Chapter 16: Intervention
Notes:
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
Chapter Text
"The only thing that makes battle psychologically tolerable is the brotherhood among soldiers. You need each other to get by." -Sebastian Junger
"We need to talk to your boss." Harris had opened with those words to the Russian Suit guarding their door four hours ago, and the dividends were finally paying off. After pestering for two hours and claiming that they had new information that the Russians hadn't already overheard from bugging the room, the team had a sit down with one of the men in charge, Agent Pavlovski. He was the man who had overseen the operation to shut down the mobster's house back in St. Petersburg. And, Harris inferred, he was the man facing the penalties for how poorly that operation had gone. No wonder he was willing to chance a meeting with the American team who had infiltrated his country.
Harris opened the meeting with blunt words. "I'll be brief, Mr. Pavlovski. Two of my men think the only thing I can do to help get my agent back is hope and pray. But I disagree. I think I can help you recover this situation, if you're willing to work a deal."
"A deal." The Russian smiled sourly. "Your team sneaks ten American men into my country, leaving us a mess to handle, and now you want to cut a deal. Haven't we already cut a deal, by leaving you in a hotel instead of a prison, and shipping your one severely injured man back home as a gesture of goodwill?"
"In our defense, we didn't sneak into your country. We bought plane tickets and came with legitimate visas over the course of three days."
"You immediately broke those visas by attempting illegal military measures against a Russian countryman. Yes, that countryman is breaking the law, and it is my intent to see Yassen Gregorovich brought to justice, and his boss, but it was not your place to attempt such an action."
"Yassen Gregorovich has an INTERPOL warrant for his arrest."
"Which INTERPOL Moscow could handle, if it was a priority. Since coming to this country, and until you arrived, the man was not presenting such a bother as he is now. It's strange how this happens."
Brandon eyed Harris warily. "Sir, I apologize, I think we are taking a detour. We want to make a deal with you that would benefit both of our countries. We know our missing agent, and some of us are willing to place ourselves back into danger to try and rescue him. Let us help. The more of our men you can use, the less danger you'll be placing Russian troops into. If there are any more shootouts, it would be us in danger instead of you."
Pavlovski grimaced. "And now you are calling me and my men cowards."
"We know from firsthand experience that you are not," Harris disagreed. "But as you said, this is our mess. We should clean it up."
The Russian seemed to consider this. "You said some of your men were willing to search for your agent. What about the rest?"
"Send them home. You'll never be bothered by them again, and we fully accept that you will revoke any future visas our men may attempt, and that we are not to step foot into Russian territories without an explicit invitation from government officials."
One of the two aids that had followed Pavlovski into the hotel room for the meeting leaned forward and said something quietly in Russian. Pavlovski frowned, and considered the words.
"Alright. We'll work a deal with your government for immunity for this intrusion into the Russian Federation. But this deal will only be followed if some of you are willing to do as you say – go after your man." Pavlovski stood. "I will fetch some contractors to work out the exact terms with your boss. But rest assured—for as long as I live, you and your men will never be allowed in this country again."
Harris stood as well. "We completely understand."
DC waited until the Russian Suits had cleared the room before he brought up his concern. "So we think Alex used to work for MI6, yeah? That was what Ayad and Brandon agreed on?" He looked to the two men for agreement. "Yes? Because that would make sense. Do you all want to know what that mini-Suit just told the main man a moment ago? He said, and this isn't verbatim because my Russian's turned shit over the past three years, but roughly it went 'Sir, we already gave permission to the English'."
"What does that mean, permission to the English?" James asked.
"Exactly what it sound like, I reckon," Lowery said quietly. "MI6 used to hire Alex, and now he's missing, and they're worried about the intel he has and asked to send a team to retrieve him."
"There's no way the Russians let a team of MI6 agents into their country. Maybe one agent or two, but not a team," Ayad said with certainty.
"That can't be bad news, though," Brandon said. "The more the merrier."
"Unless that agent screws up and gets them both shot."
Harris sighed. "I hope not. Well, I'll go beg for a phone again, and call Hyde about this deal we might have worked out. It's almost morning there, so hopefully he won't be too grumpy about how early we're putting him to work." Harris headed to the door of the hotel suite, a determined look on his face.
"The facts," DC said, drawing the rest of the group besides Harris together. "Yassen Gregorovich contacted us and said he'd be in touch for a ransom within 48 hours. We still have time for that line of contact to be reopened. Hyde has a man monitoring the email we gave him."
"It's a bluff," Brandon said, feeling nearly certain he was correct. "He wanted to stall us. Alex wasn't supposed to reach out to us, and when he did Gregorovich wanted to ensure that we didn't panic. He wanted us to think Alex still had a chance of being kept alive, and us to wait patiently. This is the same as when he told me he'd release Alex in a day. He didn't, and Alex is still in danger."
"He's not going to kill Alex," Ayad reassured the group. "Alex is too valuable to the mafia at this point. The head abandoned his home because the Russian forces went after Alex, and now Alex is a bargaining chip the mafia can use to try and end this mess."
"Alex said policemen were shot in front of him, like a circus show. The mafia is getting serious, if that's the case. This might be a war."
"Then they'll kill him to make a point," DC said, horrified.
"I don't think so," Brandon said, chewing over a theory in his head. It sounded ridiculous though. A child agent? Alex working for MI6 at 14? This was the sort of thing children's books were made of, and Brandon wasn't about to get laughed out of the unit for proposing the idea. But it made sense, didn't it? And most importantly, it would keep Alex alive just long enough for a rescue. After all, a former child spy had to be the most useful hostage if you were going up against a government.
-AR-
"We've reached a deal," Harris announced, exhausted. "We've been on the phones for most of the past 5 hours, obviously, but it's finally over. Hyde just signed on behalf of the company, and he's faxing the forms over now."
The assembled men stood around, waiting for further details. "The Russians bought us all tickets – nice ones, I'll add – going home. Tonight. Anyone who wants one can leave tonight, no questions asked. Kid got himself into this mess, and I'm not going to pressure anyone who's worried about going against he mafia to go against the mafia. It's a valid fear, I'll warrant. Jackson, it goes without saying that you're taking the ticket home." Harris gave a pointed glance Jackson's injured shoulder.
"For those who want to stay, it's been confirmed that we have some company from across the ocean. Or on this side of the ocean, I can say now. An MI6 agent named Daniels crossed into Russian airspace two hours ago. Apparently, MI6 has some idea of where the kid is, and they're sending GPS coordinates with another agent, whose en route now."
"Why not just send them over fax or email like a reasonable person?" Lowery asked.
"I'm guessing they want the speed advantage. They don't trust the Russians not to barge in and fumble the whole operation, and looking at the mess we've seen so far, maybe they're right not too."
"Or maybe their agent has orders to eliminate potential problems, and that includes Alex, if necessary," Brandon said.
"Wait, doesn't that sound a little extreme?" Ayad asked. "Whatever Alex was doing with MI6, it was a few years ago, and they let him go after it."
Brandon shook his head, and then exhaled loudly. "OK, I'll say it. I think Alex is 18. I think MI6 is sending a man, women, or men into this country not because of secrets he has, but because he is the secret."
DC scoffed.
Brandon shook his head. He was certain of this theory now. "He was used as a kid, as incredibly as that sounds. I think Gregorovich knows the truth about how old Alex is, and he knows how valuable he is going to be in blackmailing secret service agencies, and that's why he keeps bluffing about letting Alex go. He's not going to let Alex go because he's valuable, and if we don't rescue Alex then he's going to be in for a world of pain, and eventually death, if the agencies don't make a deal with the mafia. I can't let that happen to him. He's a good kid. Yeah, I don't really want to go against the Russian mafia. I have a sister at home that depends on me since our parents are, well, as I've mentioned, violent alcoholic dicks. But I can't leave Alex hanging."
Ayad frowned. "I don't agree, but that's why I'm staying. I need to know the truth, and I'm going to rescue Pleasure so I can wrangle his life story out of him with my bare hands."
Harris signed. "Well, I think we can definitely confirm our assumption that Alex was former MI6, but I agree with Ayad that the child soldier bit is a stretch."
"Are you staying?" DC asked.
"I don't know." Harris shrugged. "I honestly don't. We have another few hours to decide, and I might take until the last second. This unit is like a brotherhood to me, and I don't want to leave any man behind. But I also don't want to leave my family behind."
"I can't do it," DC said. "I'm sorry, but no. This is politics of the worst kind. The longer I stay in Russia, the longer I worry I'm going to end up in a Russian prison island. This country is dangerous for special ops, and I regret coming here. I'm sorry for Alex, and godspeed to everyone staying, but I'm going home."
Sylvester nodded. "I am too. I want to know about Alex, but I doubt I can do anything more than the armed men involved in Russian special forces, with the extra intel they have. We've been sitting here gathering pet theories about Alex, but the truth is that's all they are. Pet theories. Even if they were right, Alex couldn't tell us. He'll have signed the Official Secrets Act, or Patriots Act, or whatever they call the thing in Britain."
"It's your decision," Harris said. He signed heavily. "Although I can't agree with you more, DC. I regret coming here. And I'm willing to bet Alex does even more than us."