Watcher in the Fall: Connections

Ron Townsen

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It was another sad day. The math team members began to wake up, take a quick shower and – after dressing – trudge from the barracks to the mess hall, through the cold wind that hailed the coming snow of winter. They were not old men. Most were in their late twenties or early thirties, but they looked much older and moved slowly due to the hard conditions of their existence and stress of the knowledge about their future. This pattern of their lives started not long ago, after a rumor began that a leader in their scientific community, Dr. Tim Decant, had a link to a key U.S. Department of Defense program called DARPA. Suddenly, they were not asked, but kidnapped from their offices and transported to this barracks, and they were told that their families were now hostage to their work. Not only were their lives dependent on their scientific success, but their families’ lives were too. The breakfast consisted of the typical dark, heavy bread and tea. It was only interrupted by the gunshots of an execution being held.

With each sound, the team members shook with the thought of their “non-productive” ex-teammates’ lives coming to an end and possibly the lives of their wives and children as well. The men finished their meal before heading to their team area and desks. One turned to the group and, in a whisper, commented, “We’re making little progress. You want the same fate as our comrades?” The team went back to work, arguing over the symbol transformations, each trying to give their insights, working their hardest to find a breakthrough in solving the equations. Each variation tested against actual measurements to validate or invalidate the transformations. The work continued for long hours, with constant backtracking and little progress being made.

New team members had been brought to the army base in the Ural Mountains of Russia to replace members who had recently been “excused”. The men were aware they would never go home alive without success and, even then, ever being able to hold their loved ones again was in question. Most had been pulled from Moscow or St. Petersburg, but a few were grabbed from cities farther east. While they had officially worked for the Russian government, they were not given an option other than death. Each was well aware that this operation was under the control of the Russian mob. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the mob, closely affiliated with the Soviet KGB, took advantage of the turmoil to assume control of the new Russian government through murder, blackmail, intimidation and general corruption.

The puppet government heads were in place and acted as if they were in control, but the power behind them actually consisted of the mob and its internal management. While the math team continued their work in the old wooden buildings, voices could be heard across an old thin wall.
“Good morning, commander. Moscow has called twice this morning; they have information about the Americans.”
“Ring up headquarters, now. Turn on the horn. I want the math team to hear this. They need a little incentive!” After a short pause, a new voice could be heard. “Alexei, there’s a rumor the Americans have made a breakthrough – some new research paper from Dr. Timothy Decant for DARPA.”
“General, I think they need to be attacked to slow them down. Failure will put our efforts further behind and leave our country at greater risk. Not to mention the ability to profit from weapons development and foreign sales!”

“Alexei, Moscow has issued instructions to exercise maximum force to delay and distract the American team.”
“I look forward to it, general!”
“Make a statement, public and brutal. I want every American scientist afraid to work.”
“Yes, sir!” Vladimir, at thirty-five, happened to be one of the older members of the math team. While the debate on the equations continued, he worked uninterrupted, taking notes on the math conversation, but then suddenly he excused himself. Vladimir headed down the hallway for the bathroom. Macao, a soldier Vladimir knew, walked towards him. Vladimir closed his eyes and sighed – a private signal. He continued on. Upon leaving the bathroom, he saw his friend Tanya. The lovely young woman was trying to collect a pile of papers that she had dropped on the hallway floor.

Vladimir stopped and bent down to help her to organize the paperwork. As they quietly picked up the papers, he added a small sliver of paper to the pile. Without any words being exchanged but watching for anyone who might appear, they finished picking up the papers and went on their separate ways. Tanya continued back to her desk. While reorganizing the stacks of files, she pulled out the small piece of paper. Without anyone noticing, she quickly slid it into her bra, hiding it from view and avoiding detection in case she was searched upon leaving the office. Tanya had received her usual order to escort the base commander, Alexei Kotlyarevsky, to a local party. This event was held bi-weekly.

There had been something of a standing order for her to be the commander’s escort. Alexei had a wife and children, but his wife did not fulfill his desires because she was older and rotund. Alexei preferred the company of a young, sexy woman, and he used his position of power to enable him to “enjoy” Tanya’s tight body. The commander and Tanya arrived at the party by car. Tanya was dressed in a low-cut, tight-fitting white gown, which hung off one shoulder and reached to her knees. Alexei had bought the gown for Tanya, for his personal pleasure. With her raven hair cascading down to her back, she created a striking figure. The army driver came around and opened the door for Alexei, who was dressed in his commander’s uniform, which was tight around his expanding belly. The driver then moved around to open the door for Tanya. Alexei came around to take Tanya’s arm.

Tanya wore a forced smile and, like the trophy he saw her as, Alexei wore her on his arm as they climbed the five steps to the entrance of the hotel. They entered the local hotel. To their left was a small restaurant and to their right, the hotel desk. The elevator on their right took them to the top floor where the large suites were. These were typically used for the parties that were held in the hotel. While in the elevator, Alexei looked down at the young woman and the exposed tops of her breasts. She reminded him of a time in the past when he had trained a beautiful young agent for the mafia in using sex in her spy tool chest While Tanya was not quite as beautiful or as sexually hungry as the woman in his memory, being located in this area of the country, his choices were somewhat limited; however, she did satisfy his sexual cravings. Maybe he was getting older. His stamina was not what it used to be, but his desire remained.

Tanya in her most private conversations referred to Alexei as “the pig” She survived and gained the strength to get through the evenings by recalling images of her parents and brother in Moscow. Her family’s lives were hostage to this pig through her willingness to give him what he wanted. Exiting the elevator, they turned to the right and found the double doors to the entrance into the party suite. As the doors opened, a young woman with deference in her manner stepped up to take their coats and they continued into the party. The room decorations were a 1940s semi-bland design with a simple chandelier and plain lamps spread around the room for lighting.

There were approximately twenty people, couples and singles mingling in the large suite, with waiters roaming with food and drinks. To the left of the entrance was a small bar with a bartender pouring wine, beer and making mixed drinks. The younger women were surrounded by men who bantered for favors and kept the liquor flowing in hopes of a quick fling in the reserved rooms adjacent to the suite. The sofa, chairs and coffee table had been moved out of the center of the room and placed against the walls. The main window presented a view of the mountain range with the soon to be snow-capped peaks.

Waiters moved around the room offering food and drink, other couples arrived and the party grew to its normal size of sixty people. Over time the party progressed; some of the men and women paired off and left the suite, only to return a little later with flushed faces and slight hints of disarray, while others did not return. As a waiter approached the commander and his escort, Tanya took a glass of red wine from the tray, and the waiter moved on around the room. One of the older couples in the room approached the commander and his escort and began a conversation. The woman, Della, and her husband, Gregory, had been acquaintances of the commander over the past few years. As the discussion continued, the men and women drifted slowly apart by a few feet, pressing close to others in the crowded room as their discussions were focused on subjects of male versus female interest.

While men kept approaching Tanya, as soon as they saw the commander look at them with his icy stare, they quickly backed away. While Della and Tanya discussed their dresses, Tanya reached out to touch the fabric in Della’s low cut dress. She had a small piece of paper in her hand that she had taken from her clutch purse when looking for lipstick. In a single motion, she tucked the palmed paper inside Della’s dress under her bra strap while they continued their conversation. After a period of time, Gregory turned to his wife. “Della, take Tanya and go powder your noses.” Della gave Gregory a frown.

“Please? I have something I need to discuss with Alexei.”Della and Tanya excused themselves to use the bathroom off the main living room. After the women left, Gregory quietly spoke to Alexei. “There’s a rumor the Americans have made a breakthrough.”
“I have a plan in place to slow them, if not stop them.” With a grin, Gregory continued, “You’re always ahead of them.” With a deadly grin, Alexei responded, “Moscow makes sure I am.” Looking at his empty drink, Gregory said, “See you later. It’s time to mingle and see if I can learn anything useful.”

While Tanya waited outside, in the bathroom Della quickly moved the paper from her bra strap to her clutch purse, spent a moment to straighten her clothes and hair, and exited. The two women returned to the party.After Tanya returned to the commander’s side, his hands found their way to Tanya’s firm breasts as he invited another couple to join them in the suite’s bedroom for some “games”. This was the part of the party Tanya hated, but she had come to accept it in exchange for the lives of her brother and parents. Failure to perform would be to forfeit her own and her family’s lives. While this was not specifically stated, indications had been given and she knew it. While death did not bother her so much anymore, the thought of her family’s execution because of her failure would never be something she could allow, so she knew she had no choice but to endure the situation.

Late in the evening as the party broke up, the older couple, Della and her husband Gregory, with the slip of information hidden away, drove away from the hotel and discussed their present plans to travel to Finland for a short weekend vacation. Sometimes they took the trip, other times they would cancel with apologies to their friends in Finland who worked at the Russian embassy and had been positioned there for many years. As they arrived home and checked to ensure no one had entered their home, they went to their small office. Without saying a word, Della took out the paper from her clutch purse. Gregory went to a bookcase and removed a group of books. Behind the books he disabled a security monitor and pushed on a special panel.

The panel opened to a small space holding an even smaller camera. Using the camera, he took a picture of the statement on the piece of paper and went through a quick process to make a microdot. Using a microscope on the office desk, together they examined the microdot to ensure the information was captured, and then they destroyed the original paper by burning it and flushing the ashes down the sink in the connected bathroom. The microdot was transferred to a thank-you card, which would be attached to a present destined for the couple in Finland.

After making sure all equipment had been put away and security detectors were re-enabled, they headed to bed. As they lay together in an embrace, they thought about the news they read in the message. Part of the math team had been executed. Gregory spoke first. “New team members had been brought to the army base in the Ural Mountains to replace members who had recently been ‘excused’.”
“Executed, you mean. They know they’ll never go home alive without success and even then, being able to see their loved again ones is questionable. Where did they get them?”
“The new members were pulled from Siberia.”

“God forbid their families make the same mistake as our son and daughter-in- law.” Their son had made the mistake of calling on the police because of the murder and rape of his wife by a prominent Russian mafia member. Della began to cry quietly.
“Hush. We’ll avenge the lives taken by the Russian mafia.” After a moment, Della quieted down then spoke. “I know we agreed for you to act as a double agent.” Gregory pulled back a little. “We’re a team.”
“I worry you’ll be discovered and be killed, just as our son was killed by the mafia. If that happened, I would welcome death.” Gregory held her a little tighter as they drifted off to sleep. In the morning, they finished packing for the long weekend trip and called for transportation to the local airport. As they took the trip to the airport, they talked about their pleasure in the new Russian system with casual enthusiasm.

Their conversation held in public gave the politically correct image to allay any suspicion from their true beliefs and hatred of the Russian system of corruption. Once they landed in Finland, and the gift with the card attached passed through security, Della removed the card. Their friends met them at the airport and drove to their small house in the outer area of Jakobstad, an ancient city founded in 1652. The present they brought with them was presented to their friends and together they enjoyed a simple meal after opening the gift. The two couples headed out to wander the countryside and take a walk in the town streets. The couples enjoyed visiting a number of historical sites, providing a relief from their daily boredom and mundane activities.

Watcher in the Fall: Connections Description:

When an ancient race living on the edge of the universe energizes a unique pattern, an advanced super secret U.S. Defense team suddenly becomes the focal point of one of the greatest events in human history. Action erupts from the collision of two universes driving the ancient race to flee, scattering races deeper into our universe with the destruction of galaxies; while an intrigue based game of chess pits the U.S. with the Russians and Chinese in a deadly underground war to protect the greatest secret in human history.

While the U.S. BELLOWS team is tapping into communications across the universe gathering the answers to long held questions; new technology is being derived from highly advanced M-Theory as the team attempts to protect the United States from deadly attacks ranging from Al Qaeda to the Russian Mafia and the Chinese Triad. This First book in a series covers our multiverse in a thrilling SciFi Spy adventure.

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