The Kremlin's Candidate: A Novel

To Shlykov’s right sat a squat, chunky man in a too-small suit with a patterned necktie knotted loosely around a drainpipe neck. He was older than Shlykov, in his late fifties, with immense, scarred hands, like a retired wrestler. His hair was gray and thinning, and his gnarly face and crooked nose were creased and weathered. His broad forehead was a shiny mass of scar tissue, as if from a terrible burn. Large brown eyes looked down unwavering at his hands. Gorelikov introduced him as Starshy praporshchik Iosip Blokhin, Master Sergeant Blokhin of Spetsgruppa “V,” or Vega group, or more commonly known as Vympel, the Spetsnaz Special Forces unit used by the GRU for assassinations and covert foreign military operations.

Gorelikov’s instincts vibrated like a tuning fork: Blokhin was a senior Spetsnaz sergeant in a cheap civilian suit, physically powerful, immensely experienced, outwardly calm and still. Impossible to control, ready to slaughter anything that moved. Blokhin said nothing, hardly moved; there was an air of controlled expectation in those downcast eyes—as if he were waiting for a bell to ring to murder everyone in the room. His burned forehead was striated where the flesh had melted and run like candle wax. With obvious irony, Gorelikov wryly explained that the sergeant had been seconded to work with the major, but to call Blokhin Shlykov’s “aide” would be like calling a chain saw a pair of pinking shears.

Gorelikov saw Blokhin raise his eyes to stare at Dominika and watched how his future protégé handled the ferine challenge. She stared unblinkingly at him, hands relaxed, then turned away dismissively to look at Gorelikov to continue. Satisfactory, thought Anton. He could not know that Dominika had seen black bat wings of elemental evil unfolded behind the ogre, and stretched wide, like a seabird dries its wings in the sun. Dominika had shuddered slightly, and Blokhin saw it. Only one other human—Zyuganov, her former psychotic supervisor—had black wings like this instead of colors. Blokhin blinked slowly at Dominika as if wondering how her liver would taste roasted on a stick over a campfire.

“Perhaps Colonel Egorova would give us a précis of her new case,” said Gorelikov. His tourmaline cabochon cuff links peeked out of his sleeves.

“Are these gentlemen cleared for the details?” she asked.

Shlykov looked up at her with a sneer. “Yes, Colonel, we’re familiar with all aspects of the case with Academician Ri, which is an infernal nuisance and must be terminated immediately.”

“Perhaps the major can explain how the GRU is familiar with an SVR case?” said Dominika. Gorelikov smiled inwardly. Egorova outranked this khvastun, this swank-pot bully, and she wasn’t going to back down.

“We are familiar with every aspect of your so-called case, because it intersects and interferes with a case of much greater importance that the GRU is running,” said Shlykov. Dominika smiled.

Gorelikov interposed, like a judge separating two attorneys. “The deconfliction of intelligence operations is always critical,” he said. “I am all eagerness to hear about your cases. Both of them.”

“Sadly, Egorova is not cleared for it,” said Shlykov.

Gorelikov raised a hand. “Now, Major,” he said. “I believe the president gave instructions that both efforts should be coordinated. Please brief Colonel Egorova.”

Shlykov heard the edge in Gorelikov’s voice and complied. “The GRU has been running a sensitive asset for nearly twelve years. The source is encrypted MAGNIT, an American source with broad access to technology and policy.” Shlykov sat with his arms across his chest.

“That is quite impressive, Major,” said Dominika. “I presume since the GRU is handling the case the asset was a volunteer?” Gorelikov again stifled a smile. Egorova was pulling Shlykov’s tail with a backhanded comment, made on purpose. Military dolts in the GRU would be incapable of recruiting such an asset from scratch. They’d stumbled on a volunteer.

“I’m not at liberty to describe the source in any more detail,” said Shlykov, red-faced.

“And I am still not clear,” said Dominika, “how my new source Academician Ri interferes with your source MAGNIT. Can you clarify that?”

“I should have thought it would be obvious, even to an SVR officer,” said Shlykov. “MAGNIT has provided a certain technology that the GRU has shared with the North Koreans to assist their nuclear weapons program.”

Dominika smiled. “So let’s summarize. MAGNIT has passed railgun technology to the GRU, which in turn has passed it to the North Korean intelligence service, the RGB, which has in turn provided the data to be used in nuclear trigger design at the Yongbyon Scientific Research Center.” Shlykov looked back at Dominika without expression.