The Russian Deception

CHAPTER 11

Elizabeth and Stephanie watched a string of reports about Macedonia on the monitor in Elizabeth's office. Stephanie had deep shadows under her eyes. It hadn't been that long since she'd been shot during an ambush on the Project team. She'd lost the child she was carrying and almost died.

Steph's long brown hair had been cropped short in the hospital. She'd lost a lot of weight. Elizabeth thought it looked good on her but there were better ways to go on a diet. The outer wounds were healing. Elizabeth wasn't sure how long it would take for the ones that didn't show.

"This is a mess," Stephanie said.

"I talked to Nick. Things are really tense in Skopje. The word on the street is that there's going to be a war with Albania. The government is blaming an Albanian terrorist group for the bomb."

"You think that's what really happened?"

"It's always convenient to blame terrorists. It might be a set up by Mitreski, something to divert attention from the 11 October movement."

"A false flag."

"Exactly," Elizabeth said.

"Nothing is what it appears to be anymore." Stephanie's voice was weary.

"It sounds like a typical move. Every leader in that part of Europe is corrupt. I wouldn't trust any of them, no matter what they said. Whoever is behind that explosion just upped the ante in the region. Look at this."

Elizabeth entered a command on her keyboard. The image on the monitor shifted to a live satellite shot over the Balkans and the mountains between Macedonia and Albania. She zoomed in. Military convoys were moving on the highways on both sides of the border, headed toward each other.

"Troop movements," Stephanie said. "They have tanks and artillery with them."

"It didn't take them long, did it?"

"You think they'll start shooting at each other?"

"Not yet. There will be a lot of posturing and accusations going back and forth between Tirana and Skopje before it really heats up. Unless somebody does something stupid. That's always a possibility."

"Are you going to pull the team out?"

"No. Right now they're our best source of intelligence. I want to leave them in place until we get a better idea of what's happening. They're supposed to be reporters. No one will think anything about them asking questions."

"What is it that you want them to find out?"

"Anything they can about whoever set off that bomb. If it exists, sooner or later someone will be willing to talk about them."

"What if they don't discover anything?"

"Then the probability goes up that Mitreski is lying. We have to find out. This has the potential to bring in NATO and the White House needs accurate intelligence. If the group is genuine and they did it, that's one thing. If not, it requires a different response. The Balkans are simmering with old hatreds that can erupt into another war. That would mean intervention on our part."

"You mean intervention by NATO."

"It really isn't any different. If NATO gets involved so will we, either with air strikes or sending ground forces. The Europeans will dither and argue and stall until things really get bad. They hate the idea of contributing troops and if they do, they'll put such stringent rules of engagement on them that they'll be worse than useless."

"They're not the only ones that do that," Stephanie said. "Look at the rules we put on our people in Afghanistan and Iraq. The politicians have crippled their ability to carry out the mission. All because politically correct people think war should be clean and polite and we shouldn't offend anyone. There's never been a war that was polite. No wonder we can't win."

"Better hadn't let anyone from the media hear you say that. They'll crucify you."

"I'm not the only one who thinks it's stupid to fight a war with one hand tied behind your back."

"No, you're not."

They watched the convoys streaming toward the border.

"Where do you think Nick should start?" Stephanie asked.

"That's a good question. I'm not sure. The convoys are headed toward the main crossing checkpoint near that big lake on the border. It's on the only decent highway between the two countries. If I were a terrorist, I wouldn't go anywhere near there."

"You want them to go look for terrorists?"

"Not exactly," Elizabeth said. "I doubt they'd find them. All I'm interested in is trying to confirm their involvement in the bombing."

"Nick and the others can't cover the entire border."

"They don't need to, they just need to talk to some people."

Elizabeth studied the monitor and pointed.

"That city close to Albania, the one on the western side near that smaller lake. What's it called?"

Stephanie entered a search on her laptop. "Debar. It says here that the population is almost completely Albanian, even though the city is in Macedonia."

"That sounds like a good bet."

"Does Selena speak the local language?"

"I don't know," Elizabeth said. "Let's ask her."

She made the connection to Macedonia. Nick answered.

"Yes, Director."

"Nick, I'm going to send you to the western part of the country. Ask Selena if she speaks Albanian."

"She's right here." Nick handed her his encrypted satellite phone.

"Elizabeth."

"Selena, do you speak Albanian?"

"Which dialect? There are two main ones. I speak some Tosk. That's the most common one. The other is Geg, but I only know a few words."

"As long as you speak one, that's what counts. You might want to brush up on it."

"Are you sending us to Albania?"

"No, but I'm sending you to a part of Macedonia that might as well be in Albania. Put Nick back on the phone."

Selena handed the phone back to Nick.

Elizabeth said, "You're going to a city called Debar in the western part of the country. It's a hotbed of Albanian anti-government activity. Find a hotel for a couple of days. Talk to people. Find out what you can about this group that is supposed to have set off the bomb. Use your cover as reporters. Since Selena speaks the language, it shouldn't be too hard to convince people to open up a little. Everyone likes to give their opinions. Your cover fits with the increased border tension. It gives you a good reason for being there."

"Does Langley have anything?"

"No. That's another reason why it's suspicious. No one wants another Bosnian war and CIA has been monitoring everything in that region for some time. There hasn't been a hint of the Albanian National Front planning something like this."

"Copy that, Director. Anything else?"

"That's it for now. Keep me informed."

Elizabeth broke the connection.

Stephanie said, "If they find anything out, it could be dangerous."

"It's possible."

"You do remember that they don't have weapons?"

"Then we'd better hope they don't need them."