CHAPTER TWO

I've tried to recreate as much as the espionage stuff from the show but in a different setting. I am not a spy (and if I was I wouldn't share that openly) so some of this may or may not be realistic. My only knowledge comes from watching too many spy movies and the internet. I also don't know a whole heap about Russia, I've never been there. I just love the language, culture, history and literature.

The mid-morning Moscow streets were barely warmer than they had been at sunrise but Sasha was too focused on his task at hand to feel its bitterness. Leo had managed to track the MI5 agent using video feed from CCTV cameras which had led Sasha and Stepan to shadow him down this street.

"I have eyeball on target." He murmured just loud enough for comms to pick up but not so loud as to attract attention. Around him people bustled about their business, breathing out an army of smoke dragons in the bitter air.

In front of him the MI5 spook strode through the street. Often he spontaneously looked over his shoulder to check for tails. Sasha followed casually knowing that if did something old school like tying his shoelaces the spook would make him a heartbeat.

"Target turning left at intersection." Sasha relayed as the MI5 agent passed out of sight briefly when he turned a corner. Maintaining the same pace, Sasha also turned the corner to see the agent walking back in the opposite direction.

Sasha let him pass and kept walking,

"He's taking cleaning routes. Get an eyeball if you can Alpha Two."

"I have eyeball Alpha One. He's crossing the road towards a housing commission." Stepan's voice came crackling through Sasha's earpiece. He turned and walked slowly back towards the target.

"Follow him, I'll be close behind." Over the other side of the slush covered road Sasha could see the agent turn into a dingy salmon pink building.

"Update Alpha Two, what's he doing now?" Sasha requested while manoeuvring his way through the crowd to cross the road.

"Target has taken stairs to the fourth floor." Stepan reported.

Hurrying to catch up, Sasha joined Stepan on the fourth floor balcony overlooking a frozen courtyard. Stepan motioned to a dirty cream door,

"He entered apartment 412, a woman let him in. I got a photo of her." He said, waving to his smartphone. Sasha nodded, Stepan was a good agent.

It was only a few minutes later when the agent and the woman both appeared at the door again. Hidden by a decorative brick veneer Sasha and Stepan watched them both exit the flat. The woman had short red hair which curled loosely about her face. She was pale and slender but poorly dressed in a ragged overcoat. The spook was dressed in a heavy black overcoat and a grey scarf. He was the same blonde haired man from the file.

"You stay on them Stepan, I'll search and bug the flat." Sasha directed.

The generic door lock was of no issue and soon Sasha was inside the flat carefully memorising the location of every object. It was small and poky and looked like it had been furnished from a charity store but everything was ordered neatly.

He swiftly but cautiously began to rifle through the kitchen drawers and cupboards looking for anything that didn't quite fit. Next he brushed his fingers under the tables and chairs in search of any hidden items. Sasha glanced at the artwork on the wall. It was an ugly cross-stitch of a vase of flowers. Not the type of art a young person would normally put in their house. It wouldn't be that obvious would it?

Gently he lifted the painting and removed its paper backing. Behind it was a thin bundle of papers held together by a plastic band. Classic. The papers appeared to be coded letters which had been translated.

Sasha knew what they were instantly. Every spy would know what they were. They were messages arranging meets between the MI5 agent and the red haired woman.

"Alpha Two, the woman is a British asset." He whispered into his comm while photographing every sheet and then carefully placing the papers back behind the painting.

"Copy Alpha One. The target and woman are making their way back to the flat you have one minute." was Stepan's reply.

Sasha finished hanging the painting and began rearranging the drawers back to their original positions. He then deftly placed four microphone bugs throughout the flat. Hidden in the power sockets and light fittings he was confident they wouldn't be found.

"You'll have to find another exit Alpha One, the front door can be seen." Stepan warned. Sasha glanced around the room. There were no other doors, just a few narrow windows which led to a forty foot drop. There had to be a fire escape somewhere.

He checked the bedroom. It had a small window leading to a rusty fire escape ladder. Climbing through the window he made his escape back to FSB headquarters.