wailing greeted her.
"Mama what's wrong?" Jannet Rejejow asked, concern showing all over her face.
"It's your b-r-o-t-h-e-r," her mother wailed while hugging her young sister pointing at the television. The pretty young woman quickly focused her confused mind in the direction of the television. On the screen was the face of Ahmet. The Dubai TV anchor's words, "a headless body was found by the roadside in Bangkok this morning," began to sink in.
"No!" Jannet cried, dropping the bag of food in her hand on the floor as she suddenly realized what that meant.
"It's the Englishman!" her mother said through her continued wailing as her oldest daughter rushed towards her for comfort. "He has taken my son!" the woman said as the three women embraced.
13
Moscow
The President of the Russian Federation stroked his chin in thought as he finished listening to Alexei Nikolai Anynkov.
The man who was the head of his country's foreign intelligence service known as the Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki but universally as the SVR had given his update in the study of President's private residence at Novo-Ogarevo to the west of Moscow, by the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway.
"That's interesting," stated the President in response to the news that the group TLH owned by the man known as "Fama" had been in Pyongyang concluding a deal with the regime to build a gas pipeline through the country.
"Straight after, the North's Ambassador tells Sergey Viktorovich that it is their President's intention to re-enter the six party talks and stop enrichment," he continued using the Christian names of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"I thought you might it interesting Sir," Anynkov said.
"If Litchfield succeeds in getting this much needed agreement across the line then Russian natural gas costs of exporting to South Korea and Japan would fall at least twenty percent," the President said using the Russian form of his name adding, "And we won't have to build the underwater pipeline."
"Yes! But it will put the Englishman in an almost monopolistic position with regard opening up new gas supply contracts across all the Central Asian Republics," stated the Head of the SVR. He made no effort to not show disgust. "All our energy producers will have to use his pipeline to remain competitive."
The President studied Anynkov's face for a moment. He knew he held a rabid distrust of Fama because he considered him English rather than Russian yet the leader of Russia chose to think of him somewhat differently. The man had already proved himself a useful tool to have in the box with his ability to cross both worlds of politics and business throughout the world and more importantly trusted enough to perform clandestinely when needed, the crisis in Africa being such an example.
"He is a useful instrument who had proved his loyalty to his blood," the President answered using his daughter who being half Turkmen thereby considered by him as from "Mother Russia" as the basis of his rebuttal to Anynkov's fears. "Russia has pushed for this type of project for years," the President said, signaling that he had already made his mind up.
"It will help with the security of the Korean Peninsula and the normalization of inter-Korean dialogue," he continued as he pressed a button on the telephone on his desk. He was referring to the fact that the Koreans had been a constant thorn in his side, due to Russia's dwindling influence over their government since the fall of the wall in the early 90s and fear that he would at some point have to deal with refugees that would be on the scale of Syria if the country imploded.
"If Litchfield has finally managed to convince the Hermits to come out of their shell," he said using the derogatory term for North Koreans, "then we need to ensure that Russia's position is secure in any change that follows."
A female voice on the speakerphone came online and said, "Yes Mr. President?"
"Please connect me to Litchfield," he ordered.
The ring tone song of the cell phone buzzing on his desk caught the attention of Thomas as he was standing at the study's floor to ceiling window. He immediately recognized who was calling, as the ring tone had been chosen by Victoria much to the amusement of him, Mikhail, and Hannah, when she had been trying to convince him that she should have the latest Apple iPhone like their children.
He smiled for a second as he made his way to the phone. After that terrible moment of seeing her mother killed in front of her and after extensive therapy, it appeared his beautiful 'Plum' who with every passing day looked more and more the image of her mother had finally started to come out of her shell. The move to Moscow to live with her grandmother had helped as well but most of all it had enabled Thomas to have at least some sort of peace of mind as it meant his men due to his special status could carry firearms to protect her at all times.
The words of Rejejow son in Thailand had proved him that he had been correct to make such decision. It was hard enough living without Nara. If anything happened to Victoria he wouldn't be able to bear that.
Cutting off "The Monster," a tune by Eminem and Rihanna, in mid flow, Thomas answered call.
"Mr. President," he said.
"Fama," he said using the Russian form of his Christian name. "I would like you to meet with me this evening," the Mayor said in his usual abrupt manner.
"What time?" Thomas answered, already guessing what the meeting would be about.
"7.30 p.m., at my private residence," he ordered before clicking off.
Thomas looked at his vintage Patek Philippe. The timepiece said 6.12 p.m. Although moving back to Moscow offered many advantages, the terrible winters and traffic certainly were not two of them.
"Better make a move. Traffic will be hell," he thought.
As Thomas was ushered into the Private Office of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the man he always referred to as "The Mayor" since he had first met him in Saint Petersburg when he had still been the leader of that city with dreams of leading Russia back to its former glory, he still had no idea how he was going to play the meeting he was about to have. Instead he decided to rely on his instincts.
Thomas; as one of the country's seventeen National Champions and therefore part of the central axis of the Mayor's government policy that demanded that, regardless of who was considered the legal owner of the country's natural resources and in particular the mineral resources, the state had the right to regulate the process of their development and expect the owner to act in the interests of society as a whole; knew that whatever happened in this meeting it would be foolhardy to attempt to lie or mislead the man. Like his fellow champions, he was under permanent observation by all Russia's intelligence agencies and what one missed, another would pick up on.
Over the years Thomas had learned that it never paid to try and second-guess the intentions of the Mayor, instead he chose to always to adapt to the situation. Of course this meant if Putin demanded that he solely look after Russia's interests in Korea then he knew he would find himself at odds with the foreign policy goals of the United States of America and therefore become a clear and present danger to its interests, both foreign and domestic.
He reflected on Rob's words, "Today's friends are tomorrow's enemies and today's enemies are tomorrow's friends." In the case of Putin, however, it paid always to stay his friend at all costs.
As was usual in any of meeting with the Mayor at his Novo-Ogarevo residence, he found the man sitting behind his desk surrounded his aides. However, unlike most of meetings with him in the past, the second Thomas walked up to the desk, he dismissed them so he could focus his gaze on Thomas. He smiled at him, and indicated for him to sit down.
"How is your daughter?" the President asked as Thomas sat.
"Getting better Mr. President," Thomas replied, to which the man nodded his head.
"Trips like the one to Bangkok don't help," he said with narrowed eyes, instantly telling Thomas that his assumption that he was watched had been correct.
"What can I say, I felt the urge for Pad-Thai," Thomas replied without emotion, earning a wry smile in return from the President and
a shake of his head.
"In any case. I didn't ask you here this evening to discuss that," he continued, moving swiftly on requests. "Why don't you explain to me your role in what is happening in Pyongyang?"
Thirty minutes later, Thomas had finished briefing him on what President O had told him he intended to do, including how the deal was brought to him in the first place during which he saw the President make a note of Rob's name.
"So this deal is being brokered by The Sheikh?" he injected, surprising Thomas because he had made no mention of how Ashley and he knew each other. Sticking to the party line Rob and he had agreed between them, Thomas outlined Rob's role and the fact he had since left The Sheikh's service, leaving out the fact he was CIA.
The Mayor again nodded, and then said, "Interesting man, this Ashley, for a hotelier." His look implied he knew more.
"Here it comes," thought Thomas.
"He pops up in Adwalland as the postman for the Americans; then leaves! Sets up his own consulting business in Hong Kong. Gets the Koreans to do something that sixty years of foreign policy of six nations can't. Then to top it all off, he gets his contacts to find American partners who can finance the pipeline's construction for you," Putin concluded, again studying Thomas's face.
"Tell me, Thomas, what does this sound like to you?" he asked as Thomas's mind quickly calculated his next move.
"That he's running an agenda that