Gray Shadows: Russian Historical Thriller

Chapter Eight

Inside the security office, two young guards sat at the table chatting about the previous night’s hockey game. When they saw Nikolai, they stopped talking, and greeted him politely. One of them immediately went outside, probably to do his rounds, the other moved to the desk with all the security monitors.

“Most of the cameras have been installed, but the monitors are still offline,” the guard said. He looked at Nikolai. “Vanya knows, and he already called Oleg.”

Nikolai nodded and stepped outside. He was getting used to the brisk chilly air and was even beginning to enjoy it. The air was so much clearer and cleaner here than in Moscow. Without the heavy foot and car traffic and the pollution of the big city, Upper Luzinsk’s snow was whiter, fluffier, and purer. It reminded Nikolai of his college days and weekends he spent skiing with Olga and their friends at the dacha, his family’s modest cottage outside of Moscow, with the cold and crisp days and cozy evenings by the fire. Those were simpler times of his youth that he sometimes longed for.

There was still no sign of Vanya, so Nikolai called Anatoly to check on the details of his replacement’s arrival.

“Vasily Petrovich stopped by today,” Anatoly said. “He knows the government lawyer who is coming to the meeting and doesn’t trust him. That lawyer used to represent one of the major banks, and they worked together on the economy stabilization initiative.”

“Sounds impressive, but I have no idea what that initiative was. Do I need to know?”

“Yes. The idea was that a bunch of big banks got together and offered loans to the government, ostensibly to help support the most critical areas for the economy, such as the oil and gas industry.”

“You’re talking about the time before these industries were privatized, right?” Nikolai said.

“Right. At the time, Luzinsk Oil and Gas was still government-owned,” Anatoly said.

“So where’s the catch? There is a catch, correct?”

“When banks and governments are involved, there’s always a catch. Without cluttering your mind with all the details, I can tell you that the scheme worked basically like this: the government used Luzinsk Oil and Gas as collateral to get the loan and invested the money back into the industry, supposedly. And Luzinsk Oil and Gas was valued high, much too high, so the loan was high as well.”

“Invested the money? Down some black hole?” Nikolai asked.

“Most likely. The officials probably bought yachts and mansions for themselves on the Mediterranean, on Cyprus, or in Florida. So, when the time came to repay the loan, the money was not there. And, miraculously enough, the value of Luzinsk Oil and Gas had dropped significantly right at that time.”

“With some creative accounting?” Nikolai asked.

“Of course. So, the government could not repay the loan and was about to transfer ownership of Luzinsk Oil and Gas to the banks. And that’s where Vasily Petrovich comes in. He discovered this creative accounting, saw through the whole scheme, had proof for it, and stopped the deal. So, Luzinsk Oil and Gas was never transferred to the bank and remained government property. Since everyone involved had their hands in embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, things got quiet for a while.”

“That was before Pyotr Alekseevich took over?” Nikolai asked.

“Right. It was all under the old director, and that’s when Vasily Petrovich, in his role as the government lawyer, started looking at the company’s books more and saw evidence of tax evasion, too. Right after that, Pyotr Alekseevich took over as the director of the company. Soon after, the company went from being government-owned to private ownership. This was done legally, and the transition allowed the company to start public trading.”

“But the fight is not over, right?”

“Right. If the tax repayment schedule is not finalized at the board meeting, then Luzinsk Oil and Gas will be up for grabs. And there are plenty of people, including everyone involved in the previous dealings with the company, who want to grab it. Pyotr Alekseevich is the man this whole deal is hedging on. If he’s out of the picture, many people will make a lot of money.”

“So, is the old director still influencing things?”

“I’m sure he’s involved somehow, despite being under investigation. From what Vasily Petrovich tells me, many influential people have their sights on Luzinsk Oil and would use any chance they have to get it. That makes sense, of course, since Luzinsk Oil has some rich oil fields, from what I hear.”

“Anatoly, I don’t think that just me and one other bodyguard for Natalya is enough here. We’re dealing with bigger problems and need more support.”

“I think you’re right. Let me make a few phone calls, and I’ll get back to you.”

“Thanks,” Nikolai said. He saw Vanya walking towards him. “I have to go, too. The local security director is here for a walk around. I’ll let you know if we find something you need to know about.”

Nikolai clicked off.

“Ready for our walk?” Vanya said.

“Let’s check the monitors inside the security office first,” Nikolai said. “You’ve had problems with the computer system, right?”

“Yes, but everything is fine now. Oleg fixed it,” Vanya said.

“Do you know what the problems were?” Nikolai asked.

Vanya shook his head. “I don’t know much about all this high-tech stuff. That’s Oleg’s job.”

“I see,” Nikolai said. “Can I take a look?”

“What, you don’t believe me that everything is working?” Vanya said.

Nikolai did not respond.

For a second, Vanya looked at him, then reached for the doorknob. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. Let’s go inside.”

Nikolai followed Vanya into the security office and sat down at the desk. All the newly installed cameras were working, and the monitors flickered with inside images of Pyotr Alekseevich’s office building, all the hallways, entryways, and stairwells. Outside the building, the cameras were mounted to show the driveway to the main gate and monitor the perimeter of the fence.

“Everything looks good,” Nikolai said.

“I told you Oleg fixed it. And he did,” Vanya said.

“Now let’s take a walk to make sure that we’re seeing all we need to see,” Nikolai said.

“That gap with the wire wrapped around it is fixed if that’s what you mean, so you should be happy,” Vanya said.

“I’m still not thrilled about the cheap fence, but at least the cameras make it easier to monitor the perimeter.”

They followed the path from the security building to the storage shed, to the piles of construction materials, through the areas where visitors and contractors parked their cars, and headed over to the engineering building. All the newly mounted cameras had their tiny green signal lights on, indicating that they were working, all the street lamps were lit, and the fence, however flimsy, had no more gaps or holes.

They took a few more steps, and the area around them grew darker. Nikolai stopped. “How often do your guys check the lights?” Nikolai pointed to two burnt-out street lamps next to the post where a surveillance camera had not been installed yet.

“Every night.”

“So, both of these must have just burned out? Two at once?”

“Could be a coincidence.” Vanya shrugged.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Nikolai said and pointed to the neat stack of roof panels placed between the two street lamps, right by the fence. “What are these panels for?”

“For the storage shed next to the garage. There was a leak there, and the roof needs to be fixed.”

“That storage shed? All the way over there?” Nikolai pointed towards the garage by the main gate, a good three-minute walk away. “Why are the roof panels here? Another coincidence?”

Vanya shook his head. “The delivery guys just put them here. How were they supposed to know what these roof panels are for?”

“Wasn’t one of your guards supervising the delivery?” Nikolai said.

“They should have.”

“That’s not what I asked,” Nikolai said. “Was the delivery supervised or not?”

“How in the world do I know?” Vanya said, his tone defensive now. “I can’t keep track of every little thing around here.”

“Obviously not,” Nikolai muttered under his breath. “Let’s move the panels over and check out the area under them.”

“It’s just roof panels. Not the best place to store them, but how dangerous can they be?”

“That’s exactly what I want to find out. Give me a hand here,” Nikolai said.

Reluctantly, Vanya walked over to the stack of panels. One by one, Nikolai and Vanya moved all the panels over to the side, revealing a snow-free dark spot on the ground.

“Hand me the flashlight,” Nikolai said to Vanya. He pointed the light at the dark patch. “Somebody has been busy here.”

The light revealed a cave-like opening next to the fence. It looked deep and wide enough for an average-sized person to squeeze in. But why would anybody want to squeeze into a hole in the ground?

Nikolai shone his light into the hole. The ray of his flashlight bounced off the well-packed snow on all sides of the hole. Then, he saw something.

“Vanya, it’s a tunnel. I can see some trees on the other side.”

Vanya crouched down next to Nikolai. “You think it’s the thieves again, trying to get the roof panels this time?” Vanya said. “This stuff can be expensive, you know. And with all the snowfall around here, many roofs need frequent repair.”

“I don’t think so. The roof panels are too big to fit in there. It’s barely wide enough for a person to fit through.”

“Right,” Vanya said. “I didn’t think of that. Still thinking of those stolen construction material some weeks ago.”

“Something different is going on here. Let’s see if we can figure out what.” Nikolai got on all fours and started working his way through the tunnel, tightly packed snow surrounding him on all sides. The awkward movement made his leg ache, but Nikolai ignored the pain. It was just soreness, nothing serious.

Vanya followed.

Digging a tunnel through the frozen earth and snow could not have been easy and must have required a lot of effort and some special equipment. How could that project have gone unnoticed? With one last push, Nikolai was on the other side.

Breathing heavily, Vanya stood up next to him. “I’ve never been a fan of tight spaces. How did they even manage to dig it through the frozen earth?” He shook the snow off his coat and stretched his back.

“That’s what I’m wondering, too. And how could it be that nobody has seen any activity here?”

“Maybe somebody did see it, but they didn’t tell us,” Vanya said.

“And when are these panels supposed to be used?” Nikolai said.

“I don’t know.”

“I bet it’s after the board meeting, and whoever made this tunnel knows it,” Nikolai said.

“How do you figure that?”

“Because whoever dug this tunnel surely does not want these roof panels moved and the tunnel discovered before the board meeting.”

“Makes sense,” Vanya said.

“Help me get oriented here,” Nikolai said. “Where’s the main road?”

“Pretty close. See that old pine tree? That’s where the dirt road starts that leads to the main road out of town,” Vanya said.

“And once they are out of town, they are home free. They can go to the airport or the train station. With the non-existent security in both places, they can sneak onto a freight train or even board the daily charter to Moscow,” Nikolai said. “Or a helicopter anywhere they want to go, especially if they know the local pilots.”

“It’s possible.” Vanya nodded.

“So, let’s say this is a getaway tunnel then.”

“You mean, the murderer plans to come in through the main gate and then leave through the tunnel?” Vanya said.

“I think so. And it can also be used to bring stuff in,” Nikolai said.

“Like what stuff?” Vanya said.

“Something small enough to fit through it.”

“Not roof panels, I’d guess,” Vanya said.

Nikolai chuckled. “You’re catching on quickly.”

“You think the death threats and this tunnel are related?”

Nikolai nodded. “Pretty sure.”

“So whoever is trying to kill Pyotr Alekseevich or his two board members will use this tunnel to come in or to bring their murder weapons in?”

“That’s a possibility. Let’s think logically. There are many ways to kill somebody. Which would be the method of choice here?”

Vanya shook his head. “Anything, really, from poisoning to drug overdose, anything at all, right?”

“Not necessarily. If the tunnel is used to smuggle something into the compound, then we can probably exclude poisons and other substances, right? We don’t check for those at the gate, so why bother digging a tunnel?”

“As a getaway, you said it yourself.”

“But a getaway would not be needed in case of poisoning or drug overdose. Most poisons and drugs take some time to take effect, and some more time for those effects to be discovered, so our murderer could just walk out the front gate, right?” Nikolai said.

“I guess so,” Vanya said.

“The way I see it, the most likely possibility is a firearms attack. That’s what you check for at the gate, right?”

Vanya nodded. “And we have been searching all cars coming in for weapons.”

“And the murderers, whoever they are, know that. That’s why they need the tunnel, to bring the firearms in.”

“That makes our job a little easier and narrows down the possibilities, right? We just need to watch out for firearms,” Vanya said.

Nikolai thought for a moment. “I bet that whoever is planning to kill Pyotr Alekseevich or the two board members is already inside the compound. The question is who it is.”