They moved into the bedroom, and Smith dropped onto the bed, leaning against the headboard. She knee-walked across the bed to where he was sitting and leaned back against him instead of the cold, carved, wooden headboard.
She put the phone on speaker, and they listened as everyone onboarded.
“CCS online, and the connection is secure.” CCS ended the attendance portion of the call.
“Is Smithson there?” Archangel’s voice growled across the connection.
“I am,” he answered immediately.
“I’m going to cut to the chase. You’re a suspect in six felonies. All murders. All in New York City. Did you commit them?”
Smith looked over at her. “I’ve committed four times that number.”
Val kept eye contact with him as he spoke. It was obvious he wanted to see if his words impacted her. They didn’t. She’d killed. He’d killed. It was a job for both of them. The past was not what they were focusing on. There was silence for a prolonged period of time. Val covered the mic with the pad of her finger. “They’re discussing what you just said with us muted out. Lycos is the recruiter responsible for people who do what I do. He’s going to weigh in on whether or not he thinks you’re salvageable,” She shrugged.
His eyes narrowed, but he nodded, and they continued to wait. “Smithson, we are discussing your loyalty to Guardian and the nation,” Archangel said, breaking the muted silence.
Smithson blinked at the statement. “I do not cherish the thought of an initiation al la Bratva. However, if required, I would be willing to prove it through an initiation ritual. Guardian has been faithful to me. I will be faithful to it.”
Val frowned. When she was recruited, either you agreed to work for Guardian or didn’t. If you didn’t, you were turned over for your crimes and never heard from Guardian again. There was a bark of laughter, and then Fury said, “See, I told you. I like this guy.”
“Thanks for the input.” Archangel’s words said one thing, and his tone said another. “Loyalty to us is essential.”
“I would assume it is,” Smithson acknowledged. “Is this initiation required by all of your employees?”
Val shook her head and mouthed “no” at the same time as Archangel said the word. He continued, “To help you understand our concern, we’ve received an initial debrief on your security investigation. When was the last time you contacted your parents?”
Smithson’s muscles tightened under her. “The last time I saw either of them was when they kicked me out of their home. I had enough money to buy a bus ticket to New York. I had the hope of finding a job. I didn’t, and life wasn’t that easy for me.”
“That was obvious due to your arrest record. To verify, you’ve had no recent contact with your parents or sisters?”
Smith drew a breath and replied, “Sir, my parents wanted nothing to do with me. I was abandoned at a boarding school. They tolerated my presence one month a year. During those times, there were no happy family outings or magical Christmas miracles. I have driven by my family home three times since I left. The last time was the day after Mrs. Henshaw died. That drive confirmed that Mrs. Henshaw was more of a mother figure in my life than my biological mother had ever been. Additionally, I. Don’t. Lie. Check those felony cases. I did not spin any fabrications. I exercised my constitutional right under the fifth amendment and remained completely silent. My employers, who had far more to lose than I did, made the situations disappear.”
Val could hear tapping in the background, and then there was silence. Archangel spoke again after about two minutes. “Pending a routine psychological evaluation and based on your complete honesty, I’m going to grant you a probationary Sunset clearance. Val, you and Smithson will proceed with all haste to Russia. All intelligence and police agencies in Europe are looking for Komal. According to our allies in other agencies, all the chatter is that he’s already in Russia.”
“Where do you want us?”
“Novosibirsk,” Fury interjected.
“New Siberia?” Val translated the city’s name into English.
“We have the other cities covered via sister organizations in other countries. However, there’s a credible source, the air marshal that you took down, who stated it is rumored that Komal is going to China, where he’ll wait until he can relocate.”
“Why not stay in Russia?” the woman from CCS asked.
“Political tensions are extremely high, especially with the Russian border war. No one wants to be caught in Russia if things go sideways. Plus, Komal has purported ties to the Triad through his sex trafficking operation. Going to where friends have a stronghold makes sense,” Archangel explained.
“Are you thinking he’ll ride the Trans-Siberian railroad to Beijing? Novosibirsk is the halfway point of that journey.” Val popped the question. That would be the only reason Guardian would send them to Novosibirsk. The railway was the only efficient way to get from the eastern part of Russia to Beijing in short order. Unless you flew, Siberia's airports with refueling capabilities were few and far between.
Fury answered, “To us, it’s the most logical assumption and one the other agencies are not actively pursuing. We’ve got comm devices and Russian passports heading your way, along with a complete threat package. The courier will be in London in less than nine hours. We have a strawman operation built. Do you need any hardware?”
“No. I can access everything we’ll need.” Val dropped her head back on his shoulder. “Standard reporting?”
“If you can without being compromised,” Anubis instructed. Val acknowledged the command. Russia didn’t trust its citizens and routinely monitored most conversations conducted over a cell phone. It also tried to control access to the internet, so the government’s rhetoric was the only conversation heard by its population.
She sat up, holding the sheet in place, and asked, “What are the scheduled runs on the train route, and would he take a private passenger train rather than hoboing it on a supply train?”
“Komal is by all intelligence reports extremely narcissistic and considers himself a man of extreme worth. He wouldn’t dream of riding in a supply car. Regarding which train, we’re working that through eyes on the ground in Moscow,” Archangel advised.