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The Company
On February 1, the crew consisted of Bonnie ("Xiang Wen," a.k.a. "Wu Xie Zhi"), Marc ("Anabel Windsor," a.k.a. "Abigail Wilson"), and Torsten ("Qoqa Ramazanov," a.k.a. "Zoya Petrovna Sidorov"). Martin ("Zhu Zhang," a.k.a. "Harold Lee") didn't jet back from Japan for the game, while Mike ("Vincenzo Calliente," of many aliases) was simply AWOL.
Time: October 23, 2009 (afternoon).
Place: Resort outside of Athens.
Last Event: Receiving a delivery of guns hidden in clothing.
Klas, Lev, and Wen spend a long, boring day assembling the group's new guns and making sure that everything works (inasmuch as that's even possible without shooting). Once they're done, the Agents convene to discuss the next move. The decision is to wait another day at the resort for useful results from the tracking beacons on the Дед Россия and the computers. That will mark a full week. If there's nothing to act on by then, the crew will hit the road as "sightseers" so as not to stay in one place for too long.
October 24 looks to be another uneventful day, so Vinnie goes off for a few hours that afternoon to obtain a small bus suitable for a motor tour. He returns with a spacious vehicle obtained through an ouzo-lubricated cousin-of-a-cousin deal that conveniently involved no paperwork. Other purchases include a cheap camera and some ugly souvenir clothing for everyone. Might as well look the part . . .
The Agents spend the evening planning a sweeping route that visits tourist destinations within a couple of hours' drive of Athens. After that, they pack. Vinnie carefully loads the bus with most of the group's gear. Well after dark, he returns to stash the guns and electronics aboard, taking care to hide anything illegal or unusual in places unlikely to be found by a visual search.
On October 25, Sharkmeat and Röttwalkyr start their tour of Attica, with Vinnie at the wheel. Hamid and Jili set up a mobile listening post in the bus in order to keep tabs on the tracking devices. The plan is to keep playing tourist until the Дед Россия moves, the rigged computers show up, or another week has passed and a new cover activity is needed. Of course, seeing old fortresses and temples, and enjoying Greek food, are nice perks.
The tour proves uneventful until the night of October 31. At 21:00, Jili alerts the others that the Дед Россия is moving. She and Hamid track it via GPS, while Vinnie starts driving toward the nearest seaside town with docks and marinas. On the way, at around 23:00, Hamid picks up a brief flash from one of the devices in the computers! It's enough for a GPS fix, and indicates a tiny island offshore. The electronics experts agree that somebody must have left a door open, possibly to move the computers . . . conceivably to put them on the yacht when it arrives.
Wen calls Chaturvedi from the road and asks for a map of the island identified by Hamid. The handler calls back to say that he has nothing useful – just a sketchy geophysical map showing that yes, there's an island there. Anything more detailed is way above the clearance of his contacts, and he can't figure out whether that's military security at work or a consequence of a rich island-owner buying privacy. Given the lack of formal no-fly and no-sail zones in the area, general consensus is that the latter theory fits better.
This necessitates a quick decision. Eventually, the Russians will find one or both tracking devices. When they do, the mobsters will know for sure that their Greek base of operations has been identified by someone hostile. At best, they'll double or triple security, and dispose of any evidence. At worst, they'll sell the place and retreat onto friendlier territory in Russia. The Agents conclude that the time to act is now, while all the bad eggs are in one basket.
Since there are no ferries or flights to "Gangster Island," everyone agrees that it would be best to stage any kind of infiltration or raid from the nearest publicly accessible island, about a 30-minute boat ride in a straight line to the objective. The only way to get there ahead of the yacht would be to fly, though, and there are no flights leaving until morning. Vinnie reminds the others that he can fly . . . if he has a suitable plane, in this case a seaplane of some kind. After that, the sea crossing will require a large Zodiac.
Wen phones Chaturvedi again and asks whether he can set up a seaplane and a boat for the group. However, it's late on a Saturday night, turning into Sunday morning. Moreover, the Company's reach in Greece is somewhat limited. There's little he can do other than establish any false credentials that Vinnie may need to procure and operate the necessary aircraft and boats. He might be able to falsify a flight plan, too, given enough time.
Plan B is to locate the necessary vehicles locally and obtain them the old-fashioned way: with large amounts of cash or, need be, out-and-out theft. Fortunately, seaplanes and boats are both common in Greece, used to reach its many islands. The trick is finding them in the middle of the night. As Vinnie drives, his 10 associates break out their smart phones, fire up their browsers, and start digging around for anything useful in the towns along the nearby coast.
Hamid easily locates numerous shops that carry Zodiacs of all sizes. These are, of course, closed for the night, but it should be easy enough to break in and procure a boat. As Vinnie drives toward the nearest of these stores, Ben has a spot of luck. On athens.craigslist.gr, under "for sale," he looks under "sporting" to find a boat and finds an ad for a flying boat. The only other information is the name of a town and a telephone number, but it's worth a try . . .
Just past midnight on November 1, Vinnie stops a few doors away from the boat shop. He, Hamid, Wen, and Zhang sneak around the rear of the building. While locked up for the night, it has lousy security; Hamid and Vinnie easily defeat the alarm and the locks. After that, the Agents go inside, find what they need, and manhandle the deflated Zodiac and accessories out to the bus. In keeping with Company ethics, they leave sufficient cash to pay for the goods sitting on the counter – which, poetically, came from the stash taken from Yuri's safe in London.
Qoqa and Vinnie quickly lash the Zodiac to the roof of the bus. It seems that nobody witnessed the theft or noticed the suspicious vehicle, as there are no alarms or police. In fact, nobody much seems to be out and about at all. Vinnie gets back in the driver's seat and motors up the coast toward the town named in the ad that Ben found.
On the road, Anabel calls the number in the ad, assuming that at this hour, she'll probably get either an angry response or none at all. To her surprise, someone picks up almost immediately. After trying a few languages, she and the man on the other end settle on Russian. The discussion makes it plain to Anabel that the man selling the plane is a criminal used to taking late-night calls for drug deals; that the aircraft is almost certainly "hot" in some way; and that the seller expects cash. The fact that she's having the conversation in Russian means that the group will have to tread very carefully.
Anabel eventually gets an address and Vinnie makes his way there. On the way, Anabel alters her appearance somewhat. She decides that she wants Lev (who speaks Russian and is good with a gun) and Vinnie (who knows vehicles and gangsters) to accompany her, and puts a little makeup on them, too. Meanwhile, Wen digs out a few guns, loads them, and hands them around. At around 01:00, Vinnie stops out in front of a seedy-looking seaside property.
With their allies covering them with rifles from inside the darkened bus, Anabel, Lev, and Vinnie head toward the rowdy men drinking out in front of the place. The partiers are happy to see a pretty girl, and Anabel easily strikes up a conversation with the Russian-speakers among them. From what's said – and not said – she deduces that these guys are smalltime Greek smugglers. They claim to steal from the Russian mob, but the fact that they speak Russian and aren't dead suggests that they're more likely tools of the Russians, probably low-level couriers.
The Greeks seem to think that Anabel is some sort of drug smuggler – a conclusion arrived at largely on the basis of her showing up late at night with a busload of cargo and a pile of cash. They guess that her business is cocaine, on the grounds that "with girls like you, it's always cocaine." They're entirely willing to sell her their old plane, but sensing desperation, they jack up the price. It's going to end up costing €150,000 in cash.
Anabel says that her pilot has to take a look, and that if the plane looks good, they have a deal. The men – doubtless encouraged by the fact that there might well be a busload of Russian gangsters parked out front – agree, and escort Vinnie to the plane. The vehicle looks like an old flying boat from WWII. It's junk, and in its current state it sure isn't worth €150,000 to anybody but an obsessed antique collector. However, it has one flight left in it, and will do the job if it doesn't fall apart, catch fire, or get shot down by the Russians who doubtless used to own it.
When Vinnie gives the nod, Anabel says that the deal is on. She heads back to the bus and returns with the cash and her pistol-toting colleagues. The 11 Agents outnumber the Greeks, who start to look a little worried about the situation. Anabel just smiles, hands them the bills, and "tips" them another €15,000 to look the other way while she and her friends prep the plane. Once the men are suitably occupied counting their money, it's time to load the flying boat.
It takes a while, but by about 02:00, the aircraft is loaded with electronics, firearms, and the stolen Zodiac, as well as personal items and clothing. Qoqa lets the others do the heavy lifting, and spends her time "cleaning" the bus. Once the bus is empty and evidence-free, Anabel tells the Greeks that it's theirs as part of the deal. Then the Agents board their plane, shut the doors, and taxi out to sea.
Aboard the plane, Vinnie warns the others of two things. First, there's sufficient fuel for the flight and maybe a circle over the objective, but nothing more. There certainly isn't enough to fly back; that would involve returning to the plane, buying fuel, and so on, which he doubts will be practical. More likely, the Agents will have to boat to a tourist destination afterward, ditch their gear, and leave the area as sightseers. Second, the plane is a little heavy and not equipped for night flying, so he won't be able to make very good time; he estimates three hours.
There isn't much choice, though, so the flight is a go. With Vinnie at the controls, Klas navigating, and Anabel on the radio – and relying on handheld GPS and thermographs to avoid disaster – the Agents get airborne and head out over the sea. Wen calls up Chaturvedi on the secure satellite phone and updates him on the group's location and plans. A few minutes later, Chaturvedi calls back, says that he has managed to file a false flight plan via connections best left unnamed, and passes along a numerical code to use.
Then it's time for a slow, uncomfortable flight in a plane crammed with people and gear. Fortunately, the vehicle's former owners stripped it of seats, doubtless so it would hold more cargo. This actually makes the plane lighter and the interior a little less cramped. There's space enough to prepare equipment for the raid. Those who aren't operating the aircraft kill time replacing batteries, loading magazines, and checking packs and slings. Wen makes everyone nervous rigging satchel charges from the C4, although she assures her allies that it's all perfectly safe . . .
Time: October 23, 2009 (afternoon).
Place: Resort outside of Athens.
Last Event: Receiving a delivery of guns hidden in clothing.
Klas, Lev, and Wen spend a long, boring day assembling the group's new guns and making sure that everything works (inasmuch as that's even possible without shooting). Once they're done, the Agents convene to discuss the next move. The decision is to wait another day at the resort for useful results from the tracking beacons on the Дед Россия and the computers. That will mark a full week. If there's nothing to act on by then, the crew will hit the road as "sightseers" so as not to stay in one place for too long.
October 24 looks to be another uneventful day, so Vinnie goes off for a few hours that afternoon to obtain a small bus suitable for a motor tour. He returns with a spacious vehicle obtained through an ouzo-lubricated cousin-of-a-cousin deal that conveniently involved no paperwork. Other purchases include a cheap camera and some ugly souvenir clothing for everyone. Might as well look the part . . .
The Agents spend the evening planning a sweeping route that visits tourist destinations within a couple of hours' drive of Athens. After that, they pack. Vinnie carefully loads the bus with most of the group's gear. Well after dark, he returns to stash the guns and electronics aboard, taking care to hide anything illegal or unusual in places unlikely to be found by a visual search.
On October 25, Sharkmeat and Röttwalkyr start their tour of Attica, with Vinnie at the wheel. Hamid and Jili set up a mobile listening post in the bus in order to keep tabs on the tracking devices. The plan is to keep playing tourist until the Дед Россия moves, the rigged computers show up, or another week has passed and a new cover activity is needed. Of course, seeing old fortresses and temples, and enjoying Greek food, are nice perks.
The tour proves uneventful until the night of October 31. At 21:00, Jili alerts the others that the Дед Россия is moving. She and Hamid track it via GPS, while Vinnie starts driving toward the nearest seaside town with docks and marinas. On the way, at around 23:00, Hamid picks up a brief flash from one of the devices in the computers! It's enough for a GPS fix, and indicates a tiny island offshore. The electronics experts agree that somebody must have left a door open, possibly to move the computers . . . conceivably to put them on the yacht when it arrives.
Wen calls Chaturvedi from the road and asks for a map of the island identified by Hamid. The handler calls back to say that he has nothing useful – just a sketchy geophysical map showing that yes, there's an island there. Anything more detailed is way above the clearance of his contacts, and he can't figure out whether that's military security at work or a consequence of a rich island-owner buying privacy. Given the lack of formal no-fly and no-sail zones in the area, general consensus is that the latter theory fits better.
This necessitates a quick decision. Eventually, the Russians will find one or both tracking devices. When they do, the mobsters will know for sure that their Greek base of operations has been identified by someone hostile. At best, they'll double or triple security, and dispose of any evidence. At worst, they'll sell the place and retreat onto friendlier territory in Russia. The Agents conclude that the time to act is now, while all the bad eggs are in one basket.
Since there are no ferries or flights to "Gangster Island," everyone agrees that it would be best to stage any kind of infiltration or raid from the nearest publicly accessible island, about a 30-minute boat ride in a straight line to the objective. The only way to get there ahead of the yacht would be to fly, though, and there are no flights leaving until morning. Vinnie reminds the others that he can fly . . . if he has a suitable plane, in this case a seaplane of some kind. After that, the sea crossing will require a large Zodiac.
Wen phones Chaturvedi again and asks whether he can set up a seaplane and a boat for the group. However, it's late on a Saturday night, turning into Sunday morning. Moreover, the Company's reach in Greece is somewhat limited. There's little he can do other than establish any false credentials that Vinnie may need to procure and operate the necessary aircraft and boats. He might be able to falsify a flight plan, too, given enough time.
Plan B is to locate the necessary vehicles locally and obtain them the old-fashioned way: with large amounts of cash or, need be, out-and-out theft. Fortunately, seaplanes and boats are both common in Greece, used to reach its many islands. The trick is finding them in the middle of the night. As Vinnie drives, his 10 associates break out their smart phones, fire up their browsers, and start digging around for anything useful in the towns along the nearby coast.
Hamid easily locates numerous shops that carry Zodiacs of all sizes. These are, of course, closed for the night, but it should be easy enough to break in and procure a boat. As Vinnie drives toward the nearest of these stores, Ben has a spot of luck. On athens.craigslist.gr, under "for sale," he looks under "sporting" to find a boat and finds an ad for a flying boat. The only other information is the name of a town and a telephone number, but it's worth a try . . .
Just past midnight on November 1, Vinnie stops a few doors away from the boat shop. He, Hamid, Wen, and Zhang sneak around the rear of the building. While locked up for the night, it has lousy security; Hamid and Vinnie easily defeat the alarm and the locks. After that, the Agents go inside, find what they need, and manhandle the deflated Zodiac and accessories out to the bus. In keeping with Company ethics, they leave sufficient cash to pay for the goods sitting on the counter – which, poetically, came from the stash taken from Yuri's safe in London.
Qoqa and Vinnie quickly lash the Zodiac to the roof of the bus. It seems that nobody witnessed the theft or noticed the suspicious vehicle, as there are no alarms or police. In fact, nobody much seems to be out and about at all. Vinnie gets back in the driver's seat and motors up the coast toward the town named in the ad that Ben found.
On the road, Anabel calls the number in the ad, assuming that at this hour, she'll probably get either an angry response or none at all. To her surprise, someone picks up almost immediately. After trying a few languages, she and the man on the other end settle on Russian. The discussion makes it plain to Anabel that the man selling the plane is a criminal used to taking late-night calls for drug deals; that the aircraft is almost certainly "hot" in some way; and that the seller expects cash. The fact that she's having the conversation in Russian means that the group will have to tread very carefully.
Anabel eventually gets an address and Vinnie makes his way there. On the way, Anabel alters her appearance somewhat. She decides that she wants Lev (who speaks Russian and is good with a gun) and Vinnie (who knows vehicles and gangsters) to accompany her, and puts a little makeup on them, too. Meanwhile, Wen digs out a few guns, loads them, and hands them around. At around 01:00, Vinnie stops out in front of a seedy-looking seaside property.
With their allies covering them with rifles from inside the darkened bus, Anabel, Lev, and Vinnie head toward the rowdy men drinking out in front of the place. The partiers are happy to see a pretty girl, and Anabel easily strikes up a conversation with the Russian-speakers among them. From what's said – and not said – she deduces that these guys are smalltime Greek smugglers. They claim to steal from the Russian mob, but the fact that they speak Russian and aren't dead suggests that they're more likely tools of the Russians, probably low-level couriers.
The Greeks seem to think that Anabel is some sort of drug smuggler – a conclusion arrived at largely on the basis of her showing up late at night with a busload of cargo and a pile of cash. They guess that her business is cocaine, on the grounds that "with girls like you, it's always cocaine." They're entirely willing to sell her their old plane, but sensing desperation, they jack up the price. It's going to end up costing €150,000 in cash.
Anabel says that her pilot has to take a look, and that if the plane looks good, they have a deal. The men – doubtless encouraged by the fact that there might well be a busload of Russian gangsters parked out front – agree, and escort Vinnie to the plane. The vehicle looks like an old flying boat from WWII. It's junk, and in its current state it sure isn't worth €150,000 to anybody but an obsessed antique collector. However, it has one flight left in it, and will do the job if it doesn't fall apart, catch fire, or get shot down by the Russians who doubtless used to own it.
When Vinnie gives the nod, Anabel says that the deal is on. She heads back to the bus and returns with the cash and her pistol-toting colleagues. The 11 Agents outnumber the Greeks, who start to look a little worried about the situation. Anabel just smiles, hands them the bills, and "tips" them another €15,000 to look the other way while she and her friends prep the plane. Once the men are suitably occupied counting their money, it's time to load the flying boat.
It takes a while, but by about 02:00, the aircraft is loaded with electronics, firearms, and the stolen Zodiac, as well as personal items and clothing. Qoqa lets the others do the heavy lifting, and spends her time "cleaning" the bus. Once the bus is empty and evidence-free, Anabel tells the Greeks that it's theirs as part of the deal. Then the Agents board their plane, shut the doors, and taxi out to sea.
Aboard the plane, Vinnie warns the others of two things. First, there's sufficient fuel for the flight and maybe a circle over the objective, but nothing more. There certainly isn't enough to fly back; that would involve returning to the plane, buying fuel, and so on, which he doubts will be practical. More likely, the Agents will have to boat to a tourist destination afterward, ditch their gear, and leave the area as sightseers. Second, the plane is a little heavy and not equipped for night flying, so he won't be able to make very good time; he estimates three hours.
There isn't much choice, though, so the flight is a go. With Vinnie at the controls, Klas navigating, and Anabel on the radio – and relying on handheld GPS and thermographs to avoid disaster – the Agents get airborne and head out over the sea. Wen calls up Chaturvedi on the secure satellite phone and updates him on the group's location and plans. A few minutes later, Chaturvedi calls back, says that he has managed to file a false flight plan via connections best left unnamed, and passes along a numerical code to use.
Then it's time for a slow, uncomfortable flight in a plane crammed with people and gear. Fortunately, the vehicle's former owners stripped it of seats, doubtless so it would hold more cargo. This actually makes the plane lighter and the interior a little less cramped. There's space enough to prepare equipment for the raid. Those who aren't operating the aircraft kill time replacing batteries, loading magazines, and checking packs and slings. Wen makes everyone nervous rigging satchel charges from the C4, although she assures her allies that it's all perfectly safe . . .