Chapter 28

Palm Tree Villa, Saddle Bay Point, B.V.I.

Armis looked around the crowded table in the main dining room of the Palm Tree Villa. There were the six mercs of the self-named ‘Armis Brigade:’ Billy Joe Hawkins (team leader), Carolyn Osgood (team 2^nd in charge), Abe Kennedy, Avis MoKenna, Jarvis McCutcheon, and Devon Stormwinder. Also present were members (and former members) of SEAL Team 9: Samuel Redstone (Lt. Cmdr., ret.), Robert Melchior (Lt. soon to be retired), Raven Dubois (Senior Master Chief, ret.), Arthur Thornton (Senior Master Chief, ret.) and 7 other ex-SEALs. Attending by video comm was ‘Michael Lenti’, a.k.a. Io.

Art Thornton started with a question, before the meeting actually started. “That op in Pakistan and the posting on the website – that was us?” He looked around and got some blank looks in return. “I thought so; nobody here was involved. That was a good job by the Hand of Mohammed, eh?”

Armis: “Well, Mohammed was a wise man, I hear.” She paused to look around; she got back some smiles. “We’re going start doing some stuff that might be officially outside the legal limits.”

Dubois: “START? [laugh] We all read about how you’re taking the money from the 1%ers. Perhaps we should consider the former President’s suicide. And how a bunch of people around the world have just ‘disappeared’.”

Armis: “Oh. They didn’t just disappear. I arranged for them to die. They were bad people. I’ll understand if anybody wants out. It may seem pretty arbitrary and cold blooded.”

Dubois: “Quit? Not me. It’s just getting to the part where we’re actually doing what needs to be done. But that’s just me. I’ll let others speak for themselves.”

One of the SEALs said, “We ain’t leavin’. Raven’s right. It’s just getting good.”

Another said, “Yeah. Don’t worry Armis. We’re all with ya.”

Armis: “First, some details. Lt. Melchior will be team leader with Hawkins as his XO. I’ll leave the further rankings to them, but I don’t want a lot of regimentation. Sam Redstone will be the overall commander, but I don’t expect him to be available for much work. He’ll be on special assignment with me.”

Dubois: “Oooo. Teacher’s pet. Sucking up to the new boss, boss?”

Redstone: “That’s right, darkie. Gotta know where the bread is buttered.”

And he threw a blueberry muffin across the table at Dubois, who was laughing. B.T.W., she caught the muffin about three inches from her face. Everyone around the table chuckled or smiled. Even the always dour Jarvis McCutcheon (former British SAS) said, “So, it’s to be that kind of group, eh? We’ll have to lay in some scones. This is the BRITISH Virgin Islands, after all.”

Armis: “Good. That’s settled. Let’s figure out how we’re gonna deal with Sgonski.”

****

Kalmykia, Russia -- March 12, 2064

Extending some 400 miles northwest of Lagan on the coast of the Caspian Sea is the Republic of Kalmykia, a ‘federal subject’ of Russia. It is a region of about 30,000 square miles with a population of only 300,000. It is sparsely populated: only about 10 people per square mile, with about 60% being Buddhist. It is the only majority Buddhist region in Europe.

About in the center of Kalmykia is the town of Dolan, and on a small road off Dolan’s center is a dacha belonging to Ivan Sgonski. He was born to the north-east of Dolan, near Volgograd on the banks of the Volga River. He came up through the Russian army, rising to the rank of Colonel before he arabesqued to politics, eventually becoming President of the entire Russian Federation. He’d been in power a decade and had amassed ‘only’ 240 million dollars in various Swiss accounts. He was single and was rumored to be gay – a secret that was closely held. Very closely, since he projected a he-man image in the notoriously anti-gay Russian society.

The dacha was very much like an expensive prototypical Swiss chalet. It had two bedrooms, a dining/living room, a video room, a game room, and a kitchen. The servants and security people were housed in surrounding buildings, none closer than 100 yards. Only Georgi Usblontev lived in the dacha, presumably in the second bedroom. Nominally, he was Sgonski’s valet. Georgi, of course, was really Sgonski’s long-time lover.

On the chilly early morning of March 12, 2064, Armis, Sam Redstone, and Abe Kennedy appeared in the kitchen of Sgonski’s dacha. Armis beamed out and returned 2.5 seconds later with Raven Dubois and Carolyn Osgood. She left almost immediately before returning with two other ex-SEALs. They were all connected by the enhanced comm connection managed by Io.

Georgi stumbled into the kitchen about 0630 local time, in brief silk boxers, and was confronted with six assault rifles pointed at his abdomen, and Armis standing behind them saying, in whispered Russian (produced by Io), “Be quiet and you won’t be harmed. We won’t harm Ivan either.” The comm units provided a simultaneous translation to the six camo clad soldiers.

Redstone said (in Russian), “Come in. Sit down here.” Georgi was a fairly well muscled 39-year-old, former member of the Spetsnaz, and would gladly have fought one or more of the intruders, but he knew when he was outnumbered and outgunned. He strolled into the kitchen and sat. A SEAL put an automatic rifle on the back of his neck, while Kennedy strapped his wrists to the arms of the chair with plastic ties. Redstone said, “Only to be sure you don’t get into any trouble.” Redstone’s Russian was rusty, but sufficed.

Thornton and one of the SEALs stayed at right angles and three paces away, rifles aimed at Georgi, as the other five went down the hall to the bedroom. There they encountered a sleeping Ivan Nikolaiev Sgonski. He was nude and sprawled across the king-sized bed -- though in Russia it was ‘Tsar-sized.’