Near Dark (Scot Harvath #19)(34)

It was a sensible argument and though Lawlor could come up with some thin reasoning as to why someone might, it would have been a waste of their time to pursue. So, he moved on. “Okay, let’s focus on Jasinski then,” he stated. “Do you think she spoke to anyone about you or Carl?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” Harvath replied, “she was working on direct, classified orders from the SACEUR himself. Admiral Proctor had directed her not to discuss the operation with anyone else, not even her colleagues back at Polish Military Intelligence.”

“And you trust her?”

“Fully.”

“Based on what? A couple of operations in the field with her?”

Harvath shook his head. “She hates Russia with a passion. Her number one pastime at NATO headquarters has been rooting out their spies. It’s personal for her.”

“Why is it personal?”

“Because the Russians killed her husband.”

Harvath let his words hang there, knowing the effect they would have. Decades ago, Lawlor’s wife, Heide, had been killed by the Russians in Berlin. Scot, Gary, and Monika had all been dragged, unwillingly, into a horrific club.

“I’m happy to send someone to question her,” Harvath finally offered, “but I’m telling you, she didn’t give up Carl.”

Temporarily unable to speak, Lawlor waved the offer away. It wouldn’t be necessary.

It may get better, Harvath thought, watching the older man and replaying his words in his head. But the pain, obviously, will never, ever be gone. It was always going to be there, right under the surface. He was certain of it.

Harvath hadn’t had a drink since sitting on the porch with Nicholas. He was beginning to want one again, badly, and tried to ignore the urge.

“For what it’s worth,” he said, focusing on Lawlor and hoping to ease the man’s mind regarding Jasinski, “Monika had a special affinity for Carl. As Poland borders Kaliningrad, they’re in a similar situation vis-à-vis Norway and its border with Russia. She appreciated what he was willing to do for his country and there’s much of it she wants to emulate on behalf of Poland.”

Composing himself, Lawlor said, “Then that leaves us with Landsbergis of the Lithuanian VSD. Tell me about him.”

Now they were getting into dangerous, highly classified waters. Harvath wasn’t sure they should be headed in this direction.

Sensing his reluctance, Nicholas spoke up. “Gary’s clearances are all up to date. The President has authorized him to have full access to anything The Carlton Group has worked on. Nothing is off limits. You can tell him everything.”

It wasn’t until that moment that Harvath understood how much had been decided in his absence. It didn’t feel like he had been gone long, but he had been gone long enough. The world had continued to spin without him. But slowly, its gravitational pull was drawing him back.

“So, you want me to talk about the op?”

Nicholas nodded.





CHAPTER 16


As Harvath prepared to speak about the op, Nicholas activated one of the screens and pulled up a map of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

A spoil from World War II along the Baltic Sea, it was geographically cut off from Russia, pinched between NATO members Lithuania to the north and Poland to the south.

Much as it had been during the Cold War, Kaliningrad had remained a serious militarized threat, capable of hitting Scandinavia and Central Europe at a moment’s notice. It was heavily armed with air-defense missiles, antiship missiles, and surface-to-surface missiles, which enabled the Russians to engage NATO air, sea, and ground forces for hundreds of miles in all directions.

Approaching the touch panel, Harvath drew a circle around Kaliningrad with his finger. “All of the anti-NATO terror cells were being run from here by a high-ranking GRU operative. His name was Colonel Oleg Tretyakov.”

Lawlor knew the area well. “Kaliningrad. Not an easy spot to get into or out of.”

Harvath agreed. “No, it isn’t.”

“What was the op?”

“Get in, grab Tretyakov, and get back out.”

“How’d you do it?”

“Because Kaliningrad is such a heavily guarded territory, we knew normal ports of entry were off-limits, especially for me. The Russians had been given CCTV footage of me and we were certain that I’d be nailed the minute we attempted a normal border crossing. So, we decided to parachute in.

“We flew the company jet into ?iauliai International Airport in Lithuania. Carl met us there and introduced us to Landsbergis, who was his primary contact in Lithuanian State Security.

“Landsbergis runs agents into Kaliningrad on a regular basis. He not only paved the way for a U.S. Super Hercules full of gear to land at ?iauliai, but he also helped select our drop zone and arrange for a Lithuanian truck driver who moves in and out of the exclave to pick us up, get us into the capital, and then transport us back out again.”

“Did you exfil back across the border via the truck?” asked Lawlor.

Harvath shook his head. “It’s a long story, but no. We didn’t go out via Lithuania. Part of the border between Kaliningrad and Poland runs through a lake. That’s how we got out.”

“Barely got out,” Nicholas clarified.