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Chapter 19 of the thriller "The Imperative U-turn".

The Imperative U-turn

Chapter 19

When the Swiss air plane landed Ilayev kept sitting in wait, until he lost sight of the last passenger was about to leave the plane; only then he left his seat, picked up his handbag and he too reached quickly the entrance/exit opening and left the plane.

As soon as he entered the exit sleeve that was almost empty already, he noticed two men that were standing some ten yards away and kept watching him. Although he did not know them, he knew that they were FSB agents. He went towards them, joined them without a word on their side too; and they led to a side door and down to a waiting limousine.

‘Your suitcase will be picked up and will reach you in about several minutes, while you’ll be interrogated.’ One of them explained to him.

After some forty minutes drive they reached the SVR center at the Yasenovo discreet.

Couldn’t they let me see my Lushya, and interrogate me twenty four hours later? Ilayev wondered as he was led to the elevators, on their way to his superiors office.

One of his two escorts knocked slightly on the office door, opened it up and pushed Ilayev rather gently inside; the door was closed behind his back, while his two escorts were left outside.

Inspite of his extentive experience Ilayev was dumfounded as he was standing in front of the group of three middle aged men, who were no doubt expecting to hear about his successful mission; he feared that they will not believe him and he will be interrogated God knows for how long…

‘Wake up from your stupor Jake and sit down,’ the one in their midest ordered him.

Ilayev inhaled some air into his lungs and exhaled it, as he took the few steps up to the broad desk; and with some effort he pulled one of the chair back, and sat down facing the one in their midest.

He must be the GRU head himself I guess, and the two others are numbers two and three in the organization hierarchy… He kept thinking worried, waiting with a beating heart to the beginning of the interrogation.

‘We understand that something didn’t work out, you’ve returned with an American flight company and with an American passport; so what went wrong, because your mission was executed successfully?’ The one Ilayev was facing asked, and rather gently.

‘I managed to excute my mission, but though I kept waiting some twelve minutes to my operator. He didn’t contact me, and I was ordered to leave the apartment fifteen minutes after having completed my mission. The idea was that I’ll meet my operator inside the building right after having done my job, and I’ll exchange the American passport for my own and fly with Aeroflot...’

‘So you did manage quite well to get over your difficulties?’ Narishkin remarked smiling, and before scrutinizing Ilayev’s eyes again he exchanged quick glances with his two inferiors.

What does that cool attitude mean? Ilayev wondered worried and surprised at the same time. But the GRU head solved what seemed to Ilayev a mysterious riddle right away.

‘Listen Jake you acted as we expected you to act. If you wonder who gave you up, it’s us for you’ve been chosen to be our man within the CIA organization. How your next job will turn out, you’ll learn in the coming days; just leave us the mobile they’ve given you, and here’s the one that you’ll use to enable us to reach you. Meanwhile you’re on leave for the next couple of weeks, so you’re free to join the dear soul you left behind.’

@ Haim Kadman 2017 �" all rights reserved.