Deep Sleep (Devin Gray #1)(66)

“Exactly. She nosed around the lakes for several years, but never located it,” said the general.

“Remind me again why we didn’t kill her years ago?”

“Because she was kicked out of the CIA for obsessing over a possible Russian sleeper conspiracy. We were afraid that her untimely death might trigger a serious look into her theory,” said the general. “And we never got any real indication that she’d uncovered any of the FIREBIRD families outside of the two names she had been given. She’d vanish for weeks at a time, but nobody reported anything unusual. Not even Wilson.”

“I think we might have underestimated her,” said Pichugin.

“On some level, yes. Which brings me to the worst-case scenario, which I don’t believe is in play—but we have to consider,” said the general. “Kozlov gave her the whole list.”

“I don’t think so,” said Pichugin. “The CIA would have taken a list like that seriously. They would have investigated the families, like the other two, and determined they had a serious Russian sleeper agent problem on their hands. There’s no indication that this occurred. Helen Gray was working alone when she kidnapped Wilson.”

“Agreed. I think we need to assume that Helen Gray discovered Wilson on her own years ago, based on some publicly available connection to one of the two names Kozlov provided,” said the general. “And that she eventually figured out the greater pattern that the CIA overlooked—the kids. She could start a list of politicians or government types that fit the age group and work backward.”

“No evidence of grandparents,” said Pichugin.

“A dead giveaway. Not conclusive, but a start,” said the general. “My guess is that she’d put together a list and wanted to run some names by Donald Wilson.”

“The timing couldn’t be worse. We’re too close to the endgame to have this unravel on us,” said Pichugin. “I want you to alert the entire FIREBIRD network. Basic surveillance and security precautions for now. We have to assume that other FIREBIRD assets have been identified by Devin Gray and his new friends.”

“I’ll instruct Gusev to send the alert when I get back to Moscow,” said the general. “We’ll also bring US National Security Agency and law enforcement support on board to locate Gray for your mercenary team.”

Gusev ran one of the most tightly guarded secrets in Russia from a nameless, ultrasecure compound on a sprawling estate west of Moscow—known only as CONTROL to the agents it directed in the United States.

“Contact Gusev from my secure line, after we finish lunch,” said Pichugin. “We need to get the ball rolling on this.”

Everything was at stake if Gray and his new friends fully unraveled their secret.





CHAPTER 33


Marnie Young sat cross-legged in one of the far corners of Helen Gray’s vault, sifting through the last of the Branson file papers. She’d been up most of the night absorbing as much of the information Helen had assembled as possible, in the order Karl Berg had recommended—which ended with the accordion file in front of her.

Rich sat next to her in the corner, his legs extended along the evidence wall. She handed him the packet she’d just finished, which he started reading without comment. Marnie had made her peace with Rich and Karl last night during their lengthy drive around Baltimore. Cleared the air might be a better description. She still intended to keep a close eye on the two of them, until they fully earned her trust. Marnie got the impression it wouldn’t take long. They seemed just as vested in getting to the bottom of what Devin’s mother had uncovered as Devin—and now Marnie.

After spending close to six hours digesting Helen Gray’s documentation, there was no doubt in her mind that the conspiracy was real, and possibly worse than Devin’s mother had believed. The double-layered attack on Devin last night demonstrated that the Russians were desperate to erase this evidence and anyone who had seen it. Now they were all targets. Something Berg said last night had stuck with her. She hadn’t known what it meant at the time, but it made perfect sense now. They’d crossed the point of no return.

She skimmed the last few packets, having seen enough. Berg’s overview last night painted a clear enough picture. They needed to find this suspected camp in the Ozarks, if it even still existed, to lend credibility to the entire conspiracy. This second generation of sleepers couldn’t have been radicalized at home. She had no doubt that their home lives were strictly regulated to ensure that they remained loyal to Mother Russia, but Helen Gray was right. The Russians would need a way to test and reinforce this loyalty.

One break in allegiance could burn the entire conspiracy down, and it was clear from the research that thirty-seven children pressed into service to the Russian Federation from birth had been murdered to maintain the program’s secrecy. The thought of it was spine-tingling. Parents had delivered their children to their executions, or at the very least looked the other way when the grim reaper came knocking.

She passed the rest of the packets to Rich.

“Seen enough?” he asked.

“Yep,” she said.

He dropped them on the pile he’d built on his lap. “Me too. The whole thing is mind-boggling, but the Branson file is just sick. They ran a brainwashing camp right in the heartland of the country, complete with firing squads and everything. Unbelievable.”