening.
“He needs to understand his mission is the most important mission in a generation!”
Chapter 33
Luis looked into the calm of Sean’s eyes and took some comfort, although whether it was enough to pull off what Sean had asked him to do was another matter.
“Are you being serious?”
“Absolutely and more importantly, the clock is ticking. We have less than three hours before all hell breaks loose!”
“Fuck!” he exhaled as he picked up the phone. “Are you sure?” he queried once more before dialing.
A firm nod from Sean told him to hurry up.
El Jefe answered the call after two rings. “Que?” his only response.
Luis did as Sean had prompted. He didn’t ask if his uncle had shot the Colonel, he just assumed he had.
“Uncle, I need the rifle you used!”
A short pause by his uncle as he justified a response was all that was needed to prove they were right.
“Why?”
“You shot a Colonel! That has consequences beyond our control.”
El Jefe had realized almost instantly after his actions that the repercussions could be intense and had led to him sacrificing his own man. The fact that his nephew had guessed instantly it was him was no surprise. However, he was surprised at his nephew providing some kind of solution.
“What will you do?” he asked intrigued.
“The less we talk and you know the better,” replied a very confident Luis.
El Jefe was in no mood to argue. His actions of earlier were beginning to weigh rather heavily as the blood lust began to drain from his psychosis.
“OK, where are you?”
“On the other side!” replied Luis telling his uncle he was in the American Laredo.
“6.”
Luis shook his head as he answered. “No, 15!” he said with some conviction and added. “In forty five!”
In answer El Jefe ended the call.
“Let’s go!” said Luis as he removed the battery pack from another used cell phone.
Sean looked at him as though he were mad.
“I’m not going anywhere near your psycho uncle unless the boy is with him.”
“It’s your plan!” replied a somewhat less confident Luis.
“Exactly, you go get the rifle and I’ll do the rest!”
