Chapter 27
Mission: OPERATION RAILWAY
Army Intelligence Detachment
Trans-Siberian Railway near Irkutsk
0800 hours Local Time, Current Date
Mungo reached for the door, ready to strike. He flung the door open, then stopped with mouth agape.
He saw a woman, aged, with wrinkles. She wore the gray uniform of a Trans-Siberian employee. She wore her gray hair in a bun at the back of her head. She pulled a small gray cleaning cart behind her.
She blinked at Mungo.
Mungo straightened. He relaxed his shoulders. He closed his mouth. In Russian, he asked, “Yes, madam?”
She nodded at the cart behind her, “This is my suite cleaning cart.”
She pointed with a head nod, “That is your rail car suite,”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“That is your clean rail car suite,” she emphasized the word “clean.” She continued, “With beds made and turned down.”
He nodded, “Uh, yes ma’am.” He silently tried to determine where the conversation was headed. He felt as if he were about to be spanked.
Quietly, but firmly she continued, “On this trip, you and your friends have passed me and my cart three times. All three times, you have ignored me. The last time you passed me, not only did you ignore me, I feared you would kill me.”
A subdued Mungo muttered, “Oh!” He remembered leaving the dining car in a state of extreme alert.
She continued, “This is my work purse.” She reached into her pocket. She withdrew a small purse. She opened it. It was empty.
“If this purse remains empty, I will not enter your suite again!”
Mungo understood. He held one hand up in a silent plea to his gray lady. Still speaking Russian, he turned to Cowboy and Dude, “Oh, my god, men! I forgot. On the Trans-Siberian Railway, it is customary to tip the maids, uh, to tip them generously if you expect to ask any favors of them!”
He raised his eyebrows at them in an unspoken plea to understand. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a medium size bill. He showed them his bill and held out his hand for theirs.
Reluctantly, each handed him a similar bill.
He turned back to the maid.
He asked, “Miss?” He requested her marital status.
She said, “Mistress.” She didn’t indicate her marital status. She definitely indicated that she was in charge.
He nodded courteously and held the bills in his hand.
She could see the bills.
He asked again, “Mistress?” He asked for her name.
She replied, “Mistress Služka.”
“Ah, Mistress Služka, let me apologize for our rude behavior, and our forgetfulness.” He handed her the three bills.
Her eyes gleamed. She did not take her eyes off the money.
He pushed the money at her.
With delight, she took the money.
He took a smaller bill from his pocket. He said, “I wonder if I could ask a favor of you?”
She watched him warily, “What kind of favor?”
He handed her the bill.
She did not move to take it.
He continued to hold the note out to her, “Would you watch our suite. There are some people on the train who want to get into our room to see what we have, and maybe take our stuff.”
She reached for the note, “Is that all you want me to do for you?”
“Well, if you could come and tell us if it happens, we would appreciate it.”
She asked, “How will I recognize these people?”
“Uh, well, we think they are Korean.”
“Yes,” she nodded, “There are quite a few in this car.”
She took the proffered cash. She nodded her head once, “I will do it,” she paused, “If there are more of these for me.”
He nodded, “There will be more, Mistress Služka, there will be more.”
She bowed her head toward him, turned and left.
He closed the door. He turned to Cowboy and Dude. He remarked, “Well, men, we have at least one other person our side on this train.” Then, wryly, he added, “Even if we had to buy her friendship.”
Cowboy muttered, “Yeah, until Jagwi and his crew offer her more.”
“Oh, god, I hope not!”
“I guess we’ll have to play that by ear when the time comes!”
His Satphone rang.
He looked at it. He said, “That’s strange. Usually, we send and receive text messages. Let’s see who it is!”
He spoke into his phone, “This is Kehur.” He used his code name for the mission.
Spence answered, “Kehur, this is Control!”
“Yes sir!"
Mungo paused, “Sir! Are we able to talk in the clear on a Satphone?”
“Yes, Kehur, our tech specialist created a device that pings listeners and tells us if someone is listening.”
His phone pinged the line.
He intoned, “Just like that! That tells me you are the only other listener on the line.”
Mungo exclaimed, “That’s great, sir! How can I help you?”
“Alright, listen up! ELINT tells us that the North Korean dictator has ordered General Jagwi to leave the train at the first stop that has international flights. That should be tomorrow, late. He has ordered him to go to Mogadishu to find and acquire the Mogadishu dictator’s nuclear device.”
Spence emphasized, “We assume that most of his staff will go with him. We know for sure that he has at least one body double. What we do not know for sure is if he has two…or more.”
Confused, Mungo asked, “So, where does that leave me and my two men?”
“I want the three of you to stay on the train. I want you to try and find out if Jagwi has another body double, or helpers, on the train. If there is another, I want you, with extreme prejudice, to prevent, by any means possible, the transfer of Russian nuclear matter to him…or them… preferably before they get anywhere near it!”
Mungo paused as he considered Spence’s orders, “So, if we find another body double…or helpers…we should take him out ASAP?”
“Yes, that would be my advice to you! Listen! Let me give you some help. If you are unable to find the body double, let me give you the contact information for Piotr Pirsov. He keeps up with the clandestine sale of Russian nuclear material in Moscow. He should be able to help you with the proposed location of any and all sales of nuclear matter.”
Mungo wrote the information. Spence imparted further wisdom and completed the call.
Mungo called the other two to his side, “Okay, guys! Orders have been given. Our work is cut out for us. General Jagwi and coterie Have been ordered to leave the train for Mogadishu. Uh, all except maybe a body double…and maybe helpers.”
Dude exulted, “Great! We get to leave this damned train!”
Cowboy added, “I’m glad to get away from these weirdos.”
Mungo corrected them, “The weirdos are leaving. We’re staying.”
He paused, then he muttered, “Maybe it’s ‘the others are leaving. We weirdos are staying!”
He held up a hand, “Hang on before you start asking questions.”
Then haltingly, he continued, “The head man wants us to stay on the train and to watch for a second… or…third person…or more…one or more of which who is supposed to be a Jagwi body double. This second or third person…or persons… is suspected of being the ones who will consummate the purchase of the nuclear device… or devices.”
Cowboy was the first to speak, “Lemme see if I understand this! The woman, with the granny, and her mind-numbing perfume are leaving the train, right?”
Mungo nodded, “Part of the Jagwi group, as far as we know!”
“And we’re supposed find, and knock off one or more body doubles of Jagwi, and/or helpers?”
Again, Mungo nodded, “Yep!”
Cowboy grinned, “Oh, hell yes! Let’s find them, and kill’em all!”
Nonplused, Mungo mumbled, “That’s…that’s very sanguine of you!”
“I don’t care who I have to kill, as long as I don’t have to deal with that woman.”
Dude asked, “You mean I don’t have to fight any more ‘Kung Fu’ Koreans?”
Mungo nodded, “I suppose not! Come on, you guys. You’re treating this situation like it’s some kind of gift. Not too long ago, you weren’t too enthusiastic about killing Jagwi, or anyone else!”
Cowboy said, “Yeah, but now, it’s personal.”
Dude agreed, “Damn straight!”
Mungo muttered, “Hmm!"
“We still have to find him…or them…and come up with a plan to take them out and implement it! And we don’t even know where to start looking!"
Spence rubbed his hands together, “Alright, let’s everyone sit down and put on your thinking caps. We’re going to brainstorm!”
They had been brainstorming for an hour. They had considered “maybes,” some “what ifs,” several “maybe nots,” and one major “how do you track something when you don’t know where it is?”
Their discussion was interrupted.
The door resounded with three strong knocks!
Dude said, “I recognize that knock.”
Mungo whispered, “How could you? We don’t have any allies on this train.
Dude whispered, “Maybe, we’ve bought one!”
Mungo stood up. He whispered urgently, “Get ready for some action, men!”
They stood.
Mungo made ready to open the door.
Dude asked, in a stage whisper, “With whom? Mistress Služka?”
Mungo paused with his hand on the door knob. He said, “No. With…”
He flung the door open, He started to complete his sentence, “No. With… Mistress Služka?” He stood amazed.
Remembering himself. He beckoned her inside the suite.
Her eyes were red.
Dude asked, “Why are her eyes red?”
Looking more closely at her, Mungo asked her, “Mistress Služka! Why are your eyes red?”
She seemed distracted.
She replied, “My eyes? Oh, my eyes! Yes! I just heard on my cellphone that the little Red Nero of the North has said that war is inevitable between North Korea and the United States.”
Mungo commiserated with her. He said, “Whoa! Calm down a minute. Here sit down.”
He spoke to Dude, “Frenk Pevets, Get her some water,”
Then he asked again, “Tell me again, what is wrong?”
She replied, “That war mongering dictator of North Korea, the Little Red Nero, has just announced that War is inevitable.”
She sighed, “I hate it because I’ve already lived through one threat of nuclear annihilation between Russia and the United States. I don’t want to live through another. He’ll bring the world down around his ears and ours too.”
Mungo sought calm her, “So, that’s why you call him a Nero!”
“Yes, he’s insane!”
Dude said, “Whoa, an insane little Red Nero!” He handed her a glass of water.
She nodded her head. Then she said, “But, that’s not what I came to tell you.”
“Oh, really?”
“No!”
“Your Asian neighbor, who, by the way, is North Korean, too, has his bags packed, him and his crew!”
Instantly attentive, Mungo queried, “He and all his crew?”
She said emphatically, “Yes, All his crew. Well…she paused, “That is all, except the triplets.”
Mungo raised his eyebrows, “Triplets of the General? All of the triplets are staying?”
“Yes. Um, well, no. One of the three is packed! Two of the three are not packed! Perhaps, they are to remain behind!”
Mungo turned to his two soldiers. He reached into his own pocket and said, “Give her some help, men!”
They took out cash and handed it to her.
She took the cash gleefully.
She stood to leave. She said, “I don’t know if it’s related, but, the grandmother and beautiful granddaughter that I saw meeting with them, are not packed.”
Cowboy recoiled visibly.
Mungo stood and muttered “They are not packed!” Hmm!” He took Mistress Služka by the elbow and escorted her to the door. As she left, he consoled her, “We made it through the first détente with Khrushchev and Kennedy, and with others! We can make it through The Little Red Nero and the Americans.”
Služka tilted her head with a negative cast, and she left.
Mungo closed the door and stood leaning against it with his back,
He raised a forefinger, “Number one: we now know how many body doubles are on this train with General Jagwi!”
Dude offered, “If she’s not lying, and if General Jagwi didn’t offer her more money.”
Mungo ignored his comment and continued, “Number two: I’ll stake my professional reputation that Služka is not lying.”
Dude replied, “Just offering an opinion. I mean, hey! In Chicago we would…”
Mungo teased him, “As you would day in Chicago, ‘Forgiddaboutit!’”
Cowboy asked, “Are we going to kill the grandmother and the woman, too?”
“Cowboy, I’m starting to think he may have arranged things so that rather than make the nuclear pick-up himself, and to avoid being shot at himself, he has authorized someone else to do it...maybe multiple someone elses!”
Cowboy squinted at Mungo, “Could be. I don’t know! Do you really think they are the ones who are supposed to handle the nuclear transaction?”
Mungo nodded his head, “That strikes me as exactly General Jagwi’s Style. He’s more likely to have a surrogate of himself…or two…or four… to handle the transaction!”
He continued enumerating points, “Number three: also, I believe Služka because her information confirms what we were told by Colonel Spence! And you know that he gets his information from the highest places!” Now, I believe it’s clear. We have to be on the lookout for any movement by two of General Jagwi’s triplets, and we need to keep track of the grandmother and granddaughter. Even the two women could be the transfer agents!”
Cowboy exclaimed, “Please don’t ask me to watch for them.”
Mungo nodded his head as he stood considering Cowboy. He said, “Yes, I think you would be the perfect candidate to watch for them.”
Cowboy began backing across the suite, “Oh, no! Not me!”
Mungo countered, “Oh, yeah! You are the only one of us who is least likely to become complacent or be distracted by extraneous things.”
Mungo waved for cowboy, come back across the room, “You are more likely to be hyper attentive to any hint of their approach to our location, and, I’m betting you could follow their trail because of her floating essence.”
Cowboy had a sick look on his face.
Dude stood beside him grinning.
Mungo called his name, “Dude, I want you to watch for any movement of the Korean soldiers with General Jagwi’s group. If you see them moving, you can be certain Jagwi is on the move also. They will probably run interference for him.”
Dude’s grin slid from his face.
Mungo continued, “I doubt that we’ll see much movement before we get to Krasnoyarsk. There is no international airport between here and there. Now, we know what we have to do with General Jagwi’s two triplets! But with the grand-ma and granddaughter thrown into the mix, how do we connect the dots with them?
“Dude?”
Dude shrugged, “Kill them…somehow?”
“Cowboy?”
Cowboy nervously rubbed his chin with the back of his hand, “Neutralize them before they get too close to us?” He waved a forefinger in the air, “Before they get close enough to envelope us with chemical warfare pheromones.”
Mungo objected, “Not good enough men. We’ve got to have some solid courses of action that we can dissect and war-game with regard to eliminating either the Jagwi doubles or whomever his helpers are, if they are the women! We have to consider offing the doubles on the train, if possible. We have to consider how to do it so that it either looks accidental, or maybe like suicide.”
He paced back and forth as he tried to formulate a plan of action, “We have to approach the elimination of the women from the same angle.
He stopped and held one finger, “If we are unable to eliminate them on the train, we’ll need a plan for doing it among the confusion of the train stop at Krasnoyarsk. That will be tomorrow.” He continued to pace.
He paused and held up two fingers, “If not there, then in some out of the way place along the way or in Moscow.”
He held up three fingers, “However, be aware that in Moscow, it will be easier for the fake Jagwis to practice their spy craft of avoiding being followed. You know that Jagwi will have his doubles trained in that art.”
He shook himself and held up four fingers, “So, let’s sit down and make some solid plans if it takes us all day. Remember the things our instructors taught us to do when we find ourselves in a nine-line-bind.”
He looked at the two soldiers, “Okay, Cowboy, if you find an opportunity to take out Grandma and Granddaughter Pheromone, and make it look like anything but murder, how could you do it?”
“Okay, I can’t poison them because we didn’t bring poison with us on the trip. “
He paused, “I can’t shoot them because their deaths would look deliberate, and the law, in Russia, would shut down the train and leave us open to discovery.”
He paused in thought, “If I had poison, I could, perhaps, arrange for their deaths to look like a suicide pact. We were told to be creative, to use whatever is at hand to get out of a desperate situation. But try as I might, the best I can come up with is drowning them in a bucket of mop water.”
Dude grinned, pointed a finger at Cowboy, then he added, “Getting both of their heads onto the bucket at the same time would be difficult. But you might try getting them to drink the mop water. No, wait! You’d have to let ten thousand Russian soldiers wash their feet in the mop water first. Then it might work.”
Mungo groused, “Come on, you guys. I know the experts say that a little levity in a difficult situation somehow frees creativity, but let’s stay on task!”
Dude continued, “If there was a way that we could get them to kill each other, that would be the perfect solution.”
Cowboy nodded, “That would just leave the single triplet.”
Mungo agreed, “You mean have two of the triplets kill the grandmother and granddaughter! I’ll drink to that! But the third one `is leaving the train.”
Dude raised one finger, “Ah hah! Let me ask you something! You know how medicine prescription containers have a warning that says something about not drinking alcohol while using the medicine because it multiplies the strength of it, right? What if we could find the container that has their pheromone liquid in it? We would need to inject some vodka into it!”
Getting into his idea, he continued, “What would happen if we added alcohol, say, some Vodka to it? I don’t think they drink their solution. I think they spray it on themselves, and it exudes from them.”
Cowboy agreed, “Yeah, a couple of sprays of that, and everybody in the room, I mean male and female, would be in danger. They would be seducing everybody to death! I wonder what the effects would be if they injected themselves with it?”
Grinning, Cowboy and Dude exchanged high fives.
Mungo ordered, “Come on, men! Let’s stay on task!”
Cowboy complained, “Come on, General! Let’s talk about it” Cowboy referred to Mungo’s cover identity when he called him General.
Dude added, “General, at least let’s war-game it.”
Disbelieving, Mungo exclaimed, “You gotta be shitting me!”
Cowboy shrugged, “Come on General It’s the only good idea we’ve come up with all day!”
Dude added, “Yeah, and it’ll be good practice, and maybe something else will come out of planning that we can use better!”
Mungo rubbed his upper in thought. Finally, he relented, “Okay, we’ll do it. We’ll do it because you guys will be no good to me until you get it out of your systems. Okay, here we go! Where will the Vodka come from?”
Cowboy offered, “We could ask the train lady.”
Mungo muttered, “Nah. Let’s leave her out of this.”
Cowboy paused, “Well, I do carry a couple of those little minibar vodka bottles in my travel bag all the time.”
Mungo said, “Hmm! That’s good to know!”
Cowboy groaned, “Oops!”
Mungo asked, “How will you know when you’ll be able to get into their suite to get to their little bottle of joy juice?”
Cowboy explained, “That whole group seems to go to the supper meal together. We can wait until they go. Then, when we’re sure they’ve left their suite, we can sneak in and add the alcohol!”
“How many are in their group?”
“Hmm! Not sure! Dude? How many Kung Fu Korean soldiers are in their group?”
“Two! No, wait. Two that I’m sure of, maybe two more!” He nodded, “Possibly four!”
Mungo said, “So, we have General Jagwi, his enlisted Aide de Camp, the two women, the drunk Korean from the bar, his woman partner, and the old timer who was with them, and who else?”
Dude added, “Don’t forget the Jagwi triplets and their enlisted Aides de Camp.”
Mungo summed up the Korean party, “So, we need to see seventeen people pass by our observation post before we can act! Is that right?”
Dude and Cowboy nodded their heads.
“Where are you going to observe from?”
Dude asked, “How about we leave the door open a crack and watch them from here.”
Mungo complained, “That’s really not a very cool idea. It lets them know they are being watched from here and will make them suspicious. You really don’t want that.”
Cowboy asked, “Where else is a location common to all of us, other than the latrine?”
“That’s easy! The dining car is a place where we all come together three times a day”
“Maybe so, but they’ll know we’ll have our eyes on them.”
“True, but that’s where they’ll expect us to be watching them. So, we’ll watch them!”
“Hey! That’s perfect!”
Dude agreed, “I think he’s right! We could go to the dining car early and have our meal. When the Jagwi crew arrives, we could count them to be sure they are all in the dining car,”
Cowboy nodded, “Right! I could slip out, go to our car, go to the women’s suite, make sure the coast is clear, call you,” he nodded at Dude, “tell you where I am, and then you come to their suite and keep watch for interference.”
Dude grinned, “I have a better idea! I could come to that car and stand at the end of the hallway near the doorways between the two cars so that I could see any of them coming, and if I did see a problem, I could call you to warn you!”
Mungo nodded, “I could wait there in the dining car, keep track of General Jagwi’s group if they start to move around. Then, I could alert you and give you some advance warning.”
Cowboy rubbed his forehead, “It sounds workable. Are we leaving anything out?”
“Where will they likely keep the mixture?”
Dude replied, “If they plan on using it before they depart the train, they might have it out where it’s readily available!”
Cowboy nodded in agreement.
Mungo queried, “And if they don’t plan on using it before departing the train, where would it be?”
Cowboy shrugged, “Probably in their luggage!”
Mungo thought for a moment. He nodded. He asked, “If they discover you, what’s the worst thing they can do to you?”
Cowboy blinked, “Kill me, I guess. Depends on who would catch me! One of the women, or maybe both of them, I could handle.”
“What about two Korean soldiers?”
“I might handle one. If we know two are coming my way, and if Dude knows it, he could come and help!”
Dude nodded sagely.
“What’s the next worst thing they could do to you?”
“I guess, if they caught me and held me, they could turn me over to the authorities. That would expose all of us. We’d be shot as spies!”
Mungo added, “Or hanged as spies! So, let’s get serious about planning!”
Mungo motioned for the two of them to gather around him, “Okay communication! In order not to give myself away when I call you, I’ll do this: instead of talking into the phone, which would give away our plans, I’ll dial you. I can do that without being seen. I’ll put your numbers on speed dial. I’ll put it on speaker phone so I can hear the ring tones. One ring on your phones means some of them are moving around, headed out of the dining car.”
He added, “Two rings on your phones means they’ve left the dining car and are entering the next car.”
He finished his thought, “Three rings on your phones means they’re definitely headed your way. Get out of their suite, now!”
Mungo looked at Dude, “Dude, you can use the same ring for anything I miss from your location.”
He asked, “Do you men have a designated ring tone for my calls? If not, set one now!”
They both coded their phones. They practiced their rings to gauge the quality of the sounds.
Mungo continued, “Cowboy, set a designated ring tone for a call from Dude so you’ll know who’s calling.”
Cowboy coded his phone.
“I’ll enter your numbers in speed dial so that they won’t see me dialing and deduce my intent!”
“Now, where’s your rally point?”
Dude said, “I’ll slip into the latrine at the far end of our car to keep from being seen.”
Cowboy nodded, “Good idea. If I can get out before they find me, I’ll head for our suite.”
Mungo asked, “If you don’t get out in time, what then?”
Cowboy sighed deeply. He acted as if a rope around were around his neck, and with his right hand he acted as if he were pulling the rope straight up. He said, “Jesse James!”
Dude corrected him, “Jesse James was shot from behind, or so the story goes!”
Mungo moved ahead, “After they’ve returned to their suite, I’ll call and give the order to withdraw to our suite.” Now, that’s one mission planned! Let’s get serious and choose a different approach that has a better chance to succeed.”
Dude made a wry face.
Cowboy, shook his head and shrugged.
Mungo began tossing ideas out, most of them met with silence from the other two men.
At the end of the day Mungo admitted defeat. He complained, “It looks like we’ll be going with Cowboy’s routine of searching the room and luggage. But we’re sure as hell not going to try to drown them in a mop bucket.”
Cowboy and Dude rubbed their hands together.
Mungo said, “Let’s coordinate our phone signals and then wash up for dinner and the mission.”