“It's the end of the world every day, for someone.”
Margaret Atwood
Prologue
24thMarch, 2006
Washington D.C, USA.
“Okay. I want a full status report. And you’d had better have something good to tell me,” Adrik said into the phone. He could hear Vivien gulp in fear. He sighed. He didn’t want her to be afraid of him. “Look, relax. I won’t be able to hurt you from here, would I? Besides, why would I want to hurt you if you’re doing what you’ve been told to do? Just tell me sincerely, how far have you gone with the assignment given to you?”
Vivien Dmitri knew her boss was lying. If she was found to be slacking, they would take her to be irrelevant to the plan and they would kill her. From what she saw while she was being trained back at the base, there were enough replacements for her if she messed up. The organization of the Rising Sun was very interesting though. From Russia, the bosses seemed to want to subtly have their hands in the affairs of other nations. She had somehow become one of the tools by which they gained that dominance. She collected herself before replying.
“Just as you asked, we’ve shipped them all. We’re working on giving them platforms from which they can operate but that’s where we’re having problems. It’s hard to just summon operatives and place them anywhere here. Their names must be approved by the governing council. So far, I’ve found favor with a lot of the members of the governing council. It’s only a matter of time, sir.”
The man on the other end sighed.
“How much time was given to you?” he asked.
“Two weeks, sir.”
“How much time have you used?”
“Tomorrow would make it two weeks, sir.”
“Vivien, I love how you are proactive. I love how you always give detailed reports whenever you’re asked. However, I’m beginning to feel that you’re ineffective on the job and we don’t like that, I put you there because I felt that you would be the most capable to handle this job. Why are you disappointing me?”
The conversation was wearing Vivien out. She was going to ask him to shut up but she knew better than to dare say as such. She couldn’t even cut him off when he was speaking. She waited till she was sure that he was done with talking then she spoke.
“Sir, we’re doing as much as we can. I promise I won’t fail you. Just give me one more week. I can assure you that I’d have at least ten people in the seats as you desire.”
She could feel the man’s smile from a million miles away. She sighed inwardly.
“I miss you Vivien”, he said calmly. Vivien rolled her eyes.
“If you had known you wouldn’t have sent me to the United States, would you?” she asked. She heard him sigh.
“You’re still angry, aren’t you?” he asked.
“Oh no. I don’t dare keep a grudge against my boss,” she replied, trying her best to sound sincere. She wanted to slap herself for letting her emotions get the better of her.
“Oh, sure. Put on the professional demeanor. You’ve always been excellent at what you do. Please understand that I didn’t want to send you that far away but the job required much skill and you were the best person for the job. As much as I love you, the plan must succeed.”
Vivien bit her lips, holding back tears as she walked through the hallway to her office. When she didn’t say anything, he sighed again.
“Take care of yourself, my love. By the way, we sent in another agent to support you. He’ll make sure you’re doing what needs to be done. Keep up the good work.” He said before he finished the call.
Vivien shook her head. Adrik, her boss sure had a way with words. She went to her office and entered. The place was dark. She turned on the lights and approached her desk. The books on her table were neatly arranged and an American flag stood right in the center of the table. She pulled out her journal from the pile of books and began looking through her appointments for the day. That was when she noticed the man in a suit that was standing by her door. She was surprised but she didn’t show any signs of fear.
“Who are you?” she asked as she subtly reached for the gun beneath her desk. The man smiled.
“That’s no way to welcome your new assistant, Ms. Secretary to the White House Chief of Staff. By the way, I am Daan Barackov and I’m good at Economics,” he said, twirling her gun around his fingers.
Chapter One