Chapter 8: The KGB team at the road block opened up on the approaching vehicle with small arms fire when it became clear that they had no intention of stopping. As Alec watched in dismay, he found himself praying, Dear God, protect them… The staff vehicle crashed through the gate as the KGB men dashed out of the way. Behind the wheel Ivan fought to maintain control as the tires were torn open by the shredders. The windshield was difficult to see through as it was splayed with bullet marks. He managed to coax the vehicle close enough to the British limo to give them a fighting chance. The KGB sergeant trained his weapon on the vehicle as it slid to a stop. He knew he would only get one shot. Behind him Yeltsin spoke into the radio to the roadblock forces, ordering them to stand down. Virginia and Ivan climbed out of the passenger side and broke into a run. To her it seemed as if they were running in slow motion, and it took forever to close the forty or so yards between them. She quickly glanced back at him to make sure he was following her. The KGB sergeant drew a bead on one of the running figures and squeezed the trigger. Virginia heard the rifle report just as she reached Freeman. She quickly turned and saw Stepanov fall to the ground less than ten feet from safety. “Vanya!” she screamed as she tried to break free of Alec’s grip. “Ginny no, wait,” he said trying to keep her out of harm’s way. “Let me go Alec, please…” Sir Byron Sinclair walked to Stepanov and knelt at his side and checked his pulse as Captain Yeltsin and two KGB men approached. “Hold your fire,” said Yeltsin, both to his men as well as the British marines. Alec had released Ginny and she quickly went to where Ivan had fallen kneeling at his side. “Vanya…” “I’m sorry Colonel Lake, he’s gone,” said Sinclair sadly. Virginia broke into tears and began weeping uncontrollably now as she buried herself in his lifeless body. “Vanya…oh Vanya…why, oh God why?” she was saying through her tears. “Noooo…” Sir Byron stood and faced the Russian Captain as Ginny sobbed behind him, “It would appear Captain that this incident is over; wouldn’t you agree?” “Yeltsin nodded, “Yes, it is of course regrettable that they did not stop at the roadblock. Major Stepanov’s death would have been unnecessary. It is tragic of course.” “Yes, tragic indeed,” said Sir Byron disdainfully. “Well I shan’t keep you from your duties. My associates and I will be returning to the embassy with Colonel Lake. I trust that there will be no further complications.” “It will be as you say Sir Byron,” responded Yeltsin icily. Sinclair turned to leave and stopped suddenly looking back at Yeltsin, “And please, give my regards to Colonel Letov.” “It will be my pleasure,” said Yeltsin. Sinclair and Freeman gently lifted Virginia, still crying uncontrollably, to a standing position and walked her to the waiting limo. Yeltsin watched them climb into the vehicle and drive away. “Take him and place him in my vehicle,” ordered the Russian Captain, pointing to Stepanov’s body. The two men did as they were told and Yeltsin climbed in the back of the waiting vehicle. “The Kremlin,” he said to his driver. “We’re not going back to Lubyanka comrade Captain?” asked the driver puzzled. “No, please follow my orders, corporal,” said Yeltsin dismissively. “As you say comrade Captain,” said the driver quickly, knowing he had just used up a year’s worth of tolerance. In the back Yeltsin opened up the tin and read the instructions contained inside. He nodded his satisfaction and went to work. In the Rolls Royce Virginia had somewhat pulled herself together although she was still silently crying. “Ginny, I have to report to Ed as soon as we arrive at the embassy. Were you able to recover the book?” he asked feeling somewhat guilty about raising the question now. She nodded knowingly and unzipped the lining of her fur coat revealing a hidden pocket. She handed the book to Alec along with a steno pad. “I started transcribing some of it already. It will save our linguistics people some time,” she said wistfully. “I’m sorry Ginny,” he said sincerely. She leaned against his shoulder as she broke into weeping again being held in her friend’s arms. Late that afternoon Captain Yeltsin walked into Colonel Letov’s third floor office. He stood at attention in front of his superior. “Things did not go exactly as planned, did they Captain Yeltsin?” he asked somewhat sarcastically. “They did not comrade Colonel. But we did recover the recordings and the book,” Yeltsin replied as he handed the book and what looked like a pen to his boss. “And Major Stepanov?” asked Letov. “That particular problem is no longer of any concern, comrade Colonel,” said the Captain. “So tell me Captain; why did you not follow my instructions?” asked the Colonel pointedly. “The American Ambassador showed up on the scene as well, I didn’t think it would be prudent to proceed as planned comrade Colonel,” said Yeltsin. “Hardly a reason to deviate from the plan, Captain, I truly hope for your sake you have a better reason than that,” said Letov heatedly. “I received a communiqué from General Popov just before the operation began countermanding your orders,” said Yeltsin. “What!” exclaimed Letov intensely, as he stood up from his desk. The office door burst open and General Popov quickly entered the room flanked by two KGB corporals. Letov suddenly lost his steam has the General came face to face with him. “Comrade General, may I ask what is going on?” Letov said pensively. “Colonel Letov,” began the General formally. “I am relieving you of command and placing you under arrest for crimes against the state. Specifically, you are being charged with conspiracy to murder a foreign dignitary, and conducting unauthorized operations.” “Comrade General, I was following orders,” Letov said pleadingly. “You can mention that at your trial if you so choose,” said the General. He turned to Yeltsin and asked, “Did you not have a message for the Colonel, Captain Yeltsin?” “Ah yes, I did comrade General.” He looked at Letov and said in a voice full of contempt, “Sir Byron Sinclair, sends his regards, Colonel.” “Take him away,” ordered the General. The two corporals very quickly hustled the Colonel out of the office. When they had left the General turned to face Yeltsin. “You did very well Vasily; at times I was sure you had fallen under his influence. It was an outstanding performance,” said the General admirably. “As always comrade General, it is both a privilege and a duty to serve the state,” said the Captain now standing at rigid attention. “I understand you’re meeting with your fiancée shortly?” asked the General. “Yes comrade General. She and her uncle were due to arrive in Moscow twenty minutes ago,” he said. “I won’t hold you any longer then, please give her uncle my regards,” said the General pleasantly. “I most certainly will, thank you comrade General,” said Yeltsin. He turned on his heel and walked out of the office. In the reception room of the British Embassy sat the four members of SHADO and the British Ambassador. They were involved in a discussion recapping the events of the past few days. “So thanks to Doug’s contacts we were able to pull the whole picture together. All of those who were willing participants in this conspiracy have been arrested and are being held by either the KGB or the GRU,” said Alec. “The black project that Letov oversaw has been disbanded and all of the research is going to be turned over to SHADO. By the way Sir Byron, it would have been much easier had I known that you were aware of the existence of our organization.” “I’m sorry about that Alec, but it was decided for security reasons that my knowledge of SHADO be kept a secret. I was only to reveal that to you if the situation warranted,” the Ambassador said apologetically. He continued, “By the way, three members of the Politburo were arrested by the KGB late this afternoon on charges of treason. I rather suspect that the whole affair will be concluded by tomorrow evening, trial and all.” While the rest of them bantered on, Virginia sat silently working on a sketch pad. She had he poured out all the grief she was capable of, for now, and was trying to find a way to deal with a pain in her heart that was physical. Slowly but surely under her gifted hand formed the likeness of Ivan Stepanov. Sitting next to her, Doug Jackson watched her work with keen interest. He had always marveled at her professional cool demeanor. He had been shocked by her condition when she was brought in and was very concerned for her well being having seen her suffer two losses within a week. But his concern was abated slightly as he watched her turn her grief into something positive through artistic expression, a widely accepted method of therapy. She must have felt his gaze as she suddenly looked over at him. “You find this more interesting than the debriefing?” she asked amused rather than perturbed. “Yes Colonel, I do, for a couple of reasons,” he said quietly. When she held his gaze he took it as an invitation to continue, “We all deal with grief in different ways, and having never seen you lose someone close until recently I was concerned how well you would handle the situation. But seeing you funnel your loss into a positive expression I think you will transcend this difficult time in your life,” he said privately. “I won’t lie to you Doctor Jackson, it hurts. I could fall apart again just by thinking about it,” she said sadly as she wiped a tear. “See what I mean?” “I would be more concerned if you tried to suppress the emotions, rather than let them surface. I am of course always available if you need to talk about it,” he added. Virginia remembered her initial assessment of the good doctor and how she thought he was a cold icy glacier of a man. But over the years she began to see how grossly she had underestimated him and how much warmth Doug Jackson had inside. It was a lesson she took to heart. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “You said there were a couple of reasons for your interest?” Jackson smiled, “Ah yes, I knew of your musical talent but I had no idea that you so gifted in this area.” He paused and pointed to the drawing, “May I?” She handed him the pad and he looked it over with an appreciative eye. “This is excellent work, Colonel Lake. How long have you been drawing?” he asked. “Not long, a few months maybe, Ivan was only the second person I’ve ever drawn,” she said wistfully. She didn’t say but Jackson highly suspected that the one other person she had to paper was the commander. “What are you going to call this picture,” he asked. “I don’t know what you mean,” said Ginny looking at him quizzically. “Many artists will name their works when they are finished,” he said. “Oh that. I could call it Vanya, but if I were going to name it I’d call this picture Heartbreak on the Moskva,” she said sadly. While Jackson and Lake were talking, Alec was called to the phone. A few minutes later he came back in and approached her. “Ginny, the Major and I are going to this little bar not far from here. We’d like you to come with us,” he asked. “No, you two go ahead,” she said. “I’m really not in the mood for socializing.” “That was Ilya Stepanova on the phone. She is going to be there with her fiancée and she would like to see you before we leave tomorrow,” said Alec. “It’s a Russian tradition, Colonel Lake,” added Natiroff. “At midnight we will all drink a drink to Ivan’s memory. To refuse would be an insult to his sister and his family.” “Well seeing as you put it that way, I guess I have no choice. When are we leaving?” she asked dismissively. “About fifteen minutes, and speaking of traditions, we have one to finish, don’t we Sir Byron?” asked Alec. “Yes we do, I almost forgot,” he said as he got up and went to the liquor cabinet. He retrieved the two shots and handed one to Freeman. “To a successfully completed mission,” he said. “And to absent friends,” added Alec. The two men finished to half shots and Sinclair closed the cabinet. The bar that Alec had picked was less than a half mile from the embassy. The trio from SHADO had arrived just before midnight. Virginia had ordered a double deciding that she was going to allow herself to indulge for once. She was already starting to get a bit tipsy and she hoped the vodka would warm her up. Except for falling asleep in Vanya’s arms she had been cold since she arrived. In the background the local band played, not the kind of music that she cared for, but at least they were in tune. As the men played on, Ginny thought of the few people that she had been romantically involved with and how all the relationships had ended sadly. Her failed marriage, where her husband had cheated on her with her best friend, Craig Collins, who died at the hands of the aliens before their love had a chance to blossom, Paul Foster, a rebound relationship that was doomed before it got off the ground and Ed Straker, the promise of romance cut short by his ex-wife’s return to his life. And now Vanya, who was tragically killed and she was not even comforted by the fact that she had told him that she loved him. Virginia found herself slipping into depression. The snacks on the bar were stale and Alec had said the beer was bad. What the hell am I doing here, she asked herself. She noticed a man standing near the door watching everything and everyone. KGB no doubt, she thought. I’ve had it with espionage, hell I just want to get somewhere warm. Maybe southern California would be nice, it’s noontime there now. “Ilya said that she’d be here before midnight,” said Alec before he noticed how haggard she looked. “Are you okay Ginny?” She looked at him and the tears began to flow as she could no longer hold back her grief. Gently her friend took her in his arms and she began to cry earnestly. While Ginny cried Major Natiroff saw Captain Yeltsin come in with a dark haired young woman. The couple walked up to him and Natiroff was surprised when he said, “I believe you are waiting for my fiancée. My I introduce Ilya Stepanova.” “How do you do Major,” she said in greeting. “It’s an honor, but I must admit to being confused,” said Natiroff. “It’s a long story, I’ll explain in a minute. Where’s Virginia?” she asked. Ginny heard Ilya’s voice and went to hug her still crying. The two women embraced and Ilya said, “I have someone who wants to say hello.” “I don’t want to meet anyone right now, I’m a mess,” she said through her tears. “In that case maybe I should go home,” said a familiar male voice. Virginia opened her eyes blinking out her tears and stared in disbelief. She was sure she was seeing things until he spoke again. “Well don’t I even get a hello?” he asked. Ginny rushed into his waiting arms crying, “Vanya…how is this possible?” Ivan Stepanov held her while she cried in both joy and disbelief. “We thought you were dead, Major,” said Alec as he shook hands with Stepanov. “It was my uncle’s idea,” he began. “We didn’t know who we could trust in the KGB so we planned it to look like I had been killed. The round I was hit with was a deep tranquilizer that simulated death. Vasily gave me the antidote once I was in the car. When we arrived at the Kremlin I gave the Chairman evidence of Letov’s treason I was no longer a target. We had to be careful as the head of the KGB was involved. He was one of the Politburo members arrested this afternoon.” “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you,” he said now to Virginia. “It was risky enough as it was. Only four of us knew the whole truth, Ilya and Vasily, Uncle Yuri and me.” “I’m just glad you’re alive!” she said as she smothered him with kisses. Epilogue: Ilya Stepanova and Captain Vasily Yeltsin were married two weeks later. They were both recruited into SHADO and Captain Yeltsin became Chief of Security at the New York tracking station. His wife is a member of the research team at the SHADO Research Center working on deciphering the alien language. Mikhail Letov was convicted on all charges and shot before a firing squad a few days after the SHADO team left for England. The three members of the Politburo including the head of the KGB were found guilty of treason and sentenced to be hanged. General Igor Popov was promoted to acting head of state security a position that later became permanent when the new Chairman took over later that year. General Yuri Filtov continues to serve as head of the Soviet Air Force and as the Russian military liaison to SHADO. Commander Edward Straker remarried his ex-wife Mary in a private ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada, that day. The couple flew to Hawaii after the ceremony and they were able to have the honeymoon that they had missed the first time around. Major Ivan Stepanov was accepted to SHADO and promoted to Lt. Colonel. He heads up the London based Aeroceptor squadron, and is working on completing his doctorate at Cambridge. His new fiancée Colonel Virginia Lake continues to act as intelligence chief at SHADO HQ. She and Ivan visited her mother in Brighton where Ginny presented her the Nesting Doll she bought in Moscow. END
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