Black Rose by Alex Lukeman Page B

Gutenberg's encrypted drive. Valentina had sent him a headache of the first order. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk, took out the vodka and poured a drink. He downed half, topped off the glass, and put the bottle back. Then he opened the report on Gutenberg's computer.
    The material was an intelligence officer's dream, a treasure trove of names, numbers and personal observations. There were two encrypted files. The first was a private journal. Alexei couldn't believe a man so powerful would be so careless as to keep a record like this. It was more than a diary. It was as if Gutenberg was making notes for future generations, a kind of contemporary history. If the material was a dream, it was also a nightmare. Alexei had a big problem on his hands, big enough to destroy him if he wasn't careful.
     
    3 February
     
    The Korean samples have been procured. The information Kamarov obtained from his nephew was perfect. His men had no trouble with the train or the guard detachment. No witnesses. No casualties on our side. The samples will be in Zurich tomorrow.
     
    Konstantine Kamarov , Vysotsky thought, and his bastard nephew Vladimir. Traitors, both of them. They killed my men.
    A sudden wave of anger swept through him. If Kamarov had been in the room, Alexei would have wrapped his hands around the man's fat throat and squeezed until blood ran out of his eyes.
    A dull pounding in Vysotsky's head signaled that his blood pressure was heading for the roof. He forced himself to take a breath and relax. It wouldn't help to give himself a stroke.
    Konstantine Kamarov was one of the most powerful men in the Federation, one of the Oligarchs who'd come out of the darkness after the collapse of the Soviet Union. His nephew was Vladimir Kamarov, Deputy Director of SVR and Vysotsky's boss.
    I need to make sure his loving nephew doesn't find out about this file , Vysotsky thought . I'll tell him about it just before I put a bullet in the back of his head.
    The second encrypted file outlined a plan to test the virulent plague in Brazil before releasing it on a wider scale in China. It cited examples from history and modern times of what happened when a country's medical infrastructure failed and life-threatening disease spread among the population. There was a detailed analysis of how Gutenberg's consortium of banks could provide the loans required to finance recovery and establish dominance. The graphs and charts were convincing. The profit margins and net gains were impressive. The document projected two hundred million deaths in China alone and discussed the costs of cleaning up the aftermath. An addendum to the file discussed how much profit could be made from sales of the vaccine.
    Vysotsky finished his drink and poured another. He was a man hardened by years of working as an officer in one of the most brutal and secretive intelligence organizations that had ever existed. He'd seen many things in his career, but nothing to match the pure evil of what Gutenberg was planning.
    The man's a monster , Vysotsky thought, but perhaps I can take advantage of what he has created.
    Russia was not mentioned in the plan. It made sense that Gutenberg and Kamarov wouldn't want to disrupt the enormous income that flowed to them through manipulation of Russian industry and oil contracts. Kamarov controlled everything from the production of the new MIG fighter planes to the knockoff American blue jeans sold on the street corners of Moscow.
    Vysotsky read further in Gutenberg's journal.
     
    23 February
     
    Talked with K. in Zurich. Progress! Schmidt is a genius. He's ready to test a possible vaccine. Everything had been made ready previously at K.'s bioresearch lab, in anticipation of obtaining the samples. Kamarov's plan to persuade the Kremlin to authorize the raid on the North Koreans saved us a lot of trouble.
    Volunteers have signed up and test subjects chosen. Facilities have been ready for several weeks, including the necessary