Code Blue by Mark Dawson

Author:Mark Dawson [Dawson, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Assassination, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Espionage, Action
Amazon: B0D98BS356
Publisher: Unputdownable Thrillers
Published: 2024-10-31T05:00:00+00:00

14

Cooper completed his second lap of Central Park and turned off the busy running track onto an empty patch of grass. He did some stretches, allowing his breathing to return to normal. Taking out his mobile, he dialled a number he’d memorised long ago, listening to a series of clicks as the call was routed and re-routed across continents.

“Global Logistics, how may I direct your call?”

“It’s Terry Dunlop. I’m calling with an update on the New York shipment.”

“Please stay on the line.”

Most diplomats and spies working inside the United Nations building would conduct sensitive conversations and phone calls in what was called a safe-speech room, which was routinely swept for bugs and clad with a special material that would frustrate microphones. There was a perfectly good safe-speech room in the UK delegation, but as a lowly IT technician like Terry Dunlop would have no reason to use it, Cooper had waited until the end of the working day to make the call.

“Eleven.”

“Sir.”

“Status update.”

“Clear. I’m free to speak.”

The other advantage to Cooper’s early evening run was that it had allowed him to confirm he wasn’t being followed. He’d started off slowly, but by the second lap was moving at a speed that no surveillance team would have been able to match. His long career meant that he’d encountered plenty of foreign intelligence operatives, and every time he walked into the UN staff restaurant or entered a lift, he was braced for the possibility he would be recognised. Anyone who recognised him would see through the Dunlop cover in seconds. It was also possible that Pyotr Sokolov had put him under surveillance as a rival for Irina’s affections.

“I’m developing two lines of attack into the Russian delegation at the UN,” he said. “The first is through a British diplomat—Henry Faulkner—very well-connected within the organisation. He’s reporting back to me on any gossip he comes across that is connected to the Russians. The second is through a junior diplomat called Irina Peskova. She’s in an unhappy romantic relationship with an SVR intelligence officer called Pyotr Sokolov⁠—”

“Sokolov. Why do I know that name?”

“There was interest in him a decade ago after allegations about what he did in Chechnya. He was involved in some nasty stuff. He became much more high profile than he would’ve liked and so has spent much of the last decade keeping his head down.”

“The International Criminal Court considered charging him.”

“Correct. I’ve gained access to his apartment and will task Peskova to search his files inside the delegation.”

“You’ve won her round quickly. Are you sure she can be trusted?”

Cooper watched as a group of rollerbladers dressed in various neon colours streamed along the path in front of him. “She’s in a desperate position. Sokolov is having her followed by two of his men. She’s terrified that if she returns to Russia, the harassment will step up to the next level. She wants a way out. And I’ve been able to make a gesture showing her I’m acting in good faith.”

“What kind

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