The Kremlin's Candidate: A Novel полностью

The MSS counterintelligence team in the apartment next door listened to the audiotape of the dinner at the China Club, and reviewed the video of Zhènniǎo, the poison-feather bird’s performance in the honey-trap apartment on the other side of the bare wall—with the choreography of the gong and Matsyasana, the provocative bowstring fish pose, and the chaste kiss—and were satisfied with the evening and with future prospects for entrapping the American CIA officer and eliciting the name of his agent. His assassination was a foregone conclusion. The team leader politely congratulated their esteemed guest from Moscow, the beautiful blue-eyed Russian SVR officer who sat in an armchair in front of the monitors, bouncing her foot. Her guidance on how best to concoct Grace Gao’s fictitious personal legend to inveigle the American was sibylline—almost as if she knew how he thought.

MA POEGGPLANT IN GARLIC SAUCE

Mix ground pork with rice wine vinegar, chili sauce, cornstarch, and soy sauce. Refrigerate. Cut Asian eggplants in half lengthwise, brush with peanut oil, season with salt, and broil cut side down on baking sheet until charred and tender. Whisk chicken stock with sake, sugar, sesame oil, bean paste, and soy sauce. Stir-fry minced scallions, garlic, and ginger until fragrant, add pork and brown, then add chicken stock mixture and bring to a boil. Simmer until sauce thickens. Place eggplants cut side up on a platter and spoon over with pork. Garnish with sliced scallions. Serve with steamed rice.

29

Your Chakra Is Showing

Dominika had arrived in Hong Kong several days earlier after a day of ceremonial courtesy calls in MSS Headquarters at the Ministry of State Security. General Sun stayed in Beijing for consultations, so Dominika was turned over to an English-speaking captain of the Guangzhou MSS office, named Yuán Chonghuan. He had chosen the inexplicable Western business name of “Rainy,” yu tien in Mandarin, which was phonetically close to Yuán and lyrical, or so he thought. Rainy Chonghuan was exceedingly short and thin, with all the built-in malignancies of the physical runt. He had the toxic temper of a low-level officer who one minute relishes mistreating subordinates, and shamelessly toadies to superiors the next. He had caramel-colored teeth and stubby fingers with nails bitten to the quick. The halo around his head and shoulders was caramel-colored too, the color you get when the yellow of conniving treachery mixes with the browns of sloth and envy. Dominika knew she had to be careful around him.

Colonel Dominika Egorova of the SVR was an alien being to Rainy—the leggy, busty Slav with the high cheekbones might as well have been from another planet. His English, learned at MSS Officer’s school, was just fluent enough to discuss strategy with her in the operation to trap the American. Rainy Chonghuan had, however, immediately seen that this Russian was held in high esteem by General Sun and MSS leadership, which meant he would butter her remorselessly. He moreover saw that she had long experience working American targets. Her suggested amendments to the entrapment-phase plan, including tweaking Zhènniǎo’s personal history to appeal to the Yankee’s operational instincts, were impressive. Anything that would ensure success and bring him credit and promotion was welcome. Rainy provided a translated copy of Zhènniǎo’s service docket for Colonel Egorova’s review, and suggested the two women meet to discuss nuances of the nectar bait. To his surprise, the Russian demurred, explaining that Sparrows in the Russian Service operated most effectively with fewer distractions. Rainy hurriedly agreed, complimenting the colonel on her foresight and wisdom.

Zhen Gao’s personnel file was fascinating to Dominika. The autobiography she had recited to Nate was mostly fiction, with some nuggets of truth. She had not lost her parents, she was not adopted, and she never went to hotel school. She was never taught yoga by a wizened yogini when she was twelve, she learned it only later, as a way to stay in shape and help her seduce targets.