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The Andaman Affair Chapter 4
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Disclaimer
This is a work of amature fiction, no contravention of copyright is intended and no profit is made from this endeavour.
“You mistake yourself Leonid and the potency of your agency in New York.” Waverly puffed on his pipe in the antique lined study of the Russian Embassy.
“No I think not Alexander, we have been a major protagonist in this game far too long to let go so easily.” Leonid Chesku was a man to be reckoned with in world politics. He had out survived several ruthless coups and was still a power within the Kremlin. The sheer tenacity to overcome and still be a player warranted him respect if nothing else. Alexander Waverly had a grudging respect for the man and found in him a kindred spirit, silently marvelling as the two old warriors sat opposite each other in the midst of a hot Cold War playing a friendly game of chess. Despite the gravity of the issue he smiled behind his pipe and accepted the glass of tea with an easy grace born of diplomacy as he moved his pawn across the marble chess board.
“My agent was set up.” Alexander stated softly.
“Of course.” Leonid intercepted the pawn with his Bishop.
“If we are to be uneasy allies in this Leonid I would ask you to be more specific.”
“As yet I cannot be, however, there are many factions in the Kremlin old friend, and many more would involve themselves in world affairs if they could curry favour with the Premier.”
“Meaning you’re as in the dark about this as we are.” Waverly chewed thoughtfully on his pipe and hid behind a mask of impassivity. Help, he deduced was the easiest word in the language to garner for him what he wanted. If they believed him to be vulnerable they would strike too soon, let too much slip to make him understand. All in all he would appear the wounded party and allow information to flow its natural course.
“I fear so.” Leonid shook his head sadly and there was genuine regret in his clear grey eyes. “I served with Kuraykin’s father and am personally wounded by this, however, there are other matters that perhaps we two old men can discuss.”
“A trade of information? Or a show of good faith which did you have in mind?”
“Well you have demonstrated faith in us by coming to this interlude, we will give you what scant information we have in return for what you know of this affair.”
“Agreed, perhaps we could start with why?” Alexander cleaned the bowl of his pipe out and placed it in the pouch before stowing it in his pocket.
“Indeed, since we know how.”
“Indeed?”
Leonid Chesku smiled. “You Alexander, are about as wounded as an angy old lion. However, despite the ill that has befallen your agent and my personal distaste for the current position, we have a larger duty. There are far too many in the bureau now who are a few moments shy of insanity, and they court trouble for our nation and for ourselves.”
“And this trouble would be?”
“Thrush has made too much headway into our covert operations of the last three years and we fear at times they are running us. Infiltration is at the highest level, even your ciphers and moles we know about do not involve themselves thusly. Thrush do not follow the same order that we do, they are a lawless bunch of brigands who will do everything they can to bring us to war!” Leonid slapped the arm of his chair before standing and shoving his hands deeply into his pockets, pacing the room.
“I must concur, so THRUSH have infiltrated the KGB and sought favour of the Premier, by what means?”
“Illya was in Aden and made a mistake to trust an old friend. A friend that introduced a venom into his system that behaves exactly like heroin. It is undetectable by normal methods and has a delayed reaction of 72 hours. The half life is fourteen days and the affect can leave the victim powerless to fight the urge to take the true form of the drug.”
“Do you have the chemical composition of this venom?”
“Yes.”
“It was developed by the KGB? The development of chemical weapons is against the charter Leonid.”
“It was discovered in a hospital conducting Phage Therapy, the results were phenomenal. You must understand we are a cash poor country Alexander, what price do you think the Western world would pay for a drug that completely obliterates the desire for heroin?”
“It has the capacity to cure the addiction?”
“Yes, but only if the person is an addict before hand, if taken by one who is not it spikes the desire for the drug until they are driven to taking it.”
“And if they do?”
“They die.” Leonid’s expressive features drew in upon themselves becoming dark and morbid, fear inscribed into every line of his body.
“You’ve seen how they die haven’t you Leonid?”
“Da. Screaming and horribly, their skin becomes black and they bleed internally finally drowning in their own fluids and all the while they are in such agony Alexander.”
“And this has gone missing? This venom?”
“The chemical composition is known to only a few, our chief scientist has been abducted and we fear the recipe has been extorted from him.”
“And you want me to find him?”
“He is the only man who has the antidote.”
Realisation hit Alexander hard as he stood up and drew his formidable brows together. “Anatoly?”
“Yes, the Premier’s son has been given the venom, we can treat him, but there are other factions at work to expose this within Moscow. Such knowledge would serve to unseat the Premier and we cannot afford another coup Alexander, too many good people have died for stupidity, Illya’s father being one of them.”
“And Illya was too close to finding the truth, so they orchestrated his fall from your grace, forcing the Premier into pressuring us to have him sanctioned?”
“So it would seem. Do you intend on exercising the sanction?”
“I have no choice old friend, his partner will hunt him ruthlessly.” Alexander pulled his coat around his old body and leaned against his umbrella as he leaned down and moved the last piece into position. “I do believe old friend that is check mate.”
“No doubt, and Alexander, our agent in THRUSH confirms that the venom is being manufactured in South East Asia.” Leonid scowled as he studied the board.
“Is your information still viable?”
“No, my son was killed getting that out to us.” There was a light of pride in the old man’s eye’s as he sat down heavily.
“I regret your loss Leonid, perhaps you can help me avoid mine?”
“Illya will be cleared and his status reinstated, but Alexander we have little time for this, very little.”
“We will do what we can.”
Napoleon yawned and stretched in the oversized bed, the air-conditioning cooled his heated skin as he admired the view of the exquisite dark haired beauty as she dressed. He felt no need to get up, nor did he offer anything to the small woman treating her almost disdainfully. He knew all too well that she was put in his path to seduce him, to pre-occupy him from his real task. What they didn’t count on, was that whilst he enjoyed the spoils of this war, he guarded his heart jealously and would never become so enamoured.
And no one would breach that wall, not even the beautiful whore who had slept in his bed and entertained him willingly. She was just a little too practiced, too pretty and too much in need to be true. She knew the game and played it well, now as she left he slid out of the bed and drew a robe around his body catching her by the slim waist as she gathered her purse.
“Do I pay you or your mistress?” Napoleon whispered into her ear and felt her stiffen.
“You mistake me Napoleon.”
“No I don’t think I do, if she wants to see me, tell her to call personally. Whilst I don’t guarantee I will entertain her as I did you, she is most welcome to try.”
“How did you know?” Lin asked as she withdrew from the embrace.
“Far be it for me to be rude to my guest but you are too well schooled in the art love, to be as you project.”
“So I will not have the pleasure of your company again?” she pouted gently as he held the door open for her.
“No, I think not, as tempting as the offer is, you know as I do that we are both professionals, your madam will need to be a little more inventive.”
Illya curled into the soft touch upon his shoulder as he opened blue eyes gummed with sleep.
“I apologise for not waking you and making you sleep in a bed little one.” Vasily put the cup of coffee down on the table next to him with some honey buns.
“Thank you, it seems an eon since I last slept.”
“No doubt and your dreams torment you.”
“Many things torment me.”
“I know, have known for some time, but I had not thought you would be caught so easily in their trap.”
“We all know the pain of loneliness Vasily.” Illya looked up sadly.
“So tell me of this treachery so we may find a way to redeem ourselves.”
“I was on assignment in Aden.”
Illya uncurled and threw caution to the wind trusting where his heart told him he could and forlornly he shuddered in the embrace of despair before he continued. His heart had led him to this and he mourned the passing of such trust. Securing the last of his trust to be locked away with all the other pieces of his shattered soul, leaving only a barren mirror of the man he knew he could be. His heart ached to ease the loneliness, this interminable darkness that threatened to engulf him. Swamping him from the sheer weight of the agony, and yet his face betrayed no emotion. Only the crystal sapphire gaze shattered for the briefest moment in the wake of his mentor’s concern before the mask was pulled shut across the drawn features.
“I will not abandon you little one, have faith.”
“I am in a faithless land Vasily, the Cold War torments all of us who would be her companions but I find I have no choice.”
“Then let it be a good choice and garner what strength you can from it.”
Illya nodded and sat forward his elbows pressed into his knees as he fought the siren call, the clawing and craving his body had that he knew would be burned with a bright fire if he took the drugs that called to him. It whispered seductively into his brain, to ease his suffering, to end his pain.
He was a brave man and found cowardice bitter and vile on his tongue, he would die before he succumbed and in his darker moments knew he may well.
“They have turned Napoleon against me as their pawn for the sanction, they have poured drugs into my system that make me ache for more, to crucify myself on the silver needles and be free. And have taken all that was left of me that I love and hold dear. And I must believe Vasily, that they did this for a purpose. That I am not some expendable lab rat they choose to torment.”
“Not all things that are done to us are done for personal pain, they choose to use us as pawns and in time we may learn the truth that they do not even know who we are.”
“Yes I am prepared for that, perhaps even comforted by it, even then we are used in the larger picture and many a knight has been fallen by a pawn.”
“Indeed.” Vasily smiled as Illya relaxed. “I must keep up the appearances, Illya. I have no house staff until the weekend and the kitchen is stocked. Please stay away from the windows. I will return later this afternoon after class. I must have tea today it is part of my ritual, but I will not abandon you nor shall I turn you over to them. There are clothes upstairs, some of which will fit you and my bed is warm and safe. Make use of it old friend.”
“Thank you.”
“No need. In hell we are all brothers in arms are we not?”
TBC…….
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