Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
“What do we know about Dima Smirnov?” Alex asked. Callie had reverted to thinking of him as Alex because he’d said it was best if people called him that instead of his military call sign.
She sat again, slowly, her entire body buzzing with fury and fear. Mikhail Volkov was really this Dima Smirnov. The man who’d spent so much time with her, talking to her, recruiting her to work at Griffin Research Labs, had been lying about who he was.
“Former SVR,” Seth said. “He hasn’t worked for Russian intelligence in a couple of years though.”
Callie squeezed her eyes shut as her stomach twisted. A Russian intelligence agent. Great.
“He works for the Dashevsky Group,” Diana said, and Callie’s stomach dropped even further. “Viktor Dashevsky is bad news, no matter how he tries to look like a humble, kind oligarch with his humanitarian aid and his teams of people who head into disaster zones to help. They do help. I’m not disputing that, but it’s not his primary objective.”
“And what is his primary objective, Agent Corbin? Because you seem to know a lot about it.” Alex was watching her carefully.
“Did I fail to mention that my uncle works for the CIA? How careless of me. Not that Uncle Stephen shares much, but?—”
“Stephen Adler? The Deputy Director of the CIA is your uncle?”
“There happen to be many men in this world named Stephen,” Diana said with a sniff. “But you’re correct. Public service runs in the family.”
Alex shook his head and tilted his head back as if having a moment with the ceiling. More likely asking God why him, Callie thought. She recognized the pose because she felt it too. Why her?
“The Dashevsky Group is a front for the arms trade. Not only that, but they make money on those disaster zones. So if they happen to create a few, then what’s the harm since they’ll be there to help, right?”
“How can you make money on a disaster zone?” Callie asked, dumbfounded. “Mikhail—Smirnov—was a translator.”
“And they would need translators, wouldn’t they? As to your question, government money,” Diana said. “It flows toward the area in need. Dashevsky gives his own money, but he makes it up in the government aid and the connections he forges. He builds armies of loyalists with his aid and his weapons. He’s not a nice man. I’m going to assume, since you’re in this room, you can be relied on not to talk about anything you hear today.”
Callie was slightly affronted. “I’m coding the command and control system for what is apparently a critical military system, so I think I can be trusted. I haven’t tried to murder anyone over it either. Yet. I reserve the right if they piss me off.”
Seth chuckled behind her. The other guys were smiling too. That made her feel good. Like maybe she was a tiny part of their mission to protect the world.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Welcome aboard.” Diana looked at Alex again. “We don’t have any intel on Smirnov’s whereabouts. Because he was operating in this country, and because the body of the real Mikhail Volkov was so recently found, the FBI has jurisdiction. We’d like to find him.”
“Has the body been positively identified?”
She nodded. “Yes. He’s been dead for approximately two years, though. They put him on ice, then brought him out again when Smirnov needed to disappear. That’s our guess, anyway. Somebody shot him at close range to blow half his head off and obscure his features. We don’t know why.”
Callie put her hand to her stomach. Poor man.
“The phone found with him was registered in his name, but it’s too new to have really belonged to him.”
“Somebody spoofed his number to text Callie for a meeting,” Alex said. “She kept the meeting and we observed, but nobody showed. And they haven’t texted since, correct?”
“Correct,” Callie said when she realized the question was meant for her.
“While her house was empty, two men entered and trashed it. They appeared to be looking for something,” Alex said.
“And didn’t find it,” Diana mused.
“I don’t have anything,” Callie added, though nobody asked her.
Diana tucked the photo away. “That’s all I have for you today. We’ll keep you updated on the search for Smirnov, though we think he’s probably fled the country by now.” She gave Callie a grave look. “Thank you for what you did to identify Dr. Robbins as the saboteur. Athena is critical to national defense. It would seem you are too.”
“I’m just doing my job.”
Seth poked her. She wanted to turn and poke him back but didn’t.
“We’ve got some grilled chicken and sides,” Alex said. “If you want to join us.”
Diana Corbin rose to her feet in an elegant wave. “No, thank you. I have to get back to the office. Maybe next time.”
“Let me see you out,” Alex said.
The rest of the guys filtered out behind him. Callie stood, but Seth put a hand on her arm as the others exited.
“Are you okay?” he asked when they were alone.
She sucked in a breath and nodded. “I think so. Mikhail Volkov is dead, but I never knew him. I’m sorry for what they did to him, though. Dima Smirnov assumed his identity and befriended me. Why couldn’t he do it as himself?”
Seth sighed. “I don’t know. It’s a spy thing. The Russian foreign intelligence service is like the CIA. They’re always playing games upon games. I’m not even sure they know. Smirnov went to work for Dashevsky and, for whatever reason, they decided Volkov was a better identity. So they killed him. It’s possible the real Volkov never worked for Dashevsky. They would have altered the record to make it look like he did, though.”
Callie nodded. It was a lot to process, but she was doing so. “I hope Smirnov really is gone. I haven’t heard from the number again, so maybe he had to get out of the country quick. But will it ever be safe?”
Seth wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “I can’t tell you he’ll never try to contact you again, but if he’s fled, then he’s probably cut his losses. Once Athena’s live, it’ll be too late anyway. So it’s best to make sure it launches on time. That’s all any of us are trying to do. Keep the timeline and make sure it goes live as scheduled. Then we’re free.”
Callie pressed her face to his shirt, inhaling his scent. She hoped to God he was right.