Delirious Tremors
Chapter 40
I immediately briefed Pet on the day’s events and the great news about finding Vlad’s lair. He was living only about 11 miles from our hotel and I could almost feel his vile vibes and imagine his creepy presence. It gave me goose bumps to think about it or maybe I was breaking out in a rash as a psychosomatic reaction to him and the destruction he’d caused over the past many months. Perhaps it was my deep fear of confronting a human monster as well.
“So what’s our plan to capture him?” Pet asked. “We can’t have a repeat of what happened in the Seychelles if we can help it. We were lucky to survive that one. This time might be different if we screw up.”
She was right, but I also sensed her trigger finger might be getting a little itchy since she wasn’t able to get off a shot before. Perhaps she could redeem herself this time around and show her male colleagues that she too had balls. I didn’t want to pursue that line of thought too closely and quickly put it out of my mind.
“Jabbar has arranged for a paramilitary unit from the General Intelligence Directorate to surround the house and establish a secure perimeter. Jabbar will be the first one in the door and you and I will follow. He’s got a personal thing going with Vlad and I couldn’t dissuade him in taking the lead. Remember, it was his friend and boss murdered at the mosque, his country’s oil complex that was nearly demolished and within his country where Vlad is hiding. It seems to me he has the jurisdiction, justification and first dibs in the matter, hands down.”
“Dick, I’m under a lot of pressure from my service as you well know. I can’t go home without looking like a professional, a hero if you will, in my superiors’ eyes. Otherwise, I’m doomed to being chained to my desk at the Lubyanka for the rest of my less than stellar career; if I still have one after all of this is over.”
I understood Pet’s angst, if not her sexual orientation.
“Look Pet, you’re already a hero in my eyes. You’ve risked your life and were instrumental in tracking Vlad down. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you and your smart thinking. I’m just an ordinary gumshoe with an obsessive-compulsive disorder, but you’re the brains of this team. No doubt in my mind whatsoever.”
“Here’s something I promise. When this is all over, I’ll be writing your bosses the most glowing letter about you role and performance. You’ll be a hero or heroine, your choice. It will all be true, no fluff, just the substance of your exploits. You might even receive the Order of the Red Star from your government for your selfless service to the motherland. I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“You must understand something about the Foreign Service. It’s not an action oriented organization as a whole. It’s more reflective and reactive given the nature of diplomacy. The Pentagon has its military toys and we have words. Words are safer, so we get a lot of practice in using them in differing situations where actions might be inopportune or inappropriate. My point of telling you this is simple. Not to brag, but I’ve gotten pretty good at storytelling, fairytales in particular, over the years and that’s why I think my letter will serve you well. I believe you’ll find my missive will melt the hearts of the most hardened Russian bureaucrats. If the supercilious crap I wrote worked wonders in the State Department, my diplomatic note will knock the darned socks off the SVR. From what I’ve heard, the pen is sometimes mightier than the sword, except, of course, for the Defense Department’s nuclear tipped missiles. I don’t dispute the fact.”
I was serious. I wasn’t going to let Pet down to be drawn and quartered by the SVR. She wouldn’t be pilloried in front of her coworkers either. I didn’t know if the Russian intelligence service still used those antiquated methods of torture, but I’d make damn sure that she wouldn’t be left to their own devices.
Crying, she thanked me, although I shushed her and said there was no need for gratitude. I’d even do it for somebody straight with more emotional baggage to haul around. I was just that kind of Dick; a very special one to be sure.
“Okay Pet. Time for bed. We have an early morning appointment tomorrow and I don’t want to be late for our own funerals.” She actually laughed at my bit of macabre humor.
Despite the false bravado, I was scared shitless at the prospect that one or both of us might die. But maybe having Jabbar lead the raid wasn’t such a bad idea after all.