The Boy from Reactor 4

CHAPTER 66





KIRILO PACED THE FSB office. He glanced at the clock: it was 9:00 p.m. on Saturday.

“So much for the airport tonight,” Deputy Director Krylov said. “The last international flight just left Sokol.”

“Nothing from the pier or Passport Control?” Victor said.

“Nothing.”

Kirilo swore under his breath. Krylov brushed his hand through his thinning hair and reached for his fifth cup of coffee since lunch.

Major General Yashko marched into the room as though he were reporting for duty. His customary indignation was absent from his expression. He clicked his heels together and cleared his throat.

“I have a development to report,” he said.

Krylov raised his eyebrows.

“Magadan-Thirteen,” Major General Yashko said.

“Magadan-Thirteen?” Krylov said.

“What’s Magadan-Thirteen?” Kirilo said.

“Airfield,” Krylov said. “Thirteen kilometers northeast of Magadan. Basically abandoned. An occasional prop plane. Domestic. By appointment only.”

“Actually, that may not be true. I was discussing our problem with one of my men when he made me aware of certain rumors,” Major General Yashko said.

“What rumors?” Krylov said.

“A bootlegging operation,” Major General Yashko said, his eyes falling to the floor.

“Bootlegging?” Krylov said. “What does that mean, bootlegging?”

“Government employees in the Chukotka Oblast get paid once a month. When their paychecks arrive, there’s a big demand for alcohol. Especially among the locals, the Chukchis. It’s a big business. Thousands of people. Big enough to command a monthly run under the radar from Magadan-Thirteen.”

“What?” Krylov said. “Under whose protection?”

The major general’s face turned a darker shade of red. “I honestly don’t know. I’m sure the deputy director can launch an appropriate investigation and find out.”

“You can count on that,” Krylov said. He reached for his phone. “First we have to find out if there’s been a flight today.”

“There has,” Major General Yashko said. “That’s the development. I had my man make inquiries. A woman and teenage boy were seen boarding the plane at one o’clock this afternoon.”

“My God,” Krylov said. “What was the destination?”

“Provideniya. Via Anadyr.”

“The Chukchi Sea,” Victor said.

“What resources do you have up there?” Kirilo said.

“The Maritime Border Guard Unit,” Krylov said. “When did they land in Provideniya?”

“Hard to say,” the major general said. “Sometime in the last hour.”

“We have a modified Tupolev TU at our disposal,” Krylov said. “We can be in Provideniya in two and a half hours. I’ll have the Border Guard set up a perimeter with a radius of one hundred kilometers up and down the coast.”

As Deputy Director Krylov barked instructions into the phone, Major General Yashko walked up to Kirilo. “So there’s no doubt now. Her plan was to escape by ship after all.”

Kirilo didn’t argue. He simply nodded and smiled. Then he glanced at Victor. He could tell from the Bitch’s expression he was thinking the same thing as Kirilo.

Now that it appeared Nadia Tesla was planning to escape by ship, there was no doubt she was going to leave Russia some other way.