The Cipher

Chapter 10-3

The men around the table all knew the unwritten rule of the intelligence business: no sanctioned killing of other service"s officers, no matter how tempting it might be on occasion. They were professionals and after all such a lunatic action was only one step away from all out warfare. The Cold War was already at fever pitch and it wouldn"t take much to tip the balance.

C turned to Porter. “Anyone you know, Bernie?”

Porter considered this. “Well, Sir, the Russian intelligence officer that runs several of the Constellation agents, sort of my opposite number if you like, has a reputation for being ruthless. Perhaps the Americans have tired of having to play against him. Of course it could be a dozen other KGB officers of equal experience, but without further information it"s only guesswork about which one it could be I"m afraid.”

C nodded. He knew that agents could, over the course of their careers have several different case officers; it was normal routine in the spy world. “Maybe you could have a dig about with your agents Bernie, see if there is anyone that fits the bill from their Russian contacts. At least if we can identify him we can make a more informed decision about whether to feed him to the dogs.”

* * *

They stopped for another tea break, a stretch of their legs and backs and a quick trip to the toilet for several of the older members.

When they resumed it was C who moved the meeting on to the next phase. “So Bernie, we were talking about Constellation and how it is necessary to protect it. Perhaps you could share some more information about the time constraints that we have placed upon ourselves in carrying this out. I know that some of us are up to speed in this operation of yours, but it would rather help if you could lay out what you are hoping to achieve in the endgame.”

Porter, refreshed and cleansed, once again leaned forward across the table and spoke with a quiet authority. “Gentlemen, Constellation is only one facet of this operation. It is in fact running in tandem with a much larger and more complex strategic intelligence operation. If Constellation is the means, then Operation SHREDDER is the end result.”

Porter turned his gaze to Harper, the Director of Soviet Operations. “Perhaps you might like to take over from here, sir. SHREDDER is after all, under your direct control.”

Harper nodded. The senior intelligence officer checked through his notes, made a small annotation, and began. “Thank you Porter. Over the past few years the Russians have been carrying out more and more aggressive operations and ramping up the tensions of the Cold War to unparalleled levels. Assassinations, rolling up of networks, plus the recent crisis in Cuba seem to have caught the West on the hop, which, let"s face it, is an unenviable position for any intelligence service to be in.”

The men around the table mused on the thought of recent Soviet operations, both military and espionage, and how many Western intelligence services had taken a beating on more than one occasion.

“Well,” continued Harper, “after being in such a low position it was decided that an operation should be mounted, a long term operation. Its aim was to frighten the Soviet Union into a stalemate. I think that the phrase that was used at the time was that if you can"t fight, then you should wear a big hat.”

“Oh, I say, I rather like that,” said C, a sly grin spreading across his face.

“Indeed, Chief. As you all know the thought of going to war; dare I say it, a nuclear war with Russia is something of a pipe dream by the hawks in the military. Nobody wants that. It would be the end of all days.”

“It"s why we do what we do, to stop the madness happening,” said Barton.

“Agreed and Constellation has played a huge part in containing the excesses of the KGB and its subordinates,” replied Porter.

“So what is the endgame that is so important Harper? What has Constellation been working for all these years?” queried C.

Harper ran a hand over his smooth mane of hair, dislodging several strands before he hurriedly brushed them neatly back into place. “It"s a bluff, pure and simple. A big bluff that says we are the scary ones so do not dare to challenge us. There is to be a meeting later this year, in the autumn actually; exactly when is just guesswork at the moment. What we do know however is that in attendance will be several senior KGB officers, senior officials from the Russian military and numerous members of the Politburo. The purpose of the meeting is for the KGB to present, in a sort of symposium I suppose, the latest evidence of Western powers arming to the hilt to stand against the Soviet Union arms proliferation.”

“What will this evidence show?” tested Barton.

“It will lay out in minute detail that we in the West have developed a range of inter-continental ballistic missiles and armaments that are far in advance of anything that the Russians have or are likely to have for the next decade. The evidence that is provided is expected to give the Russians pause, wrong foot them and make them reconsider any aggressive actions.”

“And this false evidence comes from your Constellation network, Porter?” asked Barton.

“Yes. Each of the Constellation agents has, over many years, provided a piece to a jigsaw that is leading to this final operation. On their own, these pieces of intelligence are meaningless, but put together – like a jigsaw – they make up a beautiful picture of a fully armed, technologically advanced and determined Western nuclear policy,” replied Porter.

“So the survival of Constellation, both literally and figuratively is essential for the success of Operation SHREDDER. Is that a fair summation?” said C.

“Absolutely. The ramifications of SHREDDER failing, being exposed or not believed, would set back our military and strategic advantage over the Russians by years. Something that I"m not sure we could recover from. Therefore, the survival and safety of Constellation is paramount, especially agents LYRA and SCORPIUS,” answered Porter.

“Why those two agents in particular, Bernie?” asked C.

“Because they will provide the final clues to the Russians, Sir. SCORPIUS will provide the technical evidence and LYRA the evidence of a more aggressive Western policy in that area. They are our two best agents within Constellation; they are trusted by the Russians and have proved themselves to the KGB again and again. If they confirm what the Russians have been told, then we will have a classic closed loop; namely intelligence supplied and authenticated by several members of the same network,” said Harper.

It was a huge gamble; they all knew that, risking a long term intelligence operation on a very spurious deception plan. But then that was what SIS was there for: to take on the jobs that were harder than most.

“And if it is a success, what is the outcome you"re hoping for?” queried Barton.

“Best outcome for SHREDDER is that we scare the living daylights out of the Russians and give them pause about their future actions. Second best outcome is that at the very least we set the KGB off against its military counterparts,” said Harper.

“Explain?” queried C.

“Well, the Soviet military machine, like most military organizations, always wants to have the best hardware and the latest weapons. If we can offer them proof that the weapon systems at our disposal outshine anything that they have by a country mile, then their military can"t hope to compete with what they believe we have in the West. They will revert to type and try to dismiss the KGB"s intelligence as rubbish.”

“A case of if we don"t have it, no one can have it. Their Russian generals will spend so much time bickering with the KGB that they"ll cause an internal war. Excellent work,” commented Barton, rubbing his hands beneath the table with glee.

“So it would seem that we are playing for some very high stakes. I must say I do rather like the subtlety and complexity of it all. I suspect it"s the type of operation that we all dreamed we"d have the chance to run when we were toddlers in spy school,” considered C.