Operation Ksenia

[Nentsia]

Severograd, Severyane

Andrei Yeleshev and his wife enjoyed the view from their touring boat on a hot summer day in the Severyanian capital. Yeleshev was a remarkably tall man, with broad shoulders, a balding head, and thick-rimmed round glasses. His wife was taking photographs, while Yeleshev sipped from his coffee. A couple was sitting directly opposite to them at the table. There weren't many other tourists on board.

The couple came from Mordvania, but they were of Nentsian descent. The man, who was rather short and timid had introduced himself as Pavel Jahoraw, in perfect Severyanian. Jahoraw and Yeleshev knew eachother. They somehow met eachother wherever they went. Yeleshev had met the Yahoraws on their trip to Saratov, he had met them in Kubaniza, and he had met them on their trip to Aurentine. This was not a coincidence of course.

Pavel Jahoraw worked as a school teacher in Mordvania and spent the summer vacation in Severyane. Yeleshev and his wife ran a small bookstore in Severyane. When Pavel Jahoraw realized he had run out of cigarettes, he politely asked Yeleshev for one, who handed him a package of cigarettes. There was only one left in it. 'Keep it,' he said to Jahoraw.

Jahoraw opened the package, took out the cigarette, read what Yeleshev had written on the inside, and tossed the empty package into the river.

As the tour came to an end, both couples each went their separate ways again. The next day however, Pavel Jahoraw left his hotel alone and headed for the adress that Yeleshev had written inside the cigarette package. After taking a little detour, Jahoraw stood before the book store that was owned by the Yeleshevs. He entered the quiet bookstore, which seemed rather old and dusty. The furniture was almost antique, the books were outdated, the floor squeeked, and there was insufficient light inside. The calm inside the store contrasted highly with the busy streets outside. A woman came down the stairs to welcome the customer. It was Mrs. Yelesheva.

'My husband is upstairs,' she said to Jahoraw. His presence in her book store did not surprise her in any way. Jahoraw went upstairs where he entered the small living room of the Yeleshevs. A tall man was sitting in a divan, smoking a cigar as he closed his laptop when Jahoraw came in.

'Sit down,' he said. 'Drink?'
'Just some coffee. Black,' Jahoraw responded, as he sat down on the couch.

'I suspect you have important instructions for me?' Jahoraw said. Yeleshev nodded. He didn't say anything. He stood up and walked over to the kitchen where he began to prepare two cups of coffee.

When he returned, there was a stern look on his face. His thick-rimmed glasses reflected the beams of sunlight that entered the living room through the windows. 'These are by far the most ambitious and dangerous orders I have ever received from M. M needs your cell to be involved to carry them out. You will get more support than usual for this.'

Jahoraw nodded. He was curious what to expect from his superiors this time. 'My cell consists of 11 agents. Only a few know eachother. We have safe houses. I have been ready for a long time. Tell me what to do.'

There was a moment of silence. Yeleshev sipped from his coffee, staring at Jahoraw. 'M has instructed me that your cell will be used to bomb the headquarters of Mord TV.'

Jahoraw's eyes widened. Had they gone nuts in Nentsia? He remained silent however. His brain immediately went into overdrive, trying to make a list of all the needs and things that had to be done to pull off such a task, and what resources were needed for it.

'Tell me what you need, and I'll see what I can do to help you in this endeavour.' Yeleshev added.

'An explosives expert,' Jahoraw immediately responded.

[Nentsia]

Severograd, Severyane

Pavel Jahoraw was sitting with his wife in their hotel restaurant, enjoying the live music and having dinner. Next to their table, a man was having a large beer. He was a tall, strong man. His arms were covered in tattoos, and his head was shaven. At some point during the evening, the man got up and left. But he had forgotten his wallet, which was left at the table. Pavel noticed it, and took the wallet and ran after the man. His wife went back to their hotel room.

In the corridors towards the elevators, Jahoraw finally caught up with the man and offered him his wallet. 'Thanks for that! That's odd. I never forget my wallet. Let me buy you a drink!' The tall man spoke very poor Severyan, with a distinguishable accent.

'Where are you from, if I may ask?' Jahoraw asked as they walked towards the hotel lounge, where they had comfortable chairs, a fireplace and a bar.

'Im from Saamo,' he replied. 'Jori Jaakola is the name,' and he reached out to Jahoraw.
'Pavel Jahoraw,' Jahoraw replied as he shook his hand.

The two men sat down for a drink and continued to talk. 'So what brings a Saami here in Severyane?' Pavel Jahoraw enquired.

Jaakola took a sip from his whisky. 'I served in the Saamo army, but I quit and went to work in transport. Now I work anywhere I want.'

Jahoraw nodded. 'Are you here on an assignment?'

Jaakola nodded carefully. 'Someone from the Nentsian Trade mission in Tyko paid to stay in this hotel and wait for a package to come to me, and to take it to its next destination.'

Jahoraw smiled from satisfaction. He knew Yeleshev had taken up contact with the embassy, and a Nentsian trade representative in Saamo, in reality a military intelligence officer, had approached Jaakola. He was Jahoraw's explosives expert. The package he was to receive were his instructions, and his destination was Mordvania. Of course it would've been much easier to send someone from the Nentsian military. But simple and easy were synonymous with dangerous and foolish, in the dictionary of an intelligence officer. The more they could cloak this operation in obscurity and seeming randomness, the more difficult it would be for the Mordvanians to trace its steps back, or worse, to interrupt it.

Jahoraw had been using a dozen of anonymous cell phones in Severyane to text messages to his contacts in Mordvania. He had instructed several of them to find out ways to acquire anonymous cars or vans. One would be used to carry the explosives destined for MordTV, but the others were old-fashioned getaway cars. They would be used to smuggle Jaakola either out of Mordvania, or towards a safe house where he could hide until the Mordvanians scaled down their manhunt. Several getaway cars were required, due to the prevalence of cameras in the modern world. At least one getaway car would have to be abbandoned after they had left the Mordvanian capital, where a fresh car with a new driver would be waiting in the bushes or whatever. That one would be used to transport the suspect to the third getaway car, that should be completely unknown to the authorities, and be able to cross the border without raising suspicion. If necessary, it could drive back into the city and deliver him to a safe house.

On the advice of Jaakola, Jahoraw instructed several of his contacts in Mordvania to go to the store and buy 1 propane tank, that is usually used for barbecues. This shouldn't attract suspicion like buying an enormous amount of fertilizer, but with several tanks of propane one could definetely make a powerful car bomb.

But there was danger hanging over the operation. There was, since a while now, a mole inside the Nentsian security organs that was leaking documents to the Mordvanian MERSEK once in a while. And although he could not access or send any written documentation of Operation Ksenia, he did know of its existence and passed on a digital note to his Mordvanian handlers in Nentsia. He used a multitude of anonymous web accounts and encrypted messaging software to share documents with the Mordvanians, but now he left for them something he had written himself:

PRESIDENT HAS AUTHORIZED SABOTAGE OPERATION BY 2ND DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL STAFF (MIL. INTEL.)
PURPOSE OF THE OPERATION IS TO BOMB MORD TV HQ.
NO ACCESS TO FURTHER DETAILS.

DO NOT CONTACT ME.