Unintended Consequences - By Stuart Woods

24





The lunch was held not in a grand ballroom but in a private dining room, and Stone was told that those present were the top people at each of the auto companies represented at the show. Marcel was the toast of them all, and Stone heard many complimentary things said about the Blaise.

Then, when they were seated at the best table, Stone looked across the room and saw, at a rear table, a familiar face. “Don’t look now,” he said to Rick, whose back was to that table, “but your friend Majorov is here.”

Rick looked at him sharply. “How do you know that name, Stone?”

“You pointed him out to me at Brasserie Lipp.”

“Yes, but I didn’t mention his name.”

“Amanda Hurley did. We saw him at Lipp the following day, and he followed us as we were gallery-hopping. Lance told me that ten minutes after she and I parted, someone took a shot at her.”

“That sounds like Majorov,” Rick said.

“Who does he work for?”

“That’s a very good question. He’s Russian, and earlier in his career he was KGB. It’s said that he and Putin served together there, and that they have remained close.”

“So he’s a sort of personal representative of Putin?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. We’ve heard rumors of Russian gang connections. He has an interesting background: his father was a KGB general and was said to have planned an invasion of Sweden back in the eighties, one that never came off.”

“I remember that a Russian submarine ran aground near a secret Swedish naval base,” Stone said, “and there were stories in the press about sightings of miniature subs in Swedish waters.”

“All those sightings were connected to the putative invasion. Strangely enough, President Will Lee is connected to the story.”

“But that was a long time ago.”

“He was chief of staff to Senator Ben Carr of Georgia at the time and was also counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He met his future wife when she was testifying before the committee about CIA funding. She was an analyst at the time.”

“But how was he connected to this thing with the Russians?”

“He was on vacation. He took delivery in Finland of a new yacht for a friend of his and was delivering it to England for him. While still in the Baltic he ran into some weather and lost his mast. He put in to the nearest port and got himself arrested, because it was a Soviet naval base, the one from which the invasion was to be launched. He talked his way out of it, but he called Kate and told her about his experience. She was instrumental in exposing a CIA mole who was giving the Soviets information. That catapulted her into the top ranks at the Agency, and she eventually rose to director.”

“Funny, I’ve never heard about that.”

“It was kept quiet at the time, except for the part about the mole.”

“And how is this fellow Majorov connected to all that?”

“His father was the commander of the Soviet naval base. Will Lee actually met him, I think.”

“And now his son is living in Paris, taking shots at your agent.”

“Former agent,” Rick said. “I told you, Amanda was drummed out.”

“Just between you and me,” Stone said, “she wasn’t. Lance told me she is still active as a sleeper.”

Rick regarded him with amazement. “He told you that?”

“He did.”

“He never told me that.”

“Perhaps you didn’t have a need to know.”

“Let me know if Majorov leaves the room,” Rick said.

“All right.”

They finished a superb lunch, then Marcel came around to their side of the table. “I must do a little business here,” he said. “Keep the car for as long as you like, I have other transportation.” He wandered off with a small group of people.

Stone looked up and saw Majorov making his way out of the dining room. “Heads-up,” he said to Rick. “There goes your man.”

“Let’s go,” Rick said. They got up and followed Majorov, at some remove, out of the dining room and across the main exhibition floor. He went out the same back door by which they had entered. As they got to the door the Russian was getting into the driver’s seat of a large silver BMW sedan. They got into the Maybach.

Rick leaned forward. “What’s your name, driver?”

“Fritz,” the man replied.

“Well, Fritz, you see the silver BMW going out the gate?”

“Yes, I see it.”

“Don’t lose it, but don’t get too close, either.”

The man put the Maybach in gear and drove out the gate, in time to see the BMW turn a corner.

“You’ve always wanted to do this, haven’t you?” Rick asked Stone.

“Not really,” Stone replied.