The cabin was stocked with Peter’s favorite brand of scotch and beer but short on enough food for three good eaters. Kathy and Anita went shopping for groceries in Latrobe and some colorful table cloths, lamps and throw rugs to brighten up the cabin. When Kathy and Anita returned from their shopping trip, Anita said it was her turn to feed the crime fighters, and she put together excellent angel hair spaghetti, featuring her family sauce recipe with a side of steamed asparagus. Jack found a good Chianti in his father’s collection. Anita said, “This is more like the living I’ve become used to since joining this group of warriors.”
While they were sitting around the table, Jack said, “We need to talk about how we are going to finish off the New York cell.”
Kathy said, “First, let me tell you about Yuri’s written record. It tells us a lot about the contact procedures for his New York cell. However, we don’t know, for example, if a key word or phrase goes into the personal ad contact system, or if a sequence of personal ads is used to verify the message. A personal ad could merely tell the agent to look for a package left somewhere known to both parties. In the trade we call this a dead drop. The possibilities are only limited by the imagination and experience of the people involved. I’ve seen situations when a basic system like the personal newspaper ad directed the agent to check a certain place for some sort of a signal like a chalk mark, which gives further information. The size of the mark, its shape and color, can all contain information not known by anyone else. The information on the DVD we found in Yuri’s house may not be enough.”
Jack said, “My experience is with killers on the run. If you think this guy might have been surveillance sensitive before, you should see him now. He is paranoid and being super careful. He looks different and has a different ID, living in some ‘bolt hole’ somewhere not too far away. He probably also has another place far away from his current hiding place. If he goes there, no one will ever find him.
“Right now he is wondering what the hell happened and who shopped him. He will run through all the possibilities, such as, did someone in the cell attract police attention enough for the police or FBI to have conducted a serious investigation including 24/7 surveillance? Phone taps? Bugged cars and living spaces? Eventually he will rule out all those possibilities and convince himself one of his people was working with the police. The captured cell member will be at the top of his list, followed by Yuri. He will be desperate for contact. Remember, he thinks he is under the control and protection of the Russian Intelligence Service.”
Kathy said, “Agree. I’ll search Yuri’s records again on Joseph David Olsen, or whatever he calls himself today, to see if I can find more information about him. Is he a skilled shooter? Any martial arts training? What kind of physical condition is he in for a man of some 64 years? Hobbies? Interests? Marital status? Lovers? Kids? Friends? Organizations he belongs to? Habits? Vices like drinking, smoking, drugs, little boys or girls? Those are what we need to help us find him.”
Jack smiled and said, “Spoken like a true hunter. The critical question for me is what’s Olsen’s motivation? Does he want to finish the mission or does he merely want to escape and live the rest of his life in peace?”
Kathy said, “If he’s dedicated to his mission, he’ll continue at all costs including his life. If not, he’ll just go away with his bank account. If he is a super Russian nationalist and still believes he’s being directed by the Russian spy center in Moscow, then it’s a wholly different kind of problem. He’ll try as hard as he can to carry out his mission and will be willing to kill anyone who gets in the way. His vulnerabilities make him dangerous.”
Jack said, “While you and Anita are searching Yuri’s records for a plan, I’m going to Latrobe to call Frank. I’ll take Shadow with me.”
Facts and Fictions 