The private jet touched down at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport at 4:23 AM, landing at private terminal where Russian customs officials waved them through with indifference that suggested either bribery or official sanction. Ral stepped onto Russian soil for the first time since his interrogation fifteen years ago, the cold air hitting his lungs with shocking intensity that felt symbolic of everything he was walking into.
"Your wife arrives in two hours on separate flight," Dmitri stated while guiding Ral toward waiting convoy of armored vehicles. "We maintain separation until both extractions are confirmed clean—no tracking devices, no surveillance, no federal pursuit that could compromise our location."
"How do you know Louis's extraction succeeded?" Ral demanded. "Portland was supposed to be
