The Devil's Handshake

9

Moscow

Sitting at his desk so he could read the latest analysis reports around the world, Alexei Nikolai Anynkov, the Director of the SVR, the organization that is responsible for intelligence and espionage gathering outside the Russian Federation and within, providing the dissemination of intelligence to the Russian President, picked up a cup of black tea. He pulled the report from the resident asset manager in the US towards him, opened it and started to read.

Littered with “codenames” to reflect companies and senior individuals in the U.S. Government it provided him initially with an analysis of Krivet’s conversation with Joseph McGiven. This wasn’t an unusual event, as the SVR routinely monitored all the world’s major media company C-Suite individual telephone communications just like their counterparts in the U.S. did from time to time. In the case of the famous U.S. media mogul, the monitoring of all his calls had only just been stepped up since the President, at a meeting he attended in Moscow two months ago, informed “Fama” the English Oligarch asset of the President that he would like him to lead the delegation of Russian businesses to invest in Africa.

The Russian President had chosen the “Anglichanin”, as Alexei Nikolai Anynkov thought of Thomas, notwithstanding his Russian passport and his unique basket of business assets, but more importantly because he had seen how well he had built his company’s position within the new African State. The President was convinced that in order for this plan to succeed they would need to engage in a program to win the “hearts and minds” of public opinion around the world, unlike they had in the past with Georgia and Syria. He had taken his time to find a possible opportunity that would enable Russia to do that.

The Federal Republic of Adwalland with its location at the entrance to Red Sea was rich in natural resources and he had determined that it represented the perfect situation to start the re-establishment of Russia as a military power, much to the surprise of Alexei, until he had explained why.

The day the Englishman had brought Krivets into the circle of trust meant that the cat was truly out of the bag and the game could begin on the political stage. This view, held by Alexei, was further supported by what he read next in his summary.

The local resident had reported that sources within National Security Organizations were now advising that, in the last week, their companies had been asked to elevate counterintelligence operations against Russia in all theatres.

Again, Alexis mused there was nothing new in this intelligence as the “Hawks” in the State Department and National Security Organizations of the United States had always held a deep suspicion of the Russian President and his objectives—so much so they were always making such recommendations. He had also come to the conclusion with the appointment of David Young to the head up the CIA a few months ago, the very man who had led his country into chaos with his assets through their advice and management of Yeltsin program of privatization in the 1990s, that this type of intelligence chatter would be now become more common.

It was the next line of the report that really caught his eye, with the phrase, “President’s Authorization has been granted.”

That was something he hadn’t expected!

Immediately Alexei put down his tea picked up his phone then dialed the President’s Office to ask for a time to see him that evening.