The 14th Colony: A Novel by Steve Berry Read Free Book Online Page B

finished.
    “I’m close. The documents you provided last year were a great help. Then I found more. Anya is in Washington, DC, right now, attempting to locate a critical piece.”
    He could see that the ancient archivist seemed fully conscious of his remaining influence. And forty years of keeping the KGB’s secrets had definitely empowered him. So much that the Russian government still kept watch. Which might explain their visitor.
    But an American?
    That puzzled him.
    For twenty years he’d fought time and circumstances, both of which had tried hard to turn him into a corpse. Luckily, that had not happened. Instead, vengeance had kept him alive. What remained unknown was how much hate still lingered inside his guest.
    “I thought Fool’s Mate a dead end,” Belchenko said.
    He’d not been sure, either. But thankfully, his dominant characteristic had always been boundless energy and an immovable will. And if exile had taught him nothing else, it had crystallized the value of patience. Hopefully, Anya would be successful and they could move forward.
    “The time to strike,” he said, “is soon. There will not be another opportunity for years.”
    “But is it relevant anymore?”
    “You hesitate?”
    Belchenko frowned. “I merely asked a question.”
    “It matters to me.”
    “The zero amendment,” his guest muttered.
    “That’s part of it. What I need is what you personally know. Tell me, Vadim. Let me be the one to use what’s out there.”
    For so long he’d felt like a man buried alive who suddenly wakes and pushes against the lid of his coffin, all the while realizing the futility of his efforts. But not anymore. He now saw a way out of that coffin. A way to be free. And this was not about the pursuit of his own legend or politics or any specific agenda. No other purpose existed for what he was about to do save vengeance.
    He owed the world.
    “All right, Aleksandr, I will tell you. He lives in Canada.”
    “Can you direct me to him?”
    Belchenko nodded.
    So he listened as everything was explained. Then he stood from the bench and checked his watch. Sequins of sweat glistened across his skin.
    Only 56 hours remained.
    An urgency enveloped him, choking, yet electric, quick spasms to his muscles and brain urging action. The years of dull, nerve-grinding non-accomplishment might finally be over.
    “I have to go.”
    “To find out why that American is here?” Belchenko asked.
    “What makes you think I will see him?”
    “Where else would you be going?”
    Indeed. Where else? But an American being here at this precise moment was no coincidence.
    “I might require your help with him,” he said.
    “An adventure?” Belchenko asked, doubt in the voice.
    He smiled. “More a precaution.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    F RANCE
    Cassiopeia stared at the phone and saw a second text appear from Stephanie Nelle, this one with a phone number and the words CALL ME.
    The past few weeks had been anything but calm. Life for her had taken a 180-degree turn. She’d made some major decisions that had deeply affected others, particularly Cotton. At first with all that happened in Utah she’d thought herself on the side of right, but hindsight had allowed her to see that she may have been wrong. And the results? A man she’d cared about in her youth was dead, and a man she loved now had been driven away.
    She’d thought a lot about Cotton. His last phone call came a few weeks ago, which she’d not answered. Her reply by email— LEAVE ME ALONE —had obviously been heeded since there’d been no further contact. Cotton was a proud man, never would he grovel, nor would she expect him to. She’d made her feelings clear and he’d obviously respected them.
    But she missed him.
    Everything still weighed heavy. Part of her psyche screamed that Cotton and Stephanie had simply done their jobs and circumstances had left them little choice. But another part of her was tired of the lies that came with working intelligence operations.