“Who?” Anya asked.
“A guy over at theState Department. I’m working on background for Volkov’s brother.I learned that his name is—or was—Konstantin Dmitrievich Volkov,but that’s as far as I’ve gotten.”
Anya slowly shook herhead. “Have you not read Anna Karenina?”
“No, why?”
“Someone is playinggames with you. Who told you Volkov’s brother was KonstantinDmitrievich?”
“A guy Johnny-Macknows at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.”
“This person is lyingto you. Konstantin Dmitrievich is a character from Leo Tolstoy’sgreatest novel, Anna Karenina. Why have you never read thisbook?”
“I don’t know. Imean, I’ve heard of it, but . . .”
“I will buy for youthis book, and you will read it each night before falling asleep.”
Gwynn sank into thecushion of the sofa. “Why do people have to make everything sohard?”
Anya moved from thechair to the sofa. “There is one thing the government is great at,and this is screwing everything up. It is different, but sometimessame in Russia and America. When the government is involved,everything takes too long and is too complicated. It is same atgrocery store. In Russia, we have two kinds of crackers, but here inAmerica, the shelves are full of crackers—hundreds of them. It istoo much and too hard to choose.”
Gwynn raised aneyebrow. “How does that have anything to do with some low-leveldiplomat in Moscow playing games with me?”
“It is simple. Thisperson in Moscow is probably nothing more than clerk or maybe errandboy, and he does not know anything about Volkov’s family. Maybeother option is this. Maybe he is higher-level diplomat and knowseverything about Volkov, but he is not willing to tell secrets. Ifthis is true, you have started avalanche inside embassy, andeverything you want to know is now buried beneath a pile of largerocks, and you will never get truth from them.”
Gwynn sighed. “Thenwhat am I supposed to do? If I can’t get the answers I need, we’llnever be able to prove Volkov’s connection to his brother’smurder. If we can’t make the connection, we’ll never be able toget little Anya and her mother to the States.”
Anya cast her eyes tothe ceiling, and the wheels began to spin. After what felt like aneternity to Gwynn, her partner said, “There are two ways to findinformation we need from inside Russia.”
Gwynn leaned forward.“Come on, don’t make me wait. Let’s hear them.”
“First way is to goto Moscow and find the information ourselves.”
“That’s not goingto happen. First of all, there’s no way the Justice Departmentwould approve the cost. Second, you’re still persona non grata overthere. Even if we got in the country undetected, you’d be back inprison the second we approached an official with any information weneed. So, that’s out. What’s the other option?”
“Skipper.”
Gwynn cocked her head.“What’s Skipper?”
“Skipper is excellentanalyst who can find almost anyone with only her computers.”
A ray of hope shone inGwynn’s eyes. “So, all we have to do is have Agent White call upthe CIA and get this analyst you know assigned to our operation.”
Anya frowned. “No,Skipper does not work for CIA.”
“Who, then? DIA? NSA?It doesn’t really matter because we can get him temporarilyassigned no matter who he works for.”
“No, this is notpossible. Skipper is a woman, not a man, and she does not work forgovernment.”
Gwynn scratched herhead. “A female analyst who doesn’t work for the government?”
“Yes, she worksexclusively for Chase’s team.”
Gwynn sank back againstthe sofa. “Him again, really?”
“No, not him.Her.”
“So how do we findher?”
Anya held up her phone.“We call her.”
“I can’t authorizethat call, and you know that.”
Anya smiled. “Yes,but you do not have to know.”
“Don’t do it, Anya.Agent White will have both our heads on pikes if you make that callwithout his approval.”
“What do I have tolose?”
“Your freedom, forone thing. If you screw this up, you know Agent White will keep hisword and send you to prison.”
Anya pressed her lipsinto a thin horizontal line. “Agent White has not forbidden youfrom calling Skipper.”
“No! I’ve screwedup enough on this operation already. I’m not going to push it anyfurther. What I will do, though, is talk with Agent White about it.Maybe he’ll approve you calling her. If not, maybe—and this ismuch more likely—he’ll approve me to make the call.”
Gwynn spent the nexthalf hour briefing and begging her boss. She laid out what she’dfound on her own, as well as the roadblock she’d encountered withthe U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Saving the best—or perhaps thescariest—for last, the final five minutes of the conversation wasspent explaining Skipper and hoping for his blessing to make thatcall.
When she hung up, Gwynnturned to Anya and shrugged.
“What did he say?”
“He’s thinkingabout it, and that’s weird. I’ve never known him to not be ableto make a decision on the spot.”
“This is bigdecision,” Anya said. “One of the major concerns he has is mycontact with my friends. He doesn’t call them friends, though. Hecalls them people from my previous life. I do not like this name forthem.”
“I know this is goingto sound cold, but I don’t think Agent White cares what we like.He’s going to do what he thinks is best in every situation,regardless of what anybody else has to say about it.”
“When will he befinished thinking?”
“How should I know?Why don’t you tell me about your day while we’re waiting for acallback?”
“It was not apleasant start. Sascha counted the diamonds in bags and found twomissing.”
“Oh, my god. Hecaught you?”
“No, he did not catchme. I made him look like fool by slipping the diamonds I ‘borrowed’back into second bag, and Viktor made him apologize to me.”
“Made him apologize?Are you serious?”
“Yes, I am. I thinkeven he believed he’d miscounted. It was fun for me.”
Gwynn shook her head.“That’s amazing. So, what else happened?”
I found nine pairs ofmatching stones in the two bags, and I learned there is computer todo same job as me.”
“Articles, Anya.You’ve got to learn to use English articles. You’re killing me.”
“I am sorry. I willtry harder, but is difficult for me.”
Before Gwynn couldcontinue
