Page 124 of Spymaster

There was much more that Kopec wanted to discuss, but he was cautious not to overstay his welcome. Harvath looked as if he had been through hell. Obviously, losing Carlton was taking its toll.

They agreed to meet for dinner back in D.C., and Harvath walked him to the door.

“I’m sorry he was unable to interact,” he said. “I know you had a long friendship. I’m sure he appreciates you coming all this way.”

Kopec smiled and extended his hand. “It is what friends do.”

Harvath shook his hand.

“I hope you and I can be friends,” the Pole said. “I think there’s much that we can do together.”

“I’d like that,” said Harvath. “Very much.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll see each other back in D.C.”

Harvath nodded and watched as the aging intelligence officer walked down the red brick path to his waiting Town Car.

After Kopec climbed in and the vehicle had pulled out of the drive, Ryan came up behind him.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“Exactly as the Old Man predicted.”

She smiled, “Artur has no idea he’s Matterhorn, does he?”

“Nope,” said Harvath. “That’s the genius of the Old Man. As soon as he learned Kopec was a spy for the Russians, he began devising a way to exploit him. You and I just took it to the next level.”

“I played the part given me,” Ryan replied, downplaying her role. “You’re the one who took everything to the next level. Do you think he has any clue that there are no Gryphons in Europe? That even the upgrade kits were phony?”

Harvath couldn’t be sure. His whole plan had been to buy time; to knock the Russians off-balance and force them to reassess their attack. He had just needed long enough to figure out what the invasion would look like so NATO could put the right assets into the Baltics to stop it.

“Speaking of which,” she continued, “General Dynamics says we can keep the fake upgrade kit their R&D department built for us.”

He smiled. “It’ll look great in the conference room.”

“It’ll look better in your office.”

Harvath nodded and made a mental note to send them a special thank-you. Having something to prove the alleged existence of the kits, and thereby the missiles, was critical to his plan. The Russians didn’t have to buy it 100 percent. They just had to be worried that land-based cruise missiles, some possibly nuclear-tipped, might have been waiting for them if they tried to invade.

Looking out the living room’s large bay window toward the lake, Ryan saw Lara coming back from her walk. Nodding in her direction, she stated, “You two should spend some time together.”

“We will,” said Harvath, as he walked over to the sideboard and poured himself a bourbon. “Let’s finish up our business first.”

Ryan’s laptop, a stack of file folders, and myriad papers were strewn across the coffee table. “Welcome to my office,” she said, offering him a seat.

Harvath pulled out a chair and sat down. “Where should we start?”

“How about we start with why Barton didn’t fly back with the team.”

“He met a nice Polish girl, but it’ll never last. She’s too smart and has much better taste.”

Ryan’s smile broadened once more. “Jasinski turned out to be a good choice.”

“She was excellent,” said Harvath. “I’d work with her again in a heartbeat.”

“The Supreme Allied Commander had a lengthy debrief with her and the feeling’s mutual.”

“What are you hearing from the Baltics?”