The Atlantis Stone

CHAPTER 54

Karimi had released Valentina and sent her back to Moscow. General Alexei Vysotsky was reading her report for the third time, with satisfaction.

It was everything he needed to discredit Volkov with President Orlov. Rostov had been following Volkov's orders. If she hadn't interfered, the mysterious stone that controlled the ancient force would now be in the Kremlin's hands.

Orlov had become obsessed with thoughts of finding the archive of Atlantis. He'd demanded daily updates while the mission was unfolding. Now no one would ever know what had been in those records, or what might have been accomplished if the Atlantis stone had been brought back to Russia. The Americans had failed to get what they wanted, but that was of small comfort to the Russian president.

Orlov was angry.

Alexei was certain Volkov's story of events would be different from Valentina's. He was meeting with the president and Volkov in an hour at Orlov's office in the Kremlin. Alexei planned to bring Valentina with him and have her wait outside. It was obvious Orlov was attracted to her. He would want to hear her story in person. When he did, it would be Volkov's word against Valentina's. Alexei thought he knew who would be believed.

He was looking forward to the meeting.

His intercom sounded. "Major Antipov is here."

"Send her in."

When she entered the room Alexei saw she was in pain from her wound. Her face was pale and drawn. There were deep bags under her eyes.

Even better, Alexei thought. Orlov will feel sorry for his little dove.

"Valentina. Sit down. We have work to do today."

Alexei reached into his desk drawer and took out the vodka and two small glasses. He poured the liquor and handed her a glass.

"Drink this. It will help with the pain."

"Na'zdrovnya." They lifted glasses. She downed the shot. "What work?"

Alexei set his empty glass down on the desk.

"I am meeting with Orlov and Volkov in less than an hour. I'm taking you with me. You'll wait outside until I summon you."

"Should I be flattered? Why do you need me there?"

"You really must learn to curb your insolence, Valentina. Others may not be so tolerant of your petty rebellions."

Valentina bit back a sharp reply. "Yes, General."

"President Orlov will want to hear what happened from you."

"Doesn't he have my report?"

"Are you really so obtuse? Orlov wants to bed you. I want his desire to fuel his anger at Volkov."

"I suppose you would like me to seduce him."

"That would be an excellent result. Today would be a good day to begin. Nothing obvious, but I want you to plant the seed of an affair."

"And if I don't want to have sex with him?"

"Has that mattered in the past? It's an assignment, for the good of the nation."

Valentina wanted to point out that it was for the good of Vysotsky, not the nation. She kept her thoughts to herself. If she were honest, there was a certain attraction to seducing one of the most powerful men in the world. Getting him into bed would be easy. The challenge was whether or not she would be able to control him.

"You understand?" Alexei said.

"Yes."

"I want you to paint Rostov in the worst possible light. I want you to make sure Orlov knows she was acting under Volkov's direct orders when she decided to kill the Americans."

"Was she?" Valentina asked.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is the perception."

"Rostov was a bitch. I won't have any trouble describing her."

Alexei looked at his watch. "A car should be waiting downstairs for us. One more thing."

"Yes?"

"Limp a little when you come into the room. You are the wounded soldier, betrayed by the actions of those who were supposed to support you."

"Perhaps I should put a pebble in my shoe."

For a second Alexei thought she was serious. He shook his finger at her.

"There you go again," he said.

The ride to the Kremlin took about thirty minutes on a good day. Today, Moscow traffic was terrible. Even Vysotsky's escort had trouble getting through the mess. They arrived only minutes before the meeting was due to begin. Two uniformed guards stood outside the open doors of Orlov's office. Alexei saw that Volkov had arrived before him. He sat in a gilded chair in front of Orlov's desk. A second chair was empty.

"Wait out here," Vysotsky said to Valentina.

The guards closed the tall doors to the office behind him.

Orlov looked at his watch. "You are exactly on time, General. Please sit."

Alexei took a seat. His chair had a high, curved back and a red plush seat.

"General Volkov has been telling me an interesting story," Orlov said. "He says Major Antipov killed Major Rostov. That her actions led to the failure of the mission."

"He is lying, Mister President. He wishes to cover up the results of his orders. Major Rostov is the one responsible for the destruction of the archive. She tried to kill Major Antipov and was going to kill the Americans."

"He is the one who is lying," Volkov said. "Antipov took every opportunity to prevent Major Rostov from succeeding. She was protecting the American spy, her sister."

Orlov held up his hand. "Stop. I will not sit here and listen to this bickering. One of you is lying. I am going to find out who it is. General Vysotsky."

"Yes, Mister President."

"I saw Major Antipov outside. Bring her in."

Volkov said, "She doesn't belong here."

"Be quiet, General."

Alexei went to the doors and pushed one open. "Major Antipov. Come."

Valentina rose and limped into Orlov's office. She came to attention in front of his desk and saluted.

"At ease, Major. You are wounded?"

"Yes, Mister President. It's nothing."

"Sit."

"Sir."

Valentina sat down.

"Tell me what happened in Egypt."

"Yes, sir. Where would you like me to begin?"

"I have read the reports of General Volkov and General Vysotsky. Begin on the night you entered the pyramid. What were your instructions?"

"I was instructed to observe the actions of the American spies and to avoid intervention unless absolutely necessary."

"Your instructions were only to observe and gather information?"

"Yes, sir. If possible, I was to locate the records of the Atlantis civilization. The Americans had more information than we did. It made sense to follow them. Major Rostov and I observed them enter the pyramid in the afternoon during the regular tourist hours. That evening they returned. The guide they had employed earlier opened the gate to the entrance and let them in."

"What time was that?"

"About ten that night. The complex was deserted. Major Rostov and I followed them into the pyramid. The Americans had discovered and opened a hidden entrance to a system of tunnels. The tunnels led to a large chamber filled with the records we were seeking."

"Then what happened?"

"We disarmed them. Rostov told them to stand against a wall. I asked her what she intended to do. She was going to kill them. I asked her how she was going to explain the bodies. That is when she shot me."

"You are lying!" Volkov said.

Orlov looked at him. His voice was hard and cold as the frozen steppes of Siberia. "Be quiet. I will not ask you again."

He turned back to Valentina. "Continue, Major."

"It gets confusing after that. I was on the floor. Rostov started shooting at the Americans. One of her bullets struck the chemical lighting in the room. That's what started the fire. Rostov shot at them and they fired back. She was hit. As she went down her gun set off a trap that fell and killed her."

"General Volkov says Major Rostov told him you were obstructing her investigation. That you were doing it because your sister was part of the American team and that you were in contact with her."

"If she said that, she lied."

"You are a disgrace to your uniform," Volkov said. "You are a traitor. I will see you broken for what you just said."

Valentina flushed. "You don't scare me, General. You are a pedophile and a liar. I know about the little girls you take out to your dacha. Although I suspect President Orlov is unaware of your sexual preferences."

Alexei was surprised. He knew Volkov's dirty secret but he hadn't thought that Valentina did. He'd held back from using it against his rival except as a last resort. Now it was unnecessary. If Orlov believed her, Valentina had just sealed Volkov's fate. Whatever else he was, Orlov was a man who did not tolerate sexual deviancy.

"General Vysotsky. Is this true?"

"I hesitated to bring this to you without firm proof, Mister President. Yes, I believe it is true."

"General Volkov? Do you deny the accusation?"

"Of course I deny it. It's another one of her lies."

Orlov had been watching Volkov as he responded. Now he touched a button on his desk. The doors swung open. The two guards entered the room.

"Arrest General Volkov. Take him to Lefortovo. Put him in isolation."

Volkov's voice rose, a note of desperation creeping in. "Mister President, she is lying."

"Is she?" Orlov gestured to the guards. "Take him away."

They dragged Volkov out of the room, protesting. The doors closed behind them.

"I am sorry you had to go through this unpleasant experience, Valentina. May I call you Valentina?"

"Of course, Mister President." She smiled at him. "It's an honor."

"Your wound is healing?"

"Yes, sir."

"Others besides yourself observed Major Rostov's hostility toward you. I have a report from the captain of the Tolstoy. He has no love for the Americans but lays the blame for the damages to his ship primarily on Rostov."

"She provoked them by sabotaging their undersea vehicle."

"So he says. You have been very brave, my dear."

"I was only doing my duty."

Valentina cast her eyes down as she spoke. If Vysotsky hadn't known better, he would have thought her humility was real.