Kostchenko couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“He disappeared?” Kostchenko screamed, barely able to control his rage. “How does someone you see one minute vanish the next?”
The person who reported the events did not have an answer. Everything that had been planned for years was crumbling like a sand castle at high tide. There was no indication from informants or intercepts that anything was ongoing which might interfere with the operation. It was becoming obvious, nevertheless, that something was happening to undermine the success of the mission.
Kostchenko dismissed the subordinate who had briefed him about the airport, and began to slip into a severe state of despair. He sat alone in the room as it got darker with the setting sun, and made only one trip from its confines to get ano
