The Backup Asset

…61

Anatoly Karp paced the room slowly, carrying himself tall and proud, with his hands clasped behind his back, measuring up his audience. The improvised training room was packed to the brim with people of all ages, taking every available seat, some standing.

What a spoiled bunch they were, all of them! Every one of these men and women had left their country behind and decided it wasn’t good enough, because they wanted a bigger car or more money. How disgusting! Like whores they were, all of them, selling themselves to whoever had the deepest pockets.

But even whores served a purpose; so could these people. After all, they owed their abandoned country a debt of service and of loyalty, words most of these fat pigs didn’t even know the meaning of.

His mouth filled with phlegm mixed with bile, coming up his throat, stimulated by the wave of disgust he was feeling. He turned his head slightly toward the wall and sent out a spitball that landed a few feet away.

He felt better after sending that projectile, cleaner. Karp was an unusual, memorable man, not blond or sandy-haired like most of his compatriots. His hair was raven black, and his eyes matched a shiny, almost bluish shade of color. His square jaw and strong features showed character and determination, and the premature lines on his face were a testimony to the sacrifices he had made in the service of his country.

“You’re here today,” Karp finally spoke, “because your country needs you. Russia needs you.”

The hundred or so attendees started murmuring, turning to one another to exchange whispered comments.

“I do not care,” Karp continued undisturbed, raising his voice slightly, “that you are now American citizens. I do not care that you have renounced your loyalty to Russia when you swore your allegiance to America. You have taken an oath of lifelong loyalty to this institution, the SVR, and that’s the only one that matters. Your debt of honor to your motherland hasn’t been paid and will be owed until the day you draw your last breath. All of you,” he continued dramatically, making an all-encompassing gesture with his hand.

The murmurs in the audience stopped abruptly, and the silence became deafening.

“You are integrated in the American society. You have American-born children. You have jobs, nice cars, and expensive houses. And now you have a mission. It is not optional.”

He let the silence dwell over the crowd for another minute or so, while he studied them. They had come in walking proud and feeling superior, thinking they had it all if their wallets held blue passports and gold credit cards. Now they were showing some respect, like they were supposed to in the presence of an SVR officer.

“You, all of you here, will be the first line of offense and support in our new intelligence network. You are now a network of asset-recruiting agents, of case officers.”

The murmurs rose, but Karp interrupted again.

“I don’t care if you came to visit Russia to see family or go to Sochi. You will spend your vacation in training, and at the end of these two weeks, you will be reminded how to be proficient case officers, ready to recruit assets and work them in your city of residence.”

The room was silent again, deathly silent.

“To those of you who are now thinking of running to the American Embassy, or boarding the first international flight out of Moscow, I have one thing to say: you have families. We know where they are, who they are, here or in America. You know how the game is played. Don’t even think about it.”

Karp paused his speech, taking his time to make eye contact with several of the people in the room. A woman on the third row sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve, then averted her eyes.

“You have only one choice,” he continued, satisfied with what he was seeing. “Serve your country, and serve it well.”

The silence continued, his audience watching his every move.

“Good. Now that we understand one another, let’s proceed.” He paced the room some more. “We’ll use technology to home in on areas of interest and conduct our recruiting efforts in a focused manner, going after the valuable intel we need. You’ll have cyber support to help you identify weaknesses in our enemy, and the most valuable assets in the field.”

Karp resumed his pacing, keeping his fingers interlocked behind his back and continued.

“Case officers are expected to be able to take over new cells with very little notice, and they will be the only ones in contact with Moscow. Lead agents will work the field as instructed, recruit, identify targets, extract the intel, and prepare the transport. You will identify and recruit your assets, motivate and encourage them, drive them, keep them on a short leash.”

He paused again, letting them process all the information. “You are here because you have proven yourselves in the years before your departure. Now Mother Russia is willing to forgive your betrayal. You are here because Russia needs you, and because you are tomorrow’s heroes, our country’s salvation.”

Without any transition, Karp started singing the national anthem. One by one, the voices in the room started singing, hesitant at first, then stronger, more powerful, united.