The Blood of Patriots and Traitors

ALSO BY JAMES A. SCOTTThe Iran ContradictionsThe President’s Dossier Copyright © 2023 by James A. ScottAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.This book is a work of fiction, based in part, on events reported in the news media. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.ISBN 978-1-60809-526-1Published in the United States of America by Oceanview PublishingSarasota, Floridawww.oceanviewpub.com10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA “[T]he tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots [and] tyrants.”—Thomas JeffersonJefferson’s observation was the inspiration for this novel. FOREWORDREADERS MAY APPRECIATE the predictive nature of this novel knowing that I began researching and writing it in September of 2019, approximately thirty months before Russia invaded Ukraine. My writing continued through the fall of 2021. During that period, the USA-NATO relationship was in question. At issue was whether or not the United States would help defend European nations that might come under attack, as required by Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. In part, Article 5 states: “… an armed attack against one or more of the [NATO nations] in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against all [and triggers] collective self-defense …”I completed The Blood of Patriots and Traitors manuscript on October 18, 2021, approximately four months before Ukraine was invaded. That horrific event and those portrayed in this novel were not difficult to imagine. In his April 2005 address to the Russian people, Vladimir Putin said, “The breakup of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century.” Nine years later, when Russia invaded and occupied the Crimea, John Bolton, a future National Security Advisor to the White House, quoted Putin’s 2005 lament and added, “It’s clear [Putin] wants to re-establish Russian hegemony within the space of the former Soviet Union. Ukraine is the biggest prize. That’s what he’s after. The [recent] occupation of the Crimea is a step in that direction.”To quote the late Dr. Maya Angelou, “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” CAST OF CHARACTERSMaxwell Geller—Former CIA officer, in Moscow and at CIA headquarters.Vanessa Blake—CIA officer, Max’s significant other from his past.Prescott Hamilton (a.k.a. Rodney)—CIA officer, Max’s former boss.Jill Rucker—CIA officer, Max’s former associate.Eva Soriano—CIA officer, Rodney’s deputy.Sherri Layton—Max’s friend, former CIA officer, now CEO of a security consulting firm.Tony Davila (a.k.a. Tony-D)—Former U.S. Special Forces soldier, now engaged in private and governmental security projects. He is one of Sherri’s go-to guys for difficult projects.Alexi Petrov—Lieutenant Colonel (Promotable), Russian Army. RAMPART is his CIA code name. Olga Petrovna is his wife.Konstantine Zabluda—Lieutenant Colonel, Russian Army, former assassin with Russian military intelligence, detailed to domestic counterintelligence with the Federal Security Service (FSB).Ipatiev—Russian Army major, was deputy to Lieutenant Colonel Zabluda when they were in the field as assassins.General Orlov—Zabluda’s supervisor at the FSB.Sergei Golovkin—An intelligence analyst with the FSB and Petrov’s friend. CRYSTAL is his CIA code name, recruited by Max.Colonel Burke—Army attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.Boris Kuzmick—An FSB sergeant. Yulia Kuzmickova is his wife. They helped Max during a previous visit to Moscow.Ted Walldrum—President of the United States.General Douglas McClure—U.S. Army, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.The CIA director is unnamed to add mystery to her persona. CHAPTER 1Thursday morning, January 2020Bondi Beach, Sydney, AustraliaI SAW HIM coming from way down the beach. I reached into the folds of my towel and thumbed the safety off my Colt .45. It’s a big gun. When you point it at ’em, they pay attention. When you shoot ’em, they go down and they don’t get up.Next to me, Vanessa was lying facedown on the blanket. With my left hand, I gently squeezed her tanned thigh just below her skimpy, yellow bikini bottom.“Van!”She sat up with a start, responding to the urgency in my voice. “What?”“A hundred yards at our ten o’clock. The suit walking in the surf, carrying his shoes.”Van shaded her eyes against the morning sun. “What’s he doing on the beach in a suit?”“Exactly.”Her instincts were sharp. Van stood, stretched, and used the opportunity to check our backs. She warned, “Another suit at your five o’clock, seventy yards out, headed this way.”“Go to the car. There’s a gun in the glove compartment. Use it for your protection. I can handle these two. If there’s any trouble, drive yourself to the consulate.”Van put on her sunglasses and big straw hat, and sauntered across the sand toward the carpark on the rise behind the beach.British intelligence hoods—MI6—wanted to question me about a London burglary, a couple of blown operations, and a warehouse massacre. The Russians wanted me for bank robbery, murder, and skyjacking. With all those angry spies after me, I should have made myself harder to find. But everybody needs a relaxing day at the beach once in a while, and Thursday was mine—until the suits showed up.As I turned to watch Van’s shapely figure move toward the parking lot, I stole a glance at the suit coming from my right rear. He had shoes in his left hand, and his eyes were locked on me. He stopped, removed his coat, draped it over his shoulder, and held it there with his right hand. I glanced at the guy walking in the surf. He had removed his coat, too. Obviously, they had been warned about me. Both were signaling they weren’t armed and their hands were full. That was the signal they were sending, but it didn’t mean they weren’t armed.I stood and walked in Van’s tracks back to the lifeguard tower, so that both suits had to approach me from my front. A couple of surf-boards were propped against the two-by-four