Episode 619: Maskirovka, Part Four
Part 1, 2, 3, Special Features
That takes care of the Kremlin half of the extraction party. What about the prison half? How do we get Nikolai out without raising suspicion? Joshua offers to impersonate Anna. He's Borrowed a woman before during his BlueSun career. He can do it again. With Kiera's skills as a plastic surgeon, he'd make a darned good Borrowing of Anna … but there's one problem. For him to be convincing, he has to study the subject before putting on the face. That requires access to the person being Borrowed and that we don't have. So, nix that idea. That idea, however, doesn't get by the crew without some teasing. It's late, everyone's been drinking in varying degrees, and it's a good thing the kids have already been sent to bed—the verbal horseplay gets a touch risqué before it dies down.
Joshua takes the opposite approach. Instead of using a high-profile person to gain access to the prisoners, what if we used someone beneath everyone's notice? The second a high-profile person walks in, like, say … their BOSS, they're going to be paying very close attention to doing their jobs. It's that whole Jesus-is-Coming/Look-busy effect. Trying to pull off a jailbreak under those conditions would be very difficult. So how do we even the odds?
Rina did have a good idea—laundry gets delivered to the Kremlin and the prison along with food and other resources. Surely a prison such as the Tower would need to have the laundry done periodically and have fresh linens delivered? Rina's brothers have heard of such a service going to the Tower. If we could procure the use of one of the delivery vans and two sets of uniforms, Arden and Joshua could drive up, gain entrance with their linen delivery, and get Nikolai out once they're inside. After all, domestic staff and related service industry personnel are part of the background. Nobody gives them a second thought. Joshua will be the point man, driving the truck and doing all the talking. Arden will go along as his silent coworker. They'll hide the guns inside one of the laundry carts, underneath the towels and sheets, and pull them once they're inside.
So that takes care of getting into the Tower. Then what? Further questioning of the Tigranov brothers reveals the Tower has no windows. Therefore it is not possible to reckon the layout of the interior by looking through the windows, nor judging the complement of guards stationed inside. Just as with Kremlin extraction party, once they're indoors, they'll just have to wing it.
And so that's what we resolve to do.
Sunday, 02 May 2523
Over the next three days, Rina and her brothers work on faking up the cargo box and the seals while Kiera, Joshua, and Arden work on getting the van and the uniforms. Again, Joshua convinces Kiera to work her wiles on a hapless employee of the laundry service, getting us that van and the uniforms. She's successful, but ohhhhhh, Joshua is going to owe Kiera BIG for this.
As for the box, it's a challenge getting the materials together to make it, to say nothing of finding a way to construct it without anyone being the wiser. Tools and materials and workspace is limited. Times during the day or night where they can work unobserved and unheard, likewise rare. But the Tigranovs are nothing if not talented and persistent and they get the job done by the third day. We pack the box with the seals into a plain packing crate and ready it for delivery.
There's a flurry of last minute preparations. The van is checked over, under the hood and over it. We check and double check our weapons, the trap door on the cargo box, ask the brothers for anything else they can tell us of the Kremlin and the Tower. Any scrap of information would be useful. For instance, the Tigranovs are guests but how closely are they watched inside the Kremlin walls? Do they have the run of the place? Do they have guards on them at all times? Dmitri tells us that their mother has managed to make friends on the inside, but they aren't well connected—they are the maids, housekeepers, cooks, and such. It's unlikely to expect help from that quarter. How are they housed? We're told they have a suite and Father has a workshop … but they are both old, getting on in years and as such, they are not so carefully watched they way you would of people suspected of making a run for it. Grigoriy also has relative run of the place but like his parents, Nikolai's imprisonment is a powerful incentive to stay, and in Grigoriy's case, his parents act as yet another layer of incentive. Against that, there is little need for extensive guards on the guests. That said, there are a great number of guards on the Kremlin grounds and we would very likely be stopped if we tried to walk out.
We cannot just walk up to the Kremlin door with the cargo box, however. We send a wave first and petition for admittance. We train the wave camera on the genuine box of cargo that we'd transported over specifically for this purpose. It looks very shiny, all rich and decorated, as befitting a box destined for the Companion Temple. We say would like to offer something we acquired that we believe would be of value to Anna. If you could put in a good word to her for us we would be very appreciative. In addition, Nika and Kiera say they would very much like to take advantage of the social scene at the Kremlin. Nika and Kiera are dressed like down-on-their-luck aristocracy, hoping to better their fortunes. They smile and look very pretty. Rina is next, saying she is an ardent fan of Natalia Tigranova's voice and has followed her work for many many years. It has always been her dream to see her in person and perhaps get her autograph. Thank you.
We send the wave and wait for an answer. We get it back. We have been admitted for a visit.
We fly the cargo back to Equinox and stow it in the hidey. We also take Aleksander, Dmitri, Svetlana and the children and have them stay aboard the ship with Beglan where they will be safe. Next we send the women to the Kremlin with the fake cargo box. Nika and Kiera go in their third-best finery, as befitting aristocracy fallen on hard times. Rina dresses a step up as the women's broker or go-between, yet from humbler origin. They pull up in a car driven hired for the occasion and get out, holding the box between them. They are met by guards at the door and escorted in. Attendants approach to take the box away but Rina deters them, saying we are making deal and we are making deal only with Anna herself. We give box only to her. Her manner is convincing and the guards lead the party into a reception room off the entrance hall. Nika keeps an eye out for cameras. She finds them pretty much everywhere you'd expect, covering the entrances and the main floors. Avoiding them may not be possible.
It takes a good amount of concentration to play their parts convincingly but they are good enough at it that it's not long before Anna herself comes down to see them personally.
Showtime.
She has four attendants with her and they all have tablets with them, taking notes, getting drinks, fetching chairs. They have a sycophantic toadying air about them. There are also a couple of guards with guns standing to either side of the door. Anna's no fool. She brought firepower with her. We did a little research on Anna beforehand. We found out that she was engaged in Military Intelligence for the Alliance, in the Psych-Ops division. She will not be as easy to fool as the others. We will have to go carefully. We stand around the box and Anna sighs as she sits in the chair brought for her. When she speaks, it's in Russian and she addresses Rina directly. Rina replies back in the same language.
Anna: What's going on here? So, these are the girls?
Rina: Da.
Anna: How did you get hold of this … crate?
Rina: Connections. A friend of a friend of a friend.
Anna: A friend of a friend of a friend, and a package going to the Companion's Guild.
Rina: You know how it is.
Anna: I don't know. Explain to me.
Rina: So—I met this Companion once and we hit it off rather well. But you know, his Companion dues, he had to pay them every month. He was out where he could not get very good clients. He needed some money and I loaned him some and I asked him for a favor. (pulls the box from the crate) This is his payment.
The trick to telling any lie is to lace it with enough truth that it all sounds plausible. Also, it's important not to fill in the details—they limit your options. Rina keeps her story simple and waits to see if Anna buys it. Anna seems cautiously convinced. Anna walks over and runs her hands over the box, fingering the wood and the decorative metal plates. It certainly looks fancy enough to be made for the Companion Guild Temple. The seals are sticker seals and they are still intact. Just as promised.
Anna: Hmmm. It would be nice to have real Companions here. They don't come to the Enclave very frequently.
Rina: No, unfortunately they do not. But this box … (pats it) … has the next best thing.
Something shifts behind Anna's eyes and Rina realizes she just might have stepped too far … After all, how would she know what was in the box unless she'd already broken the seals? Too late now, and trying to explain would only serve to ruin the story further. Rina shuts up and waits for whatever will happen next. Anna calls out to one of her attendants.
Anna: Pyotr, see if you can find the girls some … guest quarters. Perhaps in the East Wing.
Nika: We're very honored, Ma'am.
Anna: (of the box) We should probably leave this here for safekeeping. I'll take it to one of our vaults in the attic.
Rina: Of course.
Damn. There goes our weapons stash. But Rina was already expecting that to happen. We'll just have to wing it getting out of here.
Business as usual.
Rina, Kiera, and Nika let themselves be led away under guard to the East Wing where the guest quarters are.
Outside at the Black Tower, Joshua drives up in the laundry truck. Arden has his pistol and his doctor's bag and he's riding in the back, hidden in a cart under clean laundry. As they near the delivery dock of the Tower, Arden calls out to Joshua.
Arden: Are you wearing your mesh?
Joshua: No! I'm dressed as a laundry guy.
Arden: Just asking. Cuz I'm tired of mucking around with your insides.
Joshua: Why?
Arden: Fine. Then I'm swapping your kidneys and surgically reinserting your intestines backwards.
Joshua backs up the van, sets the brake, and cuts the engine. Here we go.
Arden: Can I assist? I make a great pile of laundry.
Joshua gets up on the dock, hauls up the door at the back of the van and wheels the first cart of laundry (and Arden) out, pulls another out and has it trail behind him, playing the disinterested laundry man to the hilt. He nods and grunts at the guards. Da, da, da. The Russian equivalent of "whatever, dude." The guards walk off to continue their patrol but Joshua is cautious and waits for the right moment to spring Arden. A couple of men in workclothes are on duty and seeing Joshua arrive they start wordlessly grabbing the stacks of clean laundry and transferring it into the prison's pushcarts. And as he watches, he notices something odd. The workers are dumping the laundry in willy-nilly, as if it didn't matter to them if it remained folded or even organized. Grab, carry, dump. Grab, carry, dump.
What the hell?
The workers get to the cart with Arden hidden inside. One reaches in and removes a stack of laundry and Arden's smiling face stares right back at him.
Arden: Boo!
Arden jumps out of the cart swinging, taking the man out with an upper cut. Joshua uses his Aikkido. Joshua is less successful than Arden. He hits but doesn't render his opponent unconscious. The worker shouts the alarm and the fight is on. Joshua and the other guy duke it out and Joshua's taking some hits. Joshua swings, gets an exceptional hit in and the other man goes down. He falls off the loading dock and lands on the ground below. Working quickly, Arden and Joshua get the first unconscious man into a cart and concealed under the laundry. And wheels it down the ramp towards the truck. And just in time too. The guard shows up just as Arden grabs another cart and bangs it against the dock and kicks it, cursing up a storm, using everything he's learned from Rina over the years. Damned cart fell on my foot, he yells. He kicks the cart and 'stubs' his toe and hops up and down. The guard draws his gun and starts in their direction. Arden keeps the cart between him and the guard. Joshua starts yelling at Arden in Russian.
Joshua: What the hell? Watch what you're doing, you idiot! (to the guard) Dropped on his head as a child. Do you know how hard it is to work with him?
Guard: Where are Vlad and Yuri?
Vlad is in the cart, hidden. Yuri is off the dock, in plain view.
Joshua: I don't know. I heard Yuri cursing and I look around and the next thing I know he's whacked his head or something and fallen and it's all gone to hell.
The guard moves to the edge of the dock to peer down at Yuri and that's when Arden makes his move. He's below the guard, on the ground, and he reaches up and yanks the guards ankles out from under him.
Yank! Slam! And the guard is knocked out cold.
They hustle Yuri and the guard into the carts and cover them with the laundry. Arden checks to make sure they're not going to die while Joshua wonders what the hell was going on with the laundry. The man Arden pulled ankles on probably has a concussion, but there's no time to treat it. Arden stabilizes the man's neck and head by wrapping clean laundry around him.
Joshua: What the hell is going on here?
Arden: What do you mean, what the hell is going on here?
Joshua: I mean they were throwing the clean laundry into the—
Arden: It's the effect of whatever they're putting in the food here. They don't care. They're just doing their job.
Joshua: There are a lot less guards than I thought there would be.
Arden: I'm not complaining.
Joshua: I'm okay with that.
Joshua strips the uniform from the guard and takes the man's key cards and weapons. He pulls on his purloined disguise as Arden pushes the cart to the side and covers the unconscious—and now undressed—guard with laundry to hide him from view.
Back at the Kremlin, Pyotr is escorting Rina, Nika, and Kiera to their guest quarters and piano notes float down the corridor. It's an arpeggio and someone's singing the notes as the sets travel up the scale: La-la-la-LA-la-la-laaa… Rina freezes in her tracks as she recognizes her mother's voice and thinking quickly, turns into the ultimate fan girl.
Rina: Wait, wait, wait. (listens) I think I recognize that voice … Omigod! I know that voice. It's her! It's her! She's here! She's really really here! (SQUEEEEES!) I LOVE HER!! I've always wanted to meet her, I know all her songs Ihaveallherrecordsnandshe's—!
Rina runs down the hallway toward the suite of rooms where the music is. She shakes off the hands grabbing her and keeps babbling.
Rina: No, no, no, she's WONDERFUL! You've got to come, you'vegottocome!
Rina keeps running and Kiera and Nika race after her. Pyotr just rolls his eyes sourly and follows. Gorram fan girls. Why does he always get stuck with the freaks? Rina skids through the open door and sure enough, there at the piano is her mother. She has no accompanist. She is playing the piano herself.
They are alone. The guard is coming. Rina has only a few seconds. Heart pounding, she says the only thing she can think of, the only thing she can.
Rina: Mama.
Their eyes meet, recognition strikes, and the piano grinds to a halt.
Back at the Tower, Arden and Joshua walk through the doors the guards came from and enter a dingy little office. The walls are painted a ghastly dirty color—or it could be dirt—and the office furniture has seen better days. The computer on the sole desk is antiquated and dilapidated, with a magnifying sheet duct taped to the monitor to make the screen legible. A door to the interior of the Tower stands closed to one side. There is only one man present, sitting at the desk, obviously a clerk of some kind. He's working at the computer. When Joshua and Arden walk in, he looks up and immediately groks that they aren't the real guards.
Clerk: You're not—
Joshua: (in Russian) I would not say anything more. Step away.
Joshua draws his gun. The man stands up from the desk. Arden assures the clerk in English that they are not what they look like, then tells Joshua to put the gun away (how's that for ironic! Geez!) and give the man some money—he's a clerk, not a guard, and the money would ensure he's never seen us. True enough, the man is not a guard. So maybe we can just ask him to help us.
Joshua: We're looking for someone. And this can go the hard way or the easy way.
Clerk: (in English) Don't shoot.
Joshua: I am not g—
Clerk: (points to inner door) Go.
Arden: Can you tell us where we can find some prisoners?
Clerk: Can't.
Arden: The computer doesn't have access to where they are?
Clerk: It does not.
Arden: It does not?
Is he lying? Joshua checks the clerk's body language and can tell he's speaking the truth. Arden tries to reassure the man we mean no harm, speaking slowly.
Arden: Like I said, we want nothing to do with you. We're not who we way we are. We're not who we look like we are. We're just going to the door right now …
Clerk: This job is not worth dying for.
Joshua: And I have no interest in killing you. I'm putting the gun down—
Clerk: Just look for yourself.
The clerk points at the inner door: Look. Arden moves over to the computer. It really is a clunker and the clerk wasn't doing anything like paperwork on it, he was actually playing a game not unlike tetris. Arden shuts the game down and looks at what's on the computer. Some waves, some records. Nothing much.
Joshua: If you can't tell us where someone specific is, what can you tell us about the general layout of the tower?
Clerk: I can't. (nods at the door) You should see.
Hinked now, Joshua tries the inner door. It's a little hard to open, as if there's air pressure behind it pushing it against the frame. Joshua gets that door open and looks inside.
Joshua: What in—Oh my god …
Arden: (from the desk) What?
Joshua: It's empty.
Arden: What do you mean, it's empty?
Joshua: Look, Arden.
Arden looks. There is nothing beyond the door but the bare walls of the tower rising all the way to the roof, a vast column of empty space. No cells. No prisoners. No one to rescue.
Yob tvoyu mat'.
Joshua turns to the clerk.
Joshua: No prisoners?
Clerk: They are not kept here.
Joshua: Where are they kept?
Arden: They aren't kept here?
Joshua: Wait, there are prisoners? Where are they kept?
Clerk: Well, they are …. (pauses)
Joshua: Or are they killed?
Clerk: They are sent to this … force. For the military.
Oh no …
Joshua gets it immediately and starts cursing in several different languages. When he winds down, the clerk speaks up.
Clerk: How do you think Anna maintains her … control?
Arden pulls his data reader from his pocket and starts downloading everything off that computer that he can. There might be something of use in its files but now is not the time or the place to go through them.
Arden: This is why they didn't care about the laundry.
Joshua: I don’t know if I feel better or worse if I think they are dead. I don't know. (deep breath) Okay.
Arden: (cautiously) Can you send … thoughts … to your beloved?
Joshua: I wish it worked that way.
Arden: Can she send thoughts to you?
Joshua: Actually in theory, if I'm listening and paying attention. But again, from a distance? (sighs) All right—
Arden: Let's get in the laundry thing and leave.
Joshua: I believe that is an excellent idea.
Joshua strips off the guard uniform and walks out with Arden in his shirt sleeves and slacks. Their half of the op is a complete bust. Nikolai is not in the Tower for them to rescue. The clerk watches them go, but Joshua doesn't get the feeling the man will blow the whistle on them. The clerk doesn't want to risk his life for what is obviously a sham of a job. Joshua and Arden leave him to it and walk out into the night, to retrieve the van and God willing, execute the remainder of the extraction op.
Part 1, 2, 3, Special Features
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