Chapter 7: A Road Trip Moscow

I turned and looked in the direction she was looking and almost fell off the park bench. I wanted to reach over and kiss her, but if that got back to Karen, I would be in so much trouble.

We casually got up from our bench, started walking toward the building down the street from the park again acting as tourists, and looked around as if we were admiring the architecture in this part of town. When we were in front of the building, we went in to the front lobby and saw a security guard and a receptionist. I went up to the receptionist and asked if we could talk to an American employee as we were fellow Americans and needed help with getting around Leningrad. She made a phone call and told us in heavily accented English that someone would soon come for us.

A few minutes later, this young woman with a strong New Jersey accent came out and asked how she could help us.

I answered her, “Is there some way you could get us in touch with the American Embassy? It is extremely important we contact the embassy. We have some things for them that are very time sensitive.”

She responded in a surprised manner, “I will see what I can do. Do you have any identification on you that would identify you as being Americans?”

“No, that is part of the problem, if I can could talk to someone there they could verify my identity,” I answered her.

“Let me see what I can do,” she said back to me. “In the mean time, will you follow me so we can be in a less public area to discuss business.”

She led and we followed her back through some doors into an office area that contained several cubicles. We walked past the cubicles and several offices. She led us to a conference room and asked us to have a seat. She said she would be back shortly.

“Just in case there are problems keep our little friends handy. We may need to exit quickly,” I said.

Both of my companions just nodded and we sat there looking around. The tension was not any less than what it was earlier. A woman came into the room and asked if would like a coffee, tea or a soft drink. The others asked for coffee and I asked for a cola if it wasn’t too much trouble. She smiled and said it was not a bother.

Our original contact came back into the conference room with an older man. His facial expression was neutral neither frowning nor smiling at us. The second assistant came in to the conference room with our drinks and left. I made sure she knew I was grateful for her getting me the soft drink.

After the assistant left the room the older man looked at us and said, “Now what exactly is this about? I understand you say you are Americans without identification and no passports. This is highly unusual to say the least.”

“Sir, if you just contact the US Embassy in Moscow and tell them that Dr. James Mercer from Chicago just walked into your building. I am sure we will be out of your hair very quickly,” I responded. “We have some information they will want.”

Andi then spoke up, “When you call the embassy please ask to speak with Walter Andrews. Tell him Andi with an “I” is waiting for his call.”

Our new acquaintance agreed to make the call and asked us to remain here for the time being.

We waited for about fifteen minutes. Our new friend came back into the conference room with a smile on his face.

“Dr. Mercer, our friends at the embassy were very interested in talking with you. In fact, there will be some people here in twenty minutes to hear what you have to say. And Miss Andi, Walter says to tell his niece hello,” he said in a more friendly manner.

I turned to Andi and said, “Your uncle? This I have to hear.”

“No he isn’t really my uncle, but when I was going through training he acted as my mentor. I always told him he acted like my uncle but he is not my uncle. That is how that all started. I knew his latest duty station was in Moscow. He is due to retire soon,” she answered.

I had just finished my soft drink when three men in suits came into the conference room. They came in and looked rushed. I remain seated with the Makarov out of my shoulder holster and in my right hand just in case I needed it.

The person who acted as if he was in charge of the group that just came in looked at us and asked. “Which of you is Dr. Mercer?”

“I am,” I responded.

“Dr. Mercer, I have a few questions to ask you to verify that you are who you say you are.” he responded back.

“OK Dr. Mercer, what is your wife’s first name?” he asked.

“Karen”

“And what is your pet name for her?” he asked.

“My Viking Princess”

That brought a round of grins from everyone in the room.

“Hey, if you saw her you would understand, OK,” I said a bit perturbed.

“Last question, who introduced you to your wife,” he asked.

I answered back, “Her grandmother, Grandma Jorgenson who was my land lady when I taught at the university there in Minot, North Dakota. And my best friend and the source of these questions is Lawrence Foster, Special Agent of the FBI Chicago Field Office.”

“Dr. Mercer, there is no doubt that you are who you say you are,’ he responded.

“Now how did you end up here?”

I spent the next hour telling them how the mission compromised by Mike, we still were able to get the information that was needed for the upcoming peace treaty talks. Randy and Andi filled in some of the blanks where I glossed over some of the details. The agents were amazed at the ingenuity and plain dumb luck we had getting to where we were now. I got tired of holding the Makarov and simply laid it on the table. The agents doing the interviewing were upset that we were armed and I was all this time sitting holding mine at the ready. My only response to them was I was just being careful. In the case they were not who they said they were, we would not be the only ones not going home to their loved ones.

After my companions and I were debriefed, the evidence we had gathered went into a special pouch. It would go from Leningrad to DC via diplomatic pouch manacled to a courier on a chartered US flight.

The US embassy was doing their best to get us diplomatic passports so we could get out of the country. A rush job was put in place and hopefully we would be out of this company’s conference room and riding in comfort on our way to Moscow and on our way home.

I asked the intelligence agent who was in charge of the team that came to interview us what was the status on Mike because my two newest best friends and I wanted to see Mike again and say hello. He did not have any information for us and he was sure that the US intelligence service would like to see him too.

For the rest of the day and part of that night we stayed safe in the conference room and the offices around it. We used the restroom and had food brought in for us. The team sent to interview us went over the details about our adventure repeatedly. I think by the time they were done they knew the story just as good as we did. Just before midnight, we had a courier come into the conference room and hand each of us our very own diplomatic passport in our real names. I looked at Andi’s and smiled. Her first name was really Andrea as she said it was. Randy’s real name was Randy Andrews, his parents changed their last name when they became US citizens, and we now knew each other’s name. My two newest best buds still called me Doc.

At one AM local time, an extended passenger van pulled up in front of the sales office building where we took shelter. We quickly walked out and climbed in. The two young men acting as guards looked very much out of their comfort zone. They both were dressed in polo shirts, windbreakers and khakis. They would probably feel more comfortable in dress blues or in cammies. They were obviously part of the Marine detachment assigned to the embassy.

As I was getting into the van, I turned to the one Marine and asked, “You bring along enough ammo for the 1911 you are carrying, Marine?”

“Yes sir,” he responded. “We never leave home without having plenty of pills with us.”

We drove most of the night from Leningrad to the US Embassy in Moscow. We stopped twice for bathroom breaks. Each time we were out of the van, we had an escort. Two Marines escorted Andi and Randy and a civilian who could have been a marine or had been one in a previous life escorted me. He worked for Diplomatic Protective Services. He was professional the whole way and did not respond to any of my questions.

We arrived the next morning at 10 AM, after spending ten hours on the road. We drove through the gate, manned by both Russian police and US Marines. The Marines stood guard inside the gate while the Russian Security Police maintained a presence inside a guard shack just outside of the Embassy Compound Wall. We were tired and relieved, up to now; we three had been running on adrenaline and stress. Our internal fuel tanks were operating on fumes. We needed a decent meal, a shower and a long undisturbed sleep to get back to a somewhat normal operating state.

We were welcomed to the embassy by the head of the intelligence group, which consisted of all the alphabet agencies, several DOD agencies and the state department. There was an hour-long meeting where the three of us gave testimony about the intelligence we gathered. We described how the mission went, until we came under fire and our escaping the compound. Those present were most interested in what direction the automatic burst of a fire came from when it sprayed both the barracks and us. We then described how we worked together to get to Leningrad and how it was our pure dumb luck that Andi had spotted the American flag flying from that office building down the street from the park we were in. Those in attendance took notes, some heads nodded in how we were able to get around and many disgusted faces when we described Mike’s actions up to the time when the burst of automatic AK 47 fire was coming in our direction. An older man in an immaculate suit called an end to the meeting and said we would meet again tomorrow to continue where we had left off. Everyone stood and filed out of the conference room. As the others were filing out I did see a couple of thumbs up directed our way and two head nods that I thought gave approval of our handling of the situation.

The older gentleman who had ran the meeting came over to us with a smile on his face. He looked more like someone’s grandpa than the head of the intelligence operation at the embassy.

“Andi, it is good to see you again. I always knew you would be one of our best,” he said greeting her and smiling.

He then turned to me smiling, holding out his hand for me to shake. “Dr. Mercer I assume, America’s own James Bond. You and the rest of your team did an excellent job for us, you can be proud of your actions.”

After heaping praise on Andi and me, the old spymaster stood before Randy and gave him the same praise as he gave to Andi and me.

He then asked us to join him in the Embassy’s cafeteria where we could get a decent meal. We were walking along talking, when I realized all three of us were still armed, each of us carrying our Makarovs and Skorpions in our messenger bags. I was embarrassed and hoped we did not have to go through some metal detector to get where we were going.

Before we took another step, I asked Walter, assuming that was his name if we could stop fort a minute before we went into the cafeteria, as there was something all three us needed to do before we went any further. When asked what it was, I told him, his eyes got big as saucers. He started laughing, making a comment about how good the embassy’s security was.

Walter motioned to a Marine stationed in the hallway to come over. He then discretely asked the Marine to get the Gunny in charge to come to us at once and bring a sea bag with him. We waited a few minutes when an older Marine came running carrying the sea bag as requested. The Marine Gunnery Sergeant was not sure what the sea bag was for but he did as requested. Walter had the four of us follow him into an unused office where we relieved ourselves of our Makarovs, the Skorpions and my Walther. I asked Walter to make sure I got the Walther back because it was my personal pistol. The rest were Government Issue as far as I was concerned and they could have them back. Both the Gunny and Walter assured me that I would get my Walther back when we were heading back to the USA in a few days. The Gunny was upset that we came into the embassy unchecked for weapons. He said he would make sure that would not happen again. He left to put our firearms in the embassy’s armory.

We went to lunch and shared more of the anecdotes about our escape from the computer center until how we discovered the summer cottage of the local communist big wig and borrowed his car to get to Leningrad. Of course, we did not mention the money we borrowed from the communist bigwig; we all have to have our secrets.

After lunch, Walter put us in the capable hands of some embassy toadie who took us to available rooms where we could grab a shower and catch some sleep. In each room, would be some clean clothes that he assured us would fit us. There was a form for us, it asked for our sizes so the embassy could get us appropriate clothing to wear. We would not stick out to the non-embassy people who were always wandering about the embassy. We went to an elevator and the embassy employee took us up a couple of floors where we got off. The toadie led us to a short dead end hallway where several adjoining rooms were located. There was a Marine guard standing watch at the entrance to the hallway. After we showered and got some sleep, we were to inform the Marine on duty when we needed something.

He would then pass along our request to the appropriate people. I looked at my teammates and wished them a good night; I intended to sleep for 18 hrs. I got a hug from Andi and a man hug from Randy. We each went into our own little room.

Inside, the room was simply furnished. It was a single bed, nightstand, a wardrobe/chest of drawers and a small TV mounted on the wall. There was a simple chair over by the wardrobe. I did not see it on the first inspection. On top of the chest of drawers were the clothes they had promised. There was a t-shirt bundle, underwear briefs bundle and lastly a sweat suit in dark blue with the embassy logo embroidered on the jacket. For shoes were the ever present shower shoes you saw at any discount store and county jail in the USA. In the small bathroom were a couple of towels, wash cloths, soap, shampoo, a disposable razor and shave cream. I intended to take advantage of all them. On the sink were a toothbrush, toothpaste and small bottle of mouthwash. Uncle Sam thought of everything.

After my shower, I put on the t-shirt and underwear and made my way over to the bed. I pulled back the back the spread and the top sheet. I walked over to the light switch and turned off the overhead light. I then walked over to the bed climbed in. I think I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

When I woke, I felt better than I had before I went to sleep. How long I slept, I did not know until I looked at my watch. I was surprised I had slept continuously for 10 hours. My bladder then reminded me that it was full and if I did not do something soon, I would have a mess to deal with. While in the bathroom I washed my face, shaved and brushed my teeth. When I came out of the bathroom, I dressed in my running suit with the embassy logo on it. I put on my shower shoes and looked around. What was it I was supposed to do? Then I remembered I had a form to fill out with my sizes so that an embassy person could get me kitted out in a complete wardrobe to wear while I was at the embassy. It took me fifteen minutes to fill out the form. I decided it was probably best to give it to the Marine guard and let him hand it off to the right people. I opened my room door and saw the Marine come to attention as I approached him. I greeted him, handed him the form, and said to him he probably knew better than I did what to do with it. I also asked about getting something to eat since it had been over 11 hours since I ate. The Marine told me he would take care of the card and someone would direct me to the cafeteria.

I went back to my room to nap and wait for a knock at the door. Some twenty minutes later, someone was knocking at my door. I went to open it; there stood the toadie from yesterday at the door to take me to get something to eat. I asked about my teammates, I was the first one up I was informed. If the others were up soon he would take us down to get something to eat. I couldn’t wait so I went down to eat.

I went through the serving line at the cafeteria after the toadie left me to go about his other duties at the embassy. Thirty minutes later Andi and Randy joined me. Both looked a lot better than what they had the day previous. All three of us chose to eat a breakfast selection. I looked over at Andi and just smiled. My smiling perturbed her and she called me on it. I told her that her eyes were all puffy and that she looked different without makeup on. I had earlier gotten a chuckle out of the fact that she applied makeup while we were on the submarine getting ready for our mission. That earned me a finger response. Randy chose to remain silent. He just smiled and winked at me when Andi could not see him.

Our favorite toadie showed up a while later and asked us to go with him to see Walter and some other people who wanted to meet with us. We left the cafeteria and followed the toadie along the corridors back to the large conference room we had been in earlier. Walter and those in the command of the alphabet agencies were waiting. They asked the same questions as before and we repeated the same answers. This time there was more questions directed about Mike. One of the more senior people in the room asked my personal impression of Mike. He added that he did not want me to pull any punches, he wanted my honest opinion of him. I told him that the first time I met him at my office at the University a few months previous that Mike had set off some bells in my gut. I said there was just something different about him that caused my “Spidey internal warning system to tingle.” That reference earned me a smile from just about everyone else in the room. I also mentioned how Mike reacted in a jealous manner when Andi and I were together during training. I did mention that Mike once came on to Andi and he was angry about her rejection of him. I was quick to add that I was married and there was nothing going on between the two of us other than we were team members. The same as Randy and me, we were team members and now lifelong friends.

“Yes, I heard about your Viking Princess,” he quipped. “I would be afraid myself.”

I went scarlet. Did the whole intelligence community know about my nickname for my wife?

Andi and Randy answered the same questions I had about Mike and their responses were similar to mine except Andi did say that Mike had constantly hit on her ever since their selection as part of the team. That brought additional comments.

I made the comment Mike should be in custody and have his day in court. That was when we learned Mike was supposed to be on a commercial flight back to the USA from Scotland. Evidently, he missed that flight and no one knew where he was. This was all before we turned up the day before. Being angry does not even come close to how I felt and I am sure my teammates shared those same feelings. I did not say anything but I knew Andi’s mentor Walter knew what I was thinking.