Read Someone Else's War: A Novel of Russia and America Page 25

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  A strange woman to work for, Maria Fedorovna concluded again as she prepared to write her latest report to the FSB. Not a bad woman, but infinitely strange. She nervously ran her hands over her grey hair. This report would be like the others. Her spending: ample by Russian standards, although quite modest given her actual salary, and necessary to furnish the flat. Her drinking: temperate even when drinking more than normal. Her sexual and social life: none. Her general behavior: decent and calm. Visitors to her flat: none.

  But that would change tomorrow, she thought, although in a typically strange way. Federal Security and Military Intelligence officers were coming to dinner, without Olivia’s knowledge or permission. The guest list had been provided for her, and the menu. So she spent the next day cleaning and cooking and wondering. Who ever heard of the State throwing a surprise party for an American about to go off to war in a place like Chechnya? A surprise party that included her recruiter and her former interrogators? But such was the new world, and she could not object.