Another Chance

Chapter 36

Mikael Kilimnik is surprised and annoyed at being called to Moscow. He has been doing his job well. The money is flowing into the campaign coffers of their candidate, and the social media manipulation is making Bracken look like a hero of the downtrodden. If only the fools knew how many the man had crushed under his own feet, but Americans seem to be endlessly gullible. He can't imagine what Vlad the Impaler might want to talk to him about, except that it's unlikely to be good.

Vlad seems cordial enough as they meet over healthy shots of vodka, but his smile always hides something deadly. The leader puts his glass on a silver tray on a nearby table and begins to get to the point. "Our man is doing well. The analytics have been on point, and the misinformation is flowing through cable television. He is well poised to move ahead, but there is a mess behind him that must be cleaned up."

Kilimnik wishes he could refill his glass. "What mess? The man could shoot down someone in front of the White House, and his supporters would claim the news is fake, and it's all a conspiracy."

"Very true," Vlad acknowledges, "but to take down that bitch in the election, we'll need more than his supporters. She still has a longer history of service and a sympathy factor because of the sexual history of her husband. We need to make sure there is nothing in his past that can provide any October surprises, and we both know there are more than a few skeletons in his closet. So, any witnesses to his past behavior who are still walking around will have to be eliminated.

"You can start with several former members of the N.Y.P.D. and the New York City government who will have to meet with unfortunate accidents. No falling off roofs or out of windows. No nerve agents or dioxin either. We can't afford to leave a signature. Automobile accidents or overdoses of prescribed medication. We don't want some medical examiner launching an investigation. And that cop whose shooting Ulïam's man botched, she should be taken out of the picture too, but Ulïam believes she has evidence against him hidden somewhere to be released on her death, does he not?"

Kilimnik nods.

"Very well, find out if that is the case. If so, make sure the evidence is gone before you remove her and anyone else who might know what she has. But do it as quietly as you can. We want no hint of a connection to Ulïam remaining."

Hunt reviews the chatter picked up by the Moscow bureau. Shit! Richard was right, except that he doesn't know that Bracken is just a pawn in a much bigger game. He could still take the man out, but that would only give more power to whomever Vlad has waiting in the wings for plan B, and Vlad always has a plan B. The spymaster has been infiltrating governments in Europe for years.

Vlad has always painted himself as a communist, but in truth, he is the world's leading capitalist, with properties and enterprises all over the globe either under his direct control or that of his circle of oligarchs. Fostering fascism suits his purposes to a "T." He was successful in promoting enough paranoia to convince the low information Brits to savage their economy by leaving the European Union.

He's managed to plant fear and suspicion throughout free nations, sparking a host of violent internal conflicts. Encouraging a similar movement in the United States that has already been emerging will be the triumph he needs to restore world domination to his country and make his own power absolute. The company has been fighting Vlad's efforts as best it can, trying to overcome the setbacks it faced from the actions of Sophia Turner and her band of moles and traitors. The job could have been done better - much better. But Hunt is damned if he is going to let Vlad win this one, especially since his future grandchild would be a casualty.

The first step will be getting the file Richard told him about put back together. Then he will have to launch a campaign of his own and keep Kate and Richard out of the crosshairs until the job is done. Vlad will want some of Bracken's former operatives and dupes taken out of the picture. No problem there. They're not worth much as human beings anyway. Hunt will keep his eyes on the prize, exposing Bracken in a way that will keep Vlad from immediately installing his next puppet, and ensuring the future of his own family. It will be quite a job, the most vital one he's ever had, both for himself and his country.

"Kate, I'm glad you're here," Lanie greets her friend. "Normally this would look like an accidental overdose, not a homicide, but I noticed something that doesn't track." Lanie points along the jawline of the corpse. "See the bruising? It's pretty faint, and it wasn't even visible when I first saw the body. Sometimes things like this can take some time to show up."

Kate peers down at the dead man. "Looks like the marks of fingers, like his mouth was being forced open."

"That's right. I'm going to fume the body to see if I can get some prints. If they don't match the victim, you'll have a new case on your hands."

"All right, Lanie. Let me know what you come up with. I just got a call from Castle. He wants me to meet him at the loft on my break, to look at something."

"Has he got a new toy?"

"I don't think so. He sounded serious."

"I hope that nothing's wrong, girlfriend. I'll talk to you later."

Castle greets Kate with a stack of papers the moment she's over the threshold. "The reassembled file. It arrived by courier. No tracking number."

Kate drops her purse on the floor and starts paging through without bothering to take off her coat. "Oh God, Castle. Everything is in here, even about the inspector that was bribed to say that warehouse fire was an accident. Montgomery knew all about it. There's even stuff about you so that Smith knew who to call. Roy really wanted Bracken to go down."

"And he will Kate. But there was also a note in there from my father urging us to be careful because there are interests involved beyond Bracken."

"Who?"

"I don't know, but if the CIA has a handle on them, they probably aren't domestic, at least not officially. But Kate, my father doesn't spook. If he's urging caution, he has a damn good reason. So in any investigation you make, you can't even whisper anything about Bracken until we have all our ducks in a row. It isn't just a matter of possible moles in the department, although Montgomery seemed to think there was at least one. Right now, anyone could be watching and listening to anything we do. If my father can manage it, so can the other side - whoever they may be."

"We'll be careful Castle, but it looks like the first thing we do is go after Montgomery's mole. We need to know we can trust the people around us."

"He's on page 26."

Kate quickly finds the notation. "Internal Affairs. Well, at least we know he won't have a lot of friends."