The Project 04 - Black Harvest

steps. They heard Nick's .45 lay down covering fire.
    "You last. We'll cover you."
    Ronnie went up the stairs like Nick had done and disappeared. In a second Selena heard his Glock. Overhead it sounded like World War III. She pictured the altar, the space behind it. She took a deep breath. The adrenaline kicked in and she ran up the stairs.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

    Alexei Ivanovich tapped his fingers on his desk . His day had just become far more difficult. He looked at the flash drive in his hand and thought about what it contained. He read the note again. It was printed in English.
    Do not jump to conclusions. In this matter, the Project is with you.
    It was signed.
    A friend.
    The package and note had arrived by UPS that morning. Alexei had gotten many odd communications over the years. Sometimes in a dark street at night. Sometimes by official notice. Sometimes in a hard room where unbearable pain was the prelude to truth.
    Never by way of UPS. He knew the trail would lead nowhere if he traced it. The video featured the Director of the American CIA talking about a plot against Russia, code named Demeter.
    Do not jump to conclusions.
    Alexei translated the meaning. Don't make a quick judgment without knowing the facts. Therefore, don't take uninformed action. It was an American idiom. It was logical to assume an American had sent it. Why would an American send such a damaging video to him?
    In this matter, the Project is with you.
    The sender must be someone in the American intelligence agencies. No one else would know about the Project or how to get the video to Alexei.
    Alexei knew he should go to his boss. If he did, all hell would break loose. The Kremlin was paranoid enough without this.
    Do not jump to conclusions.
    Someone wanted him to know the Director of American Central Intelligence plotted against Russia. Someone wanted him stopped and wanted Alexei's help. Someone wanted him to see the Project as an ally.
    Only one explanation made sense. It wasn't a sanctioned operation. That made it a danger to both nations. Alexi considered the possibility the video was part of a larger scheme with a hidden end in mind, suspect as three day old fish in the market. If it wasn't faked it was the kind of thing that could lead to war. Alexei didn't think it was faked.
    Vysotsky sometimes felt he lived in a world of brittle mirrors, a world of infinite reflections and possible realities, one within the other to infinity. Truth was out there, but it was often unpleasant and hard to find.
    Do not jump to conclusions.
    The Project was small. SVR was massive. The Project had no ability to mount any significant operation within Russia. SVR had all the resources it needed to do exactly that. The situation was reversed in America. The Project could operate there in ways Alexei could not. The bow was drawn in America, but the arrow was aimed at Russia. Whoever had sent the video wanted an alliance of convenience against a common enemy.
    Alexei made a decision. He picked up his satellite phone and called Korov.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

    Korov followed Gelashvili and the Americans to the church of St. George. The church was well back from the paved road, isolated on the side of a hill. It was reached by a long gravel drive in poor repair. Abandoned buildings dotted the slope above it. He parked a hundred feet away and considered his next move.
    His phone vibrated. Only General Vysotsky had that number.
    "Yes."
    "Things have changed. What is your situation?"
    "Gelashvili has followed the Americans. They are all in a church outside Bankya. He will try to kill them."
    "You will prevent that. Kill Gelashvili. Protect the Americans. Do not reveal yourself."
    "Protect the Americans?"
    "At all costs. Repeat your orders."
    "Kill Gelashvili. Protect the Americans."
    Gunshots echoed inside the church.
    "Sir. Shooting in the church."
    "You have your orders."
    The connection terminated.
    Arkady put the phone back in his pocket and drew the Drotik from his shoulder holster. He ran to the church, pulled open the door and slipped inside.
    In the rainbow light coming through the stained glass window, Korov saw Gelashvili and two of his men halfway down the main aisle. They crouched behind pews, firing in bursts toward the front of the church. Two pistols answered from behind the altar. As he watched, a woman come up out of the floor and rolled forward behind the altar, firing three shots as she went.
    One of Gelashvili's men crawled to a side aisle