“Her and her brother’s,” Seichan reminded them.
The room quieted, reminded that Valya’s grudge ran deeper than simply thwarted global ambitions. There had once beenanotherwho carried the other half of that black sun, only across his right cheek and brow—Valya’s twin brother. Four years ago, Anton Mikhailov had been killed during a Sigma operation. He had died helping them.
Still, Seichan knewwhoValya truly blamed for the loss of her sibling.
Gray cleared his throat. “If Valya’s holed up in Russia, it will be hard for us to reach her, especially with the current political climate.”
“Perhaps,” Painter said, “but having already suspected who we might be dealing with, I took some preemptive countermeasures.”
“What do you mean?” Seichan asked.
Before the director could answer, a commotion erupted at the doorway.
Jason Carter burst into the room. “We’ve got trouble.”
3
May 10, 11:30P.M. MSK
Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast
Captain First Class Sergei Turov waited for the summons. As the commander of the White Sea Naval Base, he had an expansive view from his office of the three shipyards, which glowed through the ice fog of the cold night.
As he stood vigil, frustration warred within him. It was written across the reflection of his face. His ice-gray eyes remained pinched. Deep lines furrowed his brow, under hair that had gone an ashy white. He was dressed in a starched uniform of navy blue. A matching cap sat on the desk behind him.
For the past seven years, the base had been under his charge. He had started his career as a submariner with the Northern Fleet, as a navigational engineer. Forgoing family and a home life, he had risen steadily in rank over the past decades—even as the Soviet Union fell and the Russian Federation formed.
And look where I stand today.
Since taking command, he had seen the base at the edge of the White Sea expand under his leadership. When he had first arrived, the station had housed dozens of submarines and scores of surface ships, all spread across two shipyards. During his tenure, he had built a third yard. He also oversaw the testing of ice-hardened watercraft, amphibious vehicles, and radar systems. Yet, it wasn’t just hardware. A large section of the base was now devoted to training the Arctic Brigade—seamen,marines, and infantry who had to be just as battle-hardened to the ice and cold.
I did all of this.
While he should be satisfied, he rankled at the lack of recognition. The prior leader of the White Sea Naval Base had advanced to vice admiral after only four years and now commanded the entire Northern Fleet.
Yet, here I languish.
And he knew why.
Four summers ago, he had participated in a massive war exercise called Ocean Shield. It had involved bases across the northern coast, encompassing hundreds of ships and three hundred thousand troops. But during the exercise, an engineering mishap aboard an Akula-class submarine had sunk the boat. All aboard had been lost. While the incident had been covered up, the blame fell on his shoulders—undeservedly so. Two months prior, the same sub had undergone repairs in his new shipyard. He had urged for the boat to be held back from the exercise, but Vice Admiral Glazkov had demanded it be included. Afterward, like the sinking of the sub, his reluctance to dispatch the sub vanished from all records.
The incident became a black mark on his record. All because of that bastard Glazkov.
Exasperated, he struck the window with a fist. A ring on his finger banged sharply against the glass. He lowered his arm and rubbed the band of white gold.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he stared down at the heraldic image stamped on the ring, of a sword raised across a pair of wings. He also pictured the inscription engraved on the band’s inner surface.
A??????? ????????
Those two words—Arkangel Society—held the promise of a brighter future.
Both for him and for all of Russia.
And maybe a way to right an injustice.
A knock on his door drew his attention. His deputy chief of staff, Oleg Ulyanin, entered and gave a slight bow of his head.
“I heard from Archpriest Sychkin,” Oleg stated. “He says he has finished with the interrogation.”
