She could hear water dripping, feel the dampness as Joan slowly regain consciousness. Her spy sense told her not to open eyes or give any signs of stirring until she could evaluate the situation. First to review her own condition, a throbbing headache, hands and legs bound and she was half sitting on hard stone slab leaning against a cold damp brick wall. The air chilled and musty smelling indicating they were underground. She last remembered being hit from behind with something hard and everything going black. The side of her face was stinging, maybe from where she hit hard the rough floor of the tunnel. She couldn't feel any other scraps and cuts, thinking who ever had hit her only wanted her out of the way, that she was not the target for the attack. Very carefully she slightly opens one eye only enough to see blurry visions of her soundings. There sat on a chair was a male guard, with a warm jacket and gun across his lap. To fuzzy for her to make out what type of gun it was but what difference did it make, all guns can kill when someone pulls the trigger. It has been years since Joan was in this type of predicament and all the visions of the down side of being a spy came rushing back.
Her thoughts were of Arthur and Mac, that little piece of heaven she had been blessed with and now her selfish longing to return to the field was costing her. Trying to keep her wits, there was reasons to return home, very precious reasons and she digging deep into her memory bank to draw on all her previous knowledge of survival came back. Observe, analyze, find the weakness and be cooperative until the right opportunity came. Strike with deadly force as there probably is only one chance. Last, pray.
Her body aching all over from being on a hard surface for a long time in the same position, without moving and cold. Joan begins to shiver as the cold dampness was sending chills thru her sore body. A woman's voice broke the dead silence and in Russian, "I think she is coming too."
Another voice, this time a man with a raspy sound but not the guard, "Better give her a tranquilizer, we don't need any damage goods on our hands."
Damaged goods, that was a welcome note, she was being held for a trade of some sort but what. Joan open her eyes to see a young woman, maybe in her late twenties with a blanket coming toward her. "She is cold, see how she is shaking. This should help keep her warm."
"Good thinking. Here, the needle is ready." The male voice was heard but Joan couldn't find the source. Trying to get a good image of the area before she knew nap time was coming and found the room was indeed an alcove underground with oozing groundwater leaking through the cracks in the walls and disappearing between more cracks in the floor. In the corner was a man bundled in blankets and also restrained, she could only guess it to be Stanislav Ostrovsky, the high ranking Russian bureaucrat she was to help with his defection.
The woman was quickly back with a syringe and the shot was almost painless, the woman had a gentle touch was Joan's last thought before slipping into unconsciousness.
Pulling off his head set, rubbing his hand over his mouth and swallowing hard, Auggie couldn't reasonably come to terms with what he had just received. It had to be verified and he made a phone call to nothing, the phone was dead.
"Eric, come in here."
"Yes sir boss, what's up?"
"I want you to review this latest communiqué and check its validity and double check it." Auggie putting his head set back on, "Also I want all the recent movement in the area, I mean everything. I also need a trace on this phone number." Auggie keying the number on his computer screen.
"Right on it." Eric could hear the urgency in Auggie's voice.
Auggie also checking border movements and suspicious passports of known Russian FSB agents. His search paid off, he got six hits and now needs to track their whereabouts. Keyed more information into his computer, Eric came back with the bad news. Joan was last seen on surveillance cameras entering the Royal Castle and buying a tour ticket. It would take time to run and facial recognitions on the people entering the castle or near the area.
"Good Eric thanks..."
"The number you wanted me to trace, any reason besides it has been disconnected and out of service."
"You know who it belongs to?" Auggie asked.
"Yeah, Neal Simpson on our Russian desk." Eric now becoming full of questions, "You think he has something to do with Joan's disappearance?"
"I have had my suspicions. Check all the calls on the phone from the time we got word Stanislav Ostrovsky wanted to come to the US."
"I'm back at it boss." Eric knowing the urgency of the trouble.
"Ok Eric and stay on it. Also find the whereabouts of these six FSB agents."
Auggie calling personnel department asking about Neal Simpson.
"Sorry Mr. Anderson, he quit abruptly yesterday reciting health reasons." Came a perky voice of the woman Auggie was talking with.
Next Auggie called Internal Affairs for a pick up order on Neal but knew it would be useless. Good, they were already on it when he quit, you just don't quit the CIA and walk out without answering a few questions and routine polygraph.
Auggie reaching for his cane to take that hated long walk down the hall to Arthur's office. As he made his way down the hall, he couldn't help to think he had missed something, some tiny action he needed to take. Auggie spy craft is excellent and he wouldn't be having these doubts with any other agent but this was Joan Campbell, his friend and boss.
As he opens the door to Arthur's outer office, Mitch was sitting at her desk reading some documents when she saw Auggie, who never came to just visit, she knew something was wrong.
"It's Joan isn't it?"
"I'm afraid so. Is Arthur in?" Auggie voice was low, close to a whisper.
"He's meeting with his department heads but I'll clear the room for you." Mitch picked up the phone, "We have circumstances that needs your immediate attention without the eyes and ears of our managers."
Auggie standing to one side to allow the 'Dirty Half Dozen' as they are called, sans Joan to depart Arthur's office. Inhaling deeply, Auggie slowly walks in and closes the door behind him.
"What's so important Auggie that couldn't wait?" Arthur taking his seat behind the large dark colored desk.
"I am almost certain we have a double agent on our Russian desk and now vanished into the wind."
"Well you know the protocol, take care of it and fill me in." Arthur looking at Auggie and seeing concern written all over his face. "That's not what you came to tell me is it?"
"Joan didn't make her pick up rendezvous point. She is MIA." There was no other way to gently tell Arthur the bad news. "I'll got my researchers on all the intel from there trying to locate anything helpful. She was last seen entering the Lublin Royal Castle, the pre-assigned meeting point with Stanislav Ostrovsky."
An eerie hush fell over the office, Arthur slumped back in his chair, eyes close. Auggie had prepared for all types of reaction from Arthur but not this, not this dead stillness, if only he could see Arthur, a man broken, his shoulders drooping as if in defeat.
Arthur felt every inch of contentment and life drain from his body, the pure joy of knowing Joan was just down the hall in her office was gone. A state of blankness fell on him and for a second he wanted to throw things, to cause damage and inflict pain on those that had taken his wife, his best friend, this trusted colleague, the mother of his son and his lover. He knew he would have to shake all the self-pity and bring into bearing all the forces he had at his disposal to find Joan. It took Arthur several minutes to regain his normal professional self, jumping into gear to retrieve a missing agent, he stood and walked to the large screen that had live satellite images. Looking up the codes he needed and keying in the coordinates to wait. The running message across the bottom of the screen, 'Redirecting command confirmed.'
Turning to Auggie, "Use all available manpower you have and this is top-secret. No one but your group is to know Joan is missing and keep your group only to the trusted ones. Clear."
"Yes sir. What about sending agents there?"
"No." Arthur turning to look at the screen once again. "Auggie the only agent I want on the ground is Annie Walker and working only at your direction."
Again Auggie was taken back with Arthur's directive, was he missing something or was there more to this operation than a simple retrieval of a Russian defector. Lost for words, "Anything else?"
"Keep me fully updated and don't hold anything back." Arthur walking back to his desk, "Time to get moving Auggie, also convert all intel to digital for coded transmitting and thanks."
Arthur waiting until the door closed before he opened the bottom desk drawer and turn the combination lock to the safe, retrieved a phone and dialed a number.
"We have a problem which we need for you to deal with."