Oath of Office

Nuri’s lips pursed behind the clear plastic face shield. She drew a deep breath in through her nose. “I will keep my explanation simple so you can understand what we are talking about. After a number of necessary scientific steps, which cannot be rushed without ruining the entire process, I will be able to separate copies of enough DNA to extract the information you need. These steps will require approximately twelve hours.”

Sassani nodded. “I will expect an answer in twelve hours, th—”

She cut him off. “Do you read?”

“Of course I read.”

“It is a fair enough question,” she said, hiding behind a seemingly genuine smile. “I meant to ask not if you know how to read but if you do. You are a busy man. Imagine a book where all the words are written on transparent paper and then stacked one on top of the other, the letters mixed and superimposed. That is what the DNA will look like at that point in the process. We have equipment that will sieve out the… bits of DNA according to size. This will allow me to analyze the data and provide you with your answer.”

“All right, all right,” Sassani said, growing exhausted. “I only need the man’s ethnicity for now.”

“I only like the center of a cake,” she said. “But I must bake the entire cake to get it.”

“You would do well to guard your attitude, Doctor,” Sassani said. “Remember that I hold the keys to Evin Prison.”

“And I hold the keys to the morgue.”

“I will expect a call the moment you have the information.” He turned to leave but stopped and spun on his heels. “Or you will not need a key to gain entry into this place.”

30

The president of the Russian Federation took a long, contemplative breath and looked deeply into the eyes of each of the five generals seated in front of him. Where the American White House had a quaint Oval Office with cozy furnishings conducive to comfortable fireside chats and quiet conversation, Yermilov’s Kremlin office was large, rectangular — as a proper room should be — and furnished with a proper oak conference table meant for getting things done.

For all practical purposes, a large swath of Eastern Ukraine was already Russia. It was certainly Russian. All the good citizens there needed to know was that the Kremlin would back their resistance to a heavy-handed Kiev. As far as Yermilov was concerned, he was merely helping freedom fighters return to the fold of their mother country as he’d already done in Crimea. It did not hurt that these regions were sitting on rich supplies of fossil fuel.

“Comrade Colonel General Gulin,” Yermilov said, waving an open hand to give the man the floor. “If you please.”

The officer stood, straightening his crisp uniform tunic, replete with medals, including the red ribbon with a gold star, the Hero of the Soviet Union medal he’d won during the campaign in Afghanistan. In his early seventies now, Colonel General Gulin had retained an erect military posture. Thick hair piled up on his head as if he’d just removed a hat. Fiercely dark eyes and caterpillar brows gave him the angry-uncle look of Comrade Brezhnev — which made him perfect to bring the rest of the generals and admirals in line for Operation ANIVA.

The general cleared his throat and then looked once more at Yermilov before beginning.

“Malware is already in place at various key locations in Ukraine’s banking system and much of her utility sector. Their Navy is little more than a fleet of rusty buckets, allowing us to increase pressure in the Sea of Azov with little resistance. Admiral Bylinkin has stationed the frigate Grigorovich in the Sea of Azov. The Black Sea Fleet frigates Essen and Makarov, along with destroyer Smetlivy, are en route from Novorossiysk. Four additional corvettes and three frigates from the Baltic Fleet are currently steaming through the Turkish Straits to take part in our exercise. Within days we will double the mechanized forces in Klintsy and Valuyki. Forces loyal to Russia, already inside Ukraine, will also take part in the exercise, pushing north and west toward Kiev. They will, no doubt, come under attack from Ukrainian forces. On your order our troops will press south across the border to intervene, acting as peacekeepers amid the ensuing violence…”

Yermilov’s mind drifted as this hero of the Soviet Union went over ANIVA with the rest of the staff. They were all aware of the specifics, but Yermilov wanted them all to know that he was aware — and still behind it. The Soviet action to move nuclear missiles into Cuba was called ANADYR, after a northern town on the Chukchi Sea, on the other side of the world from the coast of Florida. He’d chosen the name ANIVA for this operation, after the small village on Sakhalin Island, north of Japan — far away from Ukraine.