Case:Black - 3. Chapter 3

Kuibyshev, Russia (Renamed Samara in 1990)

Dec. 22, 1989

19:20 hours

Anatoliy Yolkin, his wife and two daughters waited nervously in their old family dacha the Volga River. Russia was not a country known for peaceful transfers of power. In everyone there was a great fear that there would be purges like those of the October Revolution in 1917.

Yet all was quiet and Yolkin’s General had approved his leave and said, “Perhaps when you get back, sanity will have returned.”

It was quite dark when the big helicopter landed in the meadow near the house. Bonderenko arrived in high spirits. He hugged the girls and herded Yolkin family with all of their baggage to the hulking MI-25 monster of a helicopter roosting in their field.

The girls were quite excited about the prospects of a trip but Yolkin’s wife was less than thrilled. Anatoliy read her expression and yelled over the roar of the engines and rotors, “I’m sorry Irina but we have to go. It is no longer safe for party members to stay.”

She looked at her husband and his old friend and nodded. She boarded the helicopter without a word.

The MI-25 Hind flew low and slow in the expert hands of Bonderenko on the long trip toward the mountains that the old friends had fought so hard for stopping for fuel first at Arilsk in Khazakhstan and the listening post in Uzbekistan.

Pamir Mountains, Uzbeckistan

Dawn found them crossing over Afghanistan and into Pakistan where they landed at a Base in the Tribal regions.

Bonderenko picked up two large aluminum cases from the Hind, told the Yolkin family to stay put and stepped out into the blistering cold mountain air.

Khalid Naizi of the Pakistani ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) met Bonderenko on the tarmac. There were no other personnel nearby. He offered his hand and spoke the polite greeting, “Peace be with you.”

Bonderenko took his hand and replied, “And with you my friend.”

Naizi said, “May I offer you the hospitality of my base such as it is?”

Bonderenko nodded and said, “I’ve been flying all night. Some of that strong tea of yours would be quite welcome.”

The two spies went inside the base into what served as a conference room where there was hot tea. Bonderenko sat across the table from Naizi and sat the two cases on the floor.

After tea was served and the forms of politeness observed, Naizi asked, “Were you able to get everything we asked for?”

Bonderenko smiled and said, “You will have to translate it but it is all here.” He picked up one of the cases and sat it on the table. He opened the case which was crammed full of blue prints. “As requested: the 8F021 warhead and re-entry vehicle.”

Naizi’s eyes bulged. The 8F021 was the sub-munition for the Soviet R-36MP ICBM code named Satan by NATO. Each of the three warheads could strike independent targets with 2 to 5 megatons of hydrogen fury.

The Russian then put the second case on the table. “This is a bonus my friend. The Central Committee wanted a biological weapon that would cause chaos and confusion in a target area. This is what they came up with. The recipe and samples of the freeze dried virus are in this case. Naturally it is sealed and should only be opened under controlled conditions.”

The Pakistani spy’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t really interested in biological weapons but this sounded enticing. He said, “I’m not sure that we have a need for biological weapons but one’s arsenal can never be too full.”

Now it was Naizi’s turn. He put a briefcase on the table and opened it. Inside were passports, documents, cash and plane tickets. He said, “There are two Swiss accounts in the amount of two million dollars US. We have documents for your entire party and will fly you to Singapore where you will receive new documents. After a short stay in Singapore, you will fly on to Indonesia where you and Comrade Yolkin will have jobs as military advisors. “

Bonderenko sighed and said, “Thank you Khalid. I am glad that we could help each other.”

Naizi smiled and said, “So am I. We will have a bus around for your party to drive you to Karachi. You will be in Singapore before sun set.”

Bonderenko gathered the briefcase with passports and traveling money and stood. He smiled and said, “I throw in the Hind free of charge.”

Naizi nodded. He picked up the phone and said something in Pashtun.

Bonderenko was on his way out when he heard the spit of a silenced weapon.

Naizi stood over the dead Russian and shook his head.

He thought: Sorry Misha but one could never trust a traitor.