Spymaster

CHAPTER 25

Ryan quickly glanced around the lounge to make sure no one was listening to their conversation.

She then focused back on Kopec and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The man laughed. “Which is why your entire body tensed at the mention of his name and you quickly looked around the room.”

“Are you crazy? We can’t talk about this out in the open.”

“We don’t have a choice. Not if you want to prevent those upgrade kits from finding their way to the Russians.”

Ryan fixed him with an icy stare. “This is blackmail.”

“This is business.”

“You know what, Artur? I thought we had a better relationship than this.”

“Our business is built on favors, Lydia. You are asking me for one and in return, I am asking one of you.”

“Certainly. But Matterhorn? I can’t trade favors for that.”

“You have asked me not to tell my government what I am doing for you. Further, I now need to send my people into Belarus and very carefully exploit my network there. And let me tell you, it will not be easy. If word gets out, the Russians will outbid, outmuscle, and outdestroy anyone who stands between them and proof that the United States has reintroduced cruise missiles into Europe in violation of the INF treaty. That alone could kick off World War III. But couple it with the fact that an untold number of your missiles are nuclear-tipped? That could very well be game over.”

“Pick something else, Artur. Anything else. You’ve said this will cost one hundred grand. Make it five hundred. We won’t care where the money goes. Do with it as you see fit.”

The Polish intelligence officer shook his head as he loaded another blini. “You can’t put a price on an asset like Matterhorn, especially for Poland.”

“I understand,” replied Ryan. “But Matterhorn is not mine to give.”

Popping the blini into his mouth, he let her words hang in the air above the table, as he took his time chewing and then swallowing.

“There has to be another arrangement we can come to,” she said, breaking the number one rule about not rushing to fill uncomfortable silences.

“The missiles are your insurance policy against the Russians,” Kopec insisted. “Matterhorn will be ours.”

Ryan began to argue, but the Pole held up his hand. “Think about what you are asking me to do. Matterhorn is one asset, Lydia. That’s all, but he could be the difference between life and death for Poland.”

“I can’t bargain with you over Matterhorn because we don’t know who the hell Matterhorn is.”

Kopec, who was normally quite good at playing his cards close to his vest, appeared genuinely startled. “That’s impossible.”

“Well, welcome to my new world,” she said, as she decided that she wouldn’t go straight back to the office. Turning her glass over, she pushed it forward.

Slowly, he poured a vodka for her, but perhaps thinking better of it, chose not to pour one for himself and set the bottle back down on the table. “Walk me through this,” he said.

Tossing back the shot, Ryan took another look around the room and then leaned forward. “As you know, Matterhorn was recruited and run by Carlton.”

Kopec nodded. “That’s how he explained it.”

“Only a handful of people were ever aware of his existence,” she continued. “The Russians thought Matterhorn was spying for them, and he was. But in addition to legitimate intelligence, he was also feeding them a lot of misinformation as well, specifically about NATO.”

“Which is precisely why we want him. To keep the Russians off balance.”

“I understand, but there’s one problem. Carlton never revealed his identity.”

“What?”

“Never. Not to anyone. It was one of his most closely guarded secrets.”

“Then we need to go talk to him.”

She shook her head. “I’ve tried. Over and over again. That part of his mind isn’t coming back. It’s a secret he’ll take to his grave. Unless…” Her voice trailed off.

“Unless what?” Kopec asked.

“Unless we can piece the identity together through his personal papers. He kept journals, much of the material coded. We’ve made a little progress, but a lot of it is slow going. We have to cross-reference where he said he was and what he was doing with classified accounts in the CIA archives. It’s like trying to put together a puzzle in the dark.”

Tapping the top of her tiny glass, she gestured for him to refill it. Once he had, she sipped it and began to spill her guts. “You have no idea how frustrating all of this has been. If I had known what I was walking into, I don’t know if I ever would have agreed to take this job.

“Every time I turn around, there’s another hole in the dike that needs plugging, but only Reed Carlton’s fingers fit and he can’t remember where to put them. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Kopec didn’t know how to respond. He couldn’t be sure if it was the alcohol talking, or if Ryan was simply unburdening herself to a trusted colleague. Either way, what she was revealing about the disarray in her organization was quite troublesome.

He listened intently and slowly began to steer their conversation back to Matterhorn. “Realistically, how soon do you think you might have the identity?”

She stopped, mid-sip in her vodka, and pondered his question. “It could be a day, a week, or a month. Who knows? There’s also the problem that, even if we could come to some sort of an agreement about Matterhorn, Carlton is unable to introduce a new handler and orchestrate a handoff.”

As far as Kopec was concerned, that was the least of their worries. Just knowing whom the asset was would be a huge step forward. “Let me ask you something,” he said, shifting gears. “Do you know why Carlton selected the codename Matterhorn? Was it significant somehow? Connected?”

Finishing the shot, she returned the glass to the table and shook her head. “When it comes to Reed Carlton, I don’t have the slightest clue. I can’t even begin to think the way that he does — even on his worst day. He was always ten steps ahead of everybody.”

“That he was,” agreed the Pole as he started to pour her another drink.

Ryan, though, politely waved him off and turned over her glass.

“I’ve already had too much. I apologize.”

“Don’t apologize. You’ve got a lot on your plate,” he said.

Looking down, she realized that she hadn’t even touched her caviar. Assembling a blini, she directed their conversation back to the upgrade kits. “If I gave you my word that you can have Matterhorn — if and when I identify him — would you be willing to push into Belarus for me?”

“For you? Or for the United States?”

“For me,” she replied.

Kopec thought about her offer for several moments. Looking at her, he finally said, “For you and for five hundred thousand dollars, I’d be willing to take the risk of pushing into Belarus. But understand something, Lydia. I’m trusting you. Don’t make me regret that trust. That would be a very foolish thing to do. Believe me.”